Conquest and A game of Empires: A Seleucid AAR

[seleucid empire]

Hello, this is going to be my first AAR and im not the best writer so i hope you'll treat me kindly. This will be a mid-game AAR with my favourite Faction which is of course the Seleucid empire. The first few chapters will have few pics because i didnt really know how to take any before today. So enjoy! and feedback or criticism of any kind is welcomed. (SORRY FOR THE GAME OF THRONES RIP-OFF NAME)
Played on H/M
Also note i mite add pictures or edit the post in between chapters so keep checking :)

1. Introduction to the Warrior Kings of Seleucia
Winter of 125 BC, inside the Great school of Antioch, a group of young nobles await their tutor, an elderly man walks in


"greetings students, my name is Menalous of Alexandria and i will replace Cleitus as your tutor. Today we begin our history lessons on the Warrior Kings of the Seleucid Empire, whom many of you are related to be blood or are direct decendants"

A few groans escaped the class. Menalous sighed. He remembered well how boring history lessons during his youth were.

"I believe Cleitus has taught you about Seleukos, the founder of our glorious empire and Antiochus I, so i will move onto Antiochus II Theos and his two brothers for today's lesson. Do you all have your papyri open? Good lets begin"



"Antiochus II Theos is possibly the greatest King of the Seleucid Empire to this day. When he inherited the Kingdom in 270 BC [lets pretend BC stands for something else ;)], there were enemies attacking from all sides and the future of seleuko's Kingdom looked bleak. In the autumn of the year of his coronation, he devised a daring plan which still puzzle many generals today. Firstly, he ordered all of the garrison troops and standing battalions between Syria and Persia to congregate at Antioch. Most Kings would not have done this as it would leave the heartlands open to rebel attacks. Then he spent the remaining treasury money on a unit of medium cavalry, 1000 strong, the prodomoi. His third order was that his older brother Alexandros Syriakos would join him at Antioch with his personal retinue of heavy cavalry. He also ordered his youngest brother Sarepedon to gather whatever forces he could and attack the Ptolemaic holdings in Asia minor and the islands of the Mediterranean.

Ah yes, why did Theodoros inherit the throne instead of his older brother Alexander you ask? simple. Alexander was deemed too incapable by Antiochus I to rule or manage the empire

Anyway, after he gathered his forces, he began one of the most brilliant campaigns in military history, only matched by those of Alexander the Great, Cyrus the Great, Hannibal, Nikeratos the reformer and perhaps Kleon of Kolesyria. His military genius was staggering and he took Sidon, Jerusalem, and Alexandria within 2 years, The battle of Alexandria shows the brilliance of Theodoros, when he won a overwhelming victory dispite being outnumbered by the Ptolemai 40 000 to 26 000. The ptolemai also had professional galatians and phalanxes while Cleon only had pandapotai phalanxes, levy slingers and the combined cavalry force of his and his brothers' retinues. The key to hs success was his ability to take cities quite quickly. He never besieged a town for more time than it took to build the siege engines. Later in his life, he was given the nickname 'Wall-Breaker"

After the siege of Alexandria and Memphis, he continued west and left Alexandros in charge of the city with instructions to arm the greeks and defend the city using the Ptolemaic treasury and start the new front south when appropriate. In a quick succession of battles, Theodoros conquered all of Africa and Libya west of Lepki including the famed oasis of Siwa and returned to Alexandria. Meanwhile his brother Sarepedon had successfully ousted the Ptolemai in Asia minor and Cyprus. What was surprising though was that he had managed to take Rhodes and Halicarnassus as well, giving the empire control of all of the southern asia minor and the eastern Mediterranean. Theodoros sent a letter of congratulations as well as a portion of the loot from Egypt to Sarepedon and asked his brother to gather a new army to invade galatia and Pergamon, two Kingdoms which had been a constant threat to their holdings in Mikra Asia. By the time Theodoros returned to Alexandria, his older brother Alexandros was already in Nubia besieging the last great Ptolemaic city of Pselkis. Soon the three brothers Theodoros, Alexandros and Sarepedon were famous for their victories and the other great empires began to tremble at the thought of facing all three brothers united. When Theodoros entered Alexandria again 2 years after he had sacked it, he recieved two messages. One good and One bad. The first message told of Sarepedon's victories over both ankyra and Pergamon. He had also expelled the Macedonians from Asia minor by taking Mytenile. The second message was grim. The armies of Pontus has crossed the border and besieged Mazaka and Ankyra with a total force of 120 000 mercenaries, levies and heavy cavalry. They had declared war on the Arche, in what would be known as the short but incredibly bloody Pontic Wars. Lets leave it here for now and we'll continue tomorrow"

[seleucid empire]

