A Burgeoning Empire - A Pontic AAR

[ertai1987]

yeah, I really liked the political-rp background in your story, I don't mind if you don't use pictures, but a description of your armies or perhaps a battle narration (switching to present tense from time to time) would be definetely welcome.

[The Celtic Viking]

Well, if I post pictures I'd prefer to make them look like paintings, so if anyone who could tell me how to do that it would really help me out.

I appreciate your suggestions, ertai, and I'll consider them. Most likely I'll do the first two, but I think I'll keep the AAR in past tense. It's supposed to be written from the memory of an old man who was through this, after all, so I don't see how present tense would work for it.

[Poulp']

With photoshop, you just need to apply some filters and you'll get that 'painted' look.

[The Celtic Viking]

Thank you, Poulp'. The text for the next part is finally (after 2 months! ) done, and will be posted as soon as I can get the pictures (yes, there are pictures coming!) to a satisfactory level. Or when I give up trying - whatever comes first.

[The Celtic Viking]

Chapter 2: A Threat From The West

Rising Tensions
It took until around 255 BCE before tensions started rising again. Reports came from Pahlavan lands that their invasion had been beaten back for the most part by a determined Seleucid defense. Only Marakanda had been taken, while the rest lay firmly in Seleucid hands, that had since the break of the war been strengthened further with new recruits and conscripts. The delaying tactics had been successful, and now they could feel reasonably secure in their positions.

That is why when troops started gathering at the borders of Amaseia, the city started into full attention. The army was expanded and a large amount of men levied primarily into phalanxes, spearmen and skirmishers. These were bolstered with numbers of Galatians, and the Nikaians honoured their alliance by sending light infantry and archers. The cavalry came exclusively from Amaseia. All over the Pontic kingdom men were conscripted into service, with the only exception being the Sinopeans. They were still not considered trustworthy enough to be given weapons to wield. To support this army, taxes were raised for everyone.

There is no number high enough to count the many times I travelled between Amaseia and Mazaka during this very turbulent time. It seemed that in the time that it took me to deliver a message and get back, there would always have come five new ones waiting for me. All other Pontic diplomats and emissaries, who I had the time and opportunity to talk to, told of similar situations for themselves. Much confusion was about, and there were times that new orders were sent even before old ones had been received. This undoubtedly complicated the situation and delayed the mobilization beyond belief, which only created a vicious circle as it caused even more stress and panic amongst the nobles, and made them send out even more orders and corrections. Cynical jokes were made about how they planned to find men for the armies, when everyone had been hired as messengers.

It was a sunny day in July, the year was 253 BCE and I had been on an unusually long RNR (those days they were generally short, few and far between – as explained above). The army was finally getting close to full mobilization and I was walking down a street in Amaseia when a man came running up to me. He quickly informed me that I was wanted by the king, but he could not specify the reason. “Need to know basis”, he explained. I naturally rushed up the hill – for the palace was built on the highest spot in the town – curious to know what was so secretive and urgent, but also with great disappointment that my RNR was over.

When I finally entered the palace, I was shown into a dark room. There was only one, tiny window in the far wall from which a small stream of light entered the room. At first I thought it was empty, but when my eyes finally adjusted to the decreased lighting, I saw that there was actually a score of men sitting by a table, all with their eyes fixed on me. I quickly recognized the king sitting in the place of honour, and closest to him the highest ranking nobles, and so on. I was a little confused when the king finally spoke.

I will not retell exactly what was said, partly because I can’t remember it in detail and partly because it would mean my death, but I have been cleared to reveal the gist of it: there was no Seleukid army gathering at our doorstep. The whole “chaos” of orders was, apparently, but a charade for the Pergamene king to think the Pontic army weak. The plan had, naturally, in the king’s greatness and divine strategic genius, been a complete success, and Pergamon had been gathering an army marching towards Ankyra at the moment, while an Athenian army under command of a captain Amythaon was besieging Byzantion. King Ariobarzanes wanted to control Pergamon for himself, and he wanted me to chronicle his campaign. Being sure that any other answer would likely be rewarded with the lead role in a beheading, I immediately accepted, and so the journey began west. During the long and uneventful march, he had me write down his biography for him.

