Chapter VI - On the battle of Arpoi

Ptolemaios first received news of increasing Romaioi activity in the 539th year after the first Olympiad, as the winter passed into spring and the area surrounding Ptolemaios' campsite became full of life again. The Roman relief force was led by a man known as Caius Cornelius Blasio, or ΚΑΙΟΣ ΚΟΡΝΕΛΙΟΣ ΒΛΑΣΙΟ in Greek. Although Blasio was one of the most influential men in the lands held by the Romaioi, he was of a treacherous kind and sought to defeat Ptolemaios for his personal glory. This also caused him to welcome strangers to his people to his side, as he sought a way to defy the will of the Romaioi senate.





Ptolemaios faced the Romaioi on a grassy hill, with his pezhetairoi aligned at the top, giving them a clear advantage.



Behind the Pezhetairoi were the Skuthioi archers, which had come all the way from Kimmerika to aid Ptolemaios in his campaign against the Romaioi.



Guarding the flanks were the fierce and noble warriors from the Greek apoikiai in Megalé Hellas. In the language of the Romaioi they were known as the Samnitici Milites; in Greek the name Aichmetai Maleontou, named after the polis of Maleonton.



Soon after, the first of the Romaioi soldiers clashed with Ptolemaios' elite phalangitai, the Chaonion Agema from Epiros proper.



At the same time did the Agrianian infantry clash with the Roman infantry from Bruttion. The Bruttioi were of a strong Italic stock and had served the Romaioi for some time.



At that moment did Ptolemaios see that the Bruttian infantry severely outnumbered the Agrianians, who were quickly losing heart in the prospect of such a might. Ptolemaios then ordered the elephant corps from the far-away Indos valley to aid the Agrianians.





At that moment did the Romaioi elite infantry corps recruited from the hardy peoples of Samnion charge forward. The elephantes wasted no further time and charged into the Samnite lines.



As the Elephantes charged the Samnite warriors there first came news from the Chaonion Agema. One of the Romaioi captains had been killed, leaving his soldiers with no leader. He had been crushed onto a sarissa, wielded by a man named Leon Boulothrios. That same Leon would later be killed in battle, but there would forever be a mound erected in his honour in the hills of Apoulias.



Battle slowly progressed. Revitalized by their success at crushing the Bruttian soldiers, the Agrianikoi moved on and engaged the elite Romaioi infantry.



The elephantes had already circled around and were now too engaging the Samnitioi soldiers. Many would never return to their home and the battlefield would be rank with the smell of blood for a very long time. Later children would avoid coming near the place, calling it the Home of Ghosts. It was said that if in the middle of the night, in late spring you would sound a horn in the hills of Apoulios, you could see the ghost of Ptolemaios leading his soldiers onward.


As the battle continued the last of the Romani elite soldiers clashed with the foot-companions of Ptolemaios. Knowing that the Romaioi would not engage their Trarii (as they were known in the tongue of the Romaioi) until the last moment, Ptolemaios predicted that the battle would soon be over.



Knowing that the Romaioi army would most likely rout if their leader would be killed, Ptolemaios ordered the elite Molossian cavalry onwards. He quickly passed the lines of the Agrianian infantry and rode around the hill. Aligning his cavalry directly opposite of the Romaioi cavalry of Blasio, he clutched a horn from his second-in-command and delivered such a mighty blow that the horn cracked. The earth soon shocked under the weight of more than 2,000 horsemen crashing into the Romaioi cavalry.





The prodromoi joined in as well, sending a second shockwave through the Romaioi lines as they came crashing down on Blasio's bodyguard.





Finally, Blasio's horse was cut down from underneath him and his skull was crushed on the rocks of the Apoulian hills.





In total, the death-count on the Epirote side counted no more than four dozen in total, though barely 200 Romaioi found the way back to their home in Lation. Apoulias was under Epirote control.



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Next: Chapter VIII - On the city of Rome.

Thanks for everybody's comments, I really appreciate it.

Centurio Nixalverdrus: Yes! I will completely read your AAR, I'm very interested. Expect comments there!

Vasiliy: Thank you very much.

MarcusAureliusAntoninus: Like the Molosson Agema coming from the woods, so has this AAR! I finally found time for it again; I'm in my final exams year and I had to do a lot for school. Seeing that I have four days off from school now, I hope to be able to write some more in the future.

julius_ceasar_the_first: Thank you very much! =D