<?xml version="1.0" ?><?encoding UTF-16?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="../xsl/unit.xsl"?><unit><full_name>steppe missile cavalry saka riders</full_name><dictionary>steppe_missile_cavalry_saka_riders</dictionary><category>cavalry</category><class>missile</class><voice_type>General_1</voice_type><soldier><name>steppe_cavalry_aorsinobles_sakariders</name><soldiers>25</soldiers><extras>0</extras><mass>1</mass></soldier><officers><officer1>ebofficer_dracones</officer1></officers><mount>medium horse</mount><mount_effect>chariot +3</mount_effect><attributes>sea_faring, hide_forest, very_hardy, cantabrian_circle, mercenary_unit</attributes><formation><side_spacing>2.5</side_spacing><front_spacing>4</front_spacing><loose_side_spacing>5</loose_side_spacing><loose_front_spacing>6</loose_front_spacing><ranks>5</ranks><formations>square</formations></formation><stat_health><hit_points>1</hit_points><animal_hit_points>2</animal_hit_points></stat_health><stat_pri><attack>5</attack><charge>27</charge><missile_type>arrow</missile_type><range>198</range><ammo>30</ammo><weapon_type>missile</weapon_type><tech_type>archery</tech_type><dammage_type>piercing</dammage_type><sound>none</sound><min_delay>15</min_delay><lethality>1</lethality></stat_pri><stat_pri_attr>no</stat_pri_attr><stat_sec><attack>8</attack><charge>27</charge><missile_type>no</missile_type><range>0</range><ammo>0</ammo><weapon_type>melee</weapon_type><tech_type>simple</tech_type><dammage_type>piercing</dammage_type><sound>spear</sound><min_delay>0</min_delay><lethality>0.15</lethality></stat_sec><stat_sec_attr>no</stat_sec_attr><stat_pri_armour><armour>3</armour><def_skill>10</def_skill><shield>2</shield><sound>leather</sound></stat_pri_armour><stat_sec_armour><armour>0</armour><def_skill>0</def_skill><sound>flesh</sound></stat_sec_armour><stat_heat>1</stat_heat><stat_ground><scrub>0</scrub><sand>0</sand><forest>-3</forest><snow>0</snow></stat_ground><stat_mental><morale>11</morale><discipline>disciplined</discipline><training>trained</training></stat_mental><stat_fire_delay>0</stat_fire_delay><stat_food>60, 300</stat_food><stat_cost><turns>1</turns><cost>1648</cost><upkeep>412</upkeep><upgrade_weapon>80</upgrade_weapon><upgrade_armour>100</upgrade_armour><custom_battle>1648</custom_battle></stat_cost><ownership>pontus, slave</ownership><description><name>Assa-Barai (Saka Riders)</name><short>Protected by leather armour and a wickerwork shield, these Saka Riders can fare reasonably well against other lightly-armoured units but are still more suited to harassing the enemy at long range.</short><long>Superior
Disciplined
Hardy
Can Form Cantabrian Circle

These Saka Riders carry a larger version of the "Skythian" recurved composite bow, one in a transitional stage, as their primary weapon and a spear as a secondary weapon. In addition, they are armed with leather armour and wickerwork shields, being slightly better armed than the majority of the tribesmen; still, these riders are light cavalry and, as such, are best employed as the majority of tribesmen are - that of harassing the enemy at long range with their powerful recurved composite bows, with the effect of demoralizing as well as decimating a considerable amount of enemy soldiers. Due to their extra defenses, they can be expected to hold their own against the lightly-armoured cavalrymen of settled peoples and will rout any light missile infantry that are foolish enough to engage them in melee combat.

Historically, horse archers with little to no armour formed the majority of pastoral nomad confederacies such as those of the Saka Rauka, and their mobility due to their light armour had always been their greatest asset in confrontation against slower armies, like the largely infantry armies of settled peoples. Methods of attack employed by these highly mobile light cavalrymen usually revolved showering the enemy with arrows at long-range with a demoralizing effect on the enemy or drawing certain contingents of the enemy into ambushes by feigned retreats and the such; when victory in a field battle could not be achieved, by virtue of their mobility, the nomads would go behind enemy lines and continually harass and attack their supply lines until the enemy yielded.
With such armies, the Saka nomads were able to relentlessly devastate the bordering lands of the settled peoples, such as the frontier region of the trans-Jaxartes during the Achaimenid, Alexandrian, Seleukid, and Graeco-Baktrian periods. Arrian states that when Alexander was fighting outlaws of the Saka Haomavarga at the trans-Jaxartes frontier, a missile from a catapult struck a Saka warrior armed with a corselet and a shield; such a warrior probably belonged to a tribal clan slightly wealthier than most others but probably still functioned like a lightly-armoured cavalryman. Additionally, wooden shields have been found at the Pazyryk burials in the Altai. Probably such warriors existed among the Saka Rauka as well.</long></description></unit>