Hubal: Total War - a planned Arab overhaul mod for Attila
Hubal: Total War
A regional modification for Attila set in Arabia during the 5th-6th centuries.
It is unfortunate that due to the inferior map of the Arabian peninsula in Total War: Attila the many Arab tribes and kingdoms can not be represented however this mod aims to add a new Arab faction in the empty city on the map and overhaul the existing four factions.
An accurate representation of Arabia in antiquity is my overall goal with this mod as such I shall not initially be focusing on any other factions nor actual game play mechanics.
The Arabs were a relevant part of this time line, they protected the two major empires, Rome and the Sassanids borders and the former was defended from raiding central Asian tribes and African by Arab foederati.
The Appearance of the Arab tribes
The Arab tribes were diverse and proud of their lineage, they categorized themselves into four colours.
Aswad/Akhthar - The black Arabs
The black Arab tribes are the descendants of migrants from the horn of Africa who assimilated into Arab society and became clients of other tribes thus being adopted into tribal Arab culture.
Asmar/Asfar - The dark and yellow Arabs
These tribes are mostly identified as Qahtani such as the Banu Kinanah and Azd, these are the migrants from Yemen who settled around the coasts with brown skin.
Sa'ad ibn Abi-Waqqas is described as a broad man with dark skin and black hair.
Abyath - The white Arabs
The indigenous Arabs of North Arabia, Hijaz and the Fertile Crescent, not to be confused with the Red Arabs these tribes would have Olive and light brown skin such as the Bani Bakkar.
Ahmar - The Red Arabs
The Arab tribes with white skin and fair hair such as the Ghassanids and Bani Yashkar from Najd.
Anas ibn Malik is said to have been a tall man with blonde hair and blue eyes.
According to Al-Muwatta, he was tall, heavyset, imposing of stature, very fair, with white hair and beard but bald, with a huge beard and blue eyes.
These tribes are the indigenous people who live away from the coastline in central Arabia and south of the Fertile Crescent and perhaps mixed with Greeks and Slavic people who settled in the fertile crescent.
Siege engines in Arabia
Siege engines have been discovered through out South and Central Arabia as well as in Hijaz though there is little mention of them North of Hijaz in the Syrian desert and south of Iraq.
In 629 AD the Muslim army seized Khaybar from the Arab Jewish converts of that land, inside the fort they found weapons and a siege engine, it is believed these were being stored for sale at a later point or as a weapon of intimidation.
Ladders were also used at the battle of Yamamah when Musailimah's forces took refuge in a fortified orchard the Muslim armies used ladders to scale the walls and open the gates.
There is very little information on siege equipment in the early Arab forces and at the Siege of Damascus the Rashidun Caliphate employed no siege engines.
Armor in Arabia
It is narrated in the Hadith by Abdallah ibn Masud that chain mail was used not just for battle but for as a form of torture.
Muhammad himself has been described clad in chain-mail on several occasions including the battle of Uhud....the idolators seized them and made them wear coats of chain-mail and exposed them to the intense heat of the sun.
When Abu `Ubaidah saw the two rings of the Prophet's chain mail that had pierced his cheeks, he rushed and held the first one with his front teeth and pulled it out. Yet as it fell, it took out his upper front teeth as well, and the same thing happened to the lower front teeth when he pulled out the second ring.
Muhammad, aged 60, was present in the valley and witnessed that panic moment 'when you turned your backs in flight'. Waring his chain-mail coat and sitting astride a white mule, the Prophet stood his ground with his dedicated bodyguard surrounding him.- The Leadership of Muhammad by John Adair
The Arabs did not manufacture their own chain-mail that we know of, in most cases this would have been imported from Syria and Persia, the Palmyrene Clibanarii most certainly wore chain-mail into battle.
Yemen however was known as a manufacturer of hardened leather armor of an excellent quality, likely in the form of jerkins and vests.
Helmets are rare and would be in East Roman and Sassanid styles, small conic helmets would also be produced in Yemen and Oman.
Arabs often wrapped a turban around their helmets to protect the back of the neck from the sun or they would wear an aventail.
Men who could not afford a helmet would typically wear a thick cloth turban which would offer protection from the sun.
Arab chain-mail was looser and longer than that of the Byzantines so that the wearer would not overheat, it was typically worn over a robe or tunic with loose trousers, cavalry adopted shorter tighter coats of mail so as not to weigh down their horses.
Weapons of Arabia
The Arabs fought typically with long weapons, long swords used by the pre-Islamic Arabs made forming tight formations difficult unlike their Roman counterparts they were often forced to fight in loose formations.
The Arabs later dropped these long iron swords in favor for Indian designs, these swords would be up to one meter in length.
Swords were manufactured by Arabs primarily in Yemen and Iraq but also imported from Syria, Persia and India. The swords from Yemen were renowned for their quality.
Arab infantry fought primarily with the sword and the bow and the bedouin warriors especially had to be skilled with the bow though they used light arrows that were often ineffective against superior chain-mail armor.
The Arabs in Hijaz traditionally used longbows and the tribes of Khazraj were renowned for their proficiency as archers, it was to these Khazraji archers that Muhammad lost many of his companions.
Other more simple bows were locally manufactured throughout Arabia from palm and acacia wood, these bows were low quality though richer men could be armed with a Persian re-curve design based off of archaeological evidence.
Such cost effective and low quality bows often sufficed as the Arab archers practiced firing in large volleys as the early Persians did, not at individual targets as some European cultures did.
The arrow heads would have been made from Iron and Steel ones would likely be imported from Persia.
Javelins (Harbah) were not common in Arab armies prior to their introduction by slaves from the horn of Africa, Arab tribes such as the tribes of Quraysh began to purchase these slaves in times of war for the sole purpose of javelinmen.
Infantrymen also carried slings with them as a side weapon maintaining the tradition of the ancient Semitic armies.
Arab cavalry was made up mostly of the very wealthy due to the price of horses, as such these men were well armed carrying lances that went up to eleven feet in length as well as short spears, bows and swords.
"I thrust him with my spear, then came on top of him with a trenchant Indian blade," describes an Arab cavalryman's attack.
Arabs adopted and mastered horse archery from the Persians, this practice would be found more in the tribes of Iraq and Syria than in South Arabia.
Arab infantry used spears that were five cubits in length and made from local wood or bamboo from East Arabia.
Shields in Hijaz were mostly made from leather, across Arabia they were made from wicker, small bucklers were also covered in hide from animals leather shields were also produced in South Arabia where the majority of the Arab's leather equipment came from.
"We wore helmets and Yemeni leather shields...and glittering coats of mail having visible folds about the belt."
Arab society in Antiquity was a warrior society, all the young men were trained in combat and tribes with forts would often use them to stockpile arms in case of war such as the Bani Ghatafan.
The Sword was the most prized weapon in Arabia, it signified honour and heroic deeds in battle.
Features of the mod
The mod aims to recreate unique rosters for the Ghassanids and the Lakhmids as well as a shared roster for Mazun and Himyar and the new added faction of the Banu Quraiza, Jewish tribe from Arabia.
If possible I shall implement the Horde feature from Attila to allow the Arab armies to set up camps and temporary settlements to reflect the nomadic culture and heritage of these tribes.
If you have any other suggestions please let me know!
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Originally Posted by juanplay
