What should I do with Asia Minor?

[QuintusSertorius]

In my historical game, it's 192BC and I'm fighting the Seleukids in Anatolia. With the eventual aim of driving them out of the region.

However, I have a problem. While I'm fine making Pergamon a client province, I don't want to conquer their historical extent because that seems a bit much. I want to give it to another faction to hold for me until I hit 133BC.

It has to be a Hellenic (not Hellenistic) faction, but I've got a nice stalemate between Koinon Hellenon and Makedonia in Greece itself. If I give them to KH, they'll wipe out Makedonia in it's homeland. If I give them to Makedonia, they'll wipe out KH in Greece.

I don't want to give stuff to Epeiros, since I'm destroying them in 25 years. Which gives me a though - maybe I should wipe out Epeiros, give their territory to Makedonia, then give the offending new provinces to KH?

Would it be worth giving Hallikarnassos and Side back to the Ptolemies to keep things messy there? Northernmost provinces will go to Pontos and Hayasdan, I think.

Ideas?

[konny]

Would it be worth giving Hallikarnassos and Side back to the Ptolemies to keep things messy there? Northernmost provinces will go to Pontos and Hayasdan, I think.

Yes, that's what I would do: give these lands to AS enemies in return for a treaty of alliance. That way I once secured my Northern border against my Aedui and Sweboz enemies: gave provinces like Aventicos to the Arverni in return for an alliance. That held for many decades, prevented Arverni from destruction and pushed back the brown flood.

[QuintusSertorius]

I've just given Sardis to KH, I think I'll do the same with Ipsos. Hallikarnassos, Side and Tarsos to the Ptolemies. That might finally get them to agree to an alliance. Mazaka to Pontos.

[QuintusSertorius]

It now looks thus:



Lovely mixed-up bands of no one really having a lot of control. I wonder what the possibility is of making it all go rebel? Or perhaps I should wait until I've destroyed Makedonia and Koinon Hellenon for that? That's not for a while, though.

[QuintusSertorius]

Here's another thought, what if I were to migrate Epeiros to Asia Minor when I destroy them? Turn them into one of the smaller Hellenic kingdoms? Could I use them as Bithynia?

I'm already thinking I might preserve Koinon Hellenon as Rhodes. Or perhaps I should move someone to Cyrenaica?

I can think of at least four regions I might preserve as a single-province faction: Crete, Rhodes, Bithynia and Kyrene (or maybe five with the Bopshoran Kingdom). Who would be the best fit for each of them?

Would I be crazy to put Qarthadast, once destroyed in Sidon?

[Hax]

Could I use them as Bithynia?

I believe Bithynia was Eastern. You could of course use Pontos for that.

[QuintusSertorius]

I believe Bithynia was Eastern. You could of course use Pontos for that.

In which case no dice, I want to preserve Pontos for a goodly long while. Does give an obvious owner for it when I get rid of Makedonia, though.

Makedonia as Krete then? More likely to be inactive as an island, too.

[soibean]

that map resembles what I did in my Makedonian campaign. After kicking the Koinon out of Greece, I was surprised when their army disembarked on the shores of Mytelene (sp?). I only had a family member there, so I pulled him out with my last ship and left the city defenseless. I tried giving the Koinon the town in exchange for peace, but they wouldn't even attack it for 10 years (no lie it was ridiculous).
After that I kept giving money to both the Koinon, Hayasdan, and Pontos to expand throughout Asia minor. I was pulling in atleast 20k a turn so I had no problem throwing cash around. The result is that I am currently marching through Egypt, working my way back to the North in order to knock out the AS's main cities before completing my conquest and hopefully ending the campaign

[QuintusSertorius]

My relatively final settlement is thus:



At least until I fight Makedonia and Koinon Hellenon some more. What's the chances of being able to turn all those provinces rebel?

[General Appo]

Ummm... pretty low I would recon. But one or two might be possible.
I don´t know about the Ptolemais, how long did they have those Anatolian regions?

[QuintusSertorius]

163 and Asia Minor looks thus:



I'm not happy with it. Mostly I don't like the Makedonians and KH having that rich territory. I'm considering giving it to Epeiros instead, but I wonder if I'll just create another monster that way.

Thoughts?

[General Appo]

Well, for unorthodox solutions, you could always give Nikaia to the Getai, to represent the Thrakian tribes there.

[QuintusSertorius]

Not sure I want to make them any richer than they already are. Plus they seem to be angling to attack me all the time.

[QuintusSertorius]

Things now look roughly thus:



I'm actually a couple of years on now, but I'm in a quandry as to what to do. The client ruler of Pergamon died recently, so I'll be leaving it without a government for a few years, just commanded by the generals in the province. Mytilene similarly has no government right now.

What I'm considering doing is simply using Forced Diplomacy to relieve Koinon Hellenon of Sardis, Ipsos and Side. Another war would be tedious, and they're my protectorate right now. Although it would reduce their military significantly, rather than having to stuff them all somewhere.

Regardless of how I take them, I'm going to take Hallikarnassos off the Ptolemies and give it to KH, so they'd retain Rhodes and Karia. Hopefully that won't then encourage them to constantly attack me, but we'll see. Pergamon is well-defended, all I need to do is recruit another Greek army or two from there. Or maybe send a Roman consular army out there to supplement them.

Ideas?

[artaxerxes]

Since AS seems doomed in your campaign, you could always give them some territories in northern Asia Minor - if they weren't linked to the remaining AS provinces, they'd hardly be able to do much with them, and that way you could simulate an independent Bithynia or Sinope or Byzantion or Sardes, just 'allied' to AS - and prevent other powers in the area from ruling those regions...

[QuintusSertorius]

Turns out I managed to get both Byzantion and Halikarnassos to revolt, so that's easier.

Not sure about giving anything more to AS, I like their slow contraction and extra territory might cause them to start wandering around.

[Hax]

I'd say, give Sardis to the Arche Seleukeia. And possibly Ipsos.

[QuintusSertorius]

I'd say, give Sardis to the Arche Seleukeia. And possibly Ipsos.

Having gone to all of the trouble of taking it off them in the first place, I'm not about to give it back. In any case I've reached the stage in the game where I should be taking them for my own (Attalos' bequest), so it's a bit moot now.

In fact it's all rendered even moreso by the fact that bugs have killed the game.