2. The Pontic Wars
The pontic forces with their advantage of surprise and overwhelming numbers should easily have won the war and taken Asia minor from the depleted army of Sarepedon. However their lack of experience in siege warfare and the inexperience of their King caused their downfall. The Pontic King Ariobarzanes split his army into 4 separate forces of 30 000 men each and sent one to Pergamon, one to Galatia, one to hunt down Sarepedon's forces and lead one into Cappadokia. He believed that the army of Sarepedon about 15 000 strong, was too weak to engage in any of his armies. This was a major miscalculation on his part as the men of Sarepedon were veterans of the Seleucid conquest of Asia Minor, Cyprus and Rhodes, many of them had been fighting with Sarepedon for the last 7 years. They knew every inch of the ground they were defending and unknown to the Pontic King, their numbers had been boosted by Galatian mercenaries. When the pontic commander tasked with finding Sarepedon marched into Seleucid lands, he was ambushed near Sardis and his entire army destroyed. Sarepedon's army was about 30 000 strong by now and he marched up to engage the second pontic force near Pergamon. He won a Pyrrhic victory there destroying the Pontic army but losing more than half his men to the heavy cavalry and chariots of the enemy. The 3rd Pontic army successfully conquered Galatia and quickly conquered the Kingdom of Bithynia

Sarpedon sent out a call of help to his brothers in the south but he knew that by the time they arrived Asia Minor would be overrun. The message was intercepted at Antioch by its governor, a man named Euletes Charakos Medikou, who was eager to find out how the war was going. He knew Antioch would be threatened if Cappadokia fell and after reading the message he decided to act. He raised an army in Syria and called for all nearby mercenary bands to join his army. Meanwhile unknown to either Ariozarbanes, Euletes or Sarepedon, Theodoros the Great had landed with his royal army on the coast of Asia Minor near Side

Once the pontic king became aware of this, he withdrew his army from Cappadokia and began to raise new forces. Theodoros sent orders to Sarepedon to attack Bithynia and force marched his entire army to Galatia. The pontic army levied for the defence of Galatia numbering 34 000 attacked the Royal army numbering 20 000 but were completely wiped out by Theo's veterans leaving Galatia free for the taking. Sarepedon was successful in conquering Bithynia and began to raise local support to defend Nikaia. Theodoros then marched east and took the Capital of Amaesea. Eulete's army arrived after the siege and he was ordered to attack sinope, the last major city of the pontic kingdom. he was also given a unit of Theodoro's veteran phalangites.

Euletes met the Pontic army just outside Sinope in one of the bloodiest battles of the generation


Because the Pontic invasion force was almost completely destroyed, Ariozarbanes Kianos raised 10 000 levies in addition to his 30 000 troops. In this battle the levied pandaptai would prove very effective in pinning down the seleucid phalanx. The pontic army also had an advantage in heavy cavalry, having some 4 000 kinsmen cavalry while Euletes only had 1 000 gallic mercenaries, 1000 thessalians and his own retinue of 400 hetairos. The battle began with skirmishing on both sides, before the infantry clashed.
The pontic King's royal foot guards prove effective even against the veteran Pzehetairoi

The Pontic cavalry proved devastating against the seleucid fanks and the battle looked like it was over. However, the last minute, Euletes charges in with his bodyguard and kills Ariozarbanes, who believing the battle was won, had become reckless. The gallic cavalry in reserve then flanked the ponti royal hoplites who fled immediately. The rest of the army, seeing their champions flee, followed suit, earning Euletes an overwhelming victory and a place for his name in the histories as the man who destoyed Pontus




Theodoros then conquered Byzantium, giving him control of the Hellespont. This would prove to be the start of another bloody war, this time with the epirotes, which would go on to consume all of greece

[seleucid empire]

Is anyone actually reading this???
oh and sorry i know i said it would be a mid game AAR but i just had to include the history of my faction leaders because each fo them has been awesome and with different army fighting styles (because of location)

[seleucid empire]

3. The Seleucid-Greek Wars
The Epirotes were the dominant force in the Balkans at the time and had been building up their forces from their new capital Pella. Their original plan was to send those forces to Serdike, destroying the last of the exiled macedonians before concentrating their forces south on the Konion Hellion Alliance. However, Antiochus II Theo's attack on Byzantium alarmed the Epirote King Ptolemaios Aikaldes who decided to make peace with both Macedon and the League and focus on driving out the rising empire from the continent.

