The Exile - Kingdom of Kydonia [a fictional semi-observing AAR]

[PriestLizard]

The Exile - Basileion Kydonias
A fictional (semi-observer) AAR

"And by a prudent flight and cunning save a life which valour could not, from the grave. A better buckler I can soon regain, But who can get another life again?" - Archilochos

¤ CONTENT ¤

Introduction and Prologue
Chapter 1: Of Angels and Men
Chapter 2: Acumen
Chapter 3: Solaris
Chapter 4: Rotorblade
Chapter 5: Paragon
Chapter 6: Ragnarök

¤ ¤ ¤

Introduction

Hi there. This is my first ARR and since I'm rather new to this board too, I will take the chance and introduce myself a bit. I'm a 26-year old student for mathematics/physics from germany and both gaming & history have been an hobby of mine for a long time now. Its funny that gaming and history were always connected a bit - it all started when I was 15 and got my first computer: I played Age of Empires 1 (still one of my all-time favs in gaming) A LOT and this really got me into history and I started reading about it etc. I even planned to study history when I was in high school but well... :)
In 2005 a friend of mine showed me (vanilla) RTW and I really loved it. I finished a seleucid campaign and started several others. I then forgot about the game for a while untill summer 2007, when I discovered this awesome mod which is EB.

Ok enough of me... I just want to say again: Awesome Mod and awesome community. I have quite some experience with gaming communities and I think this one is quite a nice place :]

Talking about this ARR: Some of you may have seen my posts in the 1.1 Progression thread where my small Baktrian kingdom was crushed by both Saka and AS simultaniously. I then had the idea to move one character to Kydonia on Krete, take the city and observe the rest of the campaign map. There was once a Observer AAR (I think on TWTower) and I thought that was quite a cool idea. Anyway I also thought about some crazy RP fictional campaign where I create a "Baktrian" empire back in old greece... and I was encouraged for that by some forum member (thanks) :)

So basically thats the idea: Observing the campaign map (mostly) while slowly (very slowly) creating a strong (city-)state on Krete and maybe plan some invasion on greece later on... and maybe even conquer back the lands of Baktria some day (probably not ^^).

The rules: (update! 12/06/2008 - after Chapter 5)
* Difficulty is VH on the campaign map and M in battles.
* No cheating. I used move_character cheat though to bring one FM to Krete and I gave him 20.ooo mnai to get some mercenaries for conquering the city. Which wasnt necessary, since I used the auto_win cheat there too (lol). Since then: No cheating. If I need some "assistance" later on (i.e. force diplomacy or something, I will mention it).
* Version is EB 1.1 with Alexander.exe. EB 1.1 is clean, I only changed some colors and faction names later on.
* Since this will be "observing the campaign map" for quite some time, I havent thought about gameplay rules yet. Basically I will RP my family as good as possible. Possible objectives are "Reclamation of Greece" or even "Reclamation of Baktria".
* The real AAR starts in 250 BC but I will give you a prologue about what happened before.
* Updates as often as possible, even though I'm busy with univ, probably once a week.
* Please comment as you like. I will also follow your suggestions and comments when it comes to my own gameplay decisions.
* Local autonomy house rule: all cities with type VI government will have "local autonomy", which means that every production is decided by the local governors. I can only set the adjustment.
* Auto-Win: auto_win will be used if I have a decent advantage over the enemy forces. Usually 2:1 or higher!

And now, here we go:
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Prologue: Independence of Baktria

272 BC Baktria is a satrapy of the mighty Arche Seleukeia. Theodotos, the satrap, pays a small tribute to show his loyalty while still following his own interests. He leads his army to the east and conquers Kophen with a heroic victory against the barbarians. In the same year, Pahlava declares war to the seleucids. Theodotos is ordered to break his alliance with the parthians and to help his king.

269 BC Years of peace. Theodotos tries to develop his kingdom, establishing a strong government in Kophen and strengthening the economy in Baktra. He plans to start a campaign further to the east, against Taxila and the other indian lands beyond the mountains.

