The Persians are the only civilization to use for this strategy. Their +50 starting food lets them get by with just four shepherds for the first few minutes, freeing the other villagers to cut wood. Their +50 starting wood lets them build two houses (60), a dock (150) and a fishing boat (75 for 285 total) after collecting just 35 wood - far faster than any other civilization.

Like the Mayan Eagle Warrior-Rush, this strategy has more than one use. For example you can go for a very fast castle-age time of 14:xx with only 3 - 5 fishing boats, and then attacking with five light cavalry. Another alternative is to put more villagers on wood, and create more fishing boats, for a mid-16's castle with a population of 45-50 villagers and fishing boats. Either can be deadly.


The Strategy:

Build order 14:xx castle age-time and Light-Cavalry attack:
1. First four villagers: build 2 houses, get sheep.
2. Next six: cut straggler trees. Use one to build dock and third house.
3. Make three fishing boats (stragglers permitting) before building a lumber camp.
4. Add a couple more on food, do not stop for loom.
5. Once the lumber camp is up, go with about six on wood, others on sheep/boars.
6. Add a boat or two as wood permits.
7. Put your last three villagers on gold. Get loom just before or after going feudal.
8. Go feudal with about 22 villagers and four boats. Still no mill.
9. In feudal transition, add barracks, then stable/blacksmith in feudal. Go castle.
10. Build mill, prepare for attack

If you're not planning a light cav rush, you may want to add the mill a bit sooner for more efficient berry gathering.

Unlike the KLEW, which reaches castle age at a similar time but sacrifices the strength of the economy, this strategy leaves you ready to rock! At 14:xx, you should have already paid for an attack force of five scouts and the upgrade to light cavalry, and have the resources to DROP a second and third town center for protection and aggressive expansion.

Build order 16:xx castle age- time:
1. Villagers 1-5 build two houses, go to sheep (Using five makes it harder to run out of food).
2. Of the three remaining queued villagers, put two on cutting wood, send the last toward the nearest shoreline.
3. Loom after villager 8, this improves the odds of your builder surviving a wolf attack.
4. Have the builder make a dock, then a house. Keep putting new villagers on wood until you have 10 woodcutters.
5. Make a total of three fishing boats, then save wood for a lumber camp.
6. Once you have 10 woodcutters, make the lumber camp, and put all new villagers on food.
7. Resume boat production ASAP. Make a mill if needed.
8. Watch your food stockpile, when it hits 500, go feudal. Shift some of your food villagers to wood.
9. Send a villager or two to a better fishing spot, add a second dock.
10. Saving enough wood for a market and blacksmith, make as many fishing boats as you can while researching feudal.
11. When you hit feudal, queue another villager or two, have small groups build the market and blacksmith, then resume boat production.

I developed a somewhat easier-to-execute variant of this strategy, it hits castle age in the low 16's, with about 25 villagers and 15 fishing boats. The build ORDER is much simplified, but not as optimized.

Summary:

Although the Persians aren't generally considered to be a fast civ, you'll have to admit that a pop-31 castle age in the low 14's is awfully fast. The boost FROM just four fishing boats, made early in the game, turns INTO a huge economic and military advantage if you can quickly attack before your opponents can create a castle-age army. If you prefer a later, stronger attack, try the easier, less- optimized boom FROM the second recording.