[EB AAR] Pontos Rising

[FriendlyFire]

great, i'm a big fan of this AAR much longer than most

Might be my longest so far :) I'm almost up to date now, and I think that's key to keeping me interested in writing about it as much as playing it!

[FriendlyFire]

Chapter 15: War with the Ptolemaioi

The war between the Kingdom of Pontos and the Ptolemaioi began at the end of 244 BC. Hystaspis Kianos had retired to the city of Tarsos for the winter months, leaving the royal army to guard the road to Antiocheia, and the opposing Ptolemaioi force chose this season to attack across the bridge. Hystaspis would take part in the battle only as part of the reinforcements led by Ariarathes Herakleotes, the old governor of Tarsos. And although the Ptolemaioi had reinforcements of their own, they had still attacked a superior force. It is not known why they chose to fight at such odds, although it is interesting to note that the entire war, with all of its bloodshed and destruction spread across so many years, resulted from an initial combat between two mere captains.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The main Ptolemaioi force found the bridge unguarded, and marched their phalangites across in good formation. The Pontic captain, afraid to set up his forces nearer to the enemy for a potentially risky bridge battle, had instead chosen to deploy them across the main road further back on the battlefield. This was also closer to where his reinforcements and generals should be appearing from Tarsos, visible in the distance.

As the Ptolemaioi advanced to the attack the two lines of phalangites, evenly matched on open ground, soon became fully engaged in a push of pike, while the more mobile troops fought on the flanks. The Pontic captain, still unwilling to take any risks or casualties for which he could later be second-guessed by his generals, kept all his cavalry in reserve.

On the left, the spear-armed Ptolemaioi thureophoroi were making good headway against the sword-wielding Pontic thorakitai, until a bugle announced the arrival of the Pontic reinforcements. Hystaspis Kianos, aggrieved at having missed the start of the battle, had raced on ahead of the rest of the force from Tarsos. Leading his bodyguards in a charge into the rear of the Ptolemaioi thureophoroi, he routed them almost immediately.

The hole this created in the Ptolemaioi lines allowed the Gauls to pour through, from where they immediately turned and charged into the rear of the Ptolemaioi phalanx, which began to break up and rout. In the distance the Ptolemaioi reinforcements were still making their way to the battle, but were being harassed by the Pontic missile troops and were making slow going of it.

As the main Ptolemaioi force dissolved into a sea of fleeing men, the Pontic captain finally relented and let loose the chariots, the elite of the army. Their fearsome scythes cut down the enemy in droves, leaving few alive or intact on the battlefield.

Meanwhile the Ptolemaioi reinforcements, seeing what had happened to their main force, and that both Pontic armies were now combined and acting as one, began to withdraw from the field in good order. They returned to garrison Antiocheia, leaving the Pontic captain in command of the field - and with his kingdom at war with the Ptolemaioi.

As a result of this declaration of war, those kingdoms allied to both Pontos and the Ptolemaioi had to choose which to support. All chose to side with the aggressor, abandoning their alliances with Pontos for fear of becoming an enemy of the ever-growing Ptolemaioi.

Hystaspis Kianos was not deterred by this turn of events, and was glad when a messenger arrived from Amaseia, with firm instructions from his uncle the king: Take the war to the enemy. He immediately rallied his men and followed the retreating Ptolemaioi force all the way to the walls of Antiocheia, besieging them there in the spring of 243 BC. He was much aided in this effort by advice from Ariarathes Herakleotes, who had captured and sacked the city over 20 years previously, when it was held by the Seleukids (see chapter 7, "Retribution"). But that had been against a dying empire, and this was against a growing one…

[I could have pre-emptively attacked the Ptolemaioi at any point over the previous year, when it was obvious that they were gathering forces to attack me, and Hayasdan, Carthage, and Pahlava would then have stayed allied with me instead of the Ptolemaioi - but where's the fun in that? :) Also a bit annoyed by the tardiness of the Ptolemaioi reinforcements, who slowed themselves down by choosing to cross at a ford instead of over the perfectly good bridge. If they had made it to the battle on time - or if the main force had just waited for them to catch up! - I could have had a more challenging fight]

[FriendlyFire]

