Iberian Rider

"How quickly the Moors move! and they rearm themselves,
from the sound of the drums the ground was about to crack,
you would see Moors arming themselves, quickly entering into formation."

— Cantar de Mio Cid

Iberian Rider: Vital statistics
Unit type	Ranged medium cavalry
Built/trained at	Stable
Damage and weapon type	Good; javelin
Armour	None
Production cost	Pop cost: 1 Resource cost: ? Ramp cost: ?
Range	Low Medium LOS
Unit move and creation speed	Unit movement speed: fast Creation speed: very fast
Unit HP	Low
Technological requirements	Library Military Level 2 (Mercenaries) Upgrades to Jinete
Factions available	Moors

The Iberian Rider mates the speed and rate of fire of normal bow cavalry with the attack of javelin cavalry. Although the result is a hard-riding and harder-hitting javelin cavalry unit, it suffers from the Horse Archer's lack of armour and hitpoints, and the poor range of javelins. Still, the extra speed of this unit should result in a highly flexible and fast offensive unit, capable of decimating melee infantry and harassing other cavalry units. Just remember to stay away from missile weaponry or melee cavalry, though — it will do no good to be caught by heavy lances or even bullets.

The terrain of Iberia which varied between arid deserts and deadly mountain passes meant that whatever military cultures in that area had to be as flexible and innovative as possible. It was in this environment that the jinete (named after the Zenata, a people which supposedly lived in North Africa) or Iberian cavalry skirmisher first came to the fore, following cavalry traditions in Africa that reached back to as early as Roman times. Of course, javelin cavalry however are not confined to Iberia in Europe — specialised javelin troops, the Cossacks, trained and drilled following Turkic lines, can be recruited as mercenaries by Poland and Russia in later eras.

Unit summary

• Light cavalry unit which is faster but weaker than normal Javelin Cavalry.
• The extra speed of this unit should result in a highly flexible and fast offensive unit, capable of decimating melee infantry and harassing other cavalry units.
• Due to its lack of armour and low hitpoints, keep this unit as far away from melee cavalry and archers as possible.
• Renegade Bajorai - These are javelin-armed warriors which are akin to Iberian Riders and can be recruited as mercenaries by Poland and Russia in later eras.