The History of an Empire - Qarthadastim AAR

[Ibn-Khaldun]

The History of an Empire

There have been some great books about the history of Qarthadastim before Mago became the Sophet. After that there have been just some articles and smaller biographies about the men and their deeds from that time on. I try to change that and will bring you the important Events from the Qarthadast history. I will use the reports, biographies, letters etc from that time to bring you the truth about the fate of Kart-Hadast. I will use the new calender system developed by the priests of Baal who saw the coming of the Holy One. By that calendar Mago became Sophet in Spring 272 BHO (Before the Holy One).

Chapter One - 272-266 - Times of expansion

Conquest of Sicilia



We can divide the first years of Sophet Mago's rule into several smaller conquests. The most important one is the capture of Sicilia. Hamalcar, the Sophets Protegee, gathered all available military units near Kart-Hadast and Lilibeo into one large army. Messana was the first larger city to fall. It's not much to know about the faith of the city after Hamalcar had defeated the defenders. Some say they inhabitants were expelled but others say they were enslaved. The truth about that remains uncertain but one thing is certain. Without his elephants, Hamalkar, would have waited a long time before he could enter the city. After the fall of Messana Hamalkar took his army and besieged the last larger free city in Sicilia, Syrakousai. This is what he wrote about that in his biography:

... I knew that it is almost impossible to destroy the walls of Syrakousai. I also knew that because the size of my army is not bigger than the one of the defenders then they will attack me soon. Just like I suspected they did sallied out soon. The battle was quick. After destroying most of the defenders units my men entered the city and killed the last enemies defending the city center....

It is actually told that Hamalkar managed to escape from certain death after he and his bodyguards were trapped between some of the enemy hoplite units. This must of been the reason why he ordered a large number of the cities inhabitants to be enslaved. With the fall of Syrakousai the island was unified under the rule of Qarthadastim.

Failed Saharan Conquest



The most pointless conquest attempt was made by Hanno. Thanks to some of his friends in the Senate he managed to get money for troop recruitment in Lepki. We can compare the money and time put into it with the gold and time put into the Sicilian Conquest. The highlight of this Conquest was the besiege of Carama, the 'capitol' of Phasania. Because of the food shortage Hanno left the siege and headed back north. It was a failure that was unnoticed in that time because of the success of Hamalkar. To quote one of the historians in that time, Bodmelqart of Adrumeto, then...

... if all those troops would have been sent to west instead of south then North-Africa would have been ours long time before we finally managed to conquer it..

Rebellion of Muttines and the capture of Kirtan

In the early years of Mogo's rule a man called Muttines had gathered some Numidian horsemen and was disrupting th trade between Ippone and the capital. Since the town of Ippone did not have enough garrison to get rid of the man then almost three years no actions were taken against him. Then Mago had managed to gather enough horsemen of his own, many were the veterans of the Sicilian campaign. He managed to destroy Muttines in a battle near Ippone. Some one have said that it was the 'largest cavalry battle ever to that battle in the history of Qarthadastim'. And I will agree with it.
Soon after that battle the mighty army that conquered Sicilia arrived near Ippone. With the support of some local archers they were lead by a man named Gisgo against Kirtan. Gisgo is probably the only general in the history of our nation that spend more time in a sick bed than actually commanding his army. It is unclear why Mago gave him the army but the conquest of Kirtan showed that even though he spent most of the time in a sick bed he was a good tactician. With relatively small losses in his side he took the town. He tried to lead the army against town called Siga but did not advanced as fast as they could have and thus they were called back.

In the next Update: Conquest of Iberia and the destruction Lusotannon, Capture of Taras

[tls5669]

Good a Carthage AAR!

[gamegeek2]

Unseen since Chirurgeons age-old Sands of Africa. I look forward to this and your big debut onto the EB forum scene.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Thanks!
Yeah, I noticed that there haven't been any Karthadastim AAR's lately. They are one of the few factions that I really love to play. It's the Carthage v. Roman thing
Btw, It is my first AAR attempt but I have been in visiting the EB forum for quite some time now.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Chapter One - 272-266 - Times of expansion

Conquest of Iberia - Surrender of the Lusotannan


It's been said that the surrender of the Lusotannan was the real start of Hasdrubal's military career. He had managed to gather enough men under his command by the time when Hamalkar took Messana that he was able to destroy rebellion north of Gader. After successful campaign against the rebels he continued his march against Baikor. During that march he managed to recruit some Balearic mercenaries who soon became one of his favourite troops in the army. This is what he have said about them:

... Those slingers! You got to love those slingers! Without them I probably would have lost most of my army while campaigning in Southern Iberia! It's amazing what kind of destruction they can cause to the enemy! ....