Chapter 16: The Siege of Antiocheia

From the beginning it was obvious that the siege of Antiocheia would be a long one. Although the once-proud city had been comprehensively sacked and looted by Pontic forces 20 years earlier, it still retained its high stone walls, and its new Ptolemaioi garrison included many phalangites, who could form an immovable wall of spearpoints behind any gate. Hystaspis therefore resigned himself to starving the defenders into submission, while simultaneously fending off Ptolemaioi attempts to relieve the city. The first such attempt came almost immediately, from local Syrian forces. They attacked across the bridge from the north as a diversion, relying on Antiocheia's defenders to sally and attack Hystaspis from the south.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Hystaspis positioned his forces facing Antiocheia, relying on the hilly terrain behind him to slow down the diversion from the north. However, it was soon apparent that the garrison of Antiocheia had refused to sally. As a result the small Syrian force had to advance alone, marching along a valley under continuous missile fire. When they finally reached the Pontic lines, Ktistes had more than enough forces to contain them while he swung his cavalry bodyguard around their flanks, and charged their rear. The Syrians soon took to their heels, only to find themselves pursued by Ktistes's much-feared chariots. The Ptolemaioi phalangites in Antiocheia, having lost the battle of Tarsos by their tardiness, had now caused another great defeat by not showing up to the battle at all.

The second battle of the siege of Antiocheia took place the following year, in 242 BC. By now the besiegers themselves had begun to run low on rations, and Pontic generals were spreading out across the surrounding countryside to organize foraging parties. Not wanting to be attacked again from two directions, Hystaspis had also called up the garrison of Mazaka, who were veterans of the wars against the Seleukids. These troops acted as his rear-guard, and when it was obvious that they would bear the brunt of another attack, he rode out from the siege of Antiocheia to take command.

The Ptolemaioi army was larger this time, but of mostly poor quality troops, with no general to lead it. Hystaspis had arrayed his own troops on the best level ground that he could find, at the head of a long valley that controlled the main road to Antiocheia. As the Seleukid troops approached, they were harassed from one side of the valley by Caucasian archers. Their heavy arrows decimated the lighter Ptolemaioi troops, who were then easily routed by a Galatian charge. The more heavily-armored Ptolemaioi thorakitai and phalangitai labored onwards and engaged the thureophoroi on the steeply-sloped flanks of the Pontic lines, only to be charged and routed by Hystaspis and his bodyguard. A few troops escaped in good order, but were harassed in their retreat by steppe riders from Ani-Kamah. Thus failed the second Ptolemaioi attempt to relieve Antiocheia.

The third and final battle of the siege of Antiocheia came as the defenders were on the brink of starvation. A great Ptolemaioi army had marched up from Egypt, and to face it Hystaspis had combined his own force with the garrison from Mazaka, to form the largest army Pontos had ever fielded. Once again the garrison of Antiocheia could tip the balance.

Although neither Ptolemaioi army was commanded by a general, they included a great number of phalangites of every kind. Pride of place on their right flank was taken by the elite and heavily-armored Klerouchon Agema, followed by the professional Pezhetairoi and part-time Klerouchoi Phalangitai, and backed up by numbers of local Machimoi levies, all trained in the Makedonian style.

For a third and final time, the phalangitai in Antiocheia did not appear at the start of a battle. This was to have decisive consequences, for Hystaspis could now concentrate on destroying the superior force facing his levies. As the two lines of pikes clashed in the center, the lighter spear-armed troops fought for advantage on the wings, with both sides seeking to flank the other. Attempting to rally his men, the Ptolemaioi captain charged his heavy cavalry bodyguard into the center, but succeeded only in losing his life. Seizing his chance, Hystaspis ordered his Gauls into action against the weaker left wing of the Ptolemaioi line, and added his own bodyguards to the fray. The Machimoi phalangitai were the first to break, and in response Hystaspis threw more reserves into the fight, rolling up the enemy line from the weakest troops towards the stronger Agema. Seeing their flank support collapse, even these elites broke and ran, and soon the Pontic army was spread across the field running down as many of their attackers as they could.

It was at this moment that the Antiocheia garrison finally arrived to do battle. With most of his own troops tired and dispersed, Hystaspis ordered those closest to form a wall against the fresh Ptolemaioi troops. As this ragged line held, Hystaspis spurred his bodyguards into one last flanking charge, and accompanied by the Gallic swordsmen once again rolled up the enemy's left wing, routing the second army as comprehensively as the first. The Ptolemaioi had paid dearly for their lack of cavalry, and for the tardiness of their reinforcements.

As a result of this final and decisive battle, Antiocheia fell easily. Its treatment was not quite as harsh as that imposed 20 years ago, but all the Ptolemaioi colonists were sold into slavery. With its capture, Pontos now had a foothold in Syria.

