Manifest Destiny: A Massalian AAR

[Megas Methuselah]

VI. The Shields Advance



Gallic and Ligurian warriors march towards danger in defence of Massalia. Their enemy: Kephalos Aiakides and his veteran army of Ligurians, Gauls, and Iberians. Men who fought together, side by side, against the Carthaginian menace in Africa, against the Lusotannan Dominion in Iberia, against the Roman Republic in Italy, men who had marched all across the Western Mediterranean shores victoriously representing the Massalian League, were now marching against each other in what would appear to be a bloody civil war for the throne of the city-state of Massalia and position of Hegemon of the League.





Antarchos Aiakides, third son of the late basileos Nikanor Aiakides, was the first candidate to occupy Massalia itself. Having broken the Senate and Directory of Fifteen to his will, Antarchos declared himself basileos and hegemon, thereby invoking the anger of his royal brothers.





Kephalos Aiakides, stationed in the Satrapy of Tolosa to guard the frontier from Gallic incursions, immediately ordered his army to march upon the news of his brother's actions. Telling his men that they were on campaign to liberate Massalia's citizens from his brother the power-hungry tyrant, Kephalos set a route directly to his polis.

Antarchos, wanting to win over the populace of Massalia, set out with his army to confront his brother away from Massalian soil. Thus began the greatest battle both brothers ever witnessed, where the champions of the western Mediterranean slew each other under warm sunlight and over the dewy grass, which was soon destined to become soaked with the blood of the bravest soldiers Massalia had ever seen.



The initial skirmish was one of hesitation as both sides considered their actions of combatting their own people, yet the conflict of Massalia was greater than their own opinions. Good soldiers to the last, the men on both sides unleashed their javelins and stones upon their own kin.



The first warriors to charge in, under Kephalos' command, were told to devoid their mind of thoughts and focus on their duty to smash aside Antarchos' army. Releasing their concerns through shattering screams of hatred and frustration, Kephalos' Ligurians charged ahead directly against the very same men they sacked Carthage with.



As the shield walls collided, Antarchos ordered his Gallic and Iberian swordsmen to wheel around the right flank and smash Kephalos' troops from the flank and behind.



This order was carried out with great speed, efficiency, and terror. The armour-piercing falcatas wielded by the Iberian Caetrati was invaluable in cutting apart Kephalos' veteran warriors.



Following the swordsmen was Antarchos' Ligurian cavalry arm, which was succesful in dispersing Kephalos' cavalry. With next to no opposition, they were quick to ride around the main battle line in order to repeatedly strike the invaders from behind.



One can only imagine the thoughts that went through their minds as they rode over their own brave kinfolk.



Proud and fierce warriors that they were, Kephalos' Ligurians fought to the very last man, resigned to the fact that the gods chose as their fate to be slaughtered by their own brothers.



The Ligurian cavalry threw their weapons in the air and cried to the gods in both mourning and triumph. Kephalos' men, the bravest warriors of the western Mediterranean, had fallen victim to the shieldwall and swords of their own brothers.



As Antarchos stared at the dead, he wondered on the meaning of life. For Massalia's champions to have their honoured lives ended in such a situation would surely cause even the most hard-minded men to question life.



Had they been under the command of a greater general than the young and inexperienced Kephalos, the men marching for the liberation of Massalia would likely have fared better. They never deserved the fate they got, by all the gods.

Antarchos ordered the proper burial of all men on the field, followed by mourning. As men searched and honoured their fallen family members, the body of Kephalos was found. As with his men, he was given a burial, that of a soldier and a prince. He was, after all, a member of the Aiakides family and a descent of Pyrrhos of Epeiros. Antarchos had mixed feelings.

[Cute Wolf]

holy **** how could you done that?!?!?
nice one meth!!! very nice one!!!! (consider these 3 balloons as my rep

[Megas Methuselah]

Cute Wolf, I'm flattered.

But what about the rest of you? I'm sad over the lack of comments.

[divulse123]

I started reading this one yesterday, and I'm on page 3. (Not that I read that slowly, but I've been working on my own AAR!) I think it's really interesting so far, and I like that you did crazy things with the factions! Nice work! I'll pipe up with more thoughts when I get a chance to finish!

[Megas Methuselah]

Thanks for the comments!!! Any and all comments/suggestions/weird, perverted posts are very welcome, and especially invaluable to keep any sort of writer motivated.

Btw, those balloons are going in my sig.