267 BC The seleucids have enough of Theodotos' own ambitions as they lay siege on Baktra. Theodotos hurries back from Kophen and cancel his plans for India. Diodotos Baktrios, Theodotos' son, defends Baktra against the seleucid attackers.
Baktria now sees itself in war with the mighty Arche Seleukeia. The war for independence has begun.

265 BC Another attack by the seleucids on Baktra. Theodotos defends his capital in a hard battle. On the walls of Baktra, the seleucids suffer a crushing defeat and lose almost 2000 men.

264 BC Theodotos' bold move: He leads his army westward and engages the seleucids on their own land. He is able to win some battles near Antiocheia-Margiane. He doesn't attack the city though as he won't be able to hold it.

The world in 264 BC.

263 BC The war against the seleucids continue. Theodotos forges an alliance with the Ptolemaioi as he hopes this will weaken the seleucids.

262 BC Theodotos defeats a seleucid army near Alexandreia-Ariana and captures the city. Ariana becomes a semi-autonomous satrapy of Baktria.

259 BC As the seleucids once again engage Baktra, Antialkidas Marakandaios quickly rushes to the west and captures a rather undefended Antiocheia-Margiane.
At the same time, Theodotos tries to secure his diplomatic relation to Pahlave and pays a small tribute. Later the same year, the parthians betray Theodotos and lay siege on Antiocheia-Margiane.

258 BC Theodotos stays victorious and wins another battle against a seleucid army. In all middle asia he is now known as a great tactician and great commander on the battlefield. Some may even call him a true warmonger.

Baktrian phalangites fighting parthian spearmen in Nisa.

257 BC Decisive battle between Baktria and Pahlava. Theodotos suffers heavy cassualties from the parthian horse-archers but his phalangites and their discipline manage to carry the victory. Theodotos leads his army further west and captures Nisa in a night attack.

256 BC Theodotos and his son Diodotos continue their campaign in parthia. They beat the remaining parthian army near Khiva and capture the city.

The parthian kingdom is destroyed as Theodotos captures their last city.


Baktria at its peak of power in 255 BC

255 BC The Saka declares war to Baktria. Baktria is now in war with all three neighbouring factions. In the meantime the cold war against Arche Seleukeia starts again. After some years of peace at the southern border, they once agains siege Alexandreia-Ariana.

254 BC The seleucids capture Ariana. Heiliokles, a son of Diodotos, dies in battle. As Theodotos hurries home from Parthia to defends his lands, the seleucids forge an alliance with the ptolemaic empire to secure their western border.

253 BC The parthian provinces, Nisa and Khiva, rebell as Baktria cannot afford any garrisons there. The seleucids conquer Antiocheia-Margiane. Only Baktra and Kophen are still under direct control of Baktria. Theodotos decides to surrender and declares the war for independence lost. He is arrested by seleucids troops and the Baktrian kingdom is destroyed.

Theodotos Baktrios, former king of Baktria.

At the same time, Patrokles Marakandaios, a step-son of Theodotos and governor of Kophen, forges his own scheme. Never being known for his loyalty to neither Theodotos nor Baktria, he plans his flight back to greece. "I'd rather walk through the fires of Hades on my way to greece than being slain for Theodotos' foolish dreams." shall he be quoted later.

On his journey to greece, he and his family gain some help from a macedonian mercenary general, named Menander Asteraios. Menander and Patrokles share their hate on easteners and the seleucids. They start to develop a true friendship and some say that Menander was like a new son to Patrokles. Three years later, they arrive on Krete. With the help of Menander and his men, Patrokles captures the city of Kydonia and calls out the Kingdom of Kydonia, Basileion Kydonias.

Patrokles Marakandaios, self-proclaimed basileus of Kydonia, 250 BC.


The world and kydonian kingdom of Krete, 250 BC.

