Assyrian

The Assyrians are the inhabitants of the ancient kindom of Assyria which once controlled Mesopotamia and are a playable civilization in Age of Empires and The Rise of Rome. They are strictly an offensive civilization and are excellent in small maps and games that start out with low resources. They excel at early rushes but are less effective longer games since some powerful Iron Age Technologies are closed to them.

Features

 * Egyptian styled structures
 * +40% Archers Fire Rate
 * +30% Villager Speed

Strategy

 * The Assyrians are a good civilization for early rushes since their villager bonus allows them to scout the area faster than other civilizations.
 * The Assyrians can begin to flex their muscles as soon as they hit the Tool Age and build an Archery Range.
 * Their fast villagers allow to get ahead of other civilizations, both in research and resource gathering, so you can try to be the first to make it to a subsequent age, build a small army, and strike while you have a technology advantage.
 * The Assyrians also have excellent archers and will make up a large part of your army. It's not a bad idea to get a small group of archers together immediately after you get to the Tool Age and build an archery range.
 * Use them to harass and slow your enemy's resource gathering, picking off villagers and retreating when they come under fire.
 * With their fire rate increased, a large amount of them can wipe out an entire village within minutes. This makes the Assyrians an excellent choice in small land maps.
 * Don't depend entirely on your archers - you'll still need a varied army.
 * In major battles, use infantry to engage enemy troops, so your archers can stay behind and fire their arrows.
 * The speed advantage of your villagers will be blunted in a long game. Other civilizations will be able to field a more technologically advanced Iron Age force given time.
 * Don't hedge your bets on controlling the seas either.

Strengths

 * Units produced by the archery-range building fire 40 percent faster.
 * Their villagers move 30 percent faster.
 * Excellent choice in Random Map mode of the game.
 * Most powerful from Stone Age to Bronze Age.
 * Excellent for rushes or blitzkrieg.
 * Best if used for hit and run attacks.

Weaknesses

 * A lot of the Iron Age units and research items are closed to them.
 * They cannot build centurions or the phalanx, and the only Iron Age vessel they can produce is the trireme.
 * They also don't get any elephant units.
 * They do not have the ability to train improved bowmen, the composite bowman and the heavy horse archer.
 * Not as powerful in the Iron Age.
 * Lack elite units with a lot of hit points.
 * Ineffective against heavily fortified areas, especially Ballista Towers.
 * Not a very good choice in Death Matches, unless if an early rush is used.
 * One of the Assyrians major weaknesses are the siege weapons, especially the Heavy Catapult and the helepolis (with engineering).

History
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom centered on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia (present day northern Iraq), that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur. Assyria was also sometimes known as Subartu, and after its fall as Athura, Syria and Assuristan. The term Assyria can also refer to the geographic region or heartland where these empires were centered. Their descendants still live in the region today, and they form the Christian minority in Iraq. After the fall of the Akkadian Empire in 2080 BC, it eventually coalesced into two separate nations; Assyria in the north, and later Babylonia in the south.

Originally, the early Assyrian kings would certainly have been regional leaders only, and subject to Sargon of Akkad who united all the Akkadian speaking peoples of Mesopotamia under the Akkadian Empire which lasted from 2334 BC to 2154 BC. The Akkadian nation of Assyria (and later on also Babylonia) evolved from the dissolution of the Akkadian Empire. In the Old Assyrian period of the Early Bronze Age, Assyria had been a kingdom of northern Mesopotamia, competing for dominance with its fellow Mesopotamian rival, Babylonia which was often under Kassite rule. During this period it established colonies in Asia Minor. It had experienced fluctuating fortunes in the Middle Assyrian period.

Beginning with the campaigns of Adad-nirari II from 911 BC, it again became a great power, conquering many of their neighbors. Eventually they weakened after so many wars and their empire would fall in the 10th century B.C.