[Megas Methuselah]

VII. Nikadas

With Kephalos Aiakides buried with his army in the lands of the Volcarra to the west of Massalia, Antarchos returned home to lick his wounds. His veteran army lost 2/3 of its strength in the battle against their brothers and Kephalos' veteran troops, and Antarchos was pressured into finding replacements for the inevitable clash that was to come.





To the east, across the Alps in Illyria, Nikadas Aiakides, Antarchos' elder brother and the late basileos Nikanor's second son, gathered together his forces from campaigns against the Getic holdings in the area. His army consisted mainly of Po River Celts, villagers levied for the Getic offensive. It was with these men that Nikadas intended to use in order to defeat Antarchos.



Seeking vengeance for his Kephalos' death, Nikadas ordered the army onwards to Massalia. By the time they got there, though, Nikadas was surprised by what he saw. The citizens of Massalia were terrified of the advancing army composed of barbarians, and Antarchos Aiakides, as the supposed Basileos of Massalia, sent a call for volounteers. Supported by Massalia's Senate and Directory of Fifteen, a general levy of volounteers was put together. The Massalian Hellenes, descendants of Phocian Hellenes that stood their ground against Persia, gathered together to fight in the same fashion as their ancestors once did.



As a result, by the time Nikadas arrived in Massalia, Antarchos' withered army was supplemented by a phalanx of citizen soldiers. Because many of Massalia's middle-class were already volounteering for the illegal war in Gaul, most of the hoplites Antarchos could muster were poor, albeit desperately brave, men. There were, however, a couple units of solid, well-equipped, and patriotic hoplites who were willing to fight and die beside their kin on their land, and for their land. It was unusual for a Massalian army under its Epeirote kings to be composed mostly of... Massalians.

Ever since the time of Alexandros Aiakides, the Massalian forces were composed mainly of Ligurians, Celts, and Iberians. There were a few Italians, and even fewer Hellenes, let alone Massalian Hellenes. Massalia's Epeirote kings simply couldn't be bothered with having to trust their own subjects. However, it has been a couple generations since Alexandros' coup and the subsequent Epeirote domination of Massalia. Having witnessed their polis being brought to the top of the western Mediterranean world, perhaps the Massalians began to feel more loyalty towards their "foreign" overlords.

Whatever the case may be, Antarchos Aiakides, together with his new phalanx, marched out to meet his brother in the open field.



He entrusted his left flank to the Massalian hoplites, ensuring that they be given a screen of skirmishers against the barbarians from the east.



As Nikadas began ordering his warriors forward, the skirmishers were invaluable for slowing down the charge.



A phalanx, when properly motivated, can prove to be a great anvil against what would otherwise be a powerful enemy.



While holding their own on the left flank, the Ligurian veterans on the right fought back their barbaric enemies with ease. Though outnumbered, these men were certainly not outmatched. They had fought all breeds of enemies from Italians to Carthaginians; a levy of shirtless Celts were nothing to these great men.



With a quick flanking maneouver by light infantry, the enemy fled in a horde to be chased into the sea.



It was an easy victory against so numerically superior a foe, yet it was not a victory to be greatly celebrated.



Nikadas and two great Molossian Epeirote nobles had fallen on the field against the Massalian phalanx. They were all from great aristocratic families that once owned landed estates in Epeiros itself, before serving the Epeirote royal family of Massalia for generations. Although it was a great loss on the part of Massalia as a whole, Antarchos was finally the last remaining royal contender to the throne. As such, the city-state and league of Massalia all aknowledged him as Basileos and Hegemon.

All, that is, except for the Macedonian Ptolemaic family to the north, under the leadership of the famous crusader for Hellenism against the barbarian hordes: Seimias Ptolemaios.







Author's Note: Well, the Civil War drags on. At least there are no more brothers that will stand up against Antarchos, the saviour of Massalia. Just the Macedonian family members. Just in case you guys happened to miss out on a few earlier chapters, the Ptolemaic family was bribed over from the Ptolemies. One young Ptolemaic was bribed and married Pyrrhos's daughter or grand-daughter in an RP marriage alliance. I love the Ptolemies, they're so talented. Seimias is my third-generation Ptolemy, a great-great-grandson of Ptolemy I Soter, and great-grandson of Pyrrhos Aiakides of Epeiros.

Pretty sweet, huh? ALL COMMENTS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED. Every writer loves feedback, so give it to me!

