Saba Melee Ship

Assault Hexeres - Noble Swordsmen

These magnificent ships are both intimidating and extremely dangerous.

The sword settles many arguments in the desert.

As centuries passed, naval tactics and needs changed across the Mediterranean. There was a move towards larger ships, partly as an expression of national or dynastic power: the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt were particularly fond of large ships to show their wealth and influence in a physical way. These 'polyremes', a term meaning many oared, were not suitable for ramming work in battle. In practice many of them had no more oars than smaller ships; what they had were more rowers per oar than smaller ships. A Roman hexareme or Greek hexeres would have a couple of banks of oars with three men per oar, and appear to be an over-sized version of a smaller ship. Even so, thanks to being tremendously heavy and strongly constructed, they were slow moving, and hardly capable of the quick turns needed to take advantage of enemy mistakes. Instead the large ships made use of their wide decks and plentiful carrying capacities and became fighting platforms for infantry and artillery. Boarding or long-range bombardment were the methods to be used to defeat the enemy; naval warfare had come full circle in terms of fighting methods, even if ships had grown significantly.

(Noble Swordsmen)
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

Assault Hexeres

• Row Hard 30
  Increases speed for 30 strokes.
  Ship speed

Noble Swordsmen

• Shieldwall
  The unit moves into a close formation and raises shields.
  Armour strength, bracing, melee defence, shield strength
  Limited speed

Attributes

• Encourage
  This unit provides a morale bonus to nearby allies.
• 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

Assault Hexeres

• Very good hull strength
• Heavy crew
• Slow speed
• Strong ramming
• Very good boarding

Noble Swordsmen

• Very good attack
• Average defence
• Average damage but low armour penetration
• Good morale

Saba Units
General (5)
1.Noble Swordsmen
2.Ma'rib Camel Cataphracts
3.Ma'rib Royal Guard
4.Royal Camel Archers
5.Royal Ma'rib Cavalry
Melee Infantry (4)
6.Noble Swordsmen
7.Desert Levy
8.Mercenary Maas Gat Marauders
9.Sabaean Swordsmen
Missile Infantry (4)
10.Levy Skirmishers
11.Slingers
12.Tribes People
13.Sabaean Archers
Spear Infantry (5)
14.Caravan Guard
15.Desert Spearmen
16.Ma'rib Royal Guard
17.Mercenary Ma'rib Guard
18.Sabaean Spearmen
Melee Cavalry (6)
19.Camel Spearmen
20.Arabian Cavalry
21.Desert Cavalry
22.Armoured Camel Spearmen
23.Mercenary Himyar Cavalry
24.Royal Ma'rib Cavalry
Missile Cavalry (2)
25.Camel Archers
26.Royal Camel Archers
Shock Cavalry (4)
27.Desert Heavy Lancers
28.Camel Lancers
29.Ma'rib Camel Cataphracts
30.Sabaean Camel Cataphracts
Chariot (1)
31.Desert Chariots
Fixed Artillery (3)
32.Eastern Giant Ballista
33.Eastern Bastion Scorpion
34.Eastern Scorpion (Fixed)
Field Artillery (6)
35.Eastern Bastion Ballista
36.Eastern Ballista
37.Eastern Scorpion
38.Eastern Large Onager
39.Eastern Bastion Onager
40.Eastern Onager
Admiral (2)
41.Assault Hexeres - Noble Swordsmen
42.Tower Penteres - Sabaean Archers
Melee Ship (3)
43.Fire Pot Dieres - Desert Spearmen
44.Assault Dieres - Desert Spearmen
45.Assault Hexeres - Noble Swordsmen
Missile Ship (7)
46.Missile Trieres - Levy Skirmishers
47.Scorpion Trieres - Levy Skirmishers
48.Raiding Hemiolia - Tribes People
49.Pursuit Trihemiolia - Tribes People
50.Scorpion Penteres - Sabaean Archers
51.Tower Penteres - Sabaean Archers
52.Missile Penteres - Sabaean Archers
Artillery Ship (2)
53.Light Artillery Penteres - Eastern Ballista (Ship)
54.Artillery Penteres - Eastern Onager (Ship)