Turks/Strategic Overview

If you like cavalry, and fancy carving an empire from the saddle, then the Turks should be your number one choice as a civ to play in Swords of the Prophets. Everything around the Turks revolves around one thing, and that is cavalry. Turkish cavalry may not have the toughness associated with the Roman nations, but the one thing they have which these factions lack is speed. Turkish light cavalry does not utilise pure shock force, but uses a clever mix of mobility and flexibility to overcome slower foes.
 * Strengths: Best cavalry in the game, very good for use in open maps.
 * Weaknesses: Technologically backward, inferior infantry and navy, very situational.

In Kings & Conquerors, the Sarmatians have the fastest cavalry units. Sarmatian cavalry is the fastest in terms of mobility, especially moreso to their light spear cavalry lines, which make them highly proficient for hit-and-run assaults. The cavalry archers of the Sarmatians aren't left behind, however: for while the Fat Aexsdzhytae are somewhat inferior in range to other low-level cavalry archers in other civs, their speed and rate of fire simply cannot be sniffed at. In large numbers, these fast-running units can challenge even enemy heavy cavalry, which is tougher but slower, and usually meant for charging enemy light or medium infantry. Fast cavalry means more effective offensive tactics, and a greater chance of subjugating more enemy lands. This is important, since the Sarmatians cannot build Granaries or Farms, but must instead rely on shrewd trading and raiding in order to obtain more resources. Of course, you can always capture farms and Granaries from the foe, but it would sometimes be more expedient to instead raze them all, keeping the Granaries solely for research purposes, and investing more resources into your archer cav component, who incidentally can generate resources like Peasants as long as they are not garrisoned.

For this reason, except in certain situations, the Turks can be a very weak choice, especially for new players of Rise of Nations. For one, while they can generate food from horse units and Peasants, the amounts they can generate are rather low in comparison to genuine agriculture. Equally, the Sarmatians are very backward, culturally and technologically so — this also further compounds the near-inability of the Sarmatians to create a fully functioning civ, precluding any chance of late game booming. Because your Wonder selection is limited, it also reduces your ability to negotiate (at least in multiplayer) since you can't build Wonders that can be used to enforce alliances with other factions, and so you wiill often limited to looking to build your civilisation with non-agricultural Food sources, with the intent of cavalry rushing. Again, Sarmatian cavalry rely more on speed and mobility as opposed to cost (Parthians) or sheer brute force (Greeks and Armenians), so it is often difficult for the Sarmatian player, unless skilled, to take on these factions. Against weaker civs, like the Achaeans or the Suebi, however, there may well be rich pickings.