Dromedaries

"I had ridden fourteen hundred miles by camel, not sparing myself anything to advance the war."

— T E Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom (Cap LVI)

In game

Dromedaries — Vital statistics
	Intermediate-level unique ranged cavalry unit, combining the range and rate of fire of horse archers with the strength and toughness of horse javelin units, with a defensive bonus versus melee cavalry. Strong versus melee infantry and melee cavalry Weak versus missile cavalry, missile infantry
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Movement speed	Upgrade of	Upgrades to
[2];	15s (225t)	95	9	15	1.67s (25t)	36
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
: 60; : 40	: 1; : 1	1		1	0–8	Can attack units whilst pursuing.

Overall strategy

Dromedaries are the intermediate level of the Saracen ranged cavalry line, and combines the range and rate of fire of horse archers with the strength and toughness of horse javelin units. Sadly, the Dromedary is only very scantily armoured, and so can be easily destroyed if faced with a hail of archery or walls of spearpoints.

Nevertheless, the hardy disposition of the Dromedary makes it an ideal unit for raiding, as its fairly high level of hitpoints means that it can be used for frontline skirmishing prior to the arrival of your own forces. The light armour and increased rate of fire of the Dromedary should be able to allow it to participate in some border skirmishes until the bulk of your army is finally in place.

Unit summary

• They Came...From Behind — Because of their slow speed and poor range, Javelin Cavalry are best used for sneak attacks from behind or from the flanks.
• Riding Like Hell — Because of their decent armour and the sheer power of their javelins, javelin cavalry are highly effective counters for heavy cavalry and crossbow infantry, despite their slower speed and worse range.
• Over-Counter Cavalry — Javelin cavalry are high effective against slow-moving or slow-firing units, but light cavalry and archers can easily kill them.
• Iberian Rider — Moorish Iberian Riders, despite having less armour and hitpoints than normal Javelin Cavalry, are even speedier, making them very lethal especially as a counter-cavalry unit.
• Uchelwr —— Uchelwr and the Teulu, which not only have beter armour and resistance, but are cloaked except when attacking, and so are very useful for infiltration and surprise attacks.

History

Deserts are harsh environments to fight in, and the heat and relative paucity of resources meant that for centuries, the nomadic Arabs would seldom muster massive infantry armies for battle. All that changed with the coming of Islam. By uniting the Arab tribes through diplomacy and conquest, Islam eventually changed the way Arab armies fought in the field. Previously, they had relied heavily upon cavalry raids and massed archery, but with the Rashidun, there came a new reliance on massed infantry. The new religion of Islam, with its emphasis on calm and faith in the face of adversity, certainly helped to not only switch the focus of individuals on their tribe away to that of the ummah or universal brotherhood, but it also lent much towards an inclination towards discipline and esprit de corps that later on surprised the Byzantines who had hitherto looked down on the Arabs as cowardly desert raiders.