[Megas Methuselah]

VIII. Gobre of Gaul



On the northern frontier, Seimias Ptolemaios, descendant of Ptolemy I Soter & Pyrrhos of Epeiros, Basileos of Emporion, Arverni Rix, and Gobre of Gaul, surveys his situation. It is now the 409th Year After the Founding of Massalia (191 BC), and Seimias has been directing the "illegal" war in Gaul for 7 years, crushing all who opposed his self-declared position as Gobre, the High Magistrate, of Gaul. With military resources coming mainly from his Arverni subjects, who supported his position as their liberator and king, Seimias Ptolemaios spent much of the past years pushing back the Germanic tribesmen out of Gallic lands.

Torn apart by decades of non-stop conflict in the forms of the Arverni and Aedui War, the Germanic incursions, and the Massalian invasion, many of the Gallic inhabitants were doing what they could simply to get through to the next day alive. Their warrior class? Those brave Gallic men of past legends had been largely buried under conflict after conflict, dead and forgotten. The only troops left were villagers levied into a militia to protect against outside threats. It was with these exact militias that Seimias was forced to muster in order to replenish his manpower.



Hagesias Ptolemaios, Seimias' younger brother, was left in northern Gaul with the Massalian troops to combat the Sweboz. This left Seimias himself with the Arverni levies to focus on his next target: the Gallic tribes on the west coast. Though once a part of the Aedui confederation, they were shattered apart following the Sweboz incursions. The west coast of Gaul was largely a backwater of Gallic civilization, desolate, lowly-populated, and behind the times.



Though having suffered no direct Germanic raids, the Lemorisae of the west coast did not have any warrior class to call up, so obselete was their lifestyle. Rather, they had urban militias and urban irregulars levied to defend against outsiders, be they Sweboz, Hellenes, or other Celts.

Why was the army mustered? They didn't believe in a Hellenic domination of their tribe. Seeing as they haven't even been touched in any outside conflict except for having to send young men out to fight when they were one a part of the Aedui Confederacy, the Lemorisae were unafraid of standing against an enemy. They, together with all the Gallic tribes of the west coast, refused to recognize Seimias Ptolemaios' position as Gobre of Gaul.

This left Seimias with two choices:

1) Ignore them, and beat back the Germans instead. This would result in the independent-minded beliefs of the Lemorisae spreading to the inland tribes which had already submitted to Seimias' domination, provoking a rebellions and even further conflicts in this already-ravaged land. Seimias had little enough troops to spare as it was, and could not afford such a possible situation from occuring.

2) Muster a militia-force of Gallic villagers loyal to his position, and march against the west coast tribes. By defeating and shattering the armies, sacking and burning the towns, and enslaving and murdering the people, Seimias would spread fear to the other Gallic tribes, hopefully invoking a stronger sense of loyalty to him. He would send a strong message for what happens to those who disrespect Ptolemaic power.



And so, Seimias went with option 2 and marched against the Lemorisae in the beginning of his west coast campaign. As Gobre of Gaul, Seimias felt he must enforce his dominion over all Gallic tribes. Up until now, his campaign in Gaul was largely one of liberation from the Sweboz. But in this particular case, it was a campaign of massacre and terror, of burning and pillaging, against independent Gallic tribes as his primary foe.



The Lemorisae arranged themselves in a double line, together with a screen of skirmishers. It was a relatively ordinary formation, filled with ordinary villagers.



Against them, Seimias organized his Arverni levies in the formation of a boar's tusk. He figured the enemy was light enough to be shattered in one charge, yet his own men were too light and inexperienced to do it as the Massalian Thureophoroi would. As a result, Seimias decided to count on the sheer weight of a deep formation to break through the center of the enemy's line.



The Lemorisae skirmishers were quick to take advantage of the deep and tight formation, raining javelins down upon the invading Arverni.



In response, Seimias ordered the Hellenic artillerymen to unleash their weapons upon the Gallic warriors of the west coast. Such machines were a rare sight in field battles, even amongst the Hellenes themselves.



Both sides were, as was expected by Seimias, awed by the killing power of the war machines. The Lemorisae were demoralized and somewhat shaken, whilst the Arverni were filled with confidence that they were on the winning side of the battle.



This confidence of victory gave the Arverni levies a new strength, and the bravest ran forward towards the enemy as the boar's tusk went first. Thus is how it is amongst levies. The bravest lead, and the cowardly follow.



The air was filled with battle-cries and pleas to the gods as the shield-walls smashed together in one fell swoop. The crackling of wood on wood, and of iron on iron, rang clear, loud, and terrifying like thunder.



