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HomeHome / Divide et Impera / Ardiaei / Units / Trieres - Illyrioi Epibatoi
Trieres - Illyrioi Epibatoi ArdiaeiArdiaei Melee Ship

Trieres - Illyrioi Epibatoi

A trireme is a 37 meter long oared warship (galley) with three decks of oars, developed from the bireme in the 5th century BCE. Popular with Carthaginian, Greek and Roman navies, this is the main warship of the classical age.

(Illyrian Corsairs)

Bloodthirsty men that have taken to piracy in order to fill their coffers.

Of all the warships found in the ancient world, it is the trireme, or trieres, that remains the most famous and recognisable. Nearly all Hollywood 'sword and sandal' movies will include a trireme somewhere. The vessel was entirely designed for war. Its name came from the three rows of oars carried on each side, stacked above each other in staggered columns to give the rowers some room to work. The top row of oars pivoted on a rowlock, or oarlock, mounted on an outrigger projecting from the hull. This allowed the top oars to pitch down at a sharper angle to reach the sea without getting tangled in the lower ones. The trireme was a greyhound of a ship, capable of high-speed dashes with a well-trained crew and, contrary to popular belief, not all rowers were slaves. Aboard Greek vessels they were citizens, and were given respect, not the lash. They were also largely fair-weather ships, and unsuited to rough seas such as the Atlantic; the lowest level of oars were, at most, less than half a metre above the waterline. That, however, did not stop the trireme being a superb weapon against other ships: a high-speed ramming attack could rip a hole in the side of almost any target. The type was also large enough to be used in other ways, which lead to it carrying archers and assorted light artillery pieces.

(Illyrioi Epibatoi)
Although called Illyrians by Greeks and Romans, these seafaring people from the Adriatic coast were actually not a single nation or tribe. The Greeks first had dealings with them during the Bronze Age, and the name was then applied to everyone in the area. The Illyrians were actually several petty, and not-so-petty, kingdoms that warred with each other when not fighting Greeks or their Macedonian neighbours. The Illyrians could not be lightly dismissed as barbarians: under powerful warlords such as Bardyllis, king of the Dardanians, they conquered Macedon and installed a puppet ruler in 393BC. It was Phillip II and Alexander the Great who eventually ended Illyrian interference in their affairs. The Illyrians were also pirates, and terrorised the Adriatic for centuries; this was what eventually prompted their subjugation by the Romans.

Trieres - Illyrioi Epibatoi

Unit Name

Trieres - Illyrioi Epibatoi

Main Unit Key

Bar_Assault_Trireme_Admiral_Illy

Land Unit Key

Bar_Marine_Heavy_Illy

Naval Unit Key

greek_three

Soldiers

80

Category

Medium Ship

Class

Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost

1188

Recruitment Cost

1188

Upkeep Cost

297

Missile Damage

12

├ Missile Weapon

prec2

├ Projectile

prec2

├ Missile Damage

12

├ Missile Ap Damage

0

└ Base Reload Time

10

Accuracy

5

Range

80

Reload

0

Shots Per Minute

6

Ammunition

4

Ship Health

693

└ Ship

greek_three

Ship Speed

4

Melee Attack

27

Weapon Damage

10

├ Melee Weapon

gsword3

├ Weapon Damage

10

├ Weapon Deadliness

0

├ Armour Piercing

No

├ Bonus vs. Cavalry

0

├ Bonus vs. Elephants

0

└ Bonus vs Infantry

0

Charge Bonus

15

Melee Defence

78

├ Base Defence

20

├ Shield

shield6

└ Shield Defence

58

Armour

10

├ Armour

arm5

├ Armour Defence

10

└ Shield Armour

0

Health

23

├ Man Entity

medium_heavy

├ Man Health

20

└ Bonus Hit Points

3

Base Morale

55

Abilities

Trieres
  • Row Hard 10
    Increases speed for 10 strokes.
    Ship speed
Illyrioi Epibatoi
  • Stamina (average)
    Governs how fast the unit tires and restores fatigue, and is dependent on type of unit, weight and approach to combat.

Attributes

  • Hide (forest)
    This unit can hide in forests until enemy units get too close.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Trieres
  • Poor hull strength
  • Light crew
  • Fast speed
  • Weak ramming
  • Poor boarding
  • Average missile combat
Illyrioi Epibatoi
  • Good attack
  • Average defence
  • Average damage but low armour penetration
  • Normal morale