Saba Spear Infantry

Desert 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 Desert Spearmen

Main Unit Key dk_saba_desert_spearmen

Land Unit Key dk_saba_desert_spearmen

Naval Unit Key pel_transport

Soldiers 160

Category Melee Infantry

Class Spear Infantry

Custom Battle Cost 230

Recruitment Cost 230

Upkeep Cost 45

Melee Attack 16

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

No Ability

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 slow speed
• Weak ramming

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

Requires Buildings
Lv. 0	Infantry Camp (dk_all_military_infantry_1) Level 0 Infantry Tents (dk_all_military_infantry_2) Level 1 Infantry Quarters (dk_all_military_infantry_3) Level 2 Royal Barracks (dk_all_military_infantry_4) Level 3

Garrison Buildings
x 2	Small City (dk_all_city_1) Level 0 City (dk_all_city_2) Level 1 Large City (dk_all_city_3) Level 2 Royal City (dk_all_city_4) Level 3 Garrison Settlement (dk_minor_settlement_garrison_2) Level 1 Garrison Town (dk_minor_settlement_garrison_3) Level 2 Garrison Large Town (dk_minor_settlement_garrison_4) Level 3

Faction Availability
Grand Campaign	Saba Sabaean Tribal Council Sabaean Secessionists