The Epirote forces were 90 000 strong with an addition attachment of 10 000 mercenaries. When Antiochus became aware of the mobilization of the entire epirote army, he knew he would have to make a choice: To defend Byzantium against the epirotes while waiting for reinforcements or to push on with his lone army against all the forces of Greece. His decision was an easy one

To push on was a very dangerous choice. He was still at war with the Greek Alliance, who wouldn't accept ceasefire without the return of Rhodes and with the Macedonians who would not accept ceasefire from the Seleucids, who had betrayed them. In addition to the 100 000 epirotes, he would have to fight 80 000 Greek Troops and 40 000 Macedonian troops with just his royal army. Antiochus Marched to Pella, destroying one epirote army who attempted to relieve the siege. As soon as the siege engines were ready he assaulted Pella, despite the Garrison being equal in numbers to his own forces. Using his veteran phalangites to block certain streets he was able to destroy the garrison with few casualties. Meanwhile Alexandros had conquered Meroe and Axum and sent a message to Antiochus II Theodoros, promising his brother that he would come and assist in the invasion as soon as he had set up a proper government in Meroe. This filled Antiochus with hope and he continued west to Epirus after building some fortresses in the north and south of Pella. He sent a message to Sarepedon, asking him to bring the veterans of Asia minor as reinforcements.

The Epirotes had been destroyed defending Pella and the siege of Epidamnos and Ambrakia were relatively short affairs. Antiochus Marched west into Thessaly but he decided that the Greek Force of 80 000 opposing him would cause too many casualties to his army to continue campaigning. Meanwhile Sarepedon had arrived at Pella with his forces. So the next half a year was taken up by maneuvering by both armies to get the better position. What the greeks were unaware of was that Alexandros had landed with Newly conscripted Alexandrian Greeks in southern Peloponnese. Theodoro's "maneuvering" was in fact just a ruse to draw the greek forces from their heartlands. Finding the Greek lands undefended, Alexander Quickly took Athens, Chalkis, Corinth and Sparte before coming up behind the Greek Forces and crushing them in a vice.

After the brothers had taken Demetrius, shocking news reached them. Their brother Sarepedon had been assasinated by a Greek assassin. This event shook the brothers to their core and filled the King with anger. He began to massacre the Greeks in his newly conquered cities. Over 400 000 Epirotes and Greeks were slaughtered in the next 3 months.

Theodoros then finished his campaign by Taking Thermon, Serdike and Tylis, thus wiping out the Macedonians. Alexander was then travelled by ship to syria to organise the invasion of the northern Arabian lands while Antiocus Theodoros marched overland to syria to consolidate his rule on Asia minor.


So students we can see once again the brilliance of Theodoros. He managed to conquer Greece in less than 6 years against superior forces

[seleucid empire]

4. The Armenian Campaign, A New alliance, Heir to the throne
When Theodoros reached Antioch, he refit many of his veterans with new equipment and handed out land, creating a bigger class of pzehetarioroi and nobles. The greek campaign and the assassination of Sarepedon had changed the King. He decided that as long as there were kingdoms on our borders there would always be war, so his strategy was to strike first and as hard as possible. He gathered his royal army and in a incredibly fast campaign subdued all of Armenia which became known as the "Armenian Blitz". The reason for his quick campaign was the fact that all of the Hayasdan armies were out on the steppes fighting the Sarmatian Federation. Theodoros took all of Armenia in 3 years and without reinforcements, the Armenian armies in the steppes were destroyed by the horse archers


The Sarmatian horselords then thanked Theodoros for his assistance against the Hayasdan and cemented an alliance with the seleucid empire. In the west, the Great Roman empire sent diplomats to our king asking for an alliance. Theodoros gladly accepted and the world shook in fear as the Greatest empire of the east and the Greatest empire in the west united. Only Carthage, the second greatest people in the west seemed unconcerned about this alliance, feeling secure in their homelands of North Africa.

The King was getting old now and he knew he needed to find a replacement for the throne who could mirror his achievements. Without a King as competent as himself, he knew that the Empire he created would crumble. His son kallinokos should have been the heir, however, Theodoros realized that Kallinokos was unsuitable as he was lazy and arrogant, so he picked his grandson Nikeratos instead


However, The King wanted to make sure of his choice so he asked Nikeratos to accompany him to invade the east. Theodoros never made it to Parthia. He died peacefully near the Parthian Seleucid Border at 63 years of age. The greatest King of the Seleucid empire, who defeated 5 of the Empires most powerful enemies, the man who secured all of the west, south and north, the man who filled the empire with gold and slaves from conquered foes, was dead.