[Unbelievable - three battles spoiled by the same Ptolemaioi reinforcements who didn't make it on time! At least they finally showed up for the last battle. I only realized they were there when I saw that my horse-archers were firing at something. "Wait, there is nothing left on that side of the battlefield any more… uh oh…". Cue desperate attempt to reform the line :)]

[Populus Romanus]

Nice, FriendlyFire! Keep on going!

[Horatius Flaccus]

Great updates!

[FriendlyFire]

Chapter 17: The Syrian Wars, 242 - 225 BC

The loss of Antiocheia in 242 BC seemed to stun the Ptolemaioi, and for two years they sent only diplomats to its walls, demanding that the kingdom of Pontos surrender its sovereignty. These diplomats did not enjoy long and healthy lives after delivering their messages.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Ptolemaioi then sent a small mercenary force into Syria in 240 BC, which was soundly defeated by Hystaspis Kianos. There followed another two years of peace, during which Hystaspis made frantic efforts to improve the defenses of Antiocheia. This was to prove a long and arduous process, as the city's civilian and military infrastructure had been utterly devastated during its sacking by Pontic forces over 20 years previously.

The first major battle of the Syrian wars between Pontos and the Ptolemaioi did not occur until 238 BC, when Lysimachos Ptolemaios brought an army of 27,000 mercenaries into Syria from the east. Hystaspis opposed him with 20,000 men, while Rhaskos, the rebel leader from Chersonesos who had pledged his support to the Pontic cause, added a further 12,000 (although these troops did not arrive on the field until the very end of the day).

As the battle began, the mercenaries were unable to make progress against the sarissas of the Pontic phalanx, and were moving to work their way around its flanks when Hystaspis charged Lysimachos. Wounded and fearful, the Ptolemaioi general tried to flee from the battle, but fell to the spears of the steppe riders from Ani-Kamah. Seeing the death of their general and paymaster, the mercenaries also began to flee the field, but were cut down in their thousands.

Hystaspis now marched south into the lands of the Phoenicians, and laid siege to the city of Sidon. In doing this he was gambling that Antiocheia would be able to resist the assault of a second large Ptolemaioi army that had just arrived from the east, led by the wily old general Athenion Philadelphos.

With only a token garrison to defend it, and no Ptolemaioi general to rally the troops, Sidon fell easily to Hystaspis in the winter of 238 BC.

Once again, the Ptolemaioi sent a diplomat demanding the immediate and unconditional surrender of Pontos, and once again the diplomat met with an unfortunate and gruesome "accident". In response, the Ptolemaioi general Athenion Philadelphos laid siege to Antiocheia with his army of 31,500 men, composed of a core of 7,500 phalangites flanked by 24,000 mercenaries. The Pontic governor sallied forth with his garrison of 22,000 men, assisted by Rhaskos of Chersonesos. The battle was a long and bloody one, with both sides pulling back to regroup and then renew the fight halfway through, but finally Rhaskos and the Pontic cavalry proved decisive on the flanks, and Athenion Philadelphos fled with less than a quarter of his attacking army.

The loss of Antiocheia had seemed to merely annoy the Ptolemaioi: Athenion Philadelphos returned two years later with more mercenaries to renew the siege, but his second attempt fared no better than the first, and from then he is lost to history. However, the loss of Sidon sent the Ptolemaioi into a frenzy, and they besieged the city six times between 237 BC and 234 BC. First they sent their local forces against its walls, but these light troops and levies were no match for the army of Hystaspis. The second wave of attacks were composed almost entirely of mercenaries, as every local warband and independent fighting force signed up for Ptolemaioi gold. Few of them lived long enough to spend it. The third series of attacks were led by fully-prepared armies who had marched up from the Nile heartlands, with vast legions of freshly-levied troops. With every battle the Pontic forces gained experience, and their losses were made good with reinforcements from Amaseia and Tarsos. After the last battle the Ptolemaioi sent another diplomat in 233 BC with demands that Pontos should surrender. In answer, Hystaspis marched eastward to besiege Damaskos. His now-veteran army of 16,000 men easily fended off an attack from a Ptolemaioi relief force of 6,000, and the town's garrison of 5,500 men fell in the same battle.

The Syrian wars now reached their peak, with Pontic troops fighting a series of defensive battles against a seemingly never-ending flood of Ptolemaioi troops and mercenaries. Some Ptolemaioi armies came from the east, where they now held the old Seleukid heartlands of Mesopotamia and Babylonia. Some came from the south, with troops from the Sinai and Ioudaia adding to the strength of native Egyptian armies. In response, Hystaspis kept his army high in the mountains between Sidon and Damaskos - when the Ptolemaioi besieged either city, he would march down and attack the besieging army from the rear. Between the years of 232 BC and 225 BC, three such battles were fought outside Sidon, six outside Damaskos, and a further three fought in the mountains. And in the north, the much-enlarged garrison of Antiocheia fought off another three sieges, although none could match the intensity of that first attack from Athenion Philadelphos.