With the levies of both sides occupied in the hand-to-hand combat, Seimias brought the Massalian and Arverni cavalry, the lone horsemen on the field, wheeling around the right flank.



The result? A solid charge into the rear of the Lemorisae line, much to the fear and surprise of the poor Gallic levies.



In spite of this major setback on the part of the Lemorisae, those men continually fought on against the invaders. A levy of citizen-militia will often fight as if divinely inspired when their families and property rest on the fate of the battle. The Arverni invaders were hesitant to advance across the clearing of fallen comrades who had already fallen victim to the Lemorisae shieldwall.



But their bravery was not to last. Nearly sorrounded, the Lemorisae could only fght for so long...



... before a complete rout would took place. Such a result was, as Seimias very well knew, inevitable.



Seimias ordered for the cowardly to be ridden down like dogs.





Though a great victory, the price was high. The field of battle of strewn heavily with the bodies of friend and foe alike.



The fate of the Lemorisae, which would mirror the fate of all of west-coast Gaul, stood as an example: any tribe that resisted Seimias Ptolemaios' position as Gobre would be put down with brute force and prejudice.





Author's Note: WOOO0000oooooh, the best is yet to come! PLEASE, PLEASE COMMENT!!! I like the number of views, but I need feedback damnit!

[DeutschKirby]

I love Antarchos' stat development. Mediocre management and never held a sword for a true fight in his life, but one of, if not the most influential man of his time.

I'm definitely going to be re-reading this AAR. I'd love to gather some ideas off of your AAR. Here's hoping you read mine when it gets going, too.

*Shameless plug. Whatever.*

[Biowulf]

If that's not the best, then I can't wait to read the rest. Keep it going good sir!

[Megas Methuselah]

IX. Aquitae



The fortified settlement of Burdigala fell to the levies of Ptolemaic Arvernia in the fall of the 409th Year Since the Founding of Massalia (191 BC). In the spring of the following year, Seimias Ptolemaios called for the Hellenic forces under his younger brother, Hagesias Ptolemaios, to gather under his banner from their position in northern Gaul. Though the conquest of Gaul was not yet fully accomplished, and though Germanic incursions and tribal uprisings were an ever-constant fear of the Massalian Hellenes who occupied most of Gaul, Seimias felt the sudden urge to gather together his forces in one large army.

He was not without a reason to do so.



Across the Pyrenees to the south, word has arrived from the Celt-Iberian tribes: A large army of a mixed-composition was marching north. It was flying the banners of Massalia. The old, scarred veteran of the Third Carthaginian War, Archias Sybotios, had been ordered to break camp from his position in the Satrapy of Outer Iberia to subdue the Ptolemaic family once and for all. Rather than traverse across the Massalian highways on the coast, Archias chose to trek across the wild terrain of tribal territories in an attempt to catch Seimias by surprise.

His ruse did not work. Not only did the news of his march spread like wildfire amongst the Iberian tribes, alerting nearly everyone of his whereabouts, but the trail across Iberian lands was a slow and tedious journey. By the time winter arrived, Archias found himself trapped in the snows of the Pyrenees.

He must have been cursing the basileos, Antarchos Aiakides, for sending him on such a mission. Antarchos himself almost felt secure in his palace at Massalia, finally having his ass seated comfortably on the throne. The only little bit of fear the man might have had, Archias figured, was the Ptolemaic family.



But Archias was never a military genius. Though a deeply respected and experienced old veteran, it was because of his common descent and Illyrian heritage that the Epeirote royal house of Massalia had never gave him command of any Massalian army. If Nikanor Aiakides had still been alive, he would never have let a common-born barbarian assume command of a Massalian army. He was thus a poor commander, unschooled in the arts of tactics and strategy. This command was his first command, and only because most of the trusted Hellenic and Epeirote generals had already fallen victim to Antarchos' Civil War.



It should not have surprised anyone, then, when Sybotios had finally emerged frustrated from the melting snows of the Pyrenees in the spring of the 410th Year Since the Founding of Massalia (190 BC), he found himself a victim of a tactic commonly used by Celt-Iberian tribes: an ambush.



Taking advantage of the heavily-forested terrain of southern Aquitae, Seimias Ptolemaios set his combined army of Hellenic veterans and Gallic auxiliaries ready to take Archias' army by surprise.



Archias had marched the Massalian-sworn troops straight into the trap, nearly sorrounding both himself and his army without even realizing it.



