Sabaean archers are a common sight in Sabaean garrisons and large armies.

Sapping Ability

Sabaean archers are a common sight in Sabaean garrisons and large armies. Even though archery is not frowned upon, these men are drawn from the lower urban classes and from the agriculturalists in times of war. They carry nothing but their own clothes and bows to war in addition to a small shield and dagger should they be caught in melee, which any general should try to avoid. Sabaean archers are not renown for their archery even though it is a part of Sabaean life be it a noble or a peasant one, so they should only be counted on to weaken the enemies, not to severely reduce their numbers like the Syrian and Iranian archers can be capable off.

Historically, hunting with bows was a popular sport among the Sabaean nobility and a fact of life among the peasantry. With the advent of large scale defensive fortifications in the eight century BC the use of bow as a defensive weapon probably became fairly common in southern Arabia. Sabaeans though seems not to have had a reputation as good bowmen and archers were most probably used to simply bolster an army’s numbers or for defending walls.