Arabyan Spearmen
Regardless of origin, these men wield the spear with competence, and occasionally skill.
Though said to be lacking the martial culture of the human nations north of the Southern Sea, Araby is no land of peace, as there are often Undead, Beastmen, or Greenskin incursions, and constant raiding and feuding between nomadic tribes and city-states when there isn't. In these conflicts, the average Arabyan infantry formation is generally drawn from a mix of city guards and bulked out with conscripts in emergencies or levied from the members of a tribe who don't own a horse, all armed with a spear and shield. These men are generally not outstanding soldiers, but sufficient training and generous pay so long as they serve well allows them to be acceptable line infantry, so long as one does not expect to win the entire battle off their backs.
Corsairs
To an open-minded Sultan, a corsair is merely a mercenary with an adventurous side job.
Human pirates have existed since the first time a man figured out how to tie enough logs together to make a somewhat water-worthy raft, and the great trading networks of Araby mean it has an equally great number of pirates. While a hazard to merchants, these corsairs are useful to a Sultan looking to reinforce his armies with more hardened fighters than the average conscript. On land, corsairs swift and agile warriors, often dual-wielding weapons to better cut through their opposition, though their near-complete lack of armor means they fare poorly in a drawn out, head-to-head fight.
Arabyan Guards
Skilled defenders of wealthy and influential households, and paid very well for their services.
In a land as divided by Araby, any wealthy household knows it is best to have a reliable force of guards for defending one's person and possessions, lest both be taken from you by rivals. As such, virtually every figure of importance in Araby has a host of well-paid hirelings, given the best training and equipment their money can buy. The size of these units can vary wildly depending on the wealth and influence of the one who hired them, with a minor merchant family having at best a dozen or two, while a Sultan who rules a major city or a widespread trading dynasty may have a retinue of a few thousand. While not a true organized military force and having little standardization of equipment between the households that employ them, they are at least well-equipped and well-armored by Arabyan standards, and can generally be relied upon to hold their own in battle.
Emberwalkers
These spirits of fire given a mirage of flesh bring the searing heat of the desert to every foe they face.
The mages of Araby have a long and storied history of binding all manner of spirits to serve the whims of both themselves and their sultans. However, never before have enough spirit binders been gathered together to bind dozens of djinn or even Marids to their service. Only under the rule of Al-Rahid have those most eastern cities been able to gather enough mages together to command them as units upon the battlefield. Under the tenuous command of these spirit binders, dozens of these genies, guised within a myriad of equally beguiling forms, travel with the armies of the sultan. Their footsteps leave puddles of molten glass wherever they step and their blades glow white-hot along their length despite the casual and practiced ease with which these spirits hold them.
Desert Slingers
If man's foes did not wish him to wield the sling, they would not have such easily cracked bones.
To the eastern nomad tribes of Araby, the standard ranged weapon of the footsoldier is not the bow and arrow, but the humble sling, as the open deserts provide the perfect environment to employ it to its full effectiveness. Though the ignorant may mock the nomads' use of the sling as another sign of their barbarity, there is a grim pragmatism to the usage of the sling in this environment: a slingstone meant to smash open bones tends to inflict far more damage on the skeletal warriors of the Undead than an arrow would.
Arabyan Raiders
As swift as the wind and lethal as a serpent's bite, light cavalry are the true heart of an Arabyan army.
While the stereotype of Araby is one of fat merchants and scheming wizards rather than warriors, the nomadic tribes of the deserts are a glaring exception, with lives spent raiding each other and fighting the Undead incursions of the Tomb Kings and Arkhan the Black. In these conflicts, the primary fighting unit is composed of light cavalry armed with throwing spears, with a final one reserved for melee. Arabyan horses are known for their swiftness, rumored to be descended from Elven horse breeds, giving the desert nomads another potent edge in cavalry warfare.
Desert Horse Archers
Distant cousins of the men who now compose the skeletal horse archers of the Tomb Kings, these nomadic outriders have all the skill of their undead kinsmen.
The nomads of the desert have a long tradition of horse archery, dating as far back as the the 2nd Dynasty of Nehekhara. Their descendants in Araby have continued to serve in this manner, and while they lack the tirelessness of their Undead counterparts, they are no less skilled, loosing volley after volley of well-aimed arrows in hit and run attacks, then darting away and vanishing into the desert before any retaliation can be made.
Siaphis
The Sultan gave these men their lands, and in return they give him their service.
Siaphis are composed of men who, in exchange for military service to a Sultan, are granted land and all the income attached to it. This wealth is used to equip the Siaphis as armored cavalrymen, with fine scale armor and a mix of weapons from lances to bows to bludgeons. Each of these Siaphis is further expected to provide a number of retainers equipped and mounted in a similar manner, and combining enough of these can give a Sultan a truly impressive force of heavy cavalry that can fight both at range and in close combat. As a minor piece of trivia, a Siaphi's land grant is not hereditary, and returns to the possession of the Sultan upon the Siaphi's death, though the former owner's son can request the same grant so long as he promises equal service as his father (or better if the father failed in some manner) in return.
War Elephants
There's nothing quite like an elephant for making a hole in enemy lines. Giving the riders weapons is just adding insult to injury.
The Sultans of Araby love competing for who can bring in the most exotic and dangerous beasts, of which the elephants that live in the bushlands between Araby and the Southland jungles are the most common. Their combination of imposing physical might and docility (at least relative to everything else the Sultans try to make part of a zoo), the Elephant is also becoming an increasingly frequent tool of war for the Arabyans. A platform mounted on its back can provide a vantage point for archers to shoot out of, while the mahout who drives the elephant can wield a long lance. As for the elephant itself, its thick leathery hide, large tusks, mighty trunk, and overall large size give it all the wargear it needs.
Giant Serpents
With powerful coils and venomous fangs, even the largest of monsters are mere prey to this great serpent.
Immense snakes larger than elephants (and indeed, often hunt them for food), the Giant Serpents of the Southlands come in many breeds, all prized in their own way by the Sultans of Araby. To own a giant serpent is to gain tremendous prestige, well worth the occasional emergency if it breaks loose. Humans being humans and the world being what it is, it did not take long for some owners to consider the possibility of using them for war, where their gleaming scales can deflect sword strikes and their venom, coils, and natural instincts make them perfectly suited for slaying giant monsters. It takes either a well-trained coterie of beastmasters or a skilled magician to tame such a creature enough that it can be trusted to follow orders in battle, but the rewards are easily worth it.
War Rocs
Giant Vultures are massive, terrifying birds, capable of grasping and carrying off a horse and its rider in full armor.
The vulture-like Rocs that make their homes in Araby's mountains are the apex predators of the skies (or at least they are while no Dragons are around.) Though less intelligent than a Great Eagle, they are just as large and sometimes larger, they are believed to be cousins of the smaller and now-extinct vultures that are form the Carrion of the Tomb Kings. Whatever the case, skilled beastmasters and magicians have methods of rendering them compliant enough to become part of a Sultan's menagerie, awing visitors and sometimes breaking loose and carrying off an unfortunate victim to be eaten whenever someone forgets to take all the necessary precautions. More military-minded Sultans have begun inquiring on their use as warbeasts, and initial results have been promising, giving a couple of City-States the start of an aerial contingent for their armies.
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A/N: I imagine a full Arabyan unit list would include stuff like Ifrits as infantry units and Marids as some sort of single-entity unit, plus Djinn, but I have no info on what those sorts of things would really look like and what their capabilities would be, so I've left them out for now. Maybe I'll add them in later.