Basileus Ariobarzanes Kianos stood out from other men. He was taller, and broader than most, strong as an ox and with the cunning of a fox. Whenever he talks, he shows extraordinary intelligence, with a very advanced problem-solving capacity. He was very selfish, though; ruthless, even. There was a rumor, one that men only whispered when they knew He couldn’t hear, that as a boy, he had had 8 brothers at first, and the lead prince was someone else than Ariobarzanes. However, when He came into the world, he quickly took over control and killed all but two others. Whether the rumor is true or not, when he looks at you, you can tell he’s working things out. You know that he has a plan for you, and you’d better not disagree.

If it had not been for those eyes of his, one would however easily dismiss the rumor as pure fantasy. He was an extremely good speaker, seemingly able to make any proposition seem true. You didn’t just want to agree for your own safety; you’d agree, because how could he be wrong? It was truly amazing how he could bend the wills of others with such ease; with a few words, he could convince a bear to be afraid of the fish. With him in charge, there was only victory, and he knew it. He, of course, was well aware of all his good sides, and he was immensely proud of them.

However, he was getting old. At 58 years of age as of 252 BCE, he had seen many days turn into night. His hair and his beard were long grey, and it was thought that he was in his last few years.

The Siege of Pergamon
So when the spring came 251 BCE, we hastened to Pergamon and laid siege to the city. We always knew we could expect a large force summoned to the state’s protection, but we never knew what to expect beyond that. The Pergamenes had managed to hide this information very effectively from Ariobarzanes’ spies, scouts and informants, and an inspection from the siege fronts didn’t reveal anything more. We knew they had hoplites; that was all.

This made the risky business of an assault into nigh impossible madness, and it would take two years to starve out the garrison. Nevertheless, Ariobarzanes had his men construct 6 rams to be ready just in case.

We spent many months outside that wretched city. Always hungry, always thirsty, always waiting even more.

Meanwhile the Seleukid wars had all grinded to a halt. The Pahlava invasion had been beaten back, but they could not push into Pahlavan lands, and a new wave was coming. The Baktrians had joined the war too, and was an ever present problem too, as were the Saka Rauka nomads. More worrisome to Ariobarzanes was the peace they had signed with the Ptolemaioi. The threat of a Seleukid king wanting to regain an old satrapy was big.

The west wasn’t empty of threats either, which was one of the reasons why Ariobarzanes wanted to take out Pergamon. In Greece, the Koinon Hellenon had grown strong and expanded north at the expense of Makedonia, reaching as far as to Pella, the former Makedonian capital. Basileus Ariobarzanes had feared what would happen if Pergamon was to join that league; it would be a direct threat to the Pontic west flank, and with the Seleukids as neighbours on a long front, this was not in the least desirable. Something had to be done, and taking and occupying Pergamon before it joined was the most realistic option.

It was a warm spring morning in May when the Pergamon king, Ennomos, sallied forth, and we could finally see his soldiers for the first time. Most of his infantry consisted of hoplites of varying quality, but he also had a number of sarissa-armed phalanxes, skirmishers as well as Thraikian and Galatian mercenaries on his side. Most of them were experienced soldiers, veterans from wars past, standing in contrast to Ariobarzanes’ raw recruits. However, they had suffered greatly from attrition, and Ariobarzanes’ army outnumbered them almost 3 to 1: a ratio that was slightly exceeded in cavalry. With this knowledge, Ariobarzanes felt secure in his position, and guided the defense with his usual confidence.

The Battle
The ground was almost flat with only a slight advantage in height for the Pergamese soldiers. The sky was clear, the weather bright and, for the birds and the trees, this was just a regular spring morning.

Ariobarzanes placed as per usual his sarissa-phalanx in the middle eight rows deep, with their flanks covered by levy hoplites of equal depth. Right in front of them, in an open order, he put the skirmishers, and behind to the left the archers. Both being ragged levies, they were not expected to do much damage, but rather to annoy and disrupt formations. To the right of the archers were light infantry armed with wicker shields and spears ready to fill any gap that might present itself in the phalanx, and on both flanks of these and the archers were the Galatian spearmen. On his right wing, slightly behind his main force, he posted his light cavalry, while Ariobarzanes himself led the heavy cavalry on the left flank. Thus his army was positioned to meet the enemy.