By 225 BC, the army of Hystaspis Kianos bore little resemblance to the one with which he had taken Antiocheia 17 years previously. Many of the levy troops had been let go, replaced by professional soldiers paid for by the Pontic silver mines now being dug across Asia Minor. Cretans from Antiocheia had replaced the Caucasian archers, klerouchoi phalangitai from Sardis took their place alongside the remaining phalangite levies, and behind them stood Cappadocian hillmen from Tarsos, eager to attack any opening in the enemy's ranks. But pride of place was always taken by the fearsome scythed chariots of Pontos, which ended many battles with an all-out charge into the enemy's flank - that is, if Hystaspis and his bodyguards didn't get there first.

Throughout the Syrian wars, king Arsames Kianos of Pontos had ruled from his beloved capital of Amaseia, content to develop his skills as a poet and philosopher, while sending messengers to direct his armies in the field. Hystaspis grumbled at the lack of manpower coming from Asia Minor, but he had to acknowledge the wisdom of sending these troops to a second front that Arsames had opened against the Ptolemaioi, and which was to strike deep into their heart…

[The_Blacksmith]

Great AAR FriendlyFire! Keep it up!

[vollorix]

Good job, FF. I like your screenshots very much, especially those "Fields of Death" ( the ponorama of the second one, with the two mountains in the background is really cool - would be a nice pic for the next contest, i´d say :) )

[Populus Romanus]

Magnificent.

[Roka]

Brilliant read, keep it up

[Populus Romanus]

So when is the next update?

[FriendlyFire]

So when is the next update?

Today! I kept playing during the week, but it's always harder to carve out time to go over pictures and write a story. That's what weekends are for :)

[FriendlyFire]

Chapter 18: Into The Heart of Egypt, 234 BC - 225 BC

Even as Hystaspis Kianos fought the Ptolemaioi to a standstill in Syria, it was obvious that the war would rage for as long as they retained control of their heartlands in Egypt. The king Arsames Kianos therefore ordered the creation of a new Pontic army, which would travel by sea from Antiocheia to avoid interception, and would strike at the vulnerable coastal cities of the Ptolemaioi. The plan was for this army to devastate the training grounds and barracks of the elite troops of the Ptolemaioi, setting back their war effort by a decade or more. And even if the raids failed, they would still act as a diversion to take some of the pressure off Hystaspis. Arses Kianos, a young scion of the ruling family who was eager to prove himself, would lead the army. And the troops themselves would be Galatians from Ankyra, and Thracians from Nikaia - in this way any failure would not be felt deeply in the Pontic homelands of Amaseia.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The expedition began with the capture of the Ptolemaioi-controlled island of Kypros in 234 BC. This had already fallen once to the Seleukids, but had then been recaptured by a Ptolemaioi general with the help of mercenary phalangites. Arses Kianos landed his Gallo-Thracian army and besieged the general inside the city of Salamis, while the phalangites were training in the fields outside. They immediately attacked in an attempt to relieve the city, despite being outnumbered by over three to one.

Using a tactic that he would repeat many times in the years ahead, Arses Kianos used his spearmen to hold the attacking phalanx in place, giving his swordsmen time to attack its vulnerable flanks, and causing a series of bloody routs.

The opposing general was cut down by Gallic cavalry as he fled the field, and Arses Kianos became Periegesis Kyprou, the conqueror of Kypros.

It took two more years to pacify the island, and set a garrison in place. Finally in 232 BC Arses Kianos set sail once more with his Gallo-Thracian army, skirting the contested coastline of Syria, and arriving the following year at the mouth of the Nile river. Ignoring a small Ptolemaioi army in the delta, and a curious Seleukid fleet that had followed his transports south from Antiocheia, Arses landed his troops and besieged the great Ptolemaioi city of Alexandreia, which was the heart of their war machine.

As Pontic spies had been reporting for some years, the city only had a small garrison remaining. Almost all Ptolemaioi troops had been sent to the Syrian front, leaving just a few to defend the homeland. These were elites, the Klerouchoi Agema, but in the battle for Alexandreia they were held at bay by Galatian spearmen, while Thracian peltasts hurled javelins into their backs, and they soon ran and fell like mortal men.

The capture of Alexandreia brought with it the responsibility to protect the tomb of Megas Alexandros, and to maintain the great lighthouse at its harbor mouth. Both were carefully preserved for future generations, but the military infrastructure of the city was utterly sacked.

