Arabia
Saladin (Sultan)
Uniques and adjacency effects read from the game data.
Victory focusDominationReligion
Kit at a glance
Sultan Saladin is the martial reading of Arabia: the same guaranteed religion, but pointed outward — his doubled flanking and support bonuses apply to armies and religious units alike, making conversion and conquest two halves of one campaign.
Opening: the first 60 turns
Sultan Saladin needs faith earlier than his vizier counterpart, because the religion is a weapon rather than an economy. Scout, warrior, settler, then a builder, and Astrology right after Pottery so the capital's Holy Site is in the ground by turn thirty; the guaranteed prophet is a safety net, not the plan, since you want a religion chosen before the good enhancer beliefs are gone. Civics take Foreign Trade for early routes, then Political Philosophy and Military Tradition. Settle two more cities toward the neighbor you intend to convert first, with one of them on the border holding an Encampment. Horseback Riding and then Stirrups is the military tech spine, timed so Mamluks appear as the first missionaries finish their work across the frontier.
Unique to this civilization
Unit
Mamluk
Replaces Knight
Technology: Stirrups
Building
Madrasa
Replaces University
Civic: Theology
Adjacency effects
No adjacency bonus — standard district rules apply.
How to play it
Spread your religion into a neighbor before the war, not after — missionaries are your siege preparation. Mamluks' self-healing sustains long campaigns far from home; keep faith income high so you can alternate buying units and apostles.
Victory paths
Domination through the Medieval and Renaissance eras is the primary route, and it runs on a conversion-then-invasion rhythm. Missionaries go first to flip the border cities of the target, doubled flanking and support bonuses then make massed Mamluks and crossbows hit above their era, and each captured city keeps the religion you already installed. The self-healing Mamluk makes long, siege-free cavalry chains across a continent viable without waiting for reinforcements. Religious victory is a genuine second path: the same missionary and apostle traffic you use as war preparation converts most of a continent as a side effect, and conquered capitals stop competing. Switch fully to religion if the world is wide and naval invasions would be required; sultans lose their edge on water.
Synergies: city-states, wonders, policies
Religious city-states like Yerevan, whose suzerain picks apostle promotions, and militaristic ones that supply levies are the envoy priorities. Victor moves with the front to garrison captured cities, while Moksha in the capital gives its apostles an extra promotion through Patron Saint. Wonders that fit are Mahabodhi Temple for extra apostles, Hagia Sophia so each religious unit spreads further, and later Alhambra for a free military policy slot. Choose Crusade as the enhancer belief; stacked with the sultan's own bonus it makes units in converted foreign cities almost untouchable in the Medieval window. Policy cards Feudal Contract, Chivalry and Scripture run alongside Limes to hold what you take. God of War is a strong pantheon here because kills near Holy Sites refund faith that immediately buys the next missionary.
Weaknesses and counters
The plan leans on conversion succeeding first, so an opponent with inquisitors and a strong home religion blunts the religious half before the war starts. Naval maps blunt the kit twice over: Mamluks cannot cross water fast and conversion pressure across oceans is slow. Players routinely declare too early, before the missionary wave has landed, and then fight a fair war with ordinary numbers. Warmonger penalties pile up quickly for a leader that also wants religious allies abroad, and the vizier-style science economy is absent, so a long war leaves Arabia behind in tech by the Renaissance. Defenders should counter with walls, inquisitors and a pikeman line; the sultan has no answer to a religion he cannot displace.
Similar civilizations
Related guides
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