Libyan Chariots
Heavy Cavalry(0.6.7)Side / Back
Short description
Libyan are mounted missile units that also allow for a powerful charge against the flanks of infantry.
Description
Westward of the river Triton and adjoining upon the Auseans, are other Libyans who till the ground, and live in houses: these people are named the Maxyans. They let the hair grow long on the right side of their heads and shave it close on the left; they besmear their bodies with red paint; and they say that they are descended from the men of Troy. Herodotus - The Histories, Book IV: 184
The chariot has been a staple on the battlefield, but it has not always been the monstrous weapons of Persian tradition. Upon innovation by the Egyptians, a lighter and more manoeuvrable chariot was brought into the fore for any culture. The Libyan chariot is the Carthaginians version of this taking the tradition from the Egyptian chariot style and equipping local Libyans to man them.
Armed with a three man crew, the chariot could have one man firing arrows, one driving, and the third armed with a spear to fight once stationary. Employed by the Carthaginians in their early military history, they would be abandoned once the superior elephants would become a staple of Punic armies. They are currently featured in rebel armies and other non-imperial states.