Nabataea (Empire Divided) Missile Ship

Missile Trieres - Arabian Slingers

A large contingent of archers can make short work of enemy crews.

A single stone could spell doom for the strongest of warriors.

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.

(Arabian Slingers)
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.

Abilities

Missile Trieres

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

Attributes

• Resistant to Fatigue
  Fatigue has less of an effect on this unit.
• Hide (scrub & forest)
  This unit can hide in scrub and forest until enemy units get too close.
• Resistant to Heat
  This unit tires less quickly in the desert.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Missile Trieres

• Poor hull strength
• Light crew
• Fast speed
• Weak ramming
• Poor boarding
• Average missile combat

Arabian Slingers

• Very long range
• Average rate of fire
• Low damage but average armour penetration
• Very weak in melee
• Very poor morale

Nabataea (Empire Divided) Units
General (2)
1.Arabian Camel Archers
2.Arabian Nobles
Melee Infantry (1)
3.Arabian Swordsmen
Missile Infantry (2)
4.Arabian Javelinmen
5.Arabian Slingers
Spear Infantry (1)
6.Arabian Spearmen
Melee Cavalry (3)
7.Arabian Camel Spearmen
8.Arabian Nobles
9.Arabian Nobles
Missile Cavalry (2)
10.Arabian Camel Archers
11.Arabian Camel Archers
Fixed Artillery (3)
12.African Giant Ballista
13.African Scorpion (Fixed)
14.African Bastion Scorpion
Field Artillery (6)
15.African Ballista
16.African Bastion Ballista
17.African Scorpion
18.African Heavy Onager
19.African Onager
20.African Bastion Onager
Admiral (1)
21.Assault Tetreres - Arabian Swordsmen
Melee Ship (3)
22.Assault Dieres - Arabian Spearmen
23.Assault Tetreres - Arabian Swordsmen
24.Assault Tetreres - Arabian Swordsmen
Missile Ship (2)
25.Raiding Hemiolia - Arabian Javelinmen
26.Missile Trieres - Arabian Slingers