[Multi-AAR] - History of men

[Aemilius Paulus]

Wow. Brilliant AAR. Only one thing though: can you add more screenshots? Rise of Persia mod is quite interesting, and I would like to see more of it. Not to mention, I like screenie-heavy AARs.

[Fixiwee]

Wow. Brilliant AAR. Only one thing though: can you add more screenshots? Rise of Persia mod is quite interesting, and I would like to see more of it. Not to mention, I like screenie-heavy AARs.

The next update will be rather short and will only have a few screenshot. It will be about a part of the Persian history that remains a bit dark because of the lack of sources. This is intended since I planed to add a dark period from the start.

The update after that will be a "battles of history" update and will have more pictures.

[Monk]

Wow. Brilliant AAR. Only one thing though: can you add more screenshots? Rise of Persia mod is quite interesting, and I would like to see more of it. Not to mention, I like screenie-heavy AARs.

Actually I believe the amount of text and the number of screenshots work well at their current levels. So far the AAR has turned out well thanks in part to that, and i can't wait to see what happens next. Though I wouldn't mind seeing more screenies i agree, this mod looks fantastic.

[Fixiwee]

You can't pick up two melons with one hand.
Eastern Proverb

Campaign against Media

“Iranian empires” by François Sargot - 1853, Paris

The death of Kûrus saw no change in the Persian Expansion. During his campaign against the Levant, his son and heir Kumbûjya gathered troops in Persia and Babylon to start a campaign against the Median empire. When Kûrus died, Kumbûjiya became King without any troubles and was ready to lead his armies into Media.
But who was Kumbûjiya? Our only source for him is the Greek historian Menesthenes, who certainly did not read any Persian sources, but only Egyptian ones a century later. His account is somewhat biased on Persian cliches that the Greeks had, like for example the story of his deeds as a Persian warrior. Nevertheless we do get the picture that Kumbûjya was a smart man and brilliant military leader. It is important to note that he officially had two courts. One in Persepolis, the old capital, and a new one in Babylon. He decentralized the Persian empire, made it financially and militarily more flexible. In 535 BC his army were ready to march against Media.


Kumbûjiya laying siege and conquering the Median border city Bagastana in 535 BC

"Tales of History" by Menesthenes
(written about 450 BC)

King Kumbûjiya brought his two armies, one from Persepolis, one from Babylon together at the city of Susim. It was one of the biggest armies of the time, so big that the people of Susim had to live in ration for 2 years to have all the soldiers fed when they came; and a whole forest at Persepolis had to be cut down to supply all the thousand archers with arrows. But the King was an able man, even more then his famous father, he had managed to gather a large force to unleash against the most hated enemy of the Persians: The Medians.
Tales of this campaign are told up to the Egyptian part of the Persian empire to this date, for the battles were numerous and very tough. The Medians were a fine enemy indeed, since they inflicted one or two terrible losses to Kumbûjiya. It is told that even in a battle that he was about to lose he and five of his best Riders would charge against a group of Median spearmen to help a few of his own soldiers from encirclement. When asked why he would so such brave deeds he would say: "I am a soldier first, a man second. My soldiers are brothers and sons to me." Five years later king Kumbûjiya would face the Median king Uvaxstra, yet another warrior king of the east and defeat him and his empire. Uvaxstra was said to fled to the far east and never heard of again, the rest of the Medians surrendered to the mighty Persian king.

Who was Menesthenes?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Menesthenes was a Greek philosopher and historian who lived on the island of Kos. He was the very first man to write down a universal history of mankind. Only the Tales of history survived to the modern days but the book is written mostly from his point of view. His work is the only source for many ancient events which make it difficult or nigh impossible to read them from a critical point of view. Without the Tales of history though we would know nearly nothing about certain periods so it indisputably remains an important historic source.

The Medians and the Persians had fierce and terrible battles during the Median Campaign. The Persian-border wars that precieded the Median campaign saw terrible losses at both sides and enchaned the brutality to the war.

Cont. “Iranian empires” by François Sargot - 1853, Paris

The war was fierce but short. Most of the battles probably took place in the Bagastana dale, eventually leading to the defeat of the Median king. By 532 BC Kumbûjiya had defeated the Medians and occupied most of their country, though it took him untill 530 BC to gain all the remaining Median eras. But in 531 a new conflict had broken out. The reasons for this remain totally obscure to us, all we know is that Kumbûjiyas brother invaded the Lydian-Ionian country in Anatolia.



