The Sassanids (Empire Divided) Melee Ship

Fire Pot Dieres - Hamspah Infantry

The waterline ram was first mounted on a vessel in around 850BC. Warships and naval tactics were transformed. Ships were no longer platforms for infantry battles on the water; the ship itself became the weapon. Galleys changed as the new reality sank in. Ramming at speed would hole and sink an enemy, therefore slimmer, faster, handier ships were required. More speed on demand obviously required more oars a fast ship with a single row of oars ended up being stupidly, impractically long. The solution, then, was to put in a second set of oars above the first, but slightly offset to allow for rowers' benches. These biremes, a Latin word meaning 'two oars', or dieres, the Greek equivalent, were no longer than previous designs but had twice the number of rowers. They were fast, manoeuvrable, and could carry a fighting contingent. Some nations also gave their bireme crews fire pots; these clay pots filled with oil and pitch were hurled at enemy ships in the entirely reasonable hope of setting them ablaze.

(Hamspah Infantry)
The Sassanid military was organised into corps, which were groups of divisions; in turn, corps were groups of brigades. Parthia's military legacy was strongly represented in the new Persian army. It relied on heavy, armoured, noble cavalry and light horse archers consisting of lesser nobility and nomadic mercenaries. As ever, tribal peasants made the bulk of the Hamspah or levy infantry. They were used as the rear guard but were next to useless as soldiers due to their crude arms, meagre training and poor motivation, since the best equipment and drill was reserved for the horsemen who could afford it. Whenever the Hamspah were not standing in line as spearmen, the everyday duties of the camp fell to them, such as guarding the baggage.

Unit Name Fire Pot Dieres - Hamspah Infantry

Main Unit Key 3c_Sas_Fire_Pot_Dieres

Land Unit Key 3c_Sas_Hamspah_Infantry

Naval Unit Key 3c_persian_fire_pot_two

Soldiers 60

Category Light Ship

Class Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost 380

Recruitment Cost 380

Upkeep Cost 75

Ship Health 566

└ Ship persian_two

Ship Speed 6

Melee Attack 15

Weapon Damage 34

├ Melee Weapon rome_eastern_sword

├ Melee Damage Base 30

├ Melee Damage Ap 4

├ Armour Piercing No

├ Bonus vs. Large 0

├ Bonus vs Elephants 0

└ Bonus vs Infantry 0

Charge Bonus 15

Melee Defence 20

├ Base Defence 20

├ Shield none

└ Shield Defence 0

Armour 10

├ Armour cloth

├ Armour Defence 10

└ Shield Armour 0

Health 45

├ Man Entity rome_infantry_very_light

├ Man Health 40

└ Bonus Hit Points 5

Base Morale 20

Abilities

• Row Hard 10
  Increases speed for 10 strokes.
  Ship speed

Attributes

• Hide (forest)
  This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.
• Resistant to Heat
  This unit tires less quickly in the desert.

Strengths & Weaknesses

• Very poor hull strength
• Very light crew
• Fast speed
• Very strong initial ramming
• Good boarding

• Good attack
• Average defence
• Average damage but low armour penetration
• Normal morale

Faction Availability
Empire Divided	The Sassanids (Empire Divided) Sassanid Pretenders (Empire Divided) Sassanid Secessionists (Empire Divided)