But Seimias was a patient man. He was not about to jepaordize the outcome of the battle by pre-maturely setting loose his warriors on Archias' men in an instant. He would wait until the right moment to set the lions loose so as to take full advantage of the intended ambush.



The hoplites came out of hiding first, with the Hellenic skirmishers drawing the enemy towards them. This had the planned effect of much of Archias' troops charging towards them without orders.



Shortly thereafter, Seimias' troops on the flanks jumped up and ran screaming towards the enemy.



By the time Archias tried to restore order and command amongst his soldiers, it was too late. Men everywhere were dying and falling victim to Seimias' ambush.



As Archias Sybotios himself would tell you, the rigours of battle care not if you're a noble or a commoner, a skirmisher or a general. The ensueing melee was quick to catch the old man in its net of victims, and his was not the only death wasted in this poorly-planned attempt to crush the Ptolemies. Much of the Massalian army fell in one quick swoop, yet many were still able to get away.



A young Hellenic cavalry commander, having only just started his 15 years of mandatory military service before Archias' march north, was able to escape the battle's bloodshed with a sizeable portion of the army.



The young man was from the Hellenic Berenikeus family, and he was the son of the Satrap of Outer Iberia. The family had settled Iberia upon its conquest, and were originally from Massalia. The boy's name was Klaudios, and under his leadership, the survivors were able to regroup following the slaughter.

But he was no fool. As the Massalians and Celts under Seimias were celebrating their easy victory, Klaudios rode into their camp and dropped his sword at the feet of the great general. Klaudios' men were incorporated into Seimias' army, and Klaudios himself was treated with the leniency his Hellenic descent demanded.

Seimias Ptolemaios, descendant of Ptolemy I Soter and Pyrrhos of Epeiros, would let the young Hellen continue his position as a cavalry captain. But only under the banner of the Ptolemies.



There was no shame in this. And so, Klaudios resigned to his fate, which he considered would most likely be execution as a traitor to the Basileos of Massalia, and wintered with Seimias in Burdigala.









Author's Note: I hate killing off my own armies like this, but this is a civil war. More to come. Please comment, brothers!

[Marcus Darkstar]

awsome as always. nice seeing this updated.

[Megas Methuselah]

X. The March East

By the summer of the 412th Year Since the Founding of Massalia (188 BC), the army in Burdigala was restless. They had spent the winter and spring recuperating from their losses and aquainting themselves with the contingent of soldiers that Klaudios Berenikeus had brought into their fold. "What now?" they thought. They had just been attacked by a Massalian army. Perhaps even worse, they completely routed the troops and killed their commander, before assimilating the survivors into their own ranks. Those men they slaughtered in the forests of Aquitae were the soldiers and representatives of Massalia's might.

The Hellenes under Seimias were frightful. Though their primary loyalty lay with their famous general himself, the gnawing fear in their stomachs could not be put to rest. They were... rebels, were they not? Had they not defied and spat on the authority of their basileos by openly defeating his military forces on the field of battle? Shifty-eyed, the "rebel" Hellenes gazed at those whom with they marched: Arverni Celts, Iberians, Ligurians. Foreign savages, all of them, were their homoi, their equals and comrades-in-arms. Their dreams of spreading Hellenism to the far corners of the barbaric world were crumbling before their very eyes. What was their great general doing?



Well, Seimias was hesitant. He had not expected Antarchos Aiakides to send the Army in Iberia after him. The conquest of Gaul was not yet complete, and the Massalian Hellenes under his command were driving themselves crazy with second thoughts about their holy mission in these barbaric lands. It would take many more years for the independent tribes of Gaul to be forcefully submitted to his authority as Gobre, and even further time to drive the last remnants of the Germanic overlords back across the Rhine.

Yes, Seimias knew there was only one option. If he was to continue his conquest of Gaul, the combined armies of Celts, Germans, and Massalians would wither him down to nothing. He would be utterly crushed and vanquished, and the past decade spent subjugating the tribes would all have been for nothing.



No, he must march on Massalia. Immediately. His only chance at survival was victory against Antarchos. There was no other way, and his hope was lying in the possibility that Antarchos' armies were utterly wasted and broken in the past battles of this civil war. So, with these thoughts in mind, Seimias left the Gallic levies to fend for themselves in Gaul. He would bring the creme of his forces with him in what was likely his final march. His army of veterans were brave and numerous.

But he worried that it may not be enough.

