In the name of Megas Alexandros! An AAR of Eumenes of Kardia

[Teucer]

Ok, so I've finally worked up the nerve to try an AAR of my own. The version of EB I am using is HIGHLY modded by yours truly. There are probably some errors with the Greek names, so bear with me...

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In the name of Megas Alexandros! An AAR of Eumenes of Kardia



Being in the 73rd year of my life and still possessing of a sound and agile mind, I Eumenes of Kardia, onetime secretary to Megas Alexandros, and now the restorer of that great man’s line, propose to record the remarkable events that have made up the last thirty years of my life. I do this not out of a desire to expand my reputation, for I can already claim with no exaggeration to be one of the two most powerful men in the known world. I write so that future generations will know that there were a few among the generals and friends of Alexandros who did not go insane with ambition following the conqueror’s death. There where those who fought and died to preserve his legacy and rescue his progeny from vile captivity.

THE KNOWN WORLD IN ALEXANDRIAN YEAR 48 (288 BC)



As I write, the task of restoring the Empire of Megas Alexandros continues. I am too frail now to take up shield and helm and lead the gleaming ranks of phalangites and hetairoi into battle, but I sleep soundly knowing that my sons, grandsons, and loyal confederates continue to fight for the cause of the Argead kings.

In order to understand the current political situation, I must take you back, dear reader, over thirty years to the tumultuous year 16 of the Alexandrian age (320BC).

Coming next.... Chapter I: A Political Nightmare

[MButcher]

I'm looking forward to this, good luck!

May the Ptolemies conquer all.

[Horatius Flaccus]

Wow, great to see you make an AAR of your personal mod.

Ever thought about releasing it to the public?

[Teucer]

CHAPTER I: A POLITICAL NIGHTMARE

As everyone in the civilized world knows (and indeed many among the barbaroi as well), Alexandros III Argeades died at Babylon in the 13th year of his reign (323BC). He was honored with the title ‘Megas’ for his unparalleled conquest of Asia, and left a world radically different from the one he entered.

During the campaigns I, Eumenes of Kardia, served as the personal secretary of Alexandros. The conqueror had a sharp mind and lightning wit, but his pen could rarely keep pace with the workings of his psyche. Officially I was there to take dictation and act as chief bookkeeper for the army, but it soon became clear that the King was too obsessed with his grand strategy to take time out for simple matters of supply and dispatches. I became, therefore, intimately acquainted with the logistical nightmare that is an army on campaign. I composed reports for the generals behind the front, kept tabs on the army’s stores, and generally ensured that things ran smoothly each and every day. I saw my share of skirmishes and minor battles, but it shames me to admit that I never fought in the front lines while the King was alive. My subsequent life has reversed this situation, and there has hardly been one year out of the last thirty when I was not engaged in the field, either marshaling troops for campaign, or facing down one or another of Alexandros’ generals, those vultures and jackals who sought to tear apart the great man’s legacy to fuel their own petty ambitions.

I have digressed. I began this narrative to relate the events after the death of Megas Alexandros, not his world-famous campaigns. Let us return, now, to the moment of the King’s death.

Troubles arose immediately following the conqueror’s death. While on campaign, Alexandros had taken the Sogdian princess Roxanne as his wife. Although she was heavy with child when her husband passed, the child was not due for another few weeks. With no clear heir, the army and its leaders began to squabble over who should be hailed as the new king of Makedon. Perdikkas of Orestis, Alexandros’ right-hand man and a close friend of mine, favored holding the kingdom in regency until Roxanne bore her child. If it was a boy, the kingship would pass to him. If a girl was produced, an appropriate successor could be found at that time.

Meleagros, commander of the pezhetairoi, challenged Perdikkas and put forward Alexandros’ half-brother Philippos Arrhidaios as the infantry’s choice for the throne.

Arrhidaios was a man of no ambition. Many claimed he was a half-wit, but I never met the man personally. He may have simply been content to be swept along by the storm that was his younger brother, or he may, in fact, have been an imbecile. What ever the truth regarding his intellect may have been, Perdikkas, the hetairoi, and I firmly opposed his elevation. After all, we had sworn to uphold Megas Alexandros. If a legal heir was produced by Roxanne, it was our duty to ensure he was protected until he reached his majority and could claim his father’s throne.

Within days of Alexandros’ death, civil war had nearly broken out between those in favor of Roxanne and the reactionaries who wanted Arrhidaios on the throne. Despite her later indifference, Tyche smiled on the cause of peace that day, and a compromise was eventually reached. The situation was put on hold until Roxanne finally gave birth to her child. A son was born on a summer evening, and named Alexandros Aigos after his father. Perdikkas and our camp sought to hail the infant as king, but enough of the infantry still supported Arrhidaios that a further compromise was needed.