Baikor fell. It took some seasons to make them content with Hasdrubal's rule but once that done he launched a war against Lusotannon. Attacking lightly defended Sucum-Murgi he managed to quickly take the town and next season he marched against the capitol of Lusotannon - Oxtraca. Many historians are confused why the Losotannon did not use the large army north of Baikor and Sucum-Murgi against Hasdrubal though. The fact is that few miles from the city Hasdrubal made a fortified camp and the first plan was to wait till the enemy attack him there but some days later he heard that the garrison in the city was not that large after all. Taking his army he marched against the town just to find a small Lusotannon army camped outside it. Since he had no other choice he decided to attack them. Waiting the reinforcements from the town he quickly managed to destroy enemy army. After that he laid siege to the town. With reduced numbers of the defenders and their main army too far in the east Hasdrubal managed to take Oxtraca and kill the leader of Lusotannon. After that the short alliance of the Iberian tribes ended since no other warlord had enough support of the others.

Capture of Taras


In 268 the Romani were in trouble. The Epirotes were besieging Arpi and Capua in every season just to be pushed back by the Romani legions who however were not strong enough to capture Taras. To end the Epirote-Romani War Qarthadastim Senate offered to the Romani their help. After managing to get a deal where Romani give some financial help so that Qarthadastim could recruit troops to the new army the Qarthadastim-Epirote War started. With Hanno's army from Lepki and some of the Greek units from Sicilia the Sicilian Legion, like it was called, sailed towards Taras. The first plan was just to attack some Epirote Armies outside the city and give the Romani a time to recover. But the destruction of Epirote main army in that region and the garrison of Taras in the same battle gave the perfect oppurtunity to take control over Taras. This was a great victory for the commander of the Sicilian Legion, Briareus Gisgo.
The Capture of Taras was the turning point in the Romani-Qarthadastim relations. The Romani demanded that city to themselves while the Qarthadastim Senate stated that it belonges to them since their forces took the city. Since none of them wanted to recognize the others claims the fragile alliance between Romani and Qarthadastim ended when the Romani fleet blockaded the port of Alalia. In return Briareus Gisgo attacked undefended Arpi, enslaved people and destroyed a lot of buildings in that town. The First Poeni-Romani War had started...

Summer 266


In the next update: The First Poeni-Romani War

[gamegeek2]

Eh, what's the difficulty setting? That's an awful lot of expansion, awfully quick.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

It is M/M and a lot of luck since Taras and the Lusotannon towns had almost no garrison in them. Also, Carthage have a huge armie in the beginning of the game. You just need to transfer the units from Africa to Sicily and voila, you have almost full stack. Using it properly will give you a good start. Also, enslaving the towns is a good idea, helps you check the public order.

Btw, Carthage is the easiest faction to play besides Romani!

[tls5669]

Thanks!
Yeah, I noticed that there haven't been any Karthadastim AAR's lately. They are one of the few factions that I really love to play. It's the Carthage v. Roman thing
Btw, It is my first AAR attempt but I have been in visiting the EB forum for quite some time now.

Ya theyre my favorite faction also. I love getting revenge on Rome.

[Chaotix]

Awesome! Nice job, and good luck with this, Ibn!

[gamegeek2]

Ya I know. I play VH/M so there are usually higher garrisons and more aggressive AI. However, Carthies are still rather easy, tied with Romani.

They were my 1st faction, and will always be special to me.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

I prefer M/M since then AI will not do some stupid backstabbing like - You are the mightiest nation and they have just one province but still they have to attack you.
Once I played Ptolemaioi I had Arverni ship blockading my port for one turn! For no reason at all! This was with EB 1.0 and thank God I haven't seen this in EB 1.1

About the AAR. The next Chapter(Chapter II: The First Poeni-Romani War. Years of Reforms.) will come out in this weekend.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Chapter II: The First Romani War. Iberian Wars until 263. Years of Peace and Reforms.