It is the story of Patrokles' exile and the birth of a new kingdom in hellas. I heard that they came a long way from a distant land called Baktria, far in the east, even further than mystic Babylon, where Megas Alexandros died. While our brothers in greece are in war with macedonia - the refugees from Baktria forging their rising... to reclamate the lands of Pella? Or even whole of greece? And I wonder if Patrokles and Menander know who is in their company - it is Sophagasenos Baktrios, grandson of king Theodotos and true heir of the baktrian crown! [...] -Stratos Kydoniaios, Krete, 250 BC

End of prologue.

[Maion Maroneios]

Very interesting idea, PriestLizard. I'll be following this one, as first of all you are a fellow Physics student and secondly, I currently reside in Crete where I study. Oh yes and just a minor correction, it's AAR (After Action Report) not ARR.

Anyways good luck with your story and if you need any help or have any questions, feel free to ask.

Maion

P.S.: If you're interested, a good Greek name for Kingdom of Kydonia, would be Basileion Kydonias

[zooeyglass]

Fantastic start, I'm very impressed. This looks like it could be very interesting indeed.

I see you decided to head west at the start of your baktrian campaign - defeating the pahlava is impressive, but you were really caught in a vice between AS and saka then!

I will be following! keep it up!

[PriestLizard]

Oops... yah of course its AAR! And thanks for your hint about Basileion Kydonias! Take a look at macedonia, they got pushed out of greece and their capital is now Pergamon... tadaaa... my plan was to rename them to "Kingdom of Pergamon" - I guess the proper name would be "Basileion Pergamon(ia?)"?

[Aemilius Paulus]

I am following this AAR too. I have never read a Baktria AAR yet. These don't come up very often. A shame too. Oh, and BTW, don't be afraid to post more screenshots in your next update. MAA's AAR is full of them, and that is partially what makes it so interesting.

[Maion Maroneios]

Oops... yah of course its AAR! And thanks for your hint about Basileion Kydonias! Take a look at macedonia, they got pushed out of greece and their capital is now Pergamon... tadaaa... my plan was to rename them to "Kingdom of Pergamon" - I guess the proper name would be "Basileion Pergamon(ia?)"?

I see, basically I did the same in my AAR but with the difference that I was Makedonia and I forced Epeiros to go to Pergamon I renamed them as Basileion Pergamou, btw, which means Kingdom of Pergamon. The Pergamou is the genitive form, indicating the "of something" part of the name, in this case of Pergamon. But I think I'm saying way too much again

Maion

[julius_caesar_the_first]

Fantastic idea PriestLizard.Ever since I read "Across the Waters" I have come to love exile AAR's. I will certainly be following this one!

I can barely wait to see what happens next.I will be looking forward to your next update.

[gamegeek2]

Heh. In my old Epeiros campaign (Accidentaly overwrote it while updating my AAR) Maks got pushed to Mytilene only, and look what they did (check out my AI progression post).

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

They conquered Anatolia. Check it out!

[PriestLizard]

Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement! Here's my update (its rather short), hope you'll enjoy it. If you have comments or gameplay suggestions, just let me know.

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Chapter 1: Of Angels And Men

“Shall our family, then, never be at peace? Shall we always be harassed with war, bloodshed, and exile?“ -Adherbal

The island of Krete and the mediterranian ocean.

“Petrokles Marakandaios called out the kingdom of Kydonia in the year 250 BC. At that time, Kydonia was a small city of barely more than a thousand citizens. Even though Kydonia had a rich history reaching back to the minoan civilization, Kydonia was more of a barbarian settlement than a developed greek city state.
It all changed when Petrokles and his men from the east arrived. Petrokles wore the crown of Baktria, a kingdom forged by the ancestors of mighty Alexander himself. It took little effort for him and his trusted general, Menander Asteraios, to take over the city and establish his own kingdomship.
The people of Kydonia, although skeptical, allowed themselves to be impressed by their new rulers – and it was not for nothing. Petrokles built up schools, a theater and military complexes and allowed the city to flurrish with very low tax rates. Some may have wondered that a man like Petrokles, who was known for his selfishness and a grim hand when it comes to ruling a city, behaved like that. On the other hand though, you may understand that this man, who had crossed all known earth and who knew, that his time might come soon, did not have any interest to gather more wealth, power nor fame. From what I heard, all he wished for was to enjoy his life on greek ground and to create his dynasty on Krete.
In fact, Petrokles was a quitter when he left Baktria and became a hero when he brought the crown to Kydonia.“ -Stratos Kydonaios

250 BC Petrokles Marakandaios calls out the Basileion Kydonias. In the very east, in the province of Baktra, the war between the powerful Arche Seleukeia and the riders from the northern steppes, the Saka, finally starts.