Nearly two months after Megas Alexandros died, his young son and his feckless half-brother were proclaimed joint-kings. Since neither was thought fit to rule, the army voted for Perdikkas to assume the role of regent. My friend was a loyal man, but he was not immune to the seductive advances of ambition. Perdikkas accepted the regency and immediately began to reorganize the Empire, which had fallen into disarray at the death of the conqueror.

The generals of Alexandros had been busy since the great man’s death, and Perdikkas found himself in a difficult situation. The great men of the army had claimed satrapal titles and begun to organize their respective provinces as if they were independent kingdoms.

Ptolemaios the son of Lagos claimed wealthy Aigyptos as his domain…



In Phrygia and the surrounding regions, Antigonos Monophthalmos held sway over a rich and populous land…



Lysimachos of Krannos guarded against the Getai in Thrakia…



In the homeland, Antipatros campaigned against a revolt by Athens and other Hellenic cities which had broken out upon the death of Alexandros.



In the east, Perdikkas defeated a revolt in Baktria by several thousand Greek mercenaries dissatisfied with life on the edges of the Empire. Once this threat had been snuffed out, Perdikkas reconfirmed the rest of Alexandros’ governors in the region, including Oxyartes, the father of Roxanne, as satrap of the Paropamisadai.

I, Eumenes of Kardia, was given the unpleasant task of subduing Kappadokia and the adjacent regions of northern Mikra Asia. These regions had never sworn allegiance to Megas Alexandros, and were home to Pontics, Greeks, and tough Kappadokian hillmen. Nevertheless, with a strong army at my back, including a detachment of the feared argyraspidai, I managed to subdue the tribes and cities of that region within two years.



The Kappadokian campaign was my first real taste of tactical command, and I was surprised to find that it came easily to me. During those two years I felt proud to know that I was doing my part to help extend Alexandros’ world empire. In retrospect, however, my services may have been more useful at the side of my friend and ally Perdikkas…

Coming next: Chapter II: A Murder Most Foul!

[SwissBarbar]

Great, simply great!

[Hotseat_User]

wow I like this very much! maybe an introduction for the later release of your great-minimod? :clap:

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Wow, this is impressive.
A great deal of work went into the modding and good writing to go along with it.
Good luck with this.

[podoh]

This is awesome, I'll be following this.

(I also vote for releasing this as a minimod.)

[Teucer]

Thanks for the support everyone! Hopefully I'll have another chapter up later today, but don't hold your breath. As for releasing the mod, I will consider it, but there are many bugs left to iron out and more research has to be done with the eastern and far western factions. Since I'm playing a campaign right now, I can't do too much work on the mod or risk making my saves unplayable!

[Dutchhoplite]

I'll be following this one.

[Fluvius Camillus]

Nice! I will be following this too!

[Bushi 144]

Wow sweet work so far. I can not wait to see more. Please keep it up Teucer!

[the man with no name]

Exellent AAR so far:) I loove how this is back in the times after alexander's death.

[Teucer]

CHAPTER II: A MURDER MOST FOUL

Perdikkas’ regency, that tenuous façade of order and security, began to fall apart in earnest two years after the death of Alexandros (321 BC). Acting on the orders of the Regent, I, Eumenes of Kardia, was in the process of consolidating my control over the Hellenic cities on the northern coast of Anatolia. While I was thus engaged, a certain Areiarathes of Mazaka had the temerity to declare himself king of Kappadokia. In order to squash the pretender before he grew into a real problem, Perdikkas ordered Antigonos Monophthalmos, Satrap of Greater Phrygia, to lead an army against the rebel.

Antigonos gathered a force and marched east from Pergamon, seemingly in obedience to the summons of the Regent. Instead of marching north and engaging Areiarathes, however, the one-eyed general turned south and occupied the Syrian town of Iopolis which controlled a strategic bridge over the River Orontes. Perdikkas’ authority was hurt by this blatant disregard of orders, and it received another blow when Antigonos refused to report to Babylon to explain his actions. Needless to say, I was the one who ultimately had to deal with the Kappadokian pretender.

No doubt sensing that Perdikkas’ grip over Alexandros’ World Empire was weakening, Ptolemaios broke faith with the Regent, and set in play a series of actions which ultimately led to the death of my friend and ally.

After more than two years of political wrangling, Perdikkas had pushed through his own plan for the burial of Alexandros. The Conqueror’s embalmed body was to be taken back to the homeland to be buried with his ancestors at Aigai. Ptolemaios was irate and claimed that Alexandros had specified that he was to be buried in Aigyptos. Whether or not this was true, I cannot say. I was the chief secretary of Megas Alexandros, but there were many things the man chose not to share with me. Regardless of the basis for his claim, Ptolemaios showed his true disdain for Alexandros when he chose to take the law into his own hands.