Seeing no immediate threat to the city, Arsames sent his fleet back up the coast to Antiocheia, with instructions to return with a governor and suitable troops for a garrison. In the meantime his large army in Alexandreia deterred the Ptolemaioi from attempting to retake the city - instead they kept funneling armies eastward, towards the Syrian front. Two years later, with Alexandreia now well-garrisoned, Arses led his troops south along the Nile. Taking advantage of a momentary gap in the steady stream of Ptolemaioi armies, he now besieged the city of Memphis.

The battle for Memphis was a particularly bloody one, as the Ptolemaioi threw a force of spearmen and Galatian troops of their own into the fray. These were Galatikoi Klerouchoi, Gauls who had been given land in Egypt in return for their services as heavy infantry, and they now they fought against men just like themselves who served the Pontic king. In the heat of battle there was little to tell the two units apart, other than the shape of their shields. On their flanks the lighter-armed Gallic swordsmen accompanying Arses were forced to confront the Ptolemaioi spearmen head-on, instead of using their usual flanking movement. They were saved by the Thracian cavalry, whose well-timed charge triggered a rout that ended the battle.

With the capture of Memphis in 229 BC, Arses now controlled the ancient pyramids and the all-important canal to the Red Sea. His Gallo-Thracian army was still a powerful force, and over the next four years was called upon to relieve sieges of both Memphis and Alexandreia, as the Ptolemaioi armies started diverting from Syria back towards their homeland.

Then in 224 BC, the regular supply ship from Antiocheia brought momentous news. In far-off Amaseia, the great king Arsames Kianos had died. Hystaspis Kianos, still campaigning against the Ptolemaioi in Syria, was the new king of Pontos.

The world in 224 BC:

And the area around the kingdom of Pontos:

[In the west, the Lusos have kicked Carthage out of Iberia, and are just starting to encroach into Gaul. Crucially, they are allied with the Romans, who have been busy trading off the Gauls and Sweboz against each other while expanding into Illyria. Epeiros and the Koinon Hellenon couldn't quite finish off Makedonia, and now regret it bitterly - Makedonia even captured Rhodos. The Ptolemaioi have stopped expanding into Seleukid lands and are concentrating on attacking me instead, which has given the Seleukids breathing room to push Pahlava to the edge of extinction. Hayasdan and the Sauromatae aren't doing much. Baktria and the Saka Rauka fight incessantly but without any obvious winner. And Saba are at war with both the Ptolemaioi and Seleukids thanks to rebellions]

[Populus Romanus]

Excellent! I was beginning to get worried, but no need!

[Horatius Flaccus]

Once again, great chapter!

[FriendlyFire]

Chapter 19: The End of the Syrian Wars

Hystaspis Kianos's first act as king was to move his capital to Antiocheia. This reflected both his obsession with the Syrian wars against the Ptolemaioi, and the vital role that the troops from Antiocheia played in these campaigns. His second act was to authorize the raising of a second army, to allow him to go on the offensive instead of constantly rushing the royal army to relieve one siege after another. The idea was simple: both armies would march south, besieging Hierosolyma and Bostra. Hystaspis would then lead the royal army north to Palmyra, while the second army would continue to the south, taking the town of Petra in the Sinai, and opening a land route to Arses Kianos's force in the Nile Delta.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Ptolemaioi had other ideas. Both sieges had to be broken off almost immediately, to counter Ptolemaioi threats from the south and east respectively. There followed another six years of intense fighting, from the deserts of Assyrie to the plains of Ioudaia. Always the prize seemed to be just within reach, only to be snatched away as yet another Ptolemaioi army marched into view.

The armies of Pontos fought near ancient ruins and modern farmland, and sallied forth to do battle in sandstorms so bad that they could not see the Ptolemaioi troops taunting them from below their stone walls.

In the field, screaming charges of Cappadocian hillmen broke the Ptolemaioi phalangites from behind, while the Pontic scythed chariots of the royal army thundered across the battlefield to cut down lighter troops.

When they reached Ptolemaioi towns, the Pontic armies took the walls in vicious hand-to-hand fighting with the defenders, and fought pitched battles in the squares against generals and their bodyguards. Bostra fell in 224 BC, Hierosolyma in 221 BC, and Palmyra in 220 BC.

They found many strange customs and gods worshipped in these towns, and left them all be. Hystaspis was not a vengeful conqueror, and greatly valued the service of loyal local troops in his armies.

