Raiding Hemiolia - Mercenary Arabian Spearmen
These swift, manoeuvrable ships are a useful scouting force for any admiral.The desert kills the weak; it does not train the living to be soldiers.
The 'one-and-a-half' or 'hemiolia' was a light galley which was much favoured by pirates in the ancient world. It developed from the bireme, a ship that had two full decks of oars along its entire length. The hemiola reduced the number of oars on the upper level, leaving roughly half the number of oars and rowers in the midship section. The smaller number of rowers had little effect on overall speed because the laden weight of the vessel also dropped. Because it used both oars and sails, and the crew could rapidly change propulsion method, it was an ideal vessel for chasing down fat, wealthy merchant ships. Boarding attacks were mounted from hemiolas; ramming was not a useful tactic as loot ended up with the fish rather than enriching the pirates! The speed and handiness of hemiolas made them useful as scouts, supply boats and vessels used to pick off damaged enemies at the edge of battles.
(Mercenary Arabian Spearmen)
The Arabian peninsula was not a state, but a land occupied by inter-related tribes and powerful families. The nomadic Bedouin raised sheep and traded goods across the desert, while farmers were settled around the oases. The camel helped the nomadic tribes to grow in power, and the variety of tribes produced many different fighting styles but infantry remained important in Arab armies. Unarmoured slingers were fast and effective skirmishers, and Arabs also prided themselves on their close-combat skills. Traditionally, they fought as raiders looking for loot rather than conquest. Raids or 'razzias' brought honour to victorious warriors, as well as livestock and goods for their tribes. Conflicts were usually small in scale and casualties were largely avoided as a fighting retreat in the face of great odds was not considered shameful. After the conquest of Egypt, Rome had to cross the Arabian Peninsula in order to secure the lucrative trade with India, but the Romans never fully conquered the desert or the desert peoples.
Unit Name Raiding Hemiolia - Mercenary Arabian Spearmen |
Main Unit Key Mer_Ara_Raider |
Land Unit Key Mer_Ara_Spear |
Naval Unit Key persian_one_halfer |
Soldiers 80 |
Category Medium Ship |
Class Missile Ship |
Custom Battle Cost 320 |
Recruitment Cost 320 |
Upkeep Cost 140 |
459 |
└ Ship persian_one_halfer |
Ship Speed 6 |
Melee Attack 16 |
29 |
├ Melee Weapon rome_spear |
├ Melee Damage Base 19 |
├ Melee Damage Ap 10 |
├ Armour Piercing No |
├ Bonus vs. Large 15 |
├ Bonus vs Elephants 16 |
└ Bonus vs Infantry 0 |
Charge Bonus 11 |
67 |
├ Base Defence 30 |
├ Shield oval |
└ Shield Defence 37 |
60 |
├ Armour cloth |
├ Armour Defence 27 |
└ Shield Armour 33 |
65 |
├ Man Entity rome_infantry_medium |
├ Man Health 55 |
└ Bonus Hit Points 10 |
Base Morale 30 |
Abilities
Raiding Hemiolia- Row Hard 10
Increases speed for 10 strokes.
Ship speed
- Frenzied Charge
Increases the effectiveness of the unit's charge for an extended period. The unit will suffer a large fatigue penalty after the charge is over.
Charge speed, charge damage, acceleration
Melee defence, fatigue
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
Raiding Hemiolia- Very poor hull strength
- Light crew
- Very fast speed
- Weak ramming
- Very poor boarding
- Poor missile combat
- Average defensive unit
- Low damage but average armour penetration
- Weak attack
- Poor morale
Faction Mercenaries Pool
Mercenaries Pool | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Pool | Faction | Initial Unit Count | Chance To Replenish | Max Replenish Per Turn | Max Count |
1 | rom_faction_pool_naval_arabians | 1 | 0.15 | 1 | 1 |