Barracks

Clubman
	Cost - 50F First Available - Stone Age Speed - Medium
The first soldiers were local people called up for military duty in times of emergency. These temporary soldiers were commonly armed with a mace, usually a club with a stone head. This was an inexpensive weapon and one that could be used effectively with a minimum of training. Clubmen were at a disadvantage, however, when facing the better-trained and armed professional soldiers that eventually appeared to defend the early farming civilizations. The mace had little practical use other than in combat against other humans. It appeared long before the first civilizations, indicating that the roots of warfare go back far into prehistoric times.

Axeman
	Cost - 50F First Available - Tool Age Speed - Medium
The increasing population and wealth of the earliest civilizations made it possible to support standing armies available at all times for defense and attacking neighbors. The first professional armies were probably built in Sumeria and Egypt. These early civilizations had much to protect and were sufficiently wealthy to provide protection. Sumerian artwork from around 2500 BC provides evidence of an early army, in this case lines of soldiers, possibly in formation, equipped with identical armor, helmets, and weapons.

Short Swordsman
	Cost - 35F 15G First Available - Bronze Age Speed - Medium
The short sword represents an evolutionary step in infantry weapons. The spear, mace, and axe were relatively easy to manufacture and use, but somewhat cumbersome in actual hand-to-hand combat. Following the discovery of bronze, it became possible to manufacture short swords that were basically enlarged and strengthened knives. These were much easier to wield in hand-to-hand combat and improved the effectiveness of infantry who carried them. Short swords were carried as a second weapon by spearmen or pikemen, such as the Greek hoplites. The most famous short sword of antiquity was the gladius, or Spanish sword, adopted by the Roman legions from the Spanish allies of Carthage. The gladius was especially effective in the dense legion fighting formations that pressed tightly against their opponents and restricted movement.

Broad Swordsman
	Cost - 35F 15G First Available - Bronze Age Speed - Medium
The appearance of bronze short swords led to further advances in weaponry as competing cultures sought an advantage in military technology over their neighbors. Where the early short sword was primarily a piercing weapon, the broad sword evolved as a slashing weapon. The width of the blade increased strength sufficiently to support a slashing attack that could cut into armor and break short swords designed for stabbing.

Long Swordsman
	Cost - 35F 15G First Available - Iron Age Speed - Medium
The long sword represents the culmination of infantry weapon development in antiquity. It was designed for both piercing and slashing, combining the best of both the short and broad swords. The long sword was made possible first by advances in bronzeworking and improved by the discovery of iron. Some historians believe that the development of long swords by barbarian cultures was a key factor in the catastrophe of 1200 BC, when most of the civilized cultures of the Mediterranean and Middle East were overrun. The long sword in various forms remained an important military weapon until the advent of gunpowder.

Legion
	Cost - 35F 15G First Available - Iron Age Speed - Medium Technology Required - Fanaticism Special - High resistance to conversion; triple attack vs. Priest
The Roman legion was the ultimate military formation of antiquity. The legion was a 4200-man unit at full strength, broken down into 120-man units called maniples. Most of the maniples went into battle as separate blocks of men in a square formation that looked something like a checkerboard from above. Ten maniples fought as skirmishers in loose order to the front of the first line of blocks. They attacked the enemy infantry line with sling stones, arrows, and javelins as the two armies closed and then fell back between gaps in the blocks. They may have moved to the edges of the battle to protect the Roman line and harass the enemy line. The heavy infantry blocks moved forward, throwing javelins just before the clash. Gaps in the blocks may have been filled in by a second row of blocks containing more experienced soldiers. The third and final row of blocks was the smallest but contained the most experienced veterans who served as the legion's reserve. The basic legion might have attached cavalry, archers, engineers, and artillery, depending on the task before it. At its peak, the Roman Empire had legions deployed all along its frontiers, defending against barbarians, putting down revolts, expanding the empire, and maintaining order.

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