When the will of the King was read in the court of Antioch, Kallinokos was infuriated to discover that he was not the new King but his estranged son was. However, Kallinokos was never popular, held no influence over the court and had no army so he did not attempt to usurp the new King. After receiving messages of support from the lords of Antioch, Nikeratos breathed a sigh of relief and continued onto Parthia with his grandfather's army

Also of note was that the Great general Alexandros also passed away in the same year. He was the greatest general of the empire after theodoros himself and played a crucial role in the Egyptian and Greek Campaigns. He was also the conqueror of eastern and western arabia and was considered a great man by all, second only to Antiochus II Theodoros 'The Great'


Map of Theodoros' Campaigns


Map of Alexander's campaigns

[seleucid empire]

Map of Alexander's campaigns

[seleucid empire]

due to the picture limit, ill be writing short chapters now, although i mite add 2-3 chapters a day

[seleucid empire]

5. The Far Eastern Nightmare Part 1

Before i continue with on with the life of Nikeratos the reformer, lets have a look at the political situation of the east in the last years of Theodoro's life.
The empire at the death of Theodoros in 229 BC

In the far east there were 4 major factions which dominated parts of the area. The Seleucids, the Parthians, the Bactrians and the Saka. At the Death of Antiochus I Soter, the Parthians took the opportunity to throw off the Seleucid yoke and attack their former masters. Taking advantage of the situation, the Bactrians declared themselves independent, although they did not declare war. The Parthian nomads were excellent horsemen and their hordes ravaged Seleucid lands taking score of cities including the important trade city of Antiocheia Margiane. Theodoros knew that fighting on two different fronts was impossible so he concentrated on destroying his richest and most powerful enemy first: The Ptolemies.
He had intended to go east after the campaign but the Pontic and Greece Wars meant he had to remain in the west. It seemed like the situation in the east was hopeless and all of Iran would fall beneath the hooves of the Parni. The King of the Parni called all of his warriors together and marched on Alexandria Ariana intending to lay siege to the city.
The Eastern army was at this time lead by a young noble from the influential Hyrkanikes family named Onias. Although he had very little experience in battle, he had the favour of the gods and crushed the parthian army in a Pitched battle near the city. This defeat had astronomical consequences for the Parthians. They retreated to their lands to rebuild their forces but their advantage of surprise and dreams of a quick campaign were gone. After the battle, the Eastern forces were boosted and many new troops were trained using the money from Egypt. Also many Prominent generals from the Ioudikes, Phonikies, Karikon, Ionias and Syriakes family had come of age and with the addition of these 20 bright generals and their own bands of elite cavalry on the scene, any further Parthian armies sent were crushed

Hyrkankikes would lead the defense of the east for many years to come, directing all armies of the East and was given the honorary title of Soter (Saviour). More than any other man outside the Royal family, Hyrkanikies ensured the future of the empire

[seleucid empire]

=.= i just realised Hyrkanikes and Loudikes and all those names are just where they come from not their clans/families

[Dragannia]

I've always been a bit surprised at those who take on the Ptolemies before the Parthians. I've always found Parthians to be much more of a headache - the Ptolemies can be bottlenecked at Syria while the Parthians will run over the eastern provinces if you don't get enough slingers -_-

[seleucid empire]

Well Ptolemies are richer and have built up cities which makes it less of a headache to conquer. Also the cities are built in places so that you can conquer each city without worrying about your flanks too much as well as the fact that in Egypt your fighting one faction for control not 3. Ive managed to conquer everything from Cyrene down to Meroe and Axum in less than 9 years. In the east, all you have to do is get rid of those 2 eastern provinces close to the saks and bring their forces which amounts to a half stack down to defend the east. When you have good enough infrastructure to create the basic panda phalanx then u dont need to worry about the Parthians anymore

[seleucid empire]

6. The Far eastern nightmare Part 2
Around the same time as the fall of the successor states in Greece to Antiochus Theos, Another cataclysmic event was occurring at the ends of the world. In the land of India, the Mauryan empire lost control of its Eastern Provinces which rebelled against Mauryan rule forming the three relatively large and independent kingdoms of Sind based on the port city of Patala, Sattagydia based on the city of Opiana and Gandara, based on the Great city of Taksashila(which was the most powerful of the three splinter factions). Ashoka refused to re-incorporate the regions as he had made a vow of peace and also forbade his generals to invade those lands, knowing the destruction which would follow. However he couldnt ignore the threat on his borders either as they were relatively powerful factions so he turned back to his grandfather's allies, the Seleucids.

