Kush Missile Ship

Pursuit Trihemiolia - Slave Slingers

Fast, relatively powerful pursuit ships, well able to hunt down pirates and other seagoing scum.

Fighting from range increases a slave's life expectancy considerably.

It is thought that the Rhodians, a significant naval power in the eastern Mediterranean, developed the 'trihemiolia' or 'two-and-a-half' as a vessel for pirate hunting. Given that Rhodes is an island entirely reliant on the sea and shipping this is a believable theory. Pirates used the hemiola, a handy little vessel developed from the dieres or bireme, a ship with two rows of oars; it makes sense that pirate hunters would think of taking a trieres, or trireme, with three rows of oars and modifying it in a similar fashion. A trihemiolia still had three rows of oars on each side, but the top row was reduced to only half the number of oars, positioned midships. The result was a faster, handier vessel that provided a height advantage over a hemiola for any archers on board. There was also a strategic benefit to the Rhodians, who could only draw on the manpower of one island: they could have six trieres warships with full complements of rowers, or seven trihemiolias for the same number of men. The useful design was soon adopted by other maritime powers around the Mediterranean.

(Slave Slingers)
Slavery was widespread in the ancient world. References can be traced back to the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi. The ambitious construction projects of the day, as well as the custom of enslaving war captives, were some of the reasons for the large slave population many states kept at the time. The Greek city-states, for instance, depended heavily on slave labour. Having had all their rights confiscated, slaves were considered the property of their owners and could be sold as such. In Egypt, slaves who worked within the royal households could be executed and laid next to their mummified masters in the burial chamber, to serve them in the afterlife. Slaves were widely-used by the Romans as well. As the Roman Empire expanded, slaves from all over the known world poured into the Apennine Peninsula. The more educated ones became tutors, some were sold into prostitution and some became trained gladiators. Spartacus, one such gladiator of Thracian descent, famously led a bloody revolt in 73BC, threatening Rome itself at one point, before being killed in battle.

Abilities

Pursuit Trihemiolia

• 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

Pursuit Trihemiolia

• Poor hull strength
• Medium crew
• Uncatchable
• Weak ramming
• Poor boarding
• Average missile combat

Slave Slingers

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

Kush Units
General (4)
1.African War Elephants
2.Kushite Royal Guard
3.Royal Kushite Archers
4.Scythed Chariots
Melee Infantry (6)
5.Swordsmen
6.Armoured Shotel Warriors
7.Disciples of Apedemak
8.Kushite Slave Infantry
9.Shotel Warriors
10.Slave Infantry
Missile Infantry (6)
11.Archers
12.Tribesmen
13.Nubian Bowmen
14.Kushite Archers
15.Royal Kushite Archers
16.Slave Slingers
Pike Infantry (1)
17.Kushite Pikes
Spear Infantry (3)
18.Nubian Spearmen
19.Kushite Slave Spearmen
20.Leopard Warriors
Melee Cavalry (4)
21.Aethiopian Cavalry
22.Armoured Desert Cavalry
23.Desert Cavalry
24.Kushite Royal Guard
Chariot (2)
25.Desert Chariots
26.Scythed Chariots
Elephant (2)
27.African Elephants
28.African War Elephants
Fixed Artillery (3)
29.African Giant Ballista
30.African Bastion Scorpion
31.African Scorpion (Fixed)
Field Artillery (6)
32.African Bastion Ballista
33.African Ballista
34.African Scorpion
35.African Heavy Onager
36.African Bastion Onager
37.African Onager
Admiral (3)
38.Assault Hexeres - Swordsmen
39.Tower Penteres - Royal Kushite Archers
40.Scorpion Trieres - Archers
Melee Ship (3)
41.Assault Hexeres - Swordsmen
42.Fire Pot Dieres - Nubian Spearmen
43.Assault Dieres - Nubian Spearmen
Missile Ship (6)
44.Tower Penteres - Royal Kushite Archers
45.Missile Penteres - Kushite Archers
46.Scorpion Trieres - Archers
47.Missile Trieres - Archers
48.Raiding Hemiolia - Slave Slingers
49.Pursuit Trihemiolia - Slave Slingers
Artillery Ship (2)
50.Light Artillery Penteres - African Ballista (Ship)
51.Artillery Penteres - African Onager (Ship)