Editing Araby (section)

==Fighting Men of Araby: A History==
Similarly to [[Nippon]], and as stated above, Araby was a playable faction in the first three editions of the game, although they did better in that they also had an army in Warmaster and a ship in [[Dreadfleet]].

===1E===
In this edition, they were called '''Men of the East''' or simply '''Arabs''', though their nation ''was'' at least called Araby. In '''Forces of Fantasy''', they were able to field Warriors, Bowmen, Slingers, Horsemen, Desert Riders (who could ride camels instead of horses), Dervish Riders (Frenzied berserkers who Hated [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy)|Men of the West]]), Eunoch Slaves (presumably a misspelling of eunuch), and Elephant Riders. They could also field the usual array of Heroes and Wizards, with lore noting that Araby wizards were renowned for their powers of healing and summoning.

===2E===
2nd edition was where [[Warhammer Fantasy Battles]] really began to take shape, as this was the first edition to truly invent a setting for its armies to take place. Araby... got the short end of the stick, at least as lore'd up in the corebook. Not only were they described as "correspond(ing) closely to Ottoman Turks of the 16th century", they were even stated to be monotheists who worshipped a god called Allah through the words of his chosen prophets. They would sometimes trade with the [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy)|Old Worlders]] (this was before the Empire and [[Bretonnia]] were separated), but largely hated them as infidels and preferred to wage war on them.

...No, we are '''NOT''' making this shit up. It's not ''[[Pygmies (Warhammer Fantasy)|the]]'' most embarrassing bit of Oldhammer lore, but you can probably tell why [[Games Workshop]] might prefer that this info be forgotten?

Ironically, despite this presence in the lore, the Araby didn't get an army list in ''Ravening Hordes''. They didn't even merit an appearance in the Allies or Mercenaries sections!

===3E===
The Warhammer 3e corebook lacked the distinct overview of human cultures in its bestiary section, but Araby does get pride of place as the focus of the [[Southlands]] portion of the world-guide. It's not very long, just two fairly generic paragraphs, but it's better than [[Nippon]] or [[Cathay]] got! Further ironic, considering this is when the Old World was expanded from just [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy)|the Empire]] to include [[Bretonnia]], [[Estalia]], [[Kislev]], [[Tilea]], the [[Border Princes]] and [[Marienburg]].

Sadly, this wasn't followed through into ''Warhammer Armies'', where for the first time since the game was founded, Araby had no army presence. They couldn't even be taken as allies or mercenaries like [[Nippon]] could! Only [[Bretonnia]] and [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy)|the Empire]] had full-fledged army lists, whilst [[Norsca]] was at least a fully fledged Mercenary mini-list, and the "Old Worlder Mercenary" mini-list allowed you to field [[Tilea]]n, [[Estalia]]n and [[Kislev]] troops, admittedly to a limited degree. 

===Enter WAP===
Being made by fans, for fans, the [[Warhammer Army Project]] doesn't give a shit about the potential of "bad optics", so they went right ahead and did their own take on the Araby army for their 9th edition project.

The standard Lords and Heroes of the army are called, collectively, '''Commanders''', with the Lord-tier ''Emir'' and the Hero-tier ''Shiek''. These represent the various noblemen turned army commanders, which are obligatory in any [[human]]-based Warhammer army.

'''Sorcerers''' are the [[wizard]]s of Araby, protected from the worst risks of magic by their nation's extreme distance from either of the polar Chaos rifts. But they pay for this stability with a relative dearth of power, which has led to them focusing on [[elementalism|elemental magic]] centering around controlling beings born of magic. In practice, this means they have their own unique magical school - the Lore of the Desert - and they can also use the common Lores of Fire, Metal, Heavens, Light, Shadows and Death. Why they can't use Life or Beast magic isn't really explained. Ironically, despite Araby's close proximity to [[Nehekhara]] and their long history of strife with [[Tomb Kings]] and [[Vampire Counts]], there is no stigma against the art of Death Magic like there is in [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy)|the Empire]].

'''[[Genie]]s''' are a kind of [[elemental]] cum [[daemon]] indigenous to Araby, who rely on the magical energy bound into artifacts (or, more rarely, areas) to sustain their existence, and who are thus often bound into service by sorcerers. Here, the WAP has embraced Warhammer's distant [[Dungeons & Dragons]] roots by giving the Arabians four element-based genie species; ''[[Dao]]'' of Earth, ''[[Marid]]'' of Water, ''[[Djinn]]'' of Air and ''[[Efreet]]'' of Fire. They don't even try to hide that they stole these names and concepts from D&D.

'''Hashishin''' are the obligatory Araby-based religously zealous [[assassin]]s.