He sent a proposal to Antioch but as most messages often were, it was intercepted by a nobleman along the way. This nobleman was an ambitious Man of the Syriakes clan (not to be confused with the royal family "Syriakos") by the name of Panaitolos Rhosou. Now the Syriakes family at this time was the richest family in the world. They were also the second closest relatives to the Royal Syriakos family after the Koilesyriakos family. As a result all of them had great political ambition and were never trusted by the Royal family. Panaitolos was a young officer under Theodoros in the Pontic war and but he dreamed of carving out his own personal empire and headed into the turbulent east. Using the immense wealth of his family he raised an army of 30 000 professional Greek mercenaries and Persian troops and declared war on the city state of Pura. This move alarmed every noble from Persia to Asia Minor. When news reached Theodoros in Greece, he decided not to condemn Panaitolos for his illegal war, as this would make him a desperate general with the largest army in the east. After Pura fell he besieged the city of Alexandropolis and won a bloody battle after 1 year of siege
After the city of Alexandropolis fell he quickly raised a strong garrison and contemplated his next move. If he went north to invade Parthia, his army would be whittled down to nothing by the horse archers of the Parni and Dahae and he did not have enough troops to take on the Bactrian Kingdom either. Luckily for him, the message from Ashoka arrived during this time which he intercepted. After no more than a few days thought he made his choice. He marched east into India via the coastal road and began his legendary campaign. Now the three Indian Kingdoms had been consolidating their powers. Also they formed an alliance. The three kingdoms combined armies exceeded 100 000 men and the route through India was one which even Alexander the Great found difficult to navigate. The next ten years were spent fighting and pacifying the Kingdoms of Sind and Sattagudia with setbacks on both sides. The siege of Patala cost Panaitolos 20 000 men and took 2 years due to the presence of 200 elephants and numerous Indian archers. After pacifying the region, which took a year, he marched onto Opiana. He was reinforced by more mercenaries who lived in india including mixed Hellen-Indo cavalry, Greeks and more persians. However Panaitolos had learned to fear the elephants and used his elite missile cavalry to kill the elephants as well as to lure them into the main phalanx line. As a result he had less casualties than the siege of Patala but he still suffered over 10 000 due to the elite guild infantry which the region was famous for.

At the beginning of Nikerato's reign in 229 BC, Panaitolos found himself at the edge of Gandara, a Kingdom famous for its elite cavalry and its Capital, a city equal to Antioch, Seleucia, Carthage and Rome. The struggle of Taksashila would be a bloody one. So students next week we will talk about the early years of Nikeratos the reformer.

[Moros]

I've always been a bit surprised at those who take on the Ptolemies before the Parthians. I've always found Parthians to be much more of a headache - the Ptolemies can be bottlenecked at Syria while the Parthians will run over the eastern provinces if you don't get enough slingers -_-

I tend to wait attacking both them, but then again I do roleplay a bit and use M/M for that. I don't want to become a superpower too soon. I like to go after rebel provinces as if they were great state enemies. Though if I go for effective playing and a timed challenge I used to abandon the East conquer Egypt and Asia-Minor to Hellas in a one long blitz. Then I do have a strong opponent in the East but already won the game practically anyway. It then gets boring and tedious.

Interesting stuff btw Seleucid Empire! I love reading AAR's since I can't play EB anymore due to lost game discs.

[Dragannia]

I went VH/M for my first (and only!) EB campaign. I've taken over the entire east except for Sauromatae territory but I had started a few campaigns before where, as Seleukia, I got absolutely stomped by Pahlava, Pontus and the Saka. I guess that's why I decided to attack the east and just keeping Damaskus fortified against the Ptolemies, but at this point I have so much cash I can literally raise an army of elephants and just stomp anything in my way. I tried taking on the Ptolemies in the campaign before and I got chewed up and spat out, and then I lost the entire east to Pahlava. I'm the sort of obsessive person who hates losing ANY provinces.

[seleucid empire]

Interesting stuff btw Seleucid Empire! I love reading AAR's since I can't play EB anymore due to lost game discs.

thank you, although i hope my one isnt too boring, since there are so many better AARs out there

[seleucid empire]

I went VH/M for my first (and only!) EB campaign. I've taken over the entire east except for Sauromatae territory but I had started a few campaigns before where, as Seleukia, I got absolutely stomped by Pahlava, Pontus and the Saka. I guess that's why I decided to attack the east and just keeping Damaskus fortified against the Ptolemies, but at this point I have so much cash I can literally raise an army of elephants and just stomp anything in my way. I tried taking on the Ptolemies in the campaign before and I got chewed up and spat out, and then I lost the entire east to Pahlava. I'm the sort of obsessive person who hates losing ANY provinces.

hmm ptolemies are usually the easiest option for early conquest. just send the general in Ipsos, and one unit of peltasts and your other general in asia minor with 2 units of panda phalanx and they should be able to take both side and tarsus in like 2-3 turns. then join their armies up and take cyprus rhodes and halicarnisuss

WHen u started ur seleucid campaign did u move all ur troops form the heartlands to antioch? cause if you put them together that army is quite huge and should easily roll over ptolemies. when u take alexandria uve already won

[Dragannia]

hmm ptolemies are usually the easiest option for early conquest. just send the general in Ipsos, and one unit of peltasts and your other general in asia minor with 2 units of panda phalanx and they should be able to take both side and tarsus in like 2-3 turns. then join their armies up and take cyprus rhodes and halicarnisuss

WHen u started ur seleucid campaign did u move all ur troops form the heartlands to antioch? cause if you put them together that army is quite huge and should easily roll over ptolemies. when u take alexandria uve already won

No, I didn't actually, I sent my central troops to the east. I hate losing provinces and I wanted to keep Asaak and Marakanda, even the Alexandrias, for as long as possible. Eventually things worked out once I got my economy going, but I managed to defeat Pahlava with lots of slingers and archers with my central troops bolstering them a bit. I generally left Anatolia and Syria alone until after I dealt with Pahlava.

