| “ | All-purpose unique infantry unit. Strong vs. buildings and infantry. | ” |
| —In-game description | ||
The Sakan Axeman is an untrainable infantry unit in Chronicles: Battle for Greece. It is available in the Scenario Editor and present in the Battle for Greece campaign, where it is one of the bodyguard units that can be chosen in the first act when playing as the Achaemenids. It is the equivalent of the Ekdromos in the second and third acts, although its statistics are slightly different.
Ability[]
- Charge attack: It has +6 charged attack which it recharges over 30 seconds.
- Armor damaging ability: With every attack it reduces the melee and pierce armor of enemy units by one each. The armor cannot be damaged below zero. It is identical to the Obuch's ability.
Campaign appearances[]
Battle for Greece[]
- Prologue: Gates of the Gods: Sakan Axemen are available as a bodyguard unit to Artaphernes and will follow him and Datis on their campaigns if chosen (being available in Greeks Bearing Gifts, The Ionian Revolt, A City Ablaze, Chasing Smoke, Death to Traitors and Earth and Water).
- The Battle of Marathon: The Persian army under Datis has several contingents of Sakan Axemen. The Medizers also field some Sakan Axemen.
- The Hot Gates: Persian land forces at Thermopylae employ Sakan Axemen.
- Across the Wine-Dark Sea: The Persian Army in Cyprus fields Sakan Axemen.
- Wrath of the Regent: Sakan Axemen defend the city of Byzantium.
- Speeches and Spears: The Mercenary Axemen fielded by Torone are renamed Sakan Axemen. They are trained by Torone at the Barracks.
- Blood and Gold: Three Sakan Axemen run a small mercenary camp to the south, where Lysander can replenish his forces.
Alexander the Great[]
- A Lesson in Warfare: The Dismounted Scythian Axe Cavalry are renamed Sakan Axemen. They are encamped in the east, next to a horse enclosure that Alexander can raid to unleash the ferocious horses upon their camp.
- The Battle of the Granicus: Sakan Axemen are deployed by the Persian Army against the Macedonian forces of Alexander and Parmenion.
- Unto the Breach: Sakan Axemen are employed by the Persians in their sally out attempts from the city.
- The Cilician Gates: Alexander is able to choose between the renamed Alexander's Axemen and Alexander's Axe Cavalry as permanent additions to his army.
- Tyre Must Fall: Sakan Axemen are employed by the Tyrian Army.
- The Battle of Gaugamela: Sakan Axemen are among the forces of Darius facing off against the Macedonian army. There are also Sakan Axemen, renamed Persian Prisoners, among the Prisoners in Parmenion's camp, who will cause trouble for the Macedonians if the Persians manage to break them free.
- A Voyage of Discovery: Sakan Axemen are among the forces of the hostile Persians and friendly Carmanians.
- Wrath: Sakan Axemen guard the nearby Uxian Town that Alexander must take over to use as his base in the region. They are also among the forces of the Uxian Confederation that participate in the assault against the Macedonian Wonder at the end of the scenario.
Further statistics[]
As Sakan Axemen are only available to the Achaemenids in the campaign, only technologies that are available to them are shown in the following table:
| Strengths and weaknesses | |
|---|---|
| Strong vs. | Infantry, buildings |
| Weak vs. | Archers |
| Technologies | |
|---|---|
 Hit points
|
 Karda (+15%)
|
| Attack |  Forging (+1) Iron Casting (+1) Blast Furnace (+2) Arson (+2 vs standard buildings)
|
| Armor |  Scale Mail Armor (+1/+1) Chain Mail Armor (+1/+1)
|
| Conversion resistance |  Exorcism (+4 min, +4 max)
|
 Movement speed
|
 Baggage Carriers (+10%)
|
| Creation speed |  Conscription (+33%)
|
| Aura enhancements | |
|---|---|
| Armor |  Spearman (0/+1, requires Sparabaras)
|
 Attack speed
|
 Defensive Town Center (+15%)
|
| Creation speed |  Military Town Center (+50%)
|
Alexander's Axeman[]
| “ | Heavy Infantry that ignores armor. Strong vs. buildings and infantry. | ” |
| —Chronicles description | ||
Alexander's Axeman is a special version of the unit available in the Alexander the Great campaign in Chronicles: Alexander the Great. It can be trained at the Macedonian Command Post if chosen over Alexander's Axe Cavalry in The Cilician Gates. Its attributes are largely modified from those of the Sakan Axeman. It is hidden in the Scenario Editor.
Unlike the Sakan Axeman, it does not have a charged attack; instead, its attacks ignore the melee armor of non-siege and non-ship enemy units, like the Leitis. It gains +2 melee attack and +15 hit points automatically when advancing to the Imperial Age.
Campaign appearances[]
- The Cilician Gates: Alexander can make a lasting decision to choose between Alexander's Axemen or Alexander's Axe Cavalry as trainable units.
Trivia[]
- The insignia of the Achaemenids, the Shahbaz bird, is emblazoned on the Sakan Axeman's crescent-shaped shield.
- Unlike the other bodyguard units, they have the hero armor class in addition to the unique unit armor class, the latter shared only with the Cretan Archer in the second and third acts of the campaign.
- Its internal name 'Takabara', refers to a unit in the Persian army which was referenced in relation to the Greco-Persian wars. While little is known about them, they are believed to have been a type of Peltast, rather than the anti-infantry melee specialists presented in-game.
Gallery[]