'''Warriors''' are, of course, the common soldiers of any Araby force. What separates them from their counterparts in, say, [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy)|the Empire]] is the addition of two specialist troops to their squads; ''Dibbukim'' are blood-drunk berserkers who push their way to the front of the squad, whilst ''Holy Men'' are preachers of the Arabian monotheistic god who attach themselves to squads to whip them into religious-fueled mania.

'''Bowmen''' are... well, we don't really need to spell them out, do we?

'''Corsairs''' plague the Araby coastline and shipping lanes, but sometimes sell their swords to fight on land, acting as skirmishers in the greater Araby army.

'''Slave Levies''' are, as the name suggests, the miserable, broken-willed dregs of Araby's vast underclass of slave laborers rounded up and herded into battle as expendable sword fodder.

'''Tribal Nomads''' have a very uneasy relationship with their settled cousins in the villages and city-states, but may sometimes loan ''Tribal Skirmishers'' and/or jezzail-armed ''Nomad Scouts'' to the Araby cause in times of war.

For cavalry, an Araby army turns to the legendarily swift and skilled horsemen known simply as '''Desert Riders''', as well as to the cantankerous but hearty '''Camel Riders''' and the professionally trained '''Sipahis'''.

'''Palace Guards''' are the elite warriors of the various nobles and wealthy elites of Araby.

'''Jannissaries''' are regiments of slave soldiers... but a far cry from their pitiful counterparts in the Slave Levies! They are a corps of elite warriors, renowned as the single most disciplined and well-formed fighting force in the entire nation, belonging to the Great Sultan of Araby himself. They enjoy many high privileges, and are deeply loyal, despite - or perhaps because - they are recruited exclusively from foreign children bought at the many slave markets of Araby. '''Mamelukes''' have the same origins, but whereas Jannissaries are infantry who fiught with swords and either bows or handguns, the mamelukes serve as the elite cavalry of Araby, and are scattered across myriad organizations, each devoted to its own individual idea or duty.

The '''Silent Guard''' are an elite order of eunuch soldiers, raised from the strongest, healthiest slave and orphan children. Though their gelding robs them of some of the raw physical might that their healthy physiques should entail, they make up for this in brutally instilled discipline. Unlike the Janissaries or Mamelukes, the Silent Guard are savagely indoctrinated to view themselves as disposable tools, stripped of all individuality, empathy and self-worth. They are referred to by numbers, not names, and their moniker comes from their cut vocal chords, a precaution against them conspiring against their masters.

'''Flying Carpet Riders''' take advantage of the most famous of the magical items crafted in Araby to serve as elite aerial cavalry, whittling their foes with volleys of arrows from above and by dropping pots full of poisonous creatures onto the heads of their enemies. They aren't the only flying cavalry the Arabians have, either; the '''Pegasus Guards''' are comparable to the [[pegasus]]-riding [[knight]]s of [[Bretonnia]], save that the Araby version ride the Radiant Pegasus, a subspecies that absorbs the abundant heat of the Araby sun and can discharge it as a lethal heat ray.

'''Dervishes''' are master swordsmen who practice a unique fighting style that emphasizes the use of twin scimitars, paired with incredible mobility. As beautiful an artform as it looks, it is deadly effective in combat, so the fact that the blades are smeared in the venom of the lethal black scorpion is really more of an afterthought. '''Bladedancers''' are their female counterparts, raised from the ranks of the bastard daughters born of the harems of the many sultans of Araby; they forgo the poisoned blades, but possess their own unique combat styles.

'''Naffatuns''' are Araby bombadiers who hurl pots full of a sticky, molten, flammable goo called naphtha, or squirt it over foes with a primitive flamethrower called the Naphtha Siphon.

To add raw punch to their army, an Araby commander may field '''Cannons''', the ridiculously huge '''Monster Bombards''', '''War Elephants''' and '''[[Roc]]s'''. In the rarest circumstances, they may even go to war accompanied by a '''Sandglass of Time''', an arcane time-manipulating construction of glass and sand created by Sultan Jaffar.

Special characters invented by the WAP for the Araby forces are:
* [[Khalil Al-Zahir]], the current Great Sultan of Araby.
* [[Sultan Jaffar]], the legendary Despot of Araby.
* [[Salah Ad-Din]], a famous historical general known as The Sword of The One.
* [[The Golden Magus]], a sea-faring master sorcerer known as the Sultan of the Seas.
* [[Layla Bint Suraya]], an Araby princess who years to be a general to equal Salah Ad-Din.
* [[Ottokar Mehmed Agha]], Commander of the First Janissary Division.
* [[Abdul Alhazred]], the legendary Mad Sorcerer.
* [[Sindibadu]], one of the most famous corsair captains of Lashiek.
* [[The Prince of Thieves]], a mysterious man known as the greatest thief in Araby.
* [[Malik Ibn La'Ahad]], a Master Assassin of the Hashishin.
* [[Khar-mel]], a particularly famous female djinn.