[seleucid empire]

i usually only lose 2 provinces to parthians before i get my stone walls and phalanx units. and the parthians can be destroyed in a quick campaign (with high casualties tho). also egypt and southern asia minor is richer than the parthian lands which is why i go after them first. i tried leaving ptolemies alone one time. i had no money and they sent fullstacks of agema

[Titus Marcellus Scato]

No, I didn't actually, I sent my central troops to the east. I hate losing provinces and I wanted to keep Asaak and Marakanda, even the Alexandrias, for as long as possible.

Ha, you sound like Hitler with his 'no retreat' order in Russia! He didn't like the idea of strategic withdrawals either, lol

Personally they work great for me. As the Seleucids, I give Marakanda and Antiochia-Eschate to Baktria. Since Baktria is nominally still a Seleucid satrapy, I'm not betraying my principles by doing so. (After all, from a role-playing point of view, without being a fortune-teller, I don't expect my loyal servant the Satrap of Baktria to declare full independence and attack me in the future.)

Baktria then does a great job of keeping the Saka off my back.

[Dragannia]

Ha, I suppose. I actually followed one the guides here and attacked the Pahlavan army near Asaak first turn to keep my allies. Bactria didn't attack me for the ENTIRE game, until I decided to get some tasty Indian gold after I destroyed Saka. For some random reason the army near Asaak retreated and didn't beseige, so I kept Asaak for the entire campaign. Marakanda and Antiochia-Eschate changed hands like a Roman harlot for most of the campaign before I killed off the Saka, though. Those two cities caused me so much grief with their rebellious nature and the Saka's love for them I almost gave up on them. Once I got horse archers of my own it was easy mode, though.

Actually, to be honest, I feel kind of bad for my tactics. When under siege I used to do this cheap thing against the AI where I got a few shield-wall units or phalangites and put them stacked on top of each other, blocking the entrances to the city centre. Because they were in the centre they never broke and the enemy would try again and again to storm them and take massive casaulties. Most of the time they broke. It's not really realistic and terribly cheap - if I start another campaign I wouldn't do it again. But those cataphracts are so freakin' hard to kill early game.

[seleucid empire]

7.Nikeratos the Reformer, Into the East


Nikerato's military career mirrored that of Theodoros: a never ending brutal campaign against several enemies at once. Upon reaching the Parthian border, he recieved a message from his close friend and a hero of the defence of the east, Sophron Ioudaikon telling him that he was only a few weeks march away with a second army



After meeting with Sophron, the combined armies marched to the Parthian capital of Nisa. The city was nomadic in nature and had no walls. The parthian horse archers and cataphracts were useless in the streets and thus the city was taken with few casualties and the entire Parthian royal army was destroyed. Nikeratos realised that without reconquering Antiochea Margiane, the Parthians would retake Nisa so he ordered Sophron to defend the city with his army while Nikeratos lead his royal army to reclaim ancient land

[Titus Marcellus Scato]

Actually, to be honest, I feel kind of bad for my tactics. When under siege I used to do this cheap thing against the AI where I got a few shield-wall units or phalangites and put them stacked on top of each other, blocking the entrances to the city centre. Because they were in the centre they never broke and the enemy would try again and again to storm them and take massive casaulties. Most of the time they broke. It's not really realistic and terribly cheap - if I start another campaign I wouldn't do it again. But those cataphracts are so freakin' hard to kill early game.

Yeah, unit-stacking is an exploit. It's fine to do with open-order skirmishers and archers, but not close-order heavy infantry. Staying near the central plaza, though, is fine, it allows your loyal troops to fight to the death against the barbarian scum. If you've got enough phalanxes, you can use some to guard the gates and a reserve in the town square, like the AI does when defending towns.