The first to come out were the Thraikian mercenaries, and with their rhomphaias they quickly engaged Ariobarzanes’ skirmishers in front, in an effort to delay and confuse the Pontic army, giving the remaining Pergamese army enough time to come through the gate without interference. On a mission that seemed suicidal, the Thraikians performed outstanding, beating the five times more numerous Pontic skirmishers, and then looking for more.

Skirmisher Melee

The first wave came at the wings. On Ariobarzanes’ right flank, his Galatians and hoplites had both been engaged by a force of hoplites, and his Galatians on his left charged by Peltastai. Since the Pergamese on Ariobarzanes’ left lacked cavalry support, they were easily pushed back, but the right flank proved tougher. The light cavalry failed to do much of an impact despite repeated charges, and when Ennomos threatened with his heavy cavalry together with infantry support, the Pontic light cavalry had to withdraw. The light infantry reserves were pulled up as well to guard against flanking.

Galatians on the right flank.


Galatians on the left flank.


Levy Hoplites on the left flank

It was at this crucial point that Ennomos steered to his own right and met Ariobarzanes. He with his Hellenistic heavy cavalry against Ariobarzanes with his royal kinsmen in a one-on-one clash, Ariobarzanes had an advantage in armour but a disadvantage in speed and agility. Ennomos tried to overcome this by charging, disengaging and then recharging, and turning to disrupt Ariobarzanes’ formation, but no matter what he did, Ariobarzanes was one step ahead, and the fight turned more and more in his favour.

With Ennomos finally dead, Ariobarzanes could turn around and see what had happened elsewhere. On his right wing, being freed from Ennomos’ presence, his light cavalry had been able to go to work again, this time more effectively. The would-be flanking force had been beaten back, and now the Pergamese line was truly open for flanking. Some in their center had seen this and turned their backs already.

He quickly sent orders that non-engaged phalanxes should drop their sarissas and flank with their axes, and thus the mopping up had begun. It was a clear victory, but an estimate of 1223 men had been lost, for the killing of 986.

Pergamon was occupied with little further resistance, and set up as a philhellenic satrapy. Artists drew the pictures of the battle that I have included above, and in memory of this victory, Ariobarzanes had his portrait taken in the palace of Pergamon itself.

Ariobarzanes Kianos

[MisterFred]

Very enjoyable, and I've always liked the text in an AAR more than the pictures. I dunno about suggestions. There are a few minor errors (Seleucid once instead of Pontic, west instead of east in the first section) [edit-I was wrong about east-west], but far less than when I write. In my AAR I tried to introduce deliberate timing/knowledge errors. For instance, the general in charge of my army campaigning near Carthage not knowing Siga, a city far west, had fallen yet. Or a difference in assumptions by various characters. But that doesn't make as much sense in your AAR, given the smaller geographic distances and the connection to the Hellenistic world and rumor via Sinope/Bithynia/Seleucid contacts.

Anyway, I encourage you to continue. If you go very slowly and just write it for yourself, there's no reason not to post it - I know there are some who will be happy to read your writing, even if they don't find it for another year.

[The Celtic Viking]

Regarding the Seleucid and west "errors", are you sure about those? I'm 99% sure you've misunderstood the situation that I've described (which is completely my fault as the writer; I'll try to be more clear in the future). I only say that twice in my latest chapter, and both are in the segment covering the Pahlavan-Seleukid war, which Pontos isn't involved in.

I can't say I find any west-east error, either.

In my AAR I tried to introduce deliberate timing/knowledge errors. For instance, the general in charge of my army campaigning near Carthage not knowing Siga, a city far west, had fallen yet. Or a difference in assumptions by various characters. But that doesn't make as much sense in your AAR, given the smaller geographic distances and the connection to the Hellenistic world and rumor via Sinope/Bithynia/Seleucid contacts.

I think I will just take this idea now that you offer it. I've kind of been doing it already, but not to the extent you suggest and I think I will start doing it more. Thanks. This is still written by a seasoned diplomat, however, and he has a lot of contacts, so while his information may not be up to IM-speed, he should have a good check on Greece and Anatolia. It should mostly be noticeable in the reports from the Pahlavan/Baktrian-Seleucid border.

Cheers!