______________________________________________________________________________


By the fall of the same year, the Ptolemaic army arrived in Massalia. It was surprising to see what they found: nothing.



The citizens of Massalia were discontent. Their basileos had abandoned the great city and capital of a de-facto empire to a wild, violent Macedonian who have already proven how far he would go to slake his lust for power. If that was not bad enough, the Macedonian came with an army that had sacked and raped much of Gaul in what was constantly being condemned by their Epeirote kings as an "illegal war."

But Seimias Ptolemaios, descendant of Ptolemy I Soter and Pyrrhos of Epeiros, the Basileon of Emporion, Arverni Rix, and Gobre of Gaul, arrived in Massalia as a liberator. He sent heralds running through the streets of Massalia, calling for the start of athletic games and feasts. When he himself came through the gates of the city, he came sorrounded by his Massalian thureophoroi who freely threw the spoils of Gaul to their fellow citizens. He announced that he would have Gallic land organized and distributed to those who would seek to colonize the northern frontier.

And, perhaps most relieving of all, he called for an end to civil wars. For too long, Massalians had been engaged in civil conflict over the Aiakides. When they were not destroying one another, the huge armies of foreign auxiliaries had been rampaging across the countryside burning and pillaging at will.

As Seimias wintered in Massalia, the Senators who did not flee with Antarchos informed him that the basileos set sail to Italy, to meet up with the loyal Epeirote Satrap of the Po River lands, Philandros Molosseios. Lukewarm in the conflict, they did nothing else to help. Seimias himself began raising a phalanx of Massalian and Celto-Hellenic hoplites to reinforce his current army for the upcoming conflict.



As the games and feasting continued, the young Klaudios Berenikeus addressed what remained of the Senate, and granted Seimias a new name: Galloneitos. "Conqueror of the Foreign Gauls," in the Celtic tongue. This accouncement was made without critisicism. Either the Senators supported Seimias, or they feared him. Whatever the case may be, many of the Massalian citizens cheered for their new champion.



By the spring of the 413th Year Since the Founding of Massalia (187 BC), Seimias sent emisaries to all corners of the Hellenistic World. The games he started on his arrival in the city was be upgraded into a great Panhellenic event.

This was his final action before gathering his troops and departing Massalia, leaving a garrison of Hellenic and Celtic veterans to ensure the city remains within his hands.

All that was left was for him to hunt his prey.






Author's Note: This is gonna be fun!!!

[Megas Methuselah]

XI. Etruria



In the summer of the 413th Year Since the Founding of Massalia (187 BC), Seimias Ptolemaios Galloneitas found himself, together with his army, occupying a trading port on the Ligurian coast, near Segesta. Exhausted from their trek across the Alps, the Ptolemaic troops were grateful for any sort of rest within a peaceful and civilized settlement. The local Ligurians opened their doors in welcome to the advancing enemy, even if it was only out of fear. Even in the great Ligurian city of Segesta, the small policing garrison did nothing to resist Seimias' advance.



It was not an entirely surprising response from these people. Ever since the founding of Massalia, Ligurians had played a large role in Massalia's existence as a polis. Nowadays, this role was largely restricted to that of a satrapy fiercely loyal to Massalia, providing a huge amount of skilled warriors to the military. As a result, in this continuing civil war, both divided militaries found a large number of Ligurians filling their ranks. In fact, this civil war is Liguria's conflict just as much as it is Massalia's; after all, on average, Ligurians serve in the Massalian military in greater numbers than the Massalian Hellenes themselves!

This may perhaps not be the case in the Ptolemaic army, but one of the most common enemies Seimias combats on the field are Ligurians. A strong people, no doubt.

Whatever the case may be, following a quick rest and recovery in the summer, Seimias' army continued its advancement deep into Italian soil in the fall. What they found to the south was shocking:



Antarchos Aiakides, de jure Basileos of Massalia and Hegemon of the League, was leading the largest Massalian force ever gathered together in one place. The cat was now barking at the dog, and Seimias Ptolemaios found himself on the defensive.


Antarchos Aiakides, Basileos of Massalia and Hegemon of the League. Descendant of Pyrrhos Aiakides of Epeiros, he is an Epeirote of the Molossos tribe who killed his brothers in battle to attain his crown.



Antarchos' army. Composed largely of Celts and Ligurians, as well as a few Hellenes, Italians, and Iberians.