The persian Empire in 532 BC. The southern concquest of Sinai happened during ~536 BC. The Median campaign can be seen as northern line against the green Median realm. The white nation is the Lydian-Ionian nation that gained influence among the Phonician people of the Levant. This is desputed among modern historians though. (The weird cursor was not edited out by a confused intern as it should have.)

[Fixiwee]

Both Monk and AP stated that they want to see more screenshot. This update was short and lacked the screenies, but that was intented since I wanted a more darker period of my campaign which is not covered in the sources hence making it more realistic.

But don't worry, the next update will be a battles of history update and should have some nice and interessting screenshots.

[penguinking]

This AAR has inspired me to try Rise of Persia. I think the current level of screenshots is fine, I prefer AARs with a good amount of text.

[Fixiwee]

This AAR has inspired me to try Rise of Persia. I think the current level of screenshots is fine, I prefer AARs with a good amount of text.

It's a good mod. The combats feel a bit different because most units aren't armored at all and archers are pretty usefull. The goverment system is interessting (taken from BI religion, it's about democracy, oligarchy and monarchy) but I haven't seen much difference playing it, since all the conquered terretories were monarchrys. Word of advice though, playing as Persia I realized that I should have blizzed more. There were so many rebell cities around that I didn't take and that made the campaign tough so far.

[Fixiwee]

Battles of history light
Battle at Atana 530 BC

Why the "light?"

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Unfortunatley I wrote a gigantic update on the Battle of Atana and it crashed. I wrote the text in the writing box at the TWC, it took me over 3 hours to edit the pics and write it all. I thought that I better save the text to a txt and I clicked on "switch editor mode", and WOOSH, all gone. I was pretty pissed about wasting 3 hours for nothing by trying to be carefull. Any way. I don't really feel like writing it all over again, so I'll give a quick summery of happend and post the best pics of the battle. I hope you can forgive the light update but I don't have the nerves to scrap it all together again.

The Battle at Atana marked the beginning of the Anatolian campaign. The details for the reasons are not clear, but it seems that the Persian empire provoked the Ionian-greek colony at Tarsos (Close to Adana) into war. The Persian army at Damaskos was lead by Bardia [Bardiya], the brother of King Cambyses [Kamûbjiya]. Bardia was the most brilliant leader in the Persian army, but politicaly totaly interessted and a loyal servant to his kingbrother; or how Menesthenes put it: "Bardia was good at three things only; hunting animal, leading men to battle and persuing unmarried women. But in all three things he is surpasses everyone, even his king and brother."
The battle itself was the first conflict with a Greek army, but Bardia was aware that the Greek fought in Hoplite formation and prepared himself to the situation.


An elite Hoplite soldier.


The army of Tarsos advances at the Battle of Atana

Bardias plan was to surprise the enemey by doing the one thing they would not expect. He spread a thin line so the Hoplites would be lured into thinking that they could break through the light infantry lines of the Persian army. He would encircle the Ionians with elite troops and annhilate them.


Battle plan by Bardia



Battle development

The battle was significant because the Persian light infantry was able to withstand the Hoplite attack and encircle the enemy.


Hand to hand fighting



Confused Ionian Spearthrower standing all alone on the battlefield



The battle saw some tense close combat. Even the Persian archers would stand their ground and fight with their daggers.


The center of the battle, where the Ionian elite troops face overwhelming number of Persian infantry.


Persian Riders charge into the Ionian formation and breaking the will to fight.


Like Bardia planned, the Ionians were encircled and completley anhilated.


Ionian surviver fleeing from the battle

The Battle was a crushing defeat for the Ionian city of Tarsos. Tarsos was infact an independend greek Colony, but it marked the beginning of Bardias invasion of Anatolia. The rest of the Ionians and the Lydians in Anatolia had no equivalent army like the one of Tarsos. The Persians lost about 10.000 troops, while the Ionians lost nearly 24.000 men.

An interessting side-fact is, that by now King Cambyses full titel was King of Persia, King of Anshan, King of Media, King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad, King of the four corners of the World and King of all Kings.