- "Justice is an unassailable fortress, built on the brow of a mountain which cannot be overthrown by the violence of torrents, nor demolished by the force of armies."
– Joseph Addison
Game Info[]
- All newly trained non-air units in this city receive the Drill I promotion, improving
Combat Strength when fighting in ROUGH Terrain - Free Castle in the city
- City Culture output +20%
Strategy[]
Alhambra is one of the two "battle" Wonders along with Brandenburg Gate (and perhaps less prominently Red Fort, Himeji Castle, and the Great Wall, which provide only defensive bonuses) that provide powerful military bonuses, and are thus ideal for players pursuing a domination victory. If built in a city that has a Barracks, an Armory, a Military Academy, and the Brandenburg Gate, all units produced by this city will have access to fourth-tier promotions upon completion. The added boost to 
Culture is also nice.
Although the wonder description does not specifically say so, the Drill I promotion applies only to melee, mounted, armored, and gunpowder units built in the Alhambra's city. In other words, it does not apply to ranged, siege, naval, or air units (e.g. Catapults, Crossbowmen, and Artillery).
A particularly deadly combination made possible only with the Alhambra (or the Zulus with the Total War tenet of the Autocracy ideology as well as the aforementioned training buildings and the Brandenburg Gate) is the availability of Blitz-promoted XCOM Squads (or less ideally, Paratroopers), who can attack the same turn after being paradropped. While such squads (unless Zulu) will be less effective in flat lands due to the necessity of going towards Drill III, having access to quick long-distance attackers that can capture cities dramatically increases the military capabilities of the civilization that possesses them.
Also, if you plan on building it, don't build a Castle in this city beforehand!
While the Drill I is the primary benefit of building the Alhambra, units that have Drill I beforehand, such as Minutemen and Mehal Sefari, do not gain any bonus from this. While this fact may make it sound like this wonder is useless to the American and Ethiopian civilizations, this isn't true, since both the Minutemen and Mehal Sefari become obsolete later on and thus they have the later game to benefit from the wonder.
Unfortunately, this wonder is highly competitive, and may not be attainable on high difficulties. Warmongers in the Medieval Era (like Mongolia, England, and the Songhai) should rapidly mobilize instead of trying to build Alhambra.
Civilopedia entry[]
Found in southern Spain, the Alhambra is a large palace complex of the Nasrid Dynasty, who controlled the region in the mid 14th century. Construction first began sometime around 1238 AD under the rule of Ibn al-Ahmar, and continued under his successors. Taking its name from the red hue of its walls, the name Alhambra is translated as the "Red Fortress." Noted for its Moorish Islamic architectural style, the Alhambra features elaborate engravings and numerous examples of the interlacing patters know as "Arabesques" found predominantly in Islamic art. Although many examples of the original Islamic style remain today, much of the palace and its interior was reconstructed and modified after the rise of Catholicism in Spain.
Trivia[]
- The given quote by the little-known English writer Joseph Addison bears extraordinary resemblance to the one used for the Kremlin. The one used for the Kremlin is attributed to the Prophet Mohammed, yet is not found in any authentic text of Islam. Thus there seems to have been an error in the selection/attribution of these two quotes.
Gallery[]
.gif "Alhambra completion art (Civ5).gif (371 KB)")
