The Road to Immortality: An Arche Seleukeia AAR

[seleucid empire]

Big thank you to strategos vasiles who helped me get these pictures up

[seleucid empire]

Chapter 1: The Three Brothers Part 1


"All men are of one metal but not one mold"

A young man sat proudly on his warhorse watching the column of men marching. Behind him, arrayed in a semi-circle were 7 older men riding similar steeds, wearing the finest armour and armed to the teeth. Their names were Apollonois, Diogenes, Heliodoros, Lycus, Nikomedes, Philandros, and Demetrius. The young man himself was Theodoros Syriakos, crown prince of the Seleucid Empire and the 7 men were his companions

Behind the 8 men were 400 other horsemen waiting on their prince's orders. The column of men were made up of 1 600 archers from Ecbatana. The young prince waited patiently for his force to catch up to his cavalry. They had been marching for more than a month. Theodoros remembered that day when he had received the message from his father
Gather 2 000 men, rendezvous with Alexandros on Royal road. March to Antioch in all haste

In just 3 days he had gathered all of the forces he needed and began the long march to Antioch

"My Lord, I see something in the distance. Looks like a large group of men headed our way" reported Lycus
"Can you see banners on them?"
"No my lord I cant see any from this distance"
"They could be bandits or rebels. Have the archers form up on that hill over there. Hide our cavalry behind the hill"

The men were issued orders and the frightened Persian levies slowly formed up. Then they waited for the forces to approach

"My lord! I see banners. There are Silver ones of the Empire and also flags of the Satraps of Susa"
"That must be Alexandros. Order the men to stand down"

As the force approached Theodoros could see the agema of his brother's cavalry as we as his brothers army which was considerably more impressive than his own. The two men embraced



"Greetings brother!" said Alexandros, "I trust you've been well since we've last met"
"Indeed I have. But tell me brother, did our father tell you why he needed us to march to Antioch personally? Syria is not under threat as far as I have heard"
"No it isn't but it may soon be.The Ptolemies are massing their forces in Judea and they could strike soon"
"The regional defenses are more than enough to stop the Ptolemies. This is something bigger, I can feel it"
"You may be right" replied Alexandros, "Lets discuss this later tonight. I've had a weary day. You didn't bring any of that famous Ecbatana wine with you be any chance did you?"

Theodoros smiled. His brother was famous for his drinking ability

"Yes in fact I have. Lets set up camp now, Its been 2 years since we've last met we have much to talk about"
Alexandros left to address his men.

Now alone Theodoros, stared off into the west, uncertain what he might find once he arrived.

[seleucid empire]

Chapter 2: The Three Brothers Part 2
272 Asia Minor



"Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then they attack others (Machiavelli)"

Sarepedon was in a good mood today. In fact he had been in a good mood ever since he had received the orders from his father. After a year of defending Cappadocia from frequent Ptolemaic attacks he would finally take the offensive. His destination was the Ptolemaic fortress of Tarsus. Although his scouts reported that the Ptolemaic garrison was larger than his army, Sarepedon was not worried. His men were professionals compared to the Ptolemaic levies.

"My lord," one of his companions spoke,"We have just entered Ptolemaic territory. Perhaps we should march more slowly and give ourselves more time to form a battle plan."
"Why would I do that? I want to arrive as soon as possible"
"But My lord we have no battle plan and they outnumber us by at least 2 000 men."
"You leave the battle plan to me my friend"

[seleucid empire]

Chapter 3: Lambs to the Slaughter
"I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep. I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion (Alexander the Great)"
272 The Gates of Tarsus


Sarepedon woke his men at on the very brink of dawn. He ordered his men to have breakfast quietly and then to form up. They weren't going to take the town by surprise. He knew that but at least this way his men would be well fed and less groggy than those of the enemy. As his army approached the walls, Sarepedon could already hear the panic and chaos of the defenders trying to organize their defenses.

