Blemmyes

In game

Blemmyes — Vital statistics
	Cheap but weak light melee mercenary infantry, can run very fast and is meant for use against heavy infantry. Strong versus heavy infantry, Weak versus cavalry, archers, buildings, ships
Prereq:	Build time	HP	LOS	Attack	Attack speed	Movement speed	Upgrades to
	8s (120t)	145	8	19	2.2s (33t)	17
Cost			Created from	Armour	Weapon range	Specialty
Base	Ramp	Pop
: 30; : 20	: 6	1		4	Melee	Strong versus most units, especially infantry. Deals negligible damage against vehicles and structures.

Overall strategy

The apparent nakedness of these units, save for their rawhide bucklers, belie their deadliness — they are highly effective at close range against heavy infantry, particularly mid-tier ones, owing to the nature of their clubs and maces which provide for them some degree of anti-armour capability — not to mention mobility against more heavily armed but encumbered opponents.

As a result, these units can be very useful in the field, especially against more initially advanced factions (in particular, the Hittites or the Achaeans) but one should always be wary of missile units, especially ranged cavalry, as they are often too fast to be countered effectively by Arab Mercenary Clubmen. As a result, these units are often best used in Arab fashion — and that is in short-ranged, cross-border attacks, especially if the map is small or congested to provide for multiple targets.

Unit summary

See also

• Arab Mercenary Skirmishers
• Mercenary Camel Archers
• Mercenary Camel Cavalry

Notes

This unit was formerly named "Nuba Clubmen" by Hong. Seeing that the Nuba were forever ensconced in the hills to the south it's safe to say that they played little in the Meroitic or Nobatian armies.

History

Clubs are probably one of the earliest weapons, because our ancestors could simply pick up a stick and use it as a weapon. Early troops that used these weapons were effective and needed minimum training. The use of clubs or maces as weapons is as old as humanity itself, and it was one of the first weapons to be developed — specifically for fighting and killing human opponents, otherwise it was too slow and cumbersome to hunt game.  The first soldiers were local people called up for military duty in times of urgency. These temporary soldiers were commonly armed with any weapon used for hunting game and other wildlife. A common development of these weapons were wooden spears and large pieces of wood or bone. These tools were easily made since they could be crafted very easily and were an extension of weapons already used for hunting and gathering.