Karas Viras (Baltic Light Spearmen)

Zemjones (Baltic Light Spearmen)
Zemjones (Baltic Light Spearmen)
Primary Weapon	Type: spear Attack: 6 Charge: 6 Lethality: 1 Range: 47.3 Ammo: 3 Attributes: Thrown before charge, Thrown missile
Secondary Weapon	Type: spear Attack: 13 Charge: 6 Lethality:0.15 Attributes: light spear
Defence	Armour: 2 Shield: 3 Skill: 10
Recruitment	Soldiers: 60 Cost: 1113 Upkeep: 278 Turns: 1
Mental	Morale: 9 Discipline: normal Training: trained
Other	Hit Points: 1 Mass: 1.1 Attributes: Can board ships, Improved hiding in forest, Hardy, Mercenary Formation: square Side/Back spacing: 1.0/1.2 Mount effects: elephant -3 Ownership: Aedui, Arche Seleukeia, Arverni, As'Sab'yn wal'Jau, Baktria, Casse, Epeiros, Getai, Hayasdan, Iberia, Koinon Hellenon, Makedonia, Pahlav, Pontos, Ptolemaioi, Safot Softim biKarthadast, Saka, Sauromatae, Senatvs Popvlvsqve Romanvs, Swebozez, Eleutheroi

Baltic Light Spearmen are fierce warriors of the Baltic who use spear and shield to defend their land with honor.

Description

Źhemjones (ZhEM-jo-nes, "Those of the Land")

By 3rd century BC, the Proto-Baltic tribes inhabiting forest of eastern Europe already divided themselves into West and East Balts. There were already significant cultural differences between the two. The western ones came in contact with more civilized people of Europe and had settled and begun excavating amber, the Gold of Baltic. This combination set them apart from their eastern kindred, who are believed to have remained semi-nomadic, with rare and scattered settlements on hills. Mixed with Finno-Ugric tribes of the North, they traded textiles and products of forest with Skythians and Sarmatians. Even when roman traders arrive in these lands 300 years later, they noted a difference between the civilized Austjōs (Aestii), living on the coast, and nomadic Fennōs (Finns/Saami), living in the forest.

Some tribes of the East Balts built fortified settlements on hills within the forests. A settlement of this type was often called a gordos (such as those placenames with suffix '-grad') and would have had a warrior class known as 'Yeomen' (Zemjones), who were dedicated to defending those settlements and attacking others. They would have been armed with shields, spears as well as javelins made of fire-hardened wood or with bone-tip, since East Balts did not have great access to iron at the time.

Usage

Good and cheap spearmen useful only for garrison duties or as auxiliary units in an army. These are useful against light or even medium cavalry as well as holding the line due to their good formation but due to their low morale and lack of armor, one must not expect them to defend against heavy odds. They are also weak against lethal units such as swordsmen and axemen.

Karas Viras AOR