A small band of raiders loyal to Ptolemaios tracked down the caravan containing the body of Alexandros, and after slaughtering the small detachment of Greek mercenaries assigned to guard the sarcophagus, absconded to their master in Aigyptos with the body of our king.

Enraged by this second betrayal, Perdikkas quickly began to muster troops to march against Ptolemaios. At the same time, he ordered me to make sure Antigonos remained bottled up in Anatolia. Less than three years after the death of Alexandros, war had broken out between those who sought to uphold his legacy, and those who wished to tear it to shreds for the sake of their own impious ambitions.

As Alexandrian Year 16 (320BC) dawned, Perdikkas and his army marched south through the Levant and prepared to assault Ptolemaios in his Aigyptian lair. Tragically, the moirai were determined to see Alexandros’ Empire fall even further into chaos.

The first assault on the Ptolemaic frontier went badly for Perdikkas. Although he eventually managed to punch a hole through the defenses and advance into the Nile Delta, he lost many men in the endeavor. The final disaster occurred when he tried to cross the great river under enemy fire. Many were killed by Ptolemaic arrows, but even more were lost to the river and its terrible crocodilian denizens.

Perdikkas was forced to retreat and make camp on the river’s east bank. His troops were demoralized, and his officers had murder on their mind.

The night after the battle (or so my sources tell me, for I was far away in Kappadokia on that fatal night), three of Perdikkas’ top generals met in their tent and plotted mutiny against their commander and Regent. Seleukos, son of Antiochos organized the meeting, but it is unknown to me whether it was his idea to murder Perdikkas, or whether that dastardly idea was contributed by Antigenes Eusebes or Peithon of Eordaia his co-conspirators.

The plot was executed the following day when a detachment of soldiers, led by the three traitors, attacked Perdikkas and his bodyguard as they returned from a hunting trip.

Following the murder of their commander, Seleukos, Antigenes, and Peithon made peace with Ptolemaios and marched back to Babylon. By the time news of Perdikkas’ death reached me in Kappadokia, the three conspirators had established themselves as satraps in Babylon, Media, and the rest of Mesopotamia. It was fortunate indeed that Roxanne got word of the murder before Seleukos returned to Babylon. She fled to Antipatros in Makedon with her infant son and the hapless Arrhidaios. One can only imagine what fate would have befallen the kings had they been handed over to the tender mercies of Seleukos and his cronies…

In the aftermath of Perdikkas’ death, I found myself in a dangerous position. In all of Asia, only I remained loyal to Alexandros’ dream. I had consolidated my hold on Kappadikia, Pontos, and northern Anatolia, but I had a limited number of troops, and I was faced with a powerful enemy to the south, in the person of Antigonos Monophthalmos. In Hellas, Antipater remained loyal to the dual monarchs, but he was old, and preoccupied with determining who would succeed him as hegemon of Europa and guardian of the kings. I was on my own, and had to act quickly or suffer the same fate as my friend Perdikkas.

COMING NEXT: Chapter III: Sometimes the Best Defense is a Good Offense

[gamegeek2]

Simply amazing modding work, and beautiful screenshots. Sadly, my nomads' clothing is more dull...

Will be following this closely.

[MButcher]

Good stuff, keep it up .

[SwissBarbar]

Not that it would bother me, but you know that this is a picture of a real human hand in the mouth of a real crocodile?

[Teucer]

@ SwissBarbar: Yeah... it is a real hand. The image came from a news story about a vet who had his hand ripped off by a croc. The tale has a happy ending, however, since the arm was recovered and successfully reattached to its owner.

[Horatius Flaccus]

Great chapter, will be following this closely!

[Ludens]

@ SwissBarbar: Yeah... it is a real hand. The image came from a news story about a vet who had his hand ripped off by a croc. The tale has a happy ending, however, since the arm was recovered and successfully reattached to its owner.

I think it's a bit too much, though. The forum maybe about a wargame, but it's just that: a game. Actual gore has no place here.

Otherwise, though, great work .

[Teucer]

@ Ludens: I'll remove the offending image right away.

EDIT... and you beat me to it, obviously

[Jurdagat]

What a great and original AAR.
Really enjoyed it so far. :)

[Teucer]

There will be an update someday... I fear, however, that I've been distracted by Dragon Age: Origins, so it might be a little while...

Thanks to everyone for the positive feedback!

[GMT]

Great AAR so far, hope you will continue this.

Any chance you will make this mod available to the public some day?

[Cute Wolf]

Ahh...soon-after-alexandrian AAR... a really original and nice Idea
If there was GRP here, I will thrown that to you!

did you relase your submod to public then

[shootie]

Just read your ARR,

Hope you Keep it up! Its a good read. I would love to play that mod someday aswell *take a hint* :)

[kpatterson14206]

Wow, I spent like 5 minutes staring into the thing's mouth like "WHERE'S THE HAND".

L2read edits.