Over the past years, Antarchos Aiakides had been conscripting together a large army in Northern Italy to replace the forces lost in the civil war. Together with the troops, Antarchos had summoned whichever loyal aristocrats he could to fight by his side for the liberation of Massalia. Though rather incompetent as both a general and governor, Antarchos was nonetheless raised in the fiery politics of Massalia and its Senate. Now the basileos, he was no doubt the most influential man in the entire league. Getting the Epeirote and Hellenic aristocrats to join his side was, thus, no difficulty.


Philandros Molosseios, Satrap of the Po River and loyal strategos. Descendant of noble Epeirote families of the Molossos tribe.


Arybbas Aiakides, a young aristocratic student called to military service. Antarchos' nephew and a descendant of Pyrrhos, Arybbas is an Epeirote of the Molossos tribe.


Euphranor Kotylaios, following his decade of military service, was ordered by Antarchos to take Seimias' old position as Basileos of Emporion. A Massalian Hellen by birth, he fears retribution from the Ptolemaic forces.

Seimias Ptolemaios, though, felt somewhat relieved. Arranged before him were all his enemies of the league in one army. Though ridiculously large in numbers, most of them were relatively fresh levies. Perhaps even more importantly, none of the fine aristocrats leading those troops possessed any modest amount of knowledge on commanding soldiers. In other words, they were pathetic generals. These weaknesses filled Seimias with hope.

The real men who fought against Carthage, Rome, and Lusitania were all in Nikanor Aiakides's generation, the basileos who preceeded Antarchos. Seimias, no doubt the youngest among them, is one of the surviving men from that old generation. By contrast, the generals who opposed this battle-hardened Macedonian had spent their time killing Epeirote and Hellenic aristocrats who were as poor generals as they in this selfish civil conflict.


Seimias Ptolemaios, called Galloneitas. From the Ptolemaic royal house, he is a Macedonian, the great-great-grandson of Ptolemy I Soter and great-grandson of Pyrrhos Aiakides of Epeiros.

Selfish? It seems rather strange to condemn the Aiakides family as selfish. At least Antarchos had the right by blood and inheritance to claim the throne of Massalia. Seimias, on the other hand, was himself a power-hungry Macedonian who had spent the past decade fighting solely for the position as Basileos of Massalia and Hegemon of the League. His right to the throne? Through conquest.


Hagesias Ptolemaios, brother of Seimias. Unsatisfied with his previous position in the League's hierarchy, he stood by his brother for a better future.


Klaudios Berenikeus, previously a student, was dragged into the conflict against his will on Antarchos' side. An aristocratic Massalian Hellen by birth, he was since shanghai'd into Seimias' forces.

On the other side of the Mediterranean, the Ptolemies were the leaders of an empire. On this side, the same thing might turn out to be the same soon enough.

But Antarchos Aiakides will never let that happen.




Author's Note: Next chapter will be here very soon.

[Cute Wolf]

nice update as always..... Meth... you are among the best AAR writer outta here...

OUW.... Who ban Meth?

[Megas Methuselah]

XII. The Plains of Etruria

Outnumbered 2 to 1, the renowned Seimias Ptolemaios Galloneitas was no longer on the offensive. For the past decade, Seimias had been subduing the Gallic tribes to the north of Massalia's border in an effort to expand and consolidate his power within the Massalian League. This largely had the effect of dragging him into Antarchos' civil war.

Seimias' veteran army had marched directly to Massalia to depose the Epeirote basileos, who fled to Italy in the nick of time. Having followed the basileos across the Alps, Simias at last found his prey lying in wait for him on the Plains of Etruria, with a large army that had been rallied for the sole purpose of defeating this great Macedonian general on the field of battle.

With his troops already somewhat tired from their marching, Seimias knew he could not outrun his foe. His only hope for victory was in the relative inexperience and poor skill of Antarchos and his generals in commanding an army, as well as the inexperience of their troops, who were largely fresh levies.




Seimias, on the other hand, had been fighting since he was 20 years old. Now 55, the power-hungry Macedonian had already led Massalian troops in Africa, Iberia, and Gaul. Considered the greatest general in the western Hellenic world, Seimias was certainly not nervous in leading men to a bloodbath. And what men! Most of the troops he commanded had been fighting for 10 years in the Gallic Wars. Some of them had even fought with Seimias in Africa, and were deadly fighters unafraid of whatever encountered them on the field.



And so, rolling the dice, Seimias Ptolemaios Galloneitas halted his troops before the advancing Massalian army and ordered his men to formation. Ever so slowly, the enemy advanced.