The Ptolemaioi were chased over wooded hills and seemingly endless deserts, and yet still they came, wave after wave of troops from across their crumbling empire. Levy and professional phalangites, Arabian infantry, thorakitai and thureophoroi, Parthian and Babylonian and Ioudaian spearmen.

Until, finally, there were no more left. The Syrian wars were over.

With the final capture of Petra in 219 BC, the kingdom of Pontos held sway over the largest territory in the known world. It was still by no means the strongest (Rome held that honor), nor the most advanced (Arche Seleukeia and Carthage vied for the title), but breaking the Ptolemaioi grip on the lands of Syria, Ioudaia, and the Sinai marked the arrival of Pontos as a world power.

With this in mind, Pontic diplomats fanned out across the world to negotiate with the other powers. The reactions they got were varied in the extreme. The Greeks of the Koinon Hellenon, desperate for any help in their struggle for survival against Makedonia, were almost pathetically eager for an alliance. The Lusotanna, another rising power, seemed to treat Pontos as equals, whereas the Sweboz, proud barbarians of the northern forests, would have nothing to do with the Pontic diplomats. And in the east, the Hellenes of Baktria asked for a laughably small sum in return for an alliance - if this was their idea of riches, then they should see how much Pontos paid to Rome, for the privilege of being its "friend"…

[Biowulf]

Nice update, I really liked the montage of battles to show how you knocked the Ptolies out. If you feel like it, could you show a map of the world so far?

[FriendlyFire]

Nice update, I really liked the montage of battles to show how you knocked the Ptolies out. If you feel like it, could you show a map of the world so far?

There's a fairly recent one at the end of chapter 18 - I'll add another in the next update

Edit: Can't post one right now because I haven't yet described what was happening at the same time on a different front, so if I posted a current world map it would be a spoiler :)

[Populus Romanus]

I am guessing that you invaded Greece.

[Biowulf]

hmmm I must have completely skipped Chapter 18 woops :D But I would guess the same as Populus, epic war in Greece.

[Blxz]

Likely to be taking pergamon from the macedones? That looks like a worthwhile front to open up. Otherwise not sure, doubt you would have expanded into greece just yet. Only other options would be bosporus or more wars against the Hai.

[Horatius Flaccus]

Great pictures, really like how you described the Syrian wars and the ultimate defeat of the Ptolemai.

[Populus Romanus]

It probably is a war against Makedonia, because he allied with the KH.

[Atraphoenix]

In fact if he wants to role play the revival of the persian empire he may choose to attack hayasdan.

[FriendlyFire]

So many options, but I'm not at any of those yet. All I meant was the other front against the Ptolemaioi - sorry guys :) One more update tonight, and then I'll catch up on Sunday.

[FriendlyFire]

Chapter 20: The Gauls of the Nile

While the new king Hystaspis Kianos was campaigning against the Ptolemaioi in Syria, he sent word to Arses Kianos in the south. Arses and his Gallo-Thracian army still held the great cities of Alexandreia and Memphis that they had taken from the Ptolemaioi, and after several years had now begun to train some of the local people to fight for Pontos. Meanwhile, the Ptolemaioi still had only weak garrisons in their surrounding heartlands, and were sending almost all of their resources towards the fighting in Syria. Hystaspis therefore sent word that Arses was to take his army on a march of conquest around the Nile delta, to never allow the Gauls to settle in one place, and to use whatever loyal troops he could raise from Alexandreia and Memphis to garrison captured towns and cities.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Arses wasted no time, first marching his troops west along the coastal road towards the town of Paratonion in 224 BC. The Ptolemaioi sent an army into the desert to intercept, but lacking cavalry of their own they were chased from the field by Thracian and Gallic horsemen, and the town fell soon afterwards.

With his western flank now secure, and adequate garrisons in Paratonion, Alexandreia and Memphis, Arses now began the long march of the Gauls up the Nile. The first Ptolemaioi city in their way was Diospolis-Megale. Most of the garrison came out to challenge the Gauls and were soundly defeated - the survivors fled back to the city, but now had too few men to adequately defend its large perimeter. Pontic engineers created siege towers to allow the Gauls to scale the high walls, and the city fell in 222 BC.

From there Arses marched his Gauls southwest, towards Pselkis, and then northwest, towards Hibis. Pselkis fell in 220 BC, weakly defended by a small garrison, in a city square so large that Arses could conduct a set-piece charge to break their final resistance. Neighboring Hibis, although a smaller town, swiftly levied more troops to defend itself, and was the scene of bitter fighting on the walls before its capture in 219 BC.

