Hasham Guards
"Allah guarantees that He will admit the Muslim fighter into Paradise if he is killed, otherwise He will return him to his home safely with rewards and booty."
— Hadith Bukhari
In game[edit | edit source]
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Moorish light melee unique unit, has lower armour but better speed than Swordsmen.
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| Prereq: | Build time | HP | LOS | Attack | Attack speed | Movement speed |
Upgrade of | Upgrades to |
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10s (150t) |
120 | 8 | 18 | 1.9s (28t) |
35 |
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| Cost | Created from | Armour | Weapon range | Specialty | ||||
| Base | Ramp | Pop | ||||||
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1 | 
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1 | Melee |
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Overall strategy[edit | edit source]
Hasham Guards are the first tier of unique sword units received by the Moors. Although practically naked as far as armour goes, they however have three special traits: like most Arab units, they compensate for their lower armour with added speed and attack. As a result, Hasham Guards are best used as flankers and raiders — a quick match-up with the Christian swordsmen, and the Hasham Infantry will be routed in the end. Their speed and attack, however, make them useful as a shock force against infantry, although it is to be noted that by the Castle Age, your opponent may have erected towers and such to defend his outposts. This however should not pose problems for a determined assault, either by infiltration tactics or by acting as a forlorn hope for the main body of your army — being capable of marching on the double quick, they should easily rip apart enemy archers without pause.
A good tactic is to mix in Hasham Infantry with Spear Sergeants, thus increasing their durability and flexibility, alongside with your hard-hitting Jinetes and Composite Bow infantry. Jinetes and Composite Bowmen can provide some very strong hitting power, while the Spear Sergeants and Hasham Infantry can be used as your own counter-melee force, while the Hasham Infantry can be used to charge and eliminate enemy crossbowmen should they be of a problem. The only enemy that the Moors might have problems against might be the archer-heavy Asian civilisations, such as Japan and Mongolia which field some pretty devastating elite cavalry archer units.
Unit summary[edit | edit source]
- Cross-Border Raiding — Hasham Guards are best used as flankers and raiders, and if needed, the frontline skirmishers of your main force.
- Never Alone — Hasham Guards are best used as part of a combined-arms force - do not let them be ridden down by cavalry.
See also[edit | edit source]
History[edit | edit source]
The first few centuries of the post-Roman era were highly turbulent times for many communities throughout Europe, which often found themselves at the mercy of several different enemies, and it was thus natural that sooner or later a body of chosen men would be required to supply the strong arms which was needed to ensure survival. Unlike common conscripted levies which were called up only for a single campaign, militias were fulltime, semi-professional armed men who were supposed to be ready for combat at all times, even in peace. The most famous of these institutions was the Anglo-Saxon fyrd, which was first introduced by Alfred the Great, and which continued to survive in some form or the other well throughout the Mediaeval Era.