248 BC The Koinon Hellenon is still in war with the macedonian kings and the epirote hegemony. Petrokles' diplomats arrive in Sparte and sign a peace treaty. Kydonia will pay a small tribute and will become a member of the alliance.

246 BC Pontus becomes a protectorate of the Ptolemaioi. After eight years of peace, the war between Arche Seleukeia and the ptolemaic kingdom breaks out again.

Pontic provinces as a protectorate of the Ptolemaioi, 246 BC

244 BC Epeiros is destroyed as Rome captures their last city in italy. The balance of power in greece has drastically changed over the years.

The romani siege Taras, the last epirote settlement, 244 BC


Epeiros defeated, 244 BC

Stratos Kydoniaios, in his work „Kingdoms and Empires“, approx. 232 BC
„The ongoing war between the greek city-states and the macedonian kingdom would change the face of greece completely. The Koinon Hellenon under spartian leadership managed to defeat the macedonians on almost every occasion and slowly, but constantly, pushed them out of greece.
With the kingdom of Macedonia destroyed and their homelands conquered by the greek cities, the royal family took refuge in Pergamon and called out the Basileion Pergamou.
At the same time, the alliance between the city states tattered as their disputes grew stronger again. Euthymedes from Demetrias took the chance and defeated the armies of Koinon Hellenon and brought greece under his control. Although the powerful city states of greece, like Sparte and Athens, still keep their independence, they can be seen as parts of a new greek empire of Demetrias – the Arche Hellenon.

European factions, 242 BC

In the east, the Arche Seleukeia had lost more and more of its terretories in minor asia and were forced to roll back into Syria. The Ptolemaioi had become the major power in eastern europe as they controlled most great parts of Anatolia, plus their homeland in egypt.

And in the west, the romans grew stronger and stronger. No one knew what to expect from them...“

Menander Asteraios, Basileus of Kydonia, 237 BC

242 BC Petrokles Marakandaios dies peacefully in Kydonia. His general and later adopted son Menander Asteraios becomes new Basileus of Kydonia. He continues his fathers strategy to develop a strong city-state on Krete. The city grows larger and larger as the city had become famous for its good conditions for merchants, philosophers and fishermen.

The archons palace, home of Menander


Temple of Ahura-Mazda. The cult was brought from Baktria to Krete by Petrokles and his followers.

238 BC Coming of age for Sophagasenos Baktrios, son of Diodotos and true heir of the baktrian crown. Menander is still unaware of Sophagasenos presence.

Streets of Kydonia, 237 BC

237 BC Kydonia gets the title of large town as a new counting of citizens shows more than six-thousand people.

„Sometimes we wondered if it was too much of us to claim. Too much that we imposed to young Sophagasenos. We were not sure what would happen if Menander had found out the true identity of one of his companions from Baktria.
We just did not know what to do yet and Sophagasenos seemed to be unsure either. We also couldn't forecast what would happen: a reclamation of the crown of Baktria by Sophagasenos? Or would he abandon his identity and fate by getting lost in sins and distraction?“ -Stratos Kydoniaios, 237 BC

Sophagasenos Baktrios, true heir of the baktrian crown, 236 BC

End of chapter 1.

[Joszen1]

I'm loving it! Looks like the yellow death is running strong, what's going on in Iberia and Gaul/Germania though? Probably not much to do with your - really nice - story, but it'd still be something nice to know?

[Maion Maroneios]

Nice update, PriestLizard!