Part I: The First Romani War (Spring 266 - Spring 263)

Prologue

Painting from unknown painter that shows the landscape of Iberia or Italy.

The War started after futile attempts to get solution on the Taras matter. In Spring of 266 Qarthadastim forces under Briareus Gisgo defeated the Epirote Army and Taras' garrison near the town. This made the Romani angry since they wanted the town for themselves but Qarthadastim did not want to give it away. To force the Qarthadastim Senate to agree their demands the Romani Admiral Orestes blockaded the port of Korsim. This however had a different effect. Briareus Gisgo, the Conqueror of Taras, found out that the town north of Taras, Arpi, is without garrison. He took some of his soldiers and attacked the town. Since there was no one to defend it he managed to get inside the city, burned some buildings, enslaved some of the population and and left the town. After that there was no hope to end the conflict quickly and without further bloodshed. Some of the later historians say that it was Gisgo who brought the War on Qarthadastim but I think they are wrong. The SPQR, like the Romani called themselves, would've attacked Qarthadastim anyway since many Romani generals felt that they were disgraced because they didn't managed to take Taras some years ago. One of those generals, Caius Aurelius Cotta, became known because of his ferocious speeches against Qarthadastim.

Early Period (Spring 266 - Winter 265)

In the Early Period the war was fought on Seas. Romani and Qarthadastim fleets were almost in the same size but the Qarthadastim fleets were dispersed between many provinces of the state. This allowed the Romani admirals Crassus and Orestes to blockade Qarthadastim ports without the fear of naval combat. Admiral Orestes blockaded Korsim and Sardinia and Crassus blockaded African ports. The Romani fleet under Crassus managed to defeat Qarthadastim fleet commanded by Admiral Danel in a battle near Atiqa in the end of Spring 265. That was the only military defeat Qarthadastim had during the war. The Romani( or SPQR ) also got some secret information after Qarthadastim diplomat, Xenophanes Cyrene, switched sides.
This forced Sophet Mago to propose legislation that allowed him to command armies and gave him a lot of other powers that usually Sophets did not had. Thanks to increased powers Mago quickly made peace with Epeiros in late Autumn 266 and part of the deal was that Epeiros got Arpi. Surprisingly the Romani also made peace with Epeiros. That they Allied to each other was even bigger surprise. In early 265 a small SPQR army besieged Taras but they were defeated by Briareus Gisgo who had to return from his small campaign against Rhegion. The defeat of both Romani fleets by Admiral Danel, who had received some new ships from Iberia, and the blockade of port of Roma marked the end of the Early Period.

Late Period (Spring 264 - Spring 263)

Sophet Mago's Army before the battle against Roman forces near Rhegion.

After Sophet Mago had taken control over the army in Sicilia he quickly moved towards Rhegion. He had decided to unite all of Southern Italy. The town was captured about decade ago by some Romani who later rebelled against the rule of their Senate. They had been attacked by the SPQR forces before but they always managed to defeat them. In Spring 264 a small Romani army was near the town again. Briareus Gisgo had attacked them earlier that year and made them retreat on a small ridge between Rhegion and the sea. This was the place where Mago attacked them. His army was truly international with citizens of Kart-Hadast, Iberians, Numidians, Poeni-Libyans and Bruttians in it. The last ones, Bruttians, and also Samnites saw Mago as a great liberator who had came to free them from the Romani shackles. And it was sort of true. Anyway, about that battle, the Romani 'legion' was destroyed and many of it's survivors fled to Rhegion. If Mago demanded from the rulers of Rhegion to hand them over they refused to do it.
In Summer 264 Mago attacked Rhegion. It was clear victory and Bruttians in his army delivered the finishing blow against the defenders. After that Mago sent some units to Briareus Gisgo, mighty elephants among the others, and stayed in Rhegion for a season. Young Puno-Iberian advanced towards Capua where the Romani Souther Legion, command by Military Tribune Caius Aurelius Cotta, were stationed. The news of Qarthadastim Army approaching Capua made C.A. Cotta to flee the city and he left the entire Legion in Capua to be besieged. Briareus Gisgo decided not to wait and attacked Capua early Winter of 264, after only few days of resting. Thanks to elephants he managed to breach the walls very quickly. His many Numidian and Greek Archers rained death upon the Romani, who had only one missile unit in Capua. The attack of Bruttians, Libyans and Iberian Caetrati they took the city. Most of the population in the city were enslaved to make room for many Samnite peasants just as Mago had promised them.

