Originally Posted by
Lusitanio
I will have to read about the Thorakitai. Since I have been playtesting for so much time, I simply stoped reading the descriptions because I don't have time for that x)
But while I do agree that they are not royal guard, they are the product of being mobilized for active duty for decades in the Carthaginian military in active wars. After Hamilqar disembarked in Iberia, the troops there were in constant conflict with the Iberian tribes, translating in the expansion of the Carthaginian territories. When the time of Hannibal arrived, he had already years of experience as cavalry commander and knew what his army was capable of. This guys are not just veterans, they are the veterans of the veterans x) In Hannibal times they proved that they were some of the most disciplined troops in history.
Just a remark, Carthaginian veterans seem to have been of a really higher quality then other Carthaginian troops. We can see that from the Punic-Greek wars, especially when Agathocles saw that we could not defeat the experienced Carthaginian armies in Sicily and invaded Africa where he would face less experienced troops. Then again the Mercenary troops that faced the Romans during the Siege of Lilybaeum, when they came back to Carthage to be paid, they felt sufficient powerful to challenge Carthages itself, they lost more due to bad leadership then their own quality. And the Second Punic war gives us plenty of examples between the differences of experienced Carthaginian troops and regular troops.