But civil wars are never an easy feat. Brothers were forced to kill brothers, and soldiers ravaged their own country. For the men under Antarchos Aiakides' command, their motivation was found in the belief that they fought for the rightful basileos and the liberation of the League's greatest polis: Massalia.



So they charged. Ligurian and Celtic warriors ran towards their enemies, screaming away their doubt in the killing that was to come. Their ancestors left them a legacy of glorious conquests, and these young soldiers dared not to cast shame on their bloodline.

Antarchos Aiakides was leading the first wave of attackers, determined to take full credit for what he believed was Seimias' inpending defeat.



But not even his highly-motivated Massalian hoplites couldn't break through the Ptolemaic line, where a long phalanx of Hellenes and a formation of armoured Arverni swordsmen managed to hold back the assault of their basileos.

Hagesias, Seimias' brother, was in command of the far right flank. There, he took the cavalry (along with Klaudios Berenikeus, a cavalry commander) and several units of infantry to wheel around the flank and smash the enemy from the rear.



Much to Hagesias' credit, this was done with astounding success. Much of the basileos' line of attackers fled in confusion.



With Antarchos' entire left flank fleeing in disorder, Hagesias sent some troops to cause further disruption in the center. The Hellenic thureophoroi did this with deadly efficiency.

However, the day was not yet done. Though half of Antarchos' line had routed in terror, Philandros Molosseios arrived in command of the second wave of attackers.



With him came two full lines of troops to bear down upon the Ptolemaic forces. Hagesias' flankers and Antarchos and his routers were caught in the thick of it. The no-man's-land between the basileos' troops and the Ptolemaic troops were filled with men from both armies slaughtering anyone who opposed them. It was a confusion of blood as men died relentlessly under the hot Italian sun. Hagesias Ptolemaios and Klaudios Berenikeus, together with the cavalry and infantry flankers, were run down with impunity. Nearly the entire flanking force was completely destroyed, with the few survivors running back behind the slowly-advancing Ptolemaic line.

In spite of that gain, Antarchos and his fleeing troops were still unable to get away.



With the Ptolemaic line advancing slowly but inexorably, the influential Massalian Basileos and Hegemon of the League was run down in the onslaught.

From that point on, it became a bloody struggle between two exhausted lines, a war of pushing and shoving.

Philandros Molosseios soldiered on with Arybbas Aiakides and Euphranor Kotylaios. Arybbas himself became the heir apparent, as one of the last surviving Aiakides. Philandros feared a Macedonian domination of the League and fought to ensure Epeirote supremacy. As for Euphranor, he gritted his teeth and held his position against Seimias' onslaught out of sheer fear for having stolen Seimias' position as Basileos of Emporion.



As the day wore on, the ground became slick with blood. Seimias' line, though much thinner than Philandros', had managed to advance and stand their ground against the enemy.

By the end of the day, the ground was littered with corpses and many of the survivors had fled the field. Antarchos' 3 generals had fought to the end against the Ptolemaic forces, though the same could not be said for the soldiers they commanded.



Largely through bloody and costly attrition, Seimias' line managed to grab victory from the jaws of defeat. There were, as seen from the field of battle, truly countless bodies.



Though the victory was total and conclusive for both the battle and the civil war itself, it was not without its price. The largest Massalian army ever to gather in one place was nearly completely destroyed. Countless lives were wasted and an ocean of blood was spilled. Good men who could have gloriously expanded the frontiers of Hellenism instead were focused on slaughtering their own countrymen.

But Seimias was victorious.




Author's Note: Well, I thought I was gonna lose that battle at first. When Hagesias, Klaudios, and the flankers were run down and annihilated like dogs, I was like, "Aw hell."

I owe my victory to the hoplites and the Celtic Neitos (those swordsmen armoured in chainmail). The hoplites, including the regular ones and the Massalian ones, are superbly reliable line-holders when placed in the center with guard mode on. This was only another victory almost entirely attributed to them in this campaign so far. As for the Neitos, they were remarkable. When Philandros smashed against my line, they were able to hold a huge stretch of line by virtue of their defensive capabilities alone. I love them so much, this victory is almost entirely because of them, hahaha.

But damn. The civil war is over... I wish I took more pictures of the battle, as this is a rather short chapter, but I was panicking and focusing primarily on winning the battle rather than recording it.

[Biowulf]

Holy that looked awesome. Where are you going next though? And how do you get these armies to fight each other?
Keep it up!