Qazi123

Not every where in the empire there were cities for example, when passing Mesopotamia cities become more scarce. Also Herodotus mention many of the original members of the Achaemenids during the reign of cyrus the great were nomadic. Also only the capitals in Persia itself were permanent settlements there were still large amount of nomads. In the east of the empire it was nearly completely nomadic. At least such a system would be required for the Scythians and other Eastern Persian Factions, as they had no permanent settlements.

I have another idea for a feature for Persian factions making them semi-Nomadic, which all of them were actually accept for the Sassanids. This feature would allow Persian factions to create nomadic versions of buildings, the benefit is that they can be packed up and moved. I have created another thread for this feature.

History: Since the time of the Medes and before all Iranic tribes were nomadic or semi-nomadic even when they built grand cities such as Pāsārgād, majority of people remained nomadic. Even today Nomads remain in Iran and of other parts of Greater Iran with similar life styles than the early Iranic Nomads. Iranic Nomads would normally herd sheep and keep horses. Also some Iranic tribes were continuously nomadic such as majority of the Eastern Tribes for example the Scythians, Saka and the Sarmatians. Ability: Not all buildings should be available as nomadic structures, for example fortresses, Bazaars and other more complex structures. For sure animal corrals should have a nomadic structure. Nomadic structures will be able to be packed up and moved but, they should have much lower health, hence they are made of Cotton and wood. ​Appearance: Persian / Parthian had pointed tents kept up by pillar and grand tent court similar than the Apanada. Eastern Tribes yurt like tent and both decorated their tents with carpets and embroidery.

Maybe Horse Archers could only be trained at an unique Building called the Nomad Camp. Also the most important ability for the horse archers would be moving and shooting simultaneously.

I have created a concept for Horse Archers for the Persian faction in 0ad, the horse archers could be used in other Iranian factions such Sassanids and Parthia. They are based on late Achaemenid horse archers and they retextured for other Eastern Factions. History: Many Iranic Tribes used Horse Archers specially the Eastern Tribes such as the Dahae Confederation and the Massagates. The Achaemenid Empire incorporated Horse Archers into their armies but were popularised during the Parthian Empire. The unit could also be used for the Parthian Faction, Sassanid and retexture for other Iranic Tribes(Scythians). Horse archers would often use hit and run tactics to tire the enemy army in the Achaemenid Era. Later on they become the main force of the army during the Parthian Empire. Persian Horse Archers used either Persian bows or Scythian Bows both are composite bows. Composite Bows can penetrate armour for example Hoplite armour and later on Roman armour. Ability: Horse archers could move and shoot simultaneously, they should have bounce when combating armoured units due to their Composite Bows. They should be agile but low in health and cheap to produce.

Yes they are an earlier forms of Cataphract, technically if you translate the name it means Bactrian Cavalry. Later during the Sassanid and Parthians cataphracts developed into the cataphracts we know.