They had camped outside Tarsus for 3 months. Sarepedon had expected the Ptolemies to attack as soon as he arrived. After all they had 6 000 men to his 2 000 but it appeared the Ptolemaic commander was smarter than Sarepedon first thought and he saw Sarepedon's cavalry and superior infantry as too much of a threat to face in the open. However there were two important things he didn't know. Firstly that there would be no help arriving from Side as the town had just fallen to Seleucid forces under general Attalos. The second was the stubbornness and determination of Sarepedon. No man would have dreamed that Sarepedon would assault the fortifications while outnumbered 3 to 1. But that's exactly what he did

"Men of Seleucus! Today is the day we've been waiting for for the last 3 months. Fight with honor. Fight with everything you have! And remember, you cannot die today because you will live on forever in history!!"
His men cheered and they began to push the great ram up to the walls.



The Peltasts broke through the wall and began to slaughter the enemy skirmishers. The Ptolemaic general sent his spear men and slingers to halt the advance of Sarpedon's peltasts. The Peltasts began to take casualties and Sarepedon and his personal guard charged into the fray, killing the enemy general and causing all of the Ptolemaic troops to flee to the town center where they were massacred



Sarepedon was relieved when it was finally over. He didnt want to waste anymore time killing sheep

[seleucid empire]

Chapter 4: Sleight of Hand
Summer 271 BC


"By the breaking in of enraged merciless armies, flourishing countries have been laid waste, great numbers of people have perished in a short time, and many more have been pressed with poverty and grief"

"Impressive sight isn't it brother?" Theodoros whispered. Alexandros did not reply but stood there fixed on the sight below him. The sight of 30 000 men marching under the silver banners. A beautiful sight
The brother's mission became clear as soon as they arrived in Antioch. An enormous camp with countless soldiers awaited them at the great city. This was not another squabble over Cole Syria. This army had one purpose, To drive into the the heart of Egypt itself

Alexandros and Theodoros both knew that if they marched down the coastal road, the Ptolemies would immediately send aid to Sidon. Instead they would do the unexpected. The marched their army into Cole Syria intending to march on Sidon from the desert, an extremely risky move considering how close it brought them to the hostile city of Palmyra

They would arrive in 2 weeks. The Ptolemies dont stand a chance against this army, thought Theodoros. What nation could?

[seleucid empire]

Chapter 5: The Fate of Merchants
Summer 270 BC


"Money is the ultimate form of power, said the old man. After a minute of thought the boy asked. Then why do generals command men?"

Attalos and Sarepedon sat on their horses side by side watching the Greek army slowly approach
"That's a big army" muttered Attalos
"You put too much stock in numbers lord Attalos, as do those merchants we are facing now."
The Greeks began to increase their pace, shouting their war cries.

"Men brace yourselves!" ordered Attalos. The shields of the Karians and Celts locked together. Chaos erupted as the two lines clashed
"Sarepedon, with me!" commanded Attalos and the 800 elite cavalry moved to flank the enemy. Their charge was overwhelming and an entire battalion of enemy hoplites routed. They gave chase for a few hundred metres and then turned around for a second charge. This time the entire Greek army ran for the safety of their walls. The Seleucids gave chase all the way up to the gates of the city. When they arrived they found open gates. The Greeks had surrendered. Rhodes, the prize of Asia minor was now theirs

[seleucid empire]

Chapter 6: Enemy at the Gates

So much had happened in the last year thought Theodoros. The attack on Sidon had been an overwhelming Success. The siege of Jerusalem was also a quick but bloody affair. Now came the hard part. As Theodoro's army set foot on the soil of Egypt they all began to fear. What did the Pharaoh have in store for them? They would face fierce resistance. After all they were going for the jewel of the Mediterranean. They were going to capture Alexandria itself.
"No matter" thought Theodoros,"Let all of the hosts of the Nile come. They will all fall..one by one"

[stratigos vasilios]

Big thank you to strategos vasiles who helped me get these pictures up

You're very welcome, but I think I need to thank you for giving us such a good AAR to read!