From robbers to royalty, a Pahlav AAR.

[johnhughthom]

Chapter 1


A recently discovered book, found in the deserts of Iran, has cast new light on the beginnings of the Parthian Empire. While many people claim the book is a fake just as many believe it is the most important discovery in pre-Christianity history for many years. The book is a diary written by an emissary of the Parthians named Keyarash and it covers the period of their rise from Seleukid Satrap to Empire.

An extract:

"Looking back on what we now call year one it is strange to think I left Nisa contemplating going to Seleukeia to work for the descendents of Seleukos. There were no murmurings of what was to transpire and nobody told me we would attack the Empire, had I been told I would have gone into hiding and my story would never have been told."

It seems the catalyst to the Parthian rebellion was a rash general by the name of Harasp who was from the same tribe as the Parthian Satrap. He attacked the Seleukid city of Zadrakata after it's governor demanded Harasp give his horses to local goat herders, surely the only time in history goats have kicked off a war. The attack on the town was sudden, brutal and comprehensive, according to Keyarash not one Parthian was injured.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Satrap, who's name is not mentioned, and his grandson are then attacked by a large Seleukid army which they annihilate.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Satrap was unaware of Harasps' actions at this time and thinks the Basileus has attacked him without provocation. He sends word to Harasp, who may have been his son in law (Keyarash is unclear on this) and his son, Arshak, to attack the Seleukid towns to the south.

Extract:

"His majesty was immensely angry with the Basileus, his anger was soon tempered by the news other Satraps had taken this opportunity to sever ties with the Empire. Baktria, Armenia and Pontus all broke away and suddenly there was an opening to become truly independent. He sent word to his close family to attack the lightly defended cities south of his holdings and the Parthian rebellion had truly begun."

Harasp defeats a Seleukid army on the road to Hekatompylos, then conquers the city itself.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Meanwhile the city of Asaak is taken by Arshak.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The number of Seleukids Keyarash claims are killed compared to the Parthian losses must surely be taken with a pinch of salt. For example "the Satraps army killed over twelve thousand greeks, one hundred and fifty of his men were killed or injured."

Keyarash only gives us a brief glimpse of what happens in year one, it seems he is unsure of some of the facts and almost certainly exaggerates things. His accounts of the following years are more concise and he is more confident his information is accurate.

[Tristuskhan]

This will be an AAR with Pahlava using EB 1.1, RTW.exe on H/M.

Update soon...

That's good news, indeed.

[Maion Maroneios]

Good luck, can't wait for that one

Maion

[johnhughthom]

My next chapter should have a bit more variety in images, I'm still new to posting pictures and I have a lot to learn. Any feedback or advice would be very welcome.

[Maion Maroneios]

Good start, john! I hope this will turn out into a very good AAR!

Maion

[Tristuskhan]

Clean victories you had there, keep on going.

[desert]

If there is one thing I hate about nomad AARs, it's that some poor steppe peoples always somehow manage to conquer half of Asia within 10 years. I guess that's why the Mongols expanded so quickly -
Genghis Khan was a Total War player.

Especially annoying is how these guys take victories against armies 3-5 times their size and no losses on their part in stride.

Good AAR so far, though.

[johnhughthom]

Chapter 7:Succesful Experiment?

Year 9 sees us introduced to one of Keyarash' main sources of news from home, his old mentor Pishdad.

Pishdad was the man who repaired the relationship with the Saka tribes, he was unfortunately unable to renew the alliance due to the Saka being at war with Baktria.

We are also introduced to the son of Harasp, Darman,

and it quickly becomes obvious that, despite his youth, Darman is ruthless and capable. The City of Alexandreia-Ariane accepts a bribe from the Seleukids and rebels,

before the Greeks had time to install a garrison Darman rode into the city and butchered the elder council. The townspeople came before him and begged for mercy, none was forthcoming. Almost 75% of the population was enslaved or killed, the speed of Darmans reaction shows he had no thoughts of waiting for instructions from the king. With a purpose reminiscint of his father he showed what happens to those who defy Parthian authority.

Keyarash believed Darman was destined to become as great a warrior as his father, and he tells us many in the Empire also thought so.

Year 8 also gives us our second detailed report of battle, again from a letter from an old friend of Keyarash. This time, though, the Parthians have a new, experimental army, mainly composed of mercenaries.

Extract:
"We had some Greek Peltasts, heavily armoured, who would throw their missiles then withdraw behind the spearmen, local Persian archer-spearmen, who excelled at neither and Babylonian spearmen, who we hoped would be the match of the Greeks. We also had a unit of horsemen from India,and some local archers."

"For once we weren't hugely outnumbered by the enemy."

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

"We lined up with the peltasts in front,the spearmen in a line and the archers behind. It wasn't exactly a move of tactical genius but the King was new to such an army and keeping it simple was the best thing to do"

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

"It was strange to see the army move forward to meet the enemy, both armies going forward with little attempt to flank. The royal horsemen concentrated their fire on the enemy archers, who were lightly armoured, and routed them with a charge when they were decimated by the missile fire. Our spearmen were having a rough time of it until the cavalry returned, routed the enemy cavalry and then charged the rear of the enemy spear. It was strange to see such a mass of men together, there was something barbaric about the chaotic melee."