[seleucid empire]

8. The Crisis in India
In the winter of 228, around the same time as the sack of Nisa, the rogue general Panaitolos Rhosou Syriakes reached the heart of Gandara. There he was intercepted by the Indian Royal army as well as the survivers of the sieges of Opiana and Pattala. This army consisted of roughly 30 000 men including two divisions of elephants, the feared indian guild warriors and 3 000 elite indo-hellenic cavalry. Panaitolos had left his phalangites to garrison opiana while the new client King was raising a local garrison and Panaitolos received word that his reinforcements were at least 4 weeks march away. He realised his army would be defeated in a set piece battle so he chose the battlefield carefully. He retreated to a forest where his light infantry would have an advantage over the enemy' cavalry

As the indian army advanced on his postion he sent his archers and skirmisher ahead to ambush the elephants. His tactic worked and the elephants ran amok, stampeding into their own army and causing massive casualties. He then ordered his main line of greek mercenaries to advance close to the enemy line and stop. The enemy foolishly charged their entire army into his trap. The elite Indo-hellenic cavalry was wiped out by the greek peltasts and then, Panaitolos sent in his feared Hykranian axemen. The enemy flank was cut down so quickly that the entire army began to rout. A massive victory was won and the gates of Takshila were flung open for him. Unfortunately, Panaitolos had no plans to be merciful. The entire city was sacked and 200 000 citizens were killed. A client King was set up and Syriakes headed west to conquer the last Indian city of Kophen

When Nikeratos heard of the fall of India, he acted quickly. He sent emissaries to all of the client Kings of India and bribed them to swear loyalty to himself or "face the wrath of "Alexanders" Kingdom". The cities quickly aligned themselves with the Seleucid Baselius. He finally sent a message to Panaitolos who was besieging Kophen congratulating him for "Bringing new lands into the fold of the empire" and asking him to join the invasion of the east. Panaitolos was furious but he had no choice, seeing the men he set up as Kings desert him. Panaitolos's dreams of being emperor of India were crushed and Nikeratos now had 120 000 men at his command.

[seleucid empire]

9. The End of Parthia
Nikeratos won the battle for Antiochea Margiane through trickery. The Parthian Lords and nobles fled there after the sack of Nisa and began raising troops for the defense of the city. When the Royal army arrived at the edge of the province there were almost 30 000 men defending the city. Most of these were poor levied spearmen and archers but the retinues of the Parthian lords had over 3000 heavy cataphracts and 3000 cataphract archers. Nikeratos sent his advance parties weeks ahead of the main army to trick his enemies into believing his was close. He also sent double agents disguised as merchants to spread the rumor that Nikerato's army was weak and disorganized. The Parthians mobilized their army and head out to seek Theodoros. However the army was in reality still 2 weeks march away. The double agents bribed the city guard to open the gates of the city and the Nikerato's advance party of 3 000 horsemen outmaneuvered the main Parthian army and stormed the city. The land outside Antiochea Margiane had been stripped bare to stock up for the coming siege and the Parthian army, stuck outside the city walls, quickly dispersed, although many were killed and captured by Seleucid scouts. The 6000 cataphracts who did not flee, surrendered to Nikeratos and delivered their former lords in chains as a gift to the King. Meanwhile Sophron had taken his army into the northern wastelands and taken over the last Parthian city. The Parni were no more.

[seleucid empire]

10. Bactria, The fall of the East
Almost as soon as the Parthians were destroyed, another threat emerged to the north: The Saka. With the destruction of the Parthian Kingdom, the Saka quickly struck attacking General Sophron. Although he was victorious, he lost a great deal of men and called for urgent reinforcements. The Bactrian King Diodotes II offered aid to turn back the Saka as they were also at war with them.

After some thought, Nikeratos gathered his army and marched East...Into Bactria. It was a move that surprised everyone and the Diodotes II urgently recalled his army from the north. Imagine being the King of Bactria. The seleucid's were at war with the northern tribes. No one could have anticipated Nikerato's move against a peaceful ally while they had enemies on their flanks. However, for Nikeraots it was a logical choice. Bactria had the biggest Greek population in the far east. It was also incredibly rich and could serve as a capital of the Eastern provinces as well as a base of operations for his war. Nikeratos besieged Bactra with his royal army of 30 000.

After 2 months of siege the Bactrian Royal army came to lift the siege. In what is considered to be the bloodiest battle of the age, The seleucids defeated and destroyed the bactrian Kingdom. The royal army had about 30 000 men, most of them veterans of Antiochus II Theos while the bactrian army had around 40 000 men and a garrison of 8 000 in the city. The Bactrians also had 4 000 hetarioi Cataphracts, which caused enormous casualties to the Seleucid army. The Bactrian force was only defeated due to the unwavering discipline of the veterans, most of which had fought in Egypt, Nubia, Greece, Asia Minor, Armenia and Parthia. After the battle the entire Bactrian force was destroyed but the cost was high. Only 8 000 seleucids survived the battle and Nikeratos was rumored to have said "I was not worthy of this army"

After the city fell, Nikeratos massacred the citizens as revenge for his army. He also personally beheaded Diodotes II but afterwards regretting the decision saying "I have just killed the last good man of Theodoro's generation". After the sack he stayed in the city for 2 years rebuilding the infrastructure and his army. He left a young man by the name of Menandros Phoinikekes in charge of the city and gave him the title of "Guardian of the East" to him and his descendants, a position of immense wealth and power.

