Nabataea (Empire Divided) Melee Ship

Assault Dieres - Arabian Spearmen

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.

(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 among the tribes produced many different fighting styles, but infantry nevertheless remained important in Arab armies. Although 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 the victors, as well as the spoils of 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 Assault Dieres - Arabian Spearmen

Main Unit Key 3c_Ara_Assault_Dieres

Land Unit Key 3c_Ara_Arabian_Spearmen

Naval Unit Key 3c_persian_two

Soldiers 60

Category Light Ship

Class Melee Ship

Custom Battle Cost 310

Recruitment Cost 310

Upkeep Cost 60

Ship Health 566

└ Ship persian_two

Ship Speed 6

Melee Attack 13

Weapon Damage 25

├ Melee Weapon rome_spear

├ Melee Damage Base 20

├ Melee Damage Ap 5

├ Armour Piercing No

├ Bonus vs. Large 20

├ Bonus vs Elephants 20

└ Bonus vs Infantry 0

Charge Bonus 11

Melee Defence 49

├ Base Defence 24

├ Shield oval

└ Shield Defence 25

Armour 45

├ Armour cloth

├ Armour Defence 10

└ Shield Armour 35

Health 45

├ Man Entity rome_infantry_medium

├ Man Health 40

└ Bonus Hit Points 5

Base Morale 30

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
• Weak ramming
• Good boarding

• Average defensive unit
• Low damage but average armour penetration
• Weak attack
• Poor morale

Requires Buildings

Lv. 0

Port (3c_east_port_1) Level 0 Fishing Port (3c_east_port_fish_2) Level 1 Fishmongers' Lane (3c_east_port_fish_3) Level 2 Seafood Market (3c_east_port_fish_4) Level 3 Military Pier (3c_east_port_military_2) Level 1 Naval Yard (3c_east_port_military_3) Level 2 Drydock (3c_east_port_military_4) Level 3 Harbour (3c_east_port_trade_2) Level 1 Trading Port (3c_east_port_trade_3) Level 2 Seaside Market (3c_east_port_trade_4) Level 3

Garrison Buildings
x 1	Military Pier (3c_east_port_military_2) Level 1

Faction Availability
Empire Divided	Gerrhea (Empire Divided) Lakhmids (Empire Divided) Ma'In (Empire Divided) Nabataea (Empire Divided) Arabian Rebels (Empire Divided)