My Near Eastern Nightmare

[Saldunz]

Thank you everybody for the tips and advice.

The turns pass by very, very slowly due to the number of battles I have to fight in this campaign. It's been about 2 years and I've managed to take Antioch without losing any of those other cities. I opted to go for Antioch before Egypt because I'm hoping that it will become the sole focus of the Ptolemies northern attacks. That and I've noticed that the large majority of the armies marching towards me are from the north.

Tactically, I've been very lucky, routing the Ptolemies elite units using my sad bunch of levies. One curious thing I've noticed when fighting as the Saba is that I have to fight really, really dirty. I have to exploit every single advantage I get, and if the terrain is even slightly unfavorable to me, I have to withdraw. This is my first campaign where I've had to strategically withdraw from cities I've held because there was just no way I could come out of the incoming siege a winner.

The Ptolemies armies field their elite units, but thankfully only infantry, without any meaningful backup from cavalry or missile units.

To address some of the things mentioned in your posts...
- Cyprus is the Ptolemies capital right now and is garrisoned with a half-stack. Besides, I wouldn't be able to afford the ship's cost to transport troops there at this stage.
- There's no chance of the Pahlava coming down the coasts because Charax is held by the Ptolemies, and the Ptolemies are rather occupied with my near eastern campaign, I hope.
- I'm currently allied with Macedonia, whom I hope to never be at war with, and the Seleucids who apparently still have a city somewhere I can't find... Probably way out in the east about the overrun by the Pahlava. If there were any way to get the Macedonians to attack the Ptolemies, it would make things so much easier.
- Incidentally, I get about 1500 mnai per turn. My economy is dreadful. I can no longer afford mercenaries, so I'm basically stuck with the occasional retrain these units get.

Has anyone had any real success in situations like these? The battles right now are certainly winnable with careful tactics, but the sheer volume and attention you're getting from the strongest AI faction in the game can be quite suffocating. I imagine this is probably a similar experience as playing with Hayasdan and Pontus, but at least then you have some armoured units with half-decent morale! The Ptolemies have 5 times my numbers on the map, and when I take more than 10% casualties in a battle, I cringe and take it as a loss - even when it's a heroic victory!

EDIT: I probably should mention that the only units available to me in my Levantine cities are Pantodapoi. Bostra and Damascus are essentially depopulated, and the Arabian cities are too far away. Combine that with my abysmally low income and constant sieges and you'll understand why half-decent strike forces are impossible right now. I really hope the acquisition of Antioch will boost my income a bit. At any rate, it'll slow down the rate at which the Ptolemies pump out Phangites and Gallic Heavy Swordsmen...