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Armenia (Empire Divided) Campaign Tier 5

Enforced Conscription

The real strength of the Sassanid army was, primarily, heavy cavalry and seasoned skirmish troops. The Savaran cavalry were led by the 'great' families of noble Persian and Parthian blood. This mounted corps was also often reinforced by mercenaries. Infantry, by contrast, were not usually held in much regard, with some even referring to the levied Paighan – from which the vast majority of Sassanid infantrymen were drawn – as 'a crowd of pitiable peasants'. These poor quality levies were raised by the aristocracy, conscripted from the lands they owned to act, in most cases, as little more than ‘meat shields’ for the Sassanid advance. This social aristocracy bled quite clearly into the military, and remained as the basis for all military recruitment and conscription until the reforms of Khosrow I, who altered the system so that lesser nobility, primarily farmers and land-owners, could be drawn into the army. This dramatically reduced the aristocracy's power, as the armour and weaponry was provided by the state, meaning the newer forces swore loyalty to the Shahanshah himself, and not his local feudal lords.

Node Set Campaign Tier 5

research_points 800

cost_per_round 0

Effects

• +15% movement range for all armies and fleets
• +1 army recruitment capacity (all provinces)
• +1 fleet recruitment capacity

Requires
Requires Technologies	Enforced Voluntary Service

Enables
Enables Technologies	Nisean Breeders Elevated Noble Houses