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

"The victory was won and we lost far fewer men than the enemy, but it was still a staggering loss of life compared to what we were used to. Of course they were only mercenaries, paid to die, but we didn't have the manpower of the Seleukids and could ill afford to lose too many men. Arshak the younger was very unhappy after the battle, he had an ill-tempered argument with his father feeling the experiment was a failure. His father said that while we had lost many men the enemy, who were used to fighting that way, lost many more. We needed time to adapt to new ways and would learn. The Prince felt we didn't have time to learn, more Seleukid armies were on our borders, the old ways had won us our freedom-why abandon them in our hour of glory?"

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[johnhughthom]

Chapter 8:A fathers vision

Extract from a letter written to Keyarash:

"The city is overjoyed that the King and the Prince have settled their differences, Arshak the younger has agreed that we should look to new ways for our military. While we learn how to fight in a modern style we will have to rely on mercenaries to defend our lands, we will learn from them and our unruly tribesmen will become a force to be feared in the world."

Keyarash is of the opinion that Prince Arshak is still unconvinced of the benefits of an infantry based army but changed his public view out of respect for his grandfather. The former King, Phrapates, had dreamt of a new Persian Empire, with a Parthian Emperor. The current King had promised Phrapates on his deathbed he would do his utmost to further that cause, and Arshak senior was a loyal son and took his oath seriously. The Prince had learned much from his grandfather on campaign as a young man and knew how much his vision of a Parthian Empire had meant to him, so, like his father, he put aside his misgivings to follow the dreams of a dead man.

Keyarash mentions three battles in the Parthian Empire in year 10, two of which are convincing victories for Harasp-such things are taken for granted now and we aren't told of numbers involved or even who the enemy was. The other battle was against an army who had beseiged the capital city, Hekatompylos. The Royal Army was in Apameia and couldn't get to the battle quuickly enought to relieve the seige, Prince Arshak rode to Hekatompylos with his personal guard and his father sallied forth with him to attack the Seleukid Strategos.

The Seleukid army was a rag tag band of survivors of previous armies who had been routed on Parthian soil. Numbers favoured the Greeks, but anybody following this story would know how little trust we should place in numbers.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Syrian general had a reputation as a gifted leader but he was shown to have little finesse in the battle to follow. The father and son managed to isolate the generals cavalry from his phalangites and charged him front and rear. The shock of two charges from heavy Parthian cavalry was too much and his unit was decimated, leaving the phalangites with no cavalry support.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Parthians hadn't used a single arrow in killing the strategos and soon started emptying their quivers at the helpless Greeks, the end result had been inevitable the instant the Seleukid general had allowed himself to get isolated.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The evolution of Parthian governance reached a crucial stage this year with construction starting on government buildings in Hekatompylos, Zadrakata and Asaak.

The vision of Phrapates was beginning to come to fruition, but would the reliance on mercenaries to defend the homeland be the downfall of the fledgling Empire?

[johnhughthom]

Chapter 9:Persepolis is taken.

The pages dealing with years 11 and 12 are in even worse shape than those of 6, 7 and 8, again this is very frustrating as it deals with an important period in the history of the Parthians. The historically significant city of Persepolis was taken in year 12, the Seleukid heir being killed in the attack on the city.

Extract:
"Andromachos was highly respected in the Seleukid Expire and seen as the natural sucessor to the Basileus, he was the Satrap of Persia and one of the most able administrators in the Empire."


Keyarash tells us Harasp took his army from city of Gabai and attacked Andromachos at Persepolis, we can only assume Gabai was captured by Harasp just prior to the attack.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The Seleukid heir had a large bodyguard contigent but the rest of the garrison was levy troops-arrow fodder for Harasps veterans. Like the Seleukid general in the previous chapter Andromachos foolishly allowed himself to become isolated and is charged from two directions and annihilated. After the death of the general the usual Parthian target practice occured.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Phrapates dream of a new "Persian Empire" had Persepolis as a central component, it was obvious why, the city was full of reminders of the Empire destroyed by Alexandros.



Extract:
"The tomb of Cyrus had an inscription asking that any ruler of Persepolis not begrudge him his monument, far from disrespecting his resting place Harasp spent a full day alone with the tomb, praying for Cyrus approval of the new dynasty. He returned the next day claiming to have been visited by Cyrus in a dream, Cyrus had said that if the current King came to pay his respects at his tomb the Parthians would conquer all that Cyrus and his descendants had ruled and more. Harasp sent a messenger to the King that very day"

[johnhughthom]

I'm having a slight problem, all my saves for this AAR CTD... It's a strange one as the saves load, I can play for a few seconds then it CTDs, it does this with the script fired or not, I tried ending the turn right away but it CTDs during the AI turn. I am going to try a clean reinstall but I'm busy in work the next few days so won't be able to for a while, I'm hoping since some of the saves worked before it's something a reinstall will fix.