Maion

[PriestLizard]

@Joszen1: Yup I already planned a report about the several ongoing wars in western europe and in the east. Make sure to check it out :)

@Maion: Thanks :)

[Hax]

Wow. Makedonia is pretty much the Lysimachid Kingdom!

Cool stuff.

[Kuningaz]

Really nice idea. Although I hate to see so much yellow on the campaign map...

[Subedei]

Very interesting idea. How high is the risk for a unsuspected sea- invasion?

could cause a lot of trouble in paradise!

Good start btw.!

[Olaf Blackeyes]

ME WANT MOAR THREAD NAOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
lol this rocks keep it up

[PriestLizard]

If you play with Alex.exe, the AI does perform naval invasions - I witnessed Carthage using ships to transport troops to Iberia - but its still rare though. Also I dont have any enemies yet, as no one seems to be interested in me. So I guess for now I'm rather save :]

I will probably post an update later tonight. It will me longer than the last one as it contains three big topics. Hope you'll enjoy it...see you laterz~

Bye Priest

[julius_caesar_the_first]

Did you change the color of KH? Because it looks like Epeiros is in control of Greece. (Just curious:P)

[PriestLizard]

Yes I changed the color of KH... I really tried to find a nice color for like 1 hour but I wasnt happy with the results. So I took the color for Epeiros and made it a little bit less green (you can actually see a difference to Epeiros). Since KH conquered all of greece and continues to push more into minor asia, it seemed more suitable to rename/recolor them. Its not a league of city-states anymore but a powerful beast longing for power... ;)

[A Terribly Harmful Name]

Nice. I liked how you gave some life on the streets by putting units to walk on them, it's quite a ground-breaking thing in AAR's.

[Maion Maroneios]

Nice. I liked how you gave some life on the streets by putting units to walk on them, it's quite a ground-breaking thing in AAR's.

Actually, the only thing he did was to select the "View settlement on the battlemap" option on settlement's details. Nothing special about it (no offense meant, PriestLizard), but a good idea in overall.

Maion

[A Terribly Harmful Name]

Is it? Never heard of this option.

[Maion Maroneios]

Yep. Try it yourself. Just go and click on a settlement of yours, then find a button that has that option.

Maion

[A Terribly Harmful Name]

I did. Funny how I always ignored that little button before , lol. Thanks anyway.

[Maion Maroneios]

No problem, it happens to me sometimes too (finding out things I have never noticed). But let's get BTT... I am wondering how the Basileion will turn out to be in the future. Maybe some new Diadochoi kingdom that will compete the juggernauts of the East?

Maion

[PriestLizard]

Chapter 2: Acumen

„A man shall be judged by his hands, not his blood.“ -Menander Asteraios

Ruins near Halikarnassos, asia mikra.

Atrosokes Embolinaios, Ambassador of Kydonia, personal notes.
„In the east, the war between Arche Seleukeia and the ptolemaic kingdom continued. Weakened by warfare at all borders, the seleucids had no chance but to retreat more and more to the east. By 237 BC the Ptolemaioi had already taken Babylon and one year later, Seleukeia fell into their hands.

Edessa, place of many battles between Seleukeia and the Ptolemaioi.

As the Ptolemaioi approached the eastern lands, they also engaged the Hayasdan and took several provinces from them. The ptolemaic kingdom can now be easily seen as the most powerful faction in the known world.

Site of a famous battle, northern Syria.

The Arche Seleukeia on the other hand struggles for survival. Even though by 235 BC the war against the Ptolemaioi cooled down, the war against the northern Barbarians, the Saka tribe and others, demand heavy cassualties. They still have ambitions to India though – in 231 BC, the seleucids lead their armies into India and besiege Opiana – effortless. Two years later, they sent their armies to Taksashila. [...]“

Arche Seleukeia engages India.

„The Romans and the Aedui tribes continued their war in western Europe. In the years 237 – 229 BC, several provinces were conquered and lost again and a winner could not be forecasted. The Aedui were able to strenghten their influence in France but were suddenly engaged by the spanish tribes.