Arses Kianos left both Pselkis and Hibis under the control of allied client rulers, local strong-men who could be counted on to obey the wishes of Pontos. Under the previous king this would have been unheard-of, for he would have demanded a relative by blood or marriage in charge of every province of the kingdom. But Arses was now so far from the homelands of Pontos that it would take years for such a man to even reach him, let alone learn enough about the local population to rule them.

Finally, in 216 BC, Arses took his army on a forced-march across the desert wastes. His remaining Gallic veterans had now been fighting the Ptolemaioi for almost 20 years, and Arses himself was no longer a young prince needing to prove himself, but an accomplished general who his men trusted implicitly. They besieged the desert town of Ammonion, quickly battered down its crude wooden walls, and flooded in. There were to be no finessed tactics here - Arses had promised the Gauls that this was the last battle, and they fought with the vigor of young men. The levies that the Ptolemaioi had raised to defend the town stood no chance against such an attack, and the great oracle of Zeus-Ammon was now part of the Pontic kingdom.

The world in 216 BC:

[FriendlyFire]

I've just noticed that when I put pictures inside spoiler tags, they're automatically reduced in size. That only happens here on forums.totalwar.org - in my crossposted copy of this AAR at twcenter.net the pictures show up full-size inside spoiler tags.

Anyone know how I can fix this?

[Molinaargh]

I've just noticed that when I put pictures inside spoiler tags, they're automatically reduced in size. That only happens here on forums.totalwar.org - in my crossposted copy of this AAR at twcenter.net the pictures show up full-size inside spoiler tags.

Anyone know how I can fix this?

In my experience all screenshots above 800px wide (or so) are resized here, regardless of spoiler tags. It was probably a limit made when people still used 1024x768 resolution or so. If there is a workaround I don't know it, sorry.

It annoyed me a little bit too.

[FriendlyFire]

In my experience all screenshots above 800px wide (or so) are resized here, regardless of spoiler tags. It was probably a limit made when people still used 1024x768 resolution or so. If there is a workaround I don't know it, sorry.

It annoyed me a little bit too.

Ah well, thanks for confirming it's not just me :) If anyone wants to see the pictures in their full 1024-wide glory, you can read the thread at twcenter instead.

[FriendlyFire]

Chapter 21: The Two Sons

After the seemingly never-ending battles of the Syrian and Nile wars, the next few years saw relative peace for the kingdom of Pontos. Of course, the Ptolemaioi refused to give up quite so easily, and a few of their armies tried to take back the newly-conquered towns of Palmyra and Paraitonion, but since they sent neither a sufficient quality nor quantity of troops, the result was always the same.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Meanwhile the Pontic economy was booming. Brigands and rebels who had taken advantage of the general unrest to lay ambushes for unwary travellers were wiped out, and at sea a new Pontic navy, equipped with warships from the great harbor of Alexandreia, hunted down and sank the many pirates. The most well-established Pontic towns now had almost everything a man could ask for - and everywhere there were reminders of the source of this great fortune.

With riches always comes jealousy, and of all the lands surrounding Pontos, that of Makedonia proved the most jealous. Makedonia was embroiled in an endless war with Epeiros and the Koinon Hellenon, and although her colonies in western Asia Minor regularly sent manpower to fight in these wars, they couldn't seem to resist also sending small armies to "explore" in nearby Pontic lands. Hystaspis Kianos ordered the local garrisons to be greatly increased, and this show of power deterred the Makedonians from any attack - and thus Pontos and Makedonia remained officially "neutral". The insult, however, would not be easily forgotten.

By 213 BC, Hystaspis Kianos was growing old and grey, but he now had two sons of age. The first-born was Zenon Kianos, the smarter and more likable of the two, but also more full of himself. His younger brother Pharnakes had less natural talent, but made up for it with incessant energy - much like his father.

The other two male members of the Kianos clan with a claim to the throne were more distantly related, and were closer in age to Hystaspis Kianos than to his sons. Arses Kianos had conquered the Nile, and despite his age was still a capable general with an intense loyalty to Hystaspis. At the other end of the family tree, Pharnouchos Kianos had been blessed with skills but not with morals. Although he was undoubtedly a smart and charismatic man, his subjects could not help but notice his "economy with the truth", and the curious way in which he always seemed to grow richer while they grew poorer.