He then gathered a new army of 9 battalions of phalangites and 10 battalions of stepple riders and headed north to subdue the last traces of the Bactrian Kingdom. Meanwhile, Panaitolos Syriakes had died after taking Kophen and his son Demetrius continued his father campaigns by attacking the eastern saka lands and taking Sulek. The young general also took Chingu, the original saka homelands. After destroying the Bactrians, Nikeratos pushed north and quickly subdued the Saka.

9 years after his coronation, The East was his
The Eastern Campaigns

[seleucid empire]

11. The Northern Wars Pt.1, The Great horde & The King of Damascus
After the last city of the Saka fell, all of the east was in Seleucid hands and Nikeratos planned to return to antioch to celebrate the reunification and extension of the empire of Alexander the Great. However, like his grandfather, Nikeratos had to delay his plans due to another war, This time with the large and powerful Sarmation Federation of horselords who owned all of the north. The war started due to the incompetence of Nikerato's friend and general Sohpron, who after conquering gava mazsakata, began to mistreat the people and even the client King he had selected. This incited a mass rebellion in which Sophron was killed. The men of Mazsakata feared Seleucid retribution and quickly sent envoys to the Sarmatians, asking for protection. The city and province had a high nomad population as well as a well established trade route so the Sarmatians accepted despite being allied to the Selecuids. Nikeratos saw this as an aggressive move and turned his army north. He then sent orders to Antioch to raise and army to conquer the far side of the black sea, which was in Sarmation hands. This was done quickly and the Greek cities of the Black sea were quickly liberated. Nikeratos began subjugating Sarmation cities in the north and by 208 BC had taken 6 despite the vastness of the north. He then reformed his army after seeing the power of horsearchers and by the time he had conquered the sarmatian capital of Uspe, his army was primarily horsearchers. He also initiated a project which he named the Great horde. From his cities in the east, he ordered the selection and training of 20 000 Stepple riders to join his armies. This first horde would eventually grow to include 100 000 men and would become the strongest and most dangerous army in the world which slaughtered millions in the "Great War" the "European Wars"

Meanwhile, the 25 year old Lord of Cole Syria, Kleon Kolesyriakos, the nephew of Nikeratos, and future King raised an army in Greece and without warning attacked and captured the Getai city of Singdinum also destroying a large army in the field. His justification was the increase in the number of troops near the seleucid/Getai border. This invasion had unforeseen consequences and was one of the factors which sparked the "Great War"

It is interesting to note that Nikeratos did not condemn this move despite it putting all of Greece in danger and later chose Cleon to succeed him
(yeh i know this says hes 41 but he was 25 when i invaded the Getai lands. I just have no pictures other pictures because i started the AAR at the year 120 BC in my game)

[rickinator9]

Hmm, it would seem I missed this. Pretty nice little AAR, although I would prefer it if you would start at the beginning.

[seleucid empire]

it does start at the beginning kind of but its like a history book format. When this catches up to my campaign ill change it to a point of view AAR

[seleucid empire]

12. The Great War Part 1:Opening moves & The Northern Wars Pt. 2
Cleon's invasion of Getai, which was a close ally of The Roman empire, alarmed the senate which secretly began to prepare for war. After Cleon took a second Getai city the Romans struck. They sent a force through Illyria and surprised Cleon forcing him into battle. Although Cleon only had a mercenary force, he inflicted a crushing defeat on the Roman legions, showing his brilliance in battle. He then sent word to Nikeratos requesting reinforcements, knowing that he could not defeat the twin powers of the Getai as well as the Roman empire by himself. Nikeratos increased the pace of his invasion and swept through the Scythian lands leaving the Sarmatians with a few provinces near the border of Germany. He had originally planned to destroy the Sarmatians completely. He then sent word to all of the Greek cities and the cities of Asia minor requesting a huge force to be raised. He initiated a military reform to include cataphracts in his armies but it would be years before they were used in Seleucid armies

A clash of two titans would follow which would last nearly 80 years. The Romans at the beginning of the war controlled all of spain, Sicily, italy, Central Europe and Germany and was the Greatest empire in the West. The Seleucids controlled Syria, Asia Minor, the Balkans, Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, Mesopotamian, The Far East, India and the North. The outcome of the war would determine which would rule the world. The East or the West

[seleucid empire]

guys any feedback at all would be appreciated