Romans and Aedui clash in middle of europe.

By the year 229BC the Aedui had lost terretory to the spanic Barbarians but were able to gain land on their eastern border – against the Romans. One reason for this developement was surely the war between Rome and Carthage which reached its climax when Carthage sieged Capua 233 BC. Since then, the Romans had to defend their provinces in southern italy against a more and more powerful carthagian faction.[...]“

Carthage sieges Capua, 233 BC.


War of the tribes.

Kanishka Aniketes, kydonian diplomat in greece, in a letter to Basileus Menander, 229 BC.
„[...]The Arche Hellenon is becoming more and more strong. They have claimed Byzantium and are gaining terretory against their enemies from Pergamon. The kingdom of Demetreia is now the most dominant force in greece and we should consider counter-measures in order to keep our independence, our majesty.[...]“

Arche Hellenon sieges Byzantium, 231 BC.

Halikarnassos

„The crisis of Halikarnassos was the first of Menanders steps on his way to forge an empire. Only the foolish ones believed that Menander would keep his fathers policy of passive politics. Menander is a brilliant and sharp man, highly intelligent and a perfect speaker. It was obvious, that his ambitions would grow beyond enjoying life on a distant island, far away from the ongoings in the world.

Halikarnassos becomes an allied state of Kydonia.

In 232 BC, Menander used his political power (and money) to strenghten his influence in Halikarnassos. The people of Halikarnassos had been unhappy with their ptolemaic conquerors – Menander had an easy time to convince them to join his kingdom. The leaders of the hellenic empire though, were not happy about this advance by Kydonia. They used their influence on their own to get the city under their control and only by the diplomatic intereference of Kanishka Antiketes, a war was impeded. The citizens finally accepted a client ruler of Kydonia and joined the kydonian kingdom.

Mausoleion Halikarnassou, now kydonian property.

So Menander gained the upper hand against the Arche Hellenon and successfully brought Halikarnassos under his control. The alliance with the greeks was history though and Kydonia found itself diplomaticaly isolated. However, Menanders plans to expand his kingdom and influence would not be stopped. […]

Now in 229 BC, the Ptolemaioi re-engaged the city of Halikarnassos and want to take it back. The crisis is far from being over and the fate of whole Kydonia seems connected with the outgoing of this crunch.“ -Stratos Kydonaios, 229 BC

Atrosokes Embolinaios, first royal ambassador of Kydonia.

Menander's Acumen

Kydonia, 228 BC. When Menander was weakened due to the crisis of Halikarnassos, the schemers thought their moment had come. Stratos Kydonaios and the others convinced Sophagasenos to take this chance to claim the crown. Their plan was to attack the palace during sunset and to arrest Menander. On the next day, Sophasogenos would have declared that he was the rightful heir of the crown and would have been crowned new king of Kydonia.


But Menander shall not be underestimated. He was known for his sharp mind and he knew that conspiracy was a kings follower – at all times, and especially when a king was weakened. His guards were prepared when Sophagasenos and the other traitors attacked the palace.

The royal guards of Menander defend the palace against the traitors.

So it occured that Menander revealed the plot to give the crown back to the baktrian bloodline. The kingdom stayed in the hands of Menander Asteraios, the macedonian mercenary who fought both the seleucids and the ptolemaioi – and who has his very own ambitions.

„Tell me, Sophagasenos, to who does your loyalty belong? To the crown – or to your people? False loyalty and foolish pride were already your grandfathers blemish and you are no better.“ -Menander Asteraios

Sophasogenos, Stratos Kydonaios and their supporters were sentenced to death. Sophasogenos' sister, Vevnet, was sold into slavery.

Sophasogenos Baktrios, last of Theodotos' bloodline, died 228 BC.

