Equites
The cavalry elite of Roman society can be among its most effective defenders.Recruited from the gentry and lower aristocratic classes of Roman society, the equites were the cavalrymen of the royal and early Republican Roman armies. To be a member of the equestrian class meant that a man was rich enough to keep a horse, and provide his own armour, shield and spear. There were usually some 300 equites in each Republican Legion, organised into ten turmae of thirty horsemen each under the command of three decuriones. One of these men would be the praefectus, or commander, of the squadron. Mostly drawn from the young sons of elite society, these were men keen to show their courage. Showing prowess on the battlefield was an important step towards gaining political office and prestige for their families. Mundane duties such as patrol or reconnaissance would be the work of the equites extraordinarii of the Socii, the Romans’ collected Italian allies. During the Samnite and Punic Wars, the equites’ ranks were opened to first class commoners. Although they received none of the equestrians' social and political powers, they eventually replaced the aristocracy in the ranks of the Roman cavalry, allowing the equestrians to become senior officers in the newer Marian Legions.
Unit Name Equites |
Main Unit Key Rom_Equites |
Land Unit Key Rom_Equites |
Naval Unit Key roman_transport |
Soldiers 90 |
Category Cavalry |
Class Melee Cavalry |
Custom Battle Cost 520 |
Recruitment Cost 520 |
Upkeep Cost 70 |
Melee Attack 24 |
29 |
├ Melee Weapon rome_spear_cav |
├ Melee Damage Base 19 |
├ Melee Damage Ap 10 |
├ Armour Piercing No |
├ Bonus vs. Large 10 |
├ Bonus vs Elephants 12 |
└ Bonus vs Infantry 10 |
Charge Bonus 26 |
69 |
├ Base Defence 34 |
├ Shield cavalry |
└ Shield Defence 35 |
87 |
├ Armour mail |
├ Armour Defence 57 |
└ Shield Armour 30 |
105 |
├ Man Entity rome_infantry_medium |
├ Man Health 55 |
├ Bonus Hit Points 10 |
├ Mount rome_horse_spear_shield_m |
├ Mount Entity rome_horse_medium |
└ Mount Health 40 |
Base Morale 40 |
Abilities
Equites- Draco
Reduces the effectiveness against mounted units of any nearby enemies for an extended time.
Bonus vs cavalry, bonus vs elephants, bracing - Cavalry Testudo
The unit raises their shields and turns towards the aggressor.
Protection against missiles
Can't move - Flying Wedge
The unit moves into a flying wedge-shaped attack formation.
Charge bonus, melee attack
Acceleration, melee defence
Attributes
- Hide (forest)
This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Transport- Very poor hull strength
- Very slow speed
- Weak ramming
- Average attack
- Weak defence
- Low damage but average armour penetration
- Poor morale
Faction Availability | |
---|---|
Grand Campaign | |
Samnite Wars | |
Hannibal at the Gates |