Persia
Cyrus
Uniques and adjacency effects read from the game data.
Victory focusDominationCulture
Kit at a glance
Cyrus strikes first and apologizes never: surprise wars cost him far less and briefly supercharge his armies' movement, immortals hold the line with ranged attacks, and pairidaeza gardens grow culture and gold behind the front. Persia blitzes, then beautifies.
Opening: the first 60 turns
Persia opens with an eye on the second trade route: build Scout, Slinger, Settler, Warrior, Settler and take Foreign Trade then Political Philosophy in a straight line, because Satrapies grants an extra route at that civic and internal routes pay gold and culture on top of food. Techs go Mining, Bronze Working and Iron Working so Immortals are available in the classical era; the Pairidaeza is unlocked by Early Empire, so the capital's high-appeal river and hill tiles should be reserved for it rather than farmed. The third city should be planted toward the neighbor you intend to surprise, with roads and a domestic route linking it to the capital, since the movement burst after a surprise declaration only helps if the army is already at the border.
Unique to this civilization
Unit
Immortal
Replaces Swordsman
Technology: Iron Working
Adjacency effects
No adjacency bonus — standard district rules apply.
How to play it
Mass at the border in peacetime, surprise-declare, and use the movement surge to take two cities before the enemy mobilizes. Internal trade routes and roads make redeployment instant. Between wars, pairidaezas quietly bank a culture finish.
Victory paths
Cyrus alternates a war and a garden. The war is a surprise declaration with the army pre-positioned, which under his ability costs far fewer grievances than it should, and the temporary movement surge lets Immortals and siege reach two cities before the defender's units even wake; occupied cities with a garrison gain extra loyalty every turn, so captures are easier to hold. Between wars, Pairidaezas on appeal tiles around Theater Squares and Holy Sites turn the enlarged empire into a culture generator, and the internal routes feeding gold and culture reinforce it. That double engine means the finish is usually cultural, sometimes with a domination shortcut if two capitals fall early. Science is available through captured districts, and diplomacy is the one path his reputation makes impractical.
Synergies: city-states, wonders, policies
Earth Goddess is the pantheon of choice because Pairidaezas raise appeal on their neighbors and appeal feeds faith; God of the Forge is the alternative for an Immortal-heavy start. Kabul for experience matters for the surprise army. Victor stays with the army, Magnus with Surplus Logistics anchors the route hub, and Pingala goes to the Pairidaeza capital once the Theater Square is up. Policy cards: Caravansaries and Trade Confederation for the routes, Conscription for upkeep and Retinues for upgrades, Aesthetics and later Grand Opera for the garden phase. Wonders: Colosseum and Alhambra for a warring empire, then Kilwa Kisiwani, and the Eiffel Tower to lift appeal everywhere.
Weaknesses and counters
A surprise war that stalls is the worst case: the movement surge expires, the grievance discount does not remove the diplomatic damage entirely, and Persia ends up in a long war with an ordinary army and no siege bonus. Immortals are only a classical unit, so the kit's military edge evaporates once rivals reach Musketmen. Neighbors defend by keeping walls current, spreading units so no two cities can fall in one burst, and by refusing open borders, which forces the army to enter contested ground visibly. Pairidaezas cannot be adjacent to each other or sit on snow and tundra, so a cold empire gets little from them. The classic mistakes are declaring without pre-positioned units, wasting the movement window on repositioning, and pillaging your own future Pairidaeza tiles during the fight.
Similar civilizations
Related guides
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- Which Civilization Should You Play? Picks by Victory TypeThree to four leader picks for each victory type — science, culture, domination, religion, and diplomacy — with the reason each one teaches that victory well, plus flexible all-rounders and a guide to matching a civilization to how you actually like to play.Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
- Early District Planning: The First 100 TurnsHow to read city sites for future adjacency, decide between settling for yields now or reserving tile clusters, and know when a planned layout should be abandoned.Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
- City-States and Envoys: Where Your Influence Should GoWhere envoys come from, how to spend the first handful, which city-state types match each victory plan, how to win and keep suzerainty against the AI, and when conquering a city-state is the right call.Last reviewed: 2026-10-03
Last reviewed: 2026-10-03