„This is how the bloodline of Theodotos Baktrios came to and end. The man who fought so bravely against the hordes of Pahlava and the Arche Seleukeia – shall his legacy be forgotten?“ -Atrosokes Embolinaios

Timeline

237 BC Hayasdan and Arche Seleukeia are in war. Sophasogenos marries Lihua.

236 BC Menander arranged trade rights with the Basileion Pergamou. The Saka capture Alexandreia-Eschate and increase the pressure on the seleucids. The Ptolemaioi capture Seleukeia.

Kydonia and trading routes.

235 BC The Romans and Aedui are fighting heavily in western europe.

232 BC Menander builds a Great school of learning in Kydonia. Edessa, the most western province of the seleucids is lost to the Ptolemaioi. Menander bribes the city of Halikarnassos for 10540 mnai.

Kydonia becomes famous for being a place full of knowledge.


Krateros Chatrachartaios, nephew of Basileus Menander.

230 BC Halikarnassos is sieged by the Ptolemaioi.

228 BC Sophagasenos tries to revolt against Menander but is not successful. He and his supporters die by the kydonian judges. Menander is now undisputed ruler of Kydonia.

The known world in 229 BC.


Greece and europe, 229 BC.


Basileus Menander Asteraios, 228 BC.

Under Menanders rule, Kydonia continues growing and has already more than ten-thousand citizens. Although it is uncertain if the future of Kydonia is full of peace and harmony, it is clear that Menander has created a strong city-state which is already famous for its wealth and knowledge in all of greece.

Menanders new palace.


Score – 229 BC.


¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯

So thats my third chapter. I hope you like it. It already has more pictures... now I just have to learn to write more I guess... also I'd like to comment the outcoming of the Sophasogenos-Menander-plot. I really had a hard time thinking about this. I think we all liked the idea of giving the crown back to the true Baktrios bloodline but... I had a careful look on the character traits and I just couldnt find a way to RP a successful take-over of the crown by Sophasogenos.

If you look at Menander you really think "Wow", he has 10 influence and a pending 6-8 management. He has very good traits (some not so good, but well), he is sharp and charismatic, expert in mathematics and all this stuff. Now you take a look at Sophasogenos, and you see a pessimistic, flagging (!) drinker, who is very religious and depressive. I even thought about the option to let him commit suicide...

There was no way that Sophasogenos could have successfully taken the throne of Kydonia from a man like Menander. And because I didnt want to stay Sophasogenos in the city, still hiding from Menander, I thought the Halikarnassos-thing was a nice timing to RP a unsuccessful treason.

For all you Baktrios-line lovers though, I have good news. As I mentioned above and as you can see on this picture:

There is still Deodotos' daughter alive, Vevnet, who was sold into slavery by Menander... which doesn't mean, that she has to be dead. We will wait and see if she will get a husband one day and what will become of their children... that will take some more time though.

Untill then, we all have to wait and see what Menander and his dynasty is capable of doing and maybe we will see a kydonian empire, lead by a robber-baron and his children, messing up the powerhouses in the faction list

[Maion Maroneios]

Another good update, PriestLizard! I see you're experimenting somewhat with faction colors, good thing to see some variety there. The southern Hellenes also seem to have grown into quite some power, now haven't they?

Maion

[PriestLizard]

The former Koinon Hellenon have become very strong indeed. Thats why I renamed them to Arche Hellenon - they are one of the strongest factions in the campaign. Actually - concerning to the score board - they are second best behind the Potelemaioi.

Basically they dominate Pergamon, especially since they captured Byzantium, so I dont understand why they dont finish them off. Small Kydonia has re-negotiated an alliance with the greek so they would be a great help if they set foot in asia minor. I keep paying tribute to them - so hopefully they wont backstab me too soon.

[Tyrfingr]

Rhodos and Kypros must be tempting targets, easily defended islands.

[PriestLizard]

Indeed. I didnt want to exploit the AI weakness with naval invasions though - thats why I chose to set foot in asia minor first. Also Rhodos belongs to the greek empire and I'm allied with them again. Anyway - a war is inevitable.

I might have a look on sicily too and start a war agains Rome/Carthage. I'm not sure yet. Its hard to make plans with only one settlement. ;)