The end of the war

The news about the fall of Capua and the Southern Legion were a terrible blow to the people currently in charge of SPQR. Without an Army strong enough to defend Roma they were forced by the people to offer peace treaty to Sophet Mago. The peace treaty recognized the current borders and made SPQR to pay some tribute to Qarthadastim. More important than the war itself was the effect to the Qarthadastim society and to the Reforms that changed the Qarthadastim and the way it was ruled later on.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Shields represent the Capitols of Romani and Qarthadastim.
White Lines - Towns conquered by Qarthadastim during the war
Red Points - Town besieged by Romani

In the next update: Part II: Iberian Wars until 263. Years of Peace and Reforms.

[Terror]

Great AAR, just readed it and waiting for more.. You really have done fast conquest, at that time i had barely conquered Sicily.

Hah, finally i found my way into these forums, though my first time playing EB was in 2007. I have been in TWCenter earlier, stagnant most of the time though.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

If you play Qarthadastim you have 2 choices: 1) Expand as fast as you can so you wouldn't bankrupt; 2) Disband all armies and build up your economy before you expand.

I only regret that I killed Lusotannon so early in the game!
I had plans for them but now ..

[tls5669]

I would suggest invading Egypt also, theyre probably the richest faction in EB. Just take their African holdings. the Nile Basin is the key.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Oh and in this AAR well .. There will be war with the Ptolemaioi .. there will be war with them.. sooner than you could ever imagine!

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Updated the last Chapter with the map of the First Romani War.

[johnhughthom]

Only just came across this today,nice start I-K.

[General Appo]

Great man, love this. Shame I didn´t see it until now.

[gamegeek2]

In my Qarthadast campaign, which I play from time to time (mostly occupied with Aedui and my AAR) I took Arse first, along with Sicilia. 1st of all, it's a walled city, easily defendable from Luso. 2nd, it's another valuable Iberian province. 3rd, it's coastal, so I get $ from trade.

[General Appo]

Yeah, I just love taking those eastern coastal Iberian cities. First Arsé, and then maybe 10 years later Emporion. Easily defendable, great income and best of all, feels pretty okay historicaly. Rushing into central Iberia within 5 years doesn´t.
No offense, but I usually prefer playing so it feels at least somewhat historically plausible. Even those times I don´t (like my avatar) I always try to give a reason why not (like, my FL is crazy) rather than just "and so the Baktrians invaded the Sarmatian steppes and subdued them all in 2 years just because they could".
That kinda AAR´s always makes me feel...uneasy.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

If you are referring to the killing of Lusotannon then this was not planned. I planned to push them north and make them my protectorate just so that they could attack me later and then do the same process all over again. Unfortunately they didn't manage to take Tyde before I assaulted their capitol and the result was .. well.. no Lusos!

And just to let you people know - I'm war with the Ptolemaioi and so far it looks that things become pretty interesting there. Especially because the Romani is building up his army near Roma and a unit of Hastati is sitting near the border west of Capua(or is it north?) for the last 14 turns already! And that is just so annoying!

[General Appo]

Nah, I´m not talking about this AAR, after all, you had reasonable reasons for doing what you did.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Chapter II: The First Romani War. Iberian Wars until 263. Years of Peace and Reforms.

Part II: Iberian Wars. (266 - 263)

Iberian landscape by unknown author.

