Stable

Scout
	Cost - 100F First Available - Tool Age Speed - Fast
An important innovation in military tactics was the provision of skirmish, or light, troops that scouted ahead of the main body when an army was on the move. While it was important to form solid, disciplined ranks of spearmen or other infantry for the shock of hand-to-hand combat, these dense formations were vulnerable to surprise. It was the function of scouts to keep the army commander informed of the tactical situation and locate enemies so the main body was brought into combat at the right place and time. At the Battle of Kadesh in 1275 BC, Rameses II of Egypt did not investigate reports that the Hittite army was far to the north. Instead he advanced one of his four divisions across the Orontes River and was attacked while his second was still crossing. Rameses managed to win the battle, but the lack of proper scouting put his army in jeopardy.

Chariot
	Cost - 40F 60W First Available - Bronze Age Speed - Fast Technology Required - Wheel Special - High resistance to conversion; triple attack vs. Priest
Chariots originated in Sumeria before 2500 BC as four-wheeled carts pulled by onagers. These chariots were slow and cumbersome compared to later chariots, but provided a protected platform for spearmen and archers. How they were used in combat remains unclear, although all charging animals were intimidating on the battlefield. At this time the horse was not widely domesticated in the civilized parts of the world. In the first half of the second millennium BC, the chariot basket was reduced in size and mounted on only two wheels. Horses were substituted eventually to provide greater speed. The fast two-wheeled chariot was especially intimidating in battle because of its speed and the shock value of charging horses. At this time horses were rarely being ridden. Charioteers became the elite of the civilized armies for the next 600 or so years. Chariots were often manned by the nobility because of their elite status, the glory to be won, and the high cost of building and maintaining chariots and their horse teams.

Cavalry
	Cost - 70F 80G First Available - Bronze Age Speed - Fast
Horses were domesticated around 4000 BC for use as work animals. They first appeared in the Middle East around 2000 BC but were kept only as expensive pets. Gradually they were found useful in the civilized world as draft animals, but were rarely ridden. The concept of cavalry was introduced to the Assyrians from the plains of Russia during the dark age that followed the catastrophe of 1200 BC. The Assyrians added cavalry to their armies in order to fight the barbarians on the plains to their north. Israelite king Solomon was renowned for his large cavalry force. It eventually became clear that cavalry was more efficient than chariots. Two men, each on his own horse, were more useful than two men in a chariot that could be disabled with increasing ease. Cavalry was cheaper to maintain than chariotry and could enter more difficult terrain, but was no less fast and intimidating to infantry.

Heavy Cavalry
	Cost - 70F 80G First Available - Iron Age Speed - Fast
Heavy cavalry was distinguished from other cavalry by equipment and battlefield role. It was considered heavy because the warriors and horses usually wore some metal armor, including breastplates, helmets, and greaves. The horses were also oversized to more easily carry an armored man and to intimidate foes. While most cavalry acted as skirmishers and scouts on the battlefield, heavy cavalry was a shock weapon, held back for the proper moment to charge into enemy formations and ride them down. Heavy cavalry was rare in antiquity because the saddle and stirrup had not yet been invented. It took an exceptional rider to ride into a shock battle and use a lance effectively. The most famous heavy cavalry of the time was the Companion cavalry of Alexander the Great. These men were horsemen from birth on the plains of Thessaly and Macedon. Part of their devastating success in battle against the Persians may have been due to the novelty of their wedge-shaped charges, unprecedented at that time.

Cataphract
	Cost - 70F 80G First Available - Iron Age Speed - Fast Techology Required - Metallurgy
The cataphract was an improvement on ancient heavy cavalry represented by Alexander the Great�s Companions. The Companions wore only helmets, greaves, and cuirass (breastplate). Cataphracts wore chain mail that covered more of the body and often armored their horses partially also. This gave greater protection against arrows and hand-to-hand weapons. Cataphracts were very expensive to equip, however, and appeared in the armies of only the most warlike and wealthy cultures.

War Elephant
	Cost - 170F 40G First Available - Iron Age Speed - Slow Special - Trample
Elephants were tamed in antiquity but never domesticated. They were most useful as beasts of burden, but were employed in battle by several cultures, including the Phoenicians, Persians, and Indians. Elephants were much more intimidating than horses and much tougher as well. In addition, horses avoided elephants, making elephants, in theory, a great weapon against enemy cavalry. In practice, unfortunately, elephants rarely proved useful. They were difficult to acquire, train, and maintain. Hannibal attempted to take elephants across the Alps to attack Rome, but only one survived. No account of Alexander the Great's battles makes any mention of Persian elephants being effective. Elephants were difficult to control in battle and were likely to charge in any direction but the one desired, especially after being wounded. They were apparently more dangerous to friend than foe, being already nearer to friends and most likely to charge away from perceived danger through the friendly army arrayed around them.

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