Hippomachoi

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"The Thrakian defenders cut away to left and right, allowing the cavalry through. The lancers tore into the Idonoi warriors, cutting them down. Panic swept through the enemy ranks and they turned and ran back down the pass, pursued by the cavalry."

David Gemmell, Shield of Thunder (cap 31)

In game[edit | edit source]

Sdisnvsb ico.png
Hippomachoi — Vital statistics

Heavy cavalry, with powerful attack, exceptional armour, but far more limited mobility compared to more agile medium cavalry or horse archers.

Prereq: Build time HP LOS Attack Attack speed Movement
speed
Upgrade of
Level 2: Mercenaries Military
16.1s
(245t)
181 6 21 5.9s
(35t)
30

Lancer rkc.png l Lancer rkc.png

Cost Created from Armour Weapon range Specialty
Base Ramp Pop
Metal.png: 40;
Wealth.jpg: 40
Metal.png: 1;
Wealth.jpg: 2
1 Stable.png 4 Melee
  • Bonus damage versus light infantry.
  • Defensive bonus versus Archers

Roundel troy.png

Overall strategy[edit | edit source]

An example of late-game Lydian might, Hippomachoi distinguish themselves as an elite Lancer unit - they replace all Light and Medium Chariots, and mate their tactical strengths with the speed of Lancer cavalry, thus making them highly proficient and dangerous units. Equally, since they are clad in linothorax armour, they often don't have a very high maintenance cost — the Metal costs in their recruitment are decidedly much lower, so you can often choose to recruit these units to do your bidding instead of Lancers.

Unit summary[edit | edit source]

  • Shock and Awe— Heavy cavalrymen are fairly slow, but still fast enough to chase and hunt down lightly-armed infantry, and also are the bane of light or medium cavalry.
  • Shiny Happy People Holding Spears —The main weakness of the Lancer is in being swarmed — or being force-fed into a grinder of spearwalls, such as those at Kontrijk.
  • Scolarios — Byzantine heavy cavalry is known for its armour which is superior to normal lancers. This type of heavy cavalry is also available to factions who historically had interests in the Adriatic and Mainland Greece, such as Venice and and Serbia.
  • Jarl Cavalry — The Danes have recently learnt the benefits of heavy cavalry, and their war-leaders now often ride to battle. Because of the fracticious nature of Danish politics, some of these have become swords for hire, serving whichever faction has their interests at heart...
  • Scara Cavalry — Frankish nobles, often embroiled in petty wars and court intrigues, often make very good heavy cavalrymen. The French have access to the Gallic charger, which is basically a lancer, with better attack and movement speed. Needless to say, the French crown does not necessarily have complete monopoly on these fighting men's skills...
  • Druzhinnik — A Druzhinnik is a heavy cavalryman which replaces the Lancer for Poland and Russia, its signature features being its cost structure which is heavy on metal but light on wealth, and a small mobility bonus.

See also[edit | edit source]

CtW information[edit | edit source]

Horse Archers are a common sight in Magyar armies, where they boost the production of food, making them highly dangerous, alongside the Persians. Taking them out is a must if you can raise sufficient resources, since they can translate excesses of wealth in the Persian stockpile into more food, which in turn means more infantry to block your way.

Notes[edit | edit source]

Trivia[edit | edit source]

This unit is an Athenian mercenary in New World Empires: Alexander.

History[edit | edit source]

The existence of an excellent Lydian cavalry, as late as Croesus’ time, is well founded on historical evidence. Indeed, the reputation of Lydian horsemanship is more ancient and well attested in Greek sources such as Homer, Mimnermus, Bacchylides, and Pindar.

Xanthus of Lydia, transmitted by Nicolaus of Damascus, relates that King Ardys, three generations before Gyges (ca 680-645BCE), ordered a census of the army to be made and the number of the horsemen was found to be around 30,000 even if Xanthus may have transmitted an informed "guesstimate", drawn from the Lydian archives and therefore too high. However, that number is indirectly strengthened by further information, for he reports that, in Gyges’ time, the Smyrnaean poet Magnes sang of the bravery of the Lydians in a cavalry battle against the Amazons. Herodotus’ praise of Lydian horsemanship is entirely focused on Croesus’ time and culminates with a warm eulogy of it. In Herodotus’ narrative, Lydian cavalry plays a key role before the last fight between Croesus and Cyrus (when the Lydian dreamt of horses which ate snakes), during the battle (when the Lydians were defeated because the scent of the camels disturbed their animals21) and soon after it (when they were deprived of war weapons, including their horses).

Archaeological findings do match such an excellent reputation and its results in Lydian culture. Direct evidence for Lydian horsemanship consists of iron bits and bronze bridle attachments from Sardis, the latter being sometimes decorated with Nomadic motifs, probably of Cimmerian or Scythian origin23.More nuanced should be the interpretation of pottery, which may belong to Greek, or Greek-inspired, workshops. The fragments of a seventh-century BCE (third quarter) relief-ware vase, excavated at Sardis in 1914CE, show what should be a magnificent parade of nonarmed riders, separately modelled in gray clay and then applied to the vase itself. While of Greek provenance and not Asian, the vase nevertheless depicts Lydian horsemen all dressed in a short, belted and checkered chiton (possibly a garment of Oriental textiles); the horses, surely of ‘Asiatic’ breed, show heavy chests, broad necks, but long and thin legs.

References[edit | edit source]