The defeat of Lusotannon was kind of surprise to Hasdrubal and everyone in Kart-Hadast. But peace was not something that Hasdrubal had in Oxtraca. Ditalkos Lusotanakum, the former Heir of Lusotannon tribe, had a large army under his command and was pillaging the northern part of the Lusitania region. Hasdrubal had no choice than go against him. Although his army had reduced numbers Hasdrubal marched against Ditalkos. In late Autumn of 266 those two men finally had their battle. Ditalkos did what he could but his men were no match against Hasdrubals veterans. The battle was won by Hasdrubal and Ditalkos was killed by Hasdrubals Curoas. It's been said that This was the only time when Hasdrubal honored an enemy general by covering the generals body with his, Hasdrubals, cape. About half a year later he destroyed the last of the former Lusotannon army on the border of Lusitania-Carpentaia. It's not much told about that battle and thus we have very few info about it. It is known that the enemy army was led by a man called Titun Chretinacoi and that Hasdrubal killed all enemy warriors in that battle. Moving eastwards Hasdrubal finally reached Arse in Spring 264. Since the defenders did not have enough men to destroy Hasdrubal and he didn't have enough men to conquer Arse then the siege lasted almost two years, from Spring 264 til Winter 263. The siege lasted that long only because the Empire that time concentrated all of it's resources to the Romani War and Hasdrubal, if he would have taken Arse in those days, would have waited a long time before his men could be properly retrained. There's also not that much info about the attack on Arse but after 263 and the Reforms we see much more info about the State business.
After the fall of Arse almost 3 years of peace was restored and no military actions were taken against those barbarian regions in Iberia.


Laurel branches - Hasdrubals Victories
Crossed Swords - City besieged by Hasdrubal

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Chapter II: The First Romani War. Iberian Wars until 263. Years of Peace and Reforms.

Part III: Years of Peace and Reforms(263 - 260)

Reforms

The end of the Romani War was the beginning of the Time of Reforms. The Reforms in Government, Military and Economy changed the Qarthadastim Empire from an African Empire with colonies into a Mighty constitutional monarchy. The Economical Reforms did not change much the daily life of Qarthadastim Empire and thus they are not that important. But this can't be said to the other Reforms. Because Mago had the right to command armies the Position of Sophet became more important. Mago's victories and successful war against Romani brought him the support not only in Kart-Hadast but also in many of it's colonies. Using that support Mago made the Senate to give him almost absolute power. He had become a King! He kept the title Sophet but now it meant 'King' instead of 'Judge'. Another important change was the creation of Council of Representatives - Every region had the chance to send three Representatives to make their voices to be heard. This brought a lot of support to Mago in Southern-Italy and Iberia. Bruttians, Samnites, Iberians, Numidians and even Celts were represented in the Council.

When you first enter the Hall of the Council you will think that you have ended up in a strange back alley market! The many languages spoken, different clothes, different faces of men, some brown, some white, some black, are surprising! Even more surprising is the friendly atmosphere of the Council Hall! There are no racial discrimination, calling someone 'barbarian' or attacks against the persons - things that are common in the Senate.

If we talk about Military Reforms then we more or less talk about battlefield tactics. The forces in Italy learned how the Romani fought(hastati-principes-triarii system). To make it work for Qarthadastim Briareus Gisgo changed the 'Sicilian Legion'(It kept it's name even when the Romani War started just to annoy the Romani).

How the 'Sicilian Legion' was set up:

Hastati - Bruttians from Rhegion - 3 units
Principes - Samnites from Capua - 3 units
Triarii - Hoplites from Taras - 2 units
Equites - Campanian Cavalry/Mercenaries - 2 units
Missile troops - Greek Toxotai - 3 units
Auxiliary units - Units from other parts of the Empire (Numidian Archers/Nobles, Iberian Cavalry etc)

Briareus Gisgo's 'Sicilian Legion' marching against a small rebellion near Capua.

Hasdrubal had actually used similar Army composition already in Iberia and it had proved to be very successful. He used Caetrati, Milites, Scutarii and mercenaries in his Army though. He also had only one unit of cavalry at his disposal during the whole Southern Iberian Conquest! Later all armies were formed in the same way as Hasdrubal and Briareus Gisgo had formed theirs. The only Army that did not change it's tactics were the Army that conquered the Northern Africa, commanded by Hanno.

Years of Peace

If we leave the Reforms out then those three years passed without any larger military campaigns. There were however preparations for 'Northern African Conquest' and 'Northern Iberian Conquest'. Mago's retirement in Autumn of 263, defeat of several small rebellions in Italy and Sicilia, also the Alliance with Epiros in Autumn of 261 were the only important events in those years.

