Why did Pyrrhus lose the war?

[moisesjns]

Hi im pretty new here, but i have been lurking ever since Europa barborum 1.0 came out. Anyways seeing as how this site has people who enjoy history i was wondering if anyone could link me to a source of information on as to why Pyyrhus lost his wars and died (i mean more detail of the battle i know he died by a roof tile.) I mean the game represents him as a genius at the time (or at least competent) and i heard he was smart in real life as well. Was it his lack of allies?, Or maybe just truly bad luck and did he really have a shot as being the head leader of hegemony over Greece? I like the faction but i just want more information as i really often get sad that im playing a strong faction who lost in reality due to sheer bad luck.

[Arjos]

who lost in reality due to sheer bad luck.

Nothing of the sort ever happened...

Pyrrhos was a victim of his own ambition: he never consolidated a single conquest of his, but moved on to another target every time. Also he never possessed the manpower to back his plans, most of the time he relied on contingents supplied by "friends". Both of whom he ran short, not to mention hardly any sane minded Basileus would provide irresistible forces to what would become an enemy later on, according to Hellenistic politics/diplomacy. Eventually Pyrrhos ended up with no allies and a coalition of enemies or Dynastes simply avoiding him...

Lacking enough forces to take Roma, instead of falling back to a fortified place in the Italian Peninsula and rally more people or ship them from Epiros/Illyria/Makedonia (the latter he had already pretty much abandoned it, allowing Gonatas to take it back), he went to Syrakousai. There he soon proved too autokratic for the locals, who envisioned an allied force and not a full fledged expansionistic campaign by Pyrrhos, and abandoned him. While all that went on the SPQR defeated his Italic allies and then won against him in a very poorly planned attack of his. Pyrrhos sent a good portion of his army through woods and bad terrain, which just threw away the whole engagement from the start.

Back in Hellas he was pretty much hated everywhere and rushed to Argos for another bold attack. This time a night assault on a fortified polis, where chaos, difficulties in communication or its plain impossibility made it again a foolhardy enterprise, which failed badly costing Pyrrhos his life as well.

As for the, imo, pointless "what ifs": had he won Hellas, which he just couldn't hold politically, diplomatically or militarily, he likely would have moved on to another campaign. While whatever Hegemonia he established, would have crumbled.
Overall Pyrrhos was a genius, without the means capable to keep up with and back his brilliance. Like Alexandros, with administrative skills that left much to be desired: he held no polity whatsoever, but was an army on the march.

[moisesjns]

I see thank you for the information. I don't really want to use Wikipedia as its more of a short summary of historical events. I enjoy details not summaries. Thank you also. May i ask where you get your information? I want to learn also why the koinion hellenion failed.

[Arjos]

May i ask where you get your information?

Ploutarchos "Bioi Paralleloi" (Parallel Lives) really...
Jeff Champion "Pyrrhus of Epirus" isn't bad, but the best should still be Petros Garouphalias "Pyrrhus King of Epirus"...

I want to learn also why the koinion hellenion failed.

There hardly ever was a KH to begin with :P
Nor an unified Hellenic front, but losing the war (especially due to Gonatas' strategical genius) and the poor Ptolemaic support (which from Philadelphos' perspective was just what he needed/wanted. Except losing the Aigaion briefly.) did the trick...

[moisesjns]

Thank you for the sources. I need to get a hold of more information and these should provide just that.

[kdrakak]

Like Alexandros, with administrative skills that left much to be desired: he held no polity whatsoever, but was an army on the march.

I saw this and was hard pressed not to post... so at the risk of derailing the thread:
The "quintessential military man" I read somewhere about Alexander. Yet some of his non-military maneuvers would dwarf many an accomplished political strategist.
Then there are those who question his actual military genius (after all he did find himself embarrassingly out of position in Issus by the inferior Darius).
And after all, Alexander barely got a chance to actually rule over his empire.
Bottom line is Alexander was the Greatest of the Greats in many people's minds (myself obviously included). And not just for his military quintessential-ness. Which btw is the only level on which any comparison with Pyrhus might have any meaning....
Sorry, couldn't help myself.

[Arjos]

And after all, Alexander barely got a chance to actually rule over his empire.

What empire? Wherever he wasn't there was a rebellion...
Also what held him back? Twice he was offered to rule his "gains" (if we can call them that). Even when he took Asia, instead of ruling it (and there was just a 300 years old administrative machine in place to do so lol) he went to India...
And since that went so well, he then planned land and naval operations in Arabia and the Euxeinos possibly...

Face it, like Pyrrhos, he had no clue about being a statesman (he had an army and a world to explore), that was left to people like Monophthalmos and Antipatros to figure out, who spent their whole lives actually ruling...
This was picked up by the other young-ish Diadochoi and would shape up in what we know as Hellenistic kingship...

Alexandros barely managed it by improvising himself as the Hakhamanishiya successor, alienating all his professional Makedonian manpower pretty much (more administrative greatness :P)...
Not to mention his arbitrary shuffling of officials, forging a climate of "court" survivalism, with the general back-stabbing/power grubbing coming along with it. This obviously made for great political stability XD

I won't speak about his military matters. It wasn't even on the table, nor is it relevant. Why does any mention of this particular man, always fall on that? Millennial cult of personality. Well enjoy it, but no thanks...

[kdrakak]

This could go on and on as it has in the past for centuries. I have no need for the last word, but I'll just say this is not an issue of personality cult. Not as far as I am concerned.