Seeing that his sons needed lands of their own, Hystaspis Kianos therefore decreed the following:
• He would remain in Syria, ruling from Antiocheia, warring with the Ptolemaioi in the east, and seizing what opportunities would present themselves.
• Zenon Kianos, his first-born, was to base his operations in Asia Minor, deterring the Makedonians in the west, and bringing the remaining independent regions under Pontic control.
• Pharnakes Kianos, the second-born and therefore less fortunate, was to carve out a name for himself in the north, across the Pontos Euxine in the lands of the Skythians.
• Arses Kianos of the Nile was to settle his Gauls in the south, ensure that the area was secure, and then return to Asia Minor as a trusted aide to Zenon.
• Pharnouchos Kianos was to govern in the Pontic heartlands, ostensibly as the right and proper place for any Kianos, but really so that a close eye could be kept on him…

As luck would have it, Hystaspis himself was the first to bring an enemy to battle after this decree. In 212 BC, the Ptolemaioi had sent a small army under their faction leader and two other generals to besiege the Seleukid mountain town of Karkathiokerta. Their assault had unexpectedly failed, but the Seleukid garrison had also been shattered. Hystaspis had kept his army nearby, expecting to take the town from the Ptolemaioi before they could secure their conquest, but he had no compunction about taking it from the Seleukids instead.

Hystaspis sent his veteran axemen to the walls first, where they encountered almost no opposition. This pattern was to be repeated several times during the following battle, where the overwhelming force of an experienced Pontic army swept all before it. Had the Seleukid garrison not lost so many men fighting off the Ptolemaioi, they might have had a chance, but as it was the battle was less of a contest and more of a massacre.

After the battle, all of the Pontic troops agreed that the bravest of their opponents by far was the captain of the garrison, who had seen his few remaining phalangites slaughtered around him by javelins and arrows, his own archers chopped down by axemen, and his cavalry cut down by Hystaspis and his bodyguards. Nonetheless the captain stood his ground on the square as the final survivor, and was only brought down by a full charge of thureophoroi.

The following year, as Hystaspis oversaw the integration of Karkathiokerta into the Pontic economy, he received word from first-born son Zenon Kianos in Asia Minor. Zenon had assembled a small force of local troops, sufficient to besiege the coastal town of Halikarnassos and bring its Trmmli into the Pontic kingdom, for if they did not yield to Pontos then it was inevitable that they would eventually fall to Makedonia. The Trmmli had other ideas, and a relief force attacked Zenon, seeking to lift the siege and bringing out the town garrison in support.

Zenon had chosen his battleground well, and based his position around a rocky outcropping. On the top of this he placed his archers, and to one side he placed his phalanx. The archers tormented the enemy and forced them to attack, but in the absence of a commanding general they did so in a great mass of hoplites, Karian swordsmen, and simple levies.

With the enemy all pressing up against the phalanx, and one flank easily protected, Zenon reported that it had been a simple matter for his bodyguard to turn the opposite flank, sending the enemy force fleeing in a rout. Indeed, he boasted to his father that the hardest part of the battle had been running down sufficient of the enemy to prevent them from re-garrisoning the town. This being accomplished, Zenon Kianos was now "Nikesas Halikarnassou", conqueror of the town of Halikarnassos and its historic mausoleum, a title which pleased him greatly.

It was two more years before young Pharnakes Kianos matched the accomplishments of his elder brother, but in 209 BC the welcome news finally reached his father in Antiocheia. Pharnakes reported that he had sailed across the Pontos Euxine to liberate the Hellenes of Chersonesos from the barbarian tribe of Tauri, who were still independent of the surrounding Sauromatae kingdom. To do this he had recruited great numbers of troops from neighboring Pantikapaion, but unlike his brother he had not bothered with a large assortment of troop types. In Pharnakes's army, you were either a hoplite, or an archer, for he expected to fight against a great mass of horse-archers. When he landed by ship, however, he found that most of these horse-archers were away to the north, and unlike at Halikarnassos, the rebels in the field chose not to support their besieged brethren. Despite sending half of his troops back to Pantikapaion, Pharnakes still assaulted the walls with a powerful, brute-force army.

The heavy armor of the hoplites enabled them to withstand arrow fire from the towers, reaching the walls almost unscathed and then moving along them to capture the gates. Walking along the top of the walls, their armor also protected them from the arrows and javelins shot at them from Tauri troops in the streets below.

Behind the hoplites, the real killers of the battle climbed the ladders and took their position on the walls. These were Scythian archers, well-trained and able to rain a deadly fire on cavalry milling in the streets. Since these had expended all their missiles fruitlessly against the armored hoplites, they now had no way to fight back against the Scythians.

With a measured march through the city streets, the hoplites crushed all those who the Scythians arrows had not yet found, and by the time they approached the town square, it was obvious that the battle was as good as over, and Chersonesos was shortly to be part of the Pontic kingdom.