In the next update: Conquests of North-Africa and North-Iberia

[Ibn-Khaldun]

I'll try to get another Chapter up in the next weekend.

[Maion Maroneios]

Really nice stuff here, Khaldun! Good to see a Karthadastim AAR finaly It's funny that Karthadastim is one of the most powerful factions in my AAR campaign and would have thrashed Roma herself if I didn't move a Romani FM along with some good units to thwart him!

Maion

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Chapter III: Time of Conquests

Part I: Conquest of North-Africa

In late 262 those who were called anti-Barcids got the majority in the Senate. They also got support from the Council of Representatives and thus managed to convince Mago to allow the conquest of Mauretanian states in Northwest of Africa. This was a bid political victory for Hanno over Hamalcar and made those two men hate each other even more.
During the next year and half the Mago's army from Italy was brought back to Africa and new soldiers were recruited to fill the ranks of the units. This whole operation became possible only because of the superior navy that Qarthadastim had in that region. After defeating the Romani navy in the war, Qarthadastim had eliminated the only major naval threat in Western Mediterranean and waged aggressive war against the pirates. The result was that only few of the pirates from east or north dared to enter to Qarthadastim controlled region.
In Autumn of 261 Hanno's army was ready and they headed towards Siga. They were stopped by a Mauretanian army in the end of the year. Hanno won the battle but with more casualties on his side that was expected. In Spring 260 Mago finally besieged Siga. Trying to force the local king, Celeas, to surrender he waited until Autumn but defenders did not surrender. Hanno attacked the city and captured it. The people were enslaved as many historians think but these are just speculations. A lot of important data were destroyed in the Great Fire of Kart-Hadast.

Coins from Sala representing Hanno and his elephants.

In Winter of 260 Hanno begun moving towards Sala. He was able to do that only because of the reinforcements that were brought from Iberia. During the march towards Sala Hanno met some strong warriors. This is the first time when Garamantin warriors were recruited by Qarthadastim. Later during the war they proved how valuable they were. in Autumn Hanno was near Sala and using his elephants he knocked down a section of the wall and his soldiers took the town. Having some troubles with the locals Hanno was forced to stay in Sala for sometime. In Summer of 258 Hanno finally besieged the only independent city left into this region, Lixus. The defenders were well prepared and had a large army waiting Hanno so he decided to wait. He besieged Lixus for more than year before the defenders decided to sally. It was desperate attempt to get rid of Hanno but it did not work. During the battle some of Hanno's men managed to get inside of the town and open gates to the rest of his army. The people were massacred. After that Hanno stayed into that region to govern the newly conquered lands. The actual reason why he stayed there was that he had a bad reputation because of all the killings during the campaign and he had lost many friends because of that. Hanno never managed to achieve anything important after the end of the Conquest of North-Africa.

[phoenixemperor]

Great AAR. Even inspired me to play as Qarthadast.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Chapter III: Time of Conquests

Part II: Iberian Wars (261-251)


Old Greek temple near Emporion.

In the beginning of 261 Hasdrubal started another military campaign in Iberia. His first target was a small rebel force near Mastia. Thanks to his superior army he defeated those rebels quite easily. Then he headed north against Emporion. The ruler of Lacetania, Epandros, had three years ago sided with the Romani and attacked couple of Qarthadastim cargo ships. Now Hasdrubal saw an opportunity and attacked him. He besieged Emporion in the Spring of 260 and conquered the town in Autumn. Epandros survived the battle and was hanged by Hasdrubal three days after the town fell to his forces.

In the same time in Kart-Hadast the Senate decided that the rest of Iberia should stay under the local government. That meant that Client Kingdoms had to be established there. First Hasdrubal was against this decision but when he got the power to name those new 'Kings' he was more then happy with the Senates decision.

In Winter of 260 Hasdrubal west to Volcallra to recruit some mercenaries into his army. This action almost caused a war between Romani and Qarthadastim again. Caius Aurelius Cotta, the same Romani general who escaped from Capua just before Briareus Gisgo besieged it, were in command of an army that was besieging Tolosa. There were couple of skirmishers between Hasdrubal's and Cotta's forces but luckily a new war with the Romani did not start. In Spring of 259 Hasdrubal left with his new troops back to Emporion.

