| Dorkim Afrikanim Aloophim (Elite African Infantry) | |
|---|---|
| |
| Unit type | Sword Infantry |
| Base cost | 20  Food, 40  Wealth,
10 |
| Ramping cost | 8 Wealth
|
| Creation time | 6 seconds |
| Hit points | 190 |
| Line of sight | 8 |
| Movement speed | 27 |
| Attack strength | 17 |
| Attack range | 0-0 |
| Armour | 16 |
| Population cost | 
|
| Created at | Barracks Fortified Barracks |
| Prerequisites | Level 2 Reforms |
| Upgrades from | none |
| Upgrades to | none |
| Available to |  
|
Essentially an African legionaire - he is armoured in Greek fashion but carries a sword and is intended to copy the Roman style of combat.
History
As the might of Rome eventually became manifest, there was a conscious attempt by many of the other Mediterranean powers to copy and replicate Roman methods of warfare. The Greek ways of hoplon and sarissa were eventually phased out in favour of the use of swords and heavy shields for heavy infantry — which were in turn Roman attempts to replicate Celtic and Spanish ways of warfare. The impetus in Carthage to do so was particularly strong after the crushing losses of the First Punic War. It was recognised by Carthage that rather than segregate the military for political reasons, it was more expedient to simply recruit the locals into as many positions as befitting circumstances. Of course, the officer cadre remained mostly Punic, but recruitment for most units was now opened to any and all Carthaginian subject peoples.
A similar experiment, training heavy infantrymen to use shortswords and shields in the Roman fashion as was done by the Carthaginians, was also copied later by the Numidian king Jugurtha following the Second Punic War. These units must somehow performed admirably, since the Romans could not defeat neither Hannibal nor Jugurtha in open combat, instead having to rely on guerilla tactics and scorched earth in Italy, as well as outright treachery by coaxing Jugurtha's ally, Bocchus, to betray him during the so-called Jugurthine War in Numidia. Beyond that little else is known of them to us today, beyond what the authors Suetonius and Tacitus have passed down to us.