Tarantine Cavalry

Recruitment Cost 560
Upkeep Cost 110
Missile Damage 32
Range 80
Shots Per Minute 8
Ammunition 7
Melee Attack 18
Weapon Damage 24
Charge Bonus 11
Melee Defence 36
Armour 60
Health 80
Base Morale 50
Strengths & Weaknesses
  • Short range
  • Fast rate of fire
  • Fast moving
  • Very good damage and armour penetration
  • Large shield
  • Very weak in melee
  • Poor morale
Description

Taranto, in Magna Graecia, has a rich history. Founded in 706BC as Taras, it began as the home of the Partheniae, Spartans exiled due to their impure bloodlines. Fortunately, the colony was able to breed superb warhorses, and so its warriors duly grew in reputation. Tarantine cavalry could be combined well with a slow-moving phalanx, providing a rapid and flexible defensive screen for the hoplites’ exposed flanks. Their suitability for such a role, in addition to a growing need for mercenaries in the armies of the Hellenistic world, saw that the Tarantines were much sought after. By the 3rd century BC there was some evidence to suggest that they no longer came exclusively from Taranto itself, the word 'Tarantine' referring more to the unit’s tactics and weaponry rather than its geographic origins.