After some preparations Hasdrubal headed towards Numantia in Summer of 259. The ruler of Celtiberia was Kalamus. He was responsible for many attacks against villages in Edetania. Lot of people had died in those attacks. Some of the locals joined Hasdrubal and in Winter of 259 he finally besieged the town. He waited until the Autumn of next year before he attacked. Being confined to bed he was not able to lead his army until the end of Autumn when his forces finally attacked Numantia. Kalamus died in battle and Hasdrubal ordered to leave his body to the wild animals.
Soon a new King was named by Hasdrubal. His name was Germelqart and he had been one of those Celtiberians who had joined him recently.

Iberian Wars 261-251

In Spring of 257 Hasdrubal attacked Vellika. The town was quite defenceless since it did not had any walls around it. Hasdrubal attacked only week later. It was a surprisingly hard fight. Hasdrubal had left most of his army to Numantia and was sure that Vellika would fall quickly but Cantabrian King Laro held took a lot of Hasdrubals warriors with him. Laro was one of the last ones to die. The losses made Hasdrubal angry and he ordered most of the people to be enslaved. A new King was appointed but he was killed in just after Hasdrubal left. Another King was appointed and this one became famous some years later. New Kings name was Hamalcar and he had served Hasdrubal for more than 5 years as his bodyguard.

The next year Hasdrubal attacked Pallantia and conquered it without many casualties. In Autumn he returned to Emporion to retrain his forces and to recruit new soldiers. For some time things cooled down in Iberia.

The only place where something was happening was Vellika and Cantabria. People from the countryside took their weapons and started to fight against King Hamalcar's forces. Destruction of local shrine did not help him either. In Autumn 255 he was forced to send some of his troops to Pallantia to garrison that town. This gave the locals enough confidence to start ambushes and surprise attacks against his troops. Finally in Summer of 253 the people from around Vellika attacked the town and King Hamalcar was forced to retreat towards Pallantia. But he was not safe there. Sine the rulers in Pallantia and Numantia did not want to risk with their soldiers lives he was left without any supporting troops. In late summer when Hamalcar was camped near a bridge between Cantabria and Asturia he was attacked by a man called Abulo. He had become the leader of the rebel forces. Outnumbering Hamalcar and his bodyguards he ordered his men to attack.

Hamalcar just before the Battle of the Bridge in 253


Hamalcar rallying his men during the battle

The battle was bloody. They hold against Scutarii and Caetrati units but when the Abulo attacked with his cavalry the battle seemed lost. There were just handful of men left when suddenly one of his men killed Abulo. After that the faith of the battle was decided. Hamalcar won and with that victory he became known throughout the Empire. After getting help from the Asturi he besieged Vellika in Autumn and in spring of 252 he attacked Vellika with his men. The battle was quick and most of the defenders gave up pretty fast. After that many books were written about him.

King Hamalcar attacking Vellika

In the same time Hasdrubal went south to Mastia and then to Turdetania. In Autumn of 254 some Massalians and Celto-Hellenes joined his forces. They hoped that Hasdrubal can convince the Senate to start a new war against Romani and liberate Massalia from the harsh rule of the Romans.In spring of 253 Hasdrubal killed the rebels north of Gader. They were led by an old Qarthadastim officer named Ahiram Baecula. Since Hasdrubal knew the man he took his rebellion as a personal insult. After the victory he ordered to crucify all the survivors on a road leading east from Gader. In summer he started the last large military campaign in Iberia. He headed towards Tyde. In late Summer of 252 Hasdrubal finally besieged Tyde. He decided to wait since the Winter of 252 was one of the hardest in that century. Men of his soldiers froze to death and when Spring finally arrived Hasdrubal recruited some mercenaries to his Army. Finally in Summer of 251 he attacked Tyde. He personally killed the King of Caellaeci, Apanus. He enslaved the town and the loot from that town made him quite wealthy. With the fall of Tyde the entire Iberian peninsula was under the rule of Qarthadastim.

In the next update: 'The Great Northern Voyage of Admiral Abascantus'