The Road to Immortality: An Arche Seleukeia AAR

**seleucid empire** · 06-13-2012, 04:50

Chapter 2: Oh How the Mighty have fallen!
Winter 251 BC

"Thy glory, O Israel, is slain upon thy high places! How are the mighty fallen!" (King David)

The cold winds of the Greek winter bypassed his cloak completely, biting into his skin.. But Sarpedon did not feel it. All his attention was fixed on what came ahead. The last 6 years of his life had lead to this moment. Before him lay all the might of Sparta, the once glorious city unmatched in military strength and valor. He had 20 000 men to their 14 000 but he knew better than to underestimate them for among them there were 2 000 Spartiates. The true Spartan warriors. If Sarpedon overcame these Spartans he would be the first man since the time of Phillip and Alexander to unit Greece. Sarpedon had not asked for this battle. His goal had been to destroy the Macedonians. This he had succeeded, but no sooner had he captured the last city of Corinth, he had received news that the Spartans were now marching against him.

Both the Agiad King Akrotatos and the Eurypontid King Eudamidas were present as well as a contingent of elite greek cavalry. The sight of the heavy cavalry surprised Sarepedon

"They're learning Areus" he muttered to his favorite companion.
"Yes my lord their cavalry numbers 1000 as do ours."
"They are lacking quality and experience though. They shouldn't be too much trouble for our veteran cavalry to handle."

The Spartans began to march at double the pace. Sarepedon was amazed how quickly they could move in their heavy armor

"Phalanx lower sarissas!"

His veteran Phalangites lowered their sarissas and braced for the impact. The Spartan charge was overwhelming. Sarpedon saw spear tips breaking and heard the cry of men dying. Amazingly the phalanx held against the Spartan hoplites but Sarpedon knew he only had a limited amount of time before the more heavily armed Spartans broke through the formation and began to slaughter his lightly armored phalangites.

"Cavalry with me!" cried Sarpedon

The cavalry contingents began to move behind Sarpedon's Companions and they moved to engage the inexperienced spartan cavalry which routed after minimal resistance. Sarpedon turned around and saw to his horror that the center of his phalanx had been broken and his phalangites were now engaging the Spartans with their small hand axes. The Spartan Kings had sent all 2 000 Spartans to the weak point and now his phalaghites were being overwhelmed despite their brave efforts. Sarpedon wheeled his horsemen around and ordered them to charge into the backs of the Spartans. The horsemen gained speed. They lowered their lances and thundered straight into the backs of the Spartan warriors. Sarpedon's first charge killed many Spartans but to his dismay they didn't flee and simply turned a part of their line around to face them halting the cavalry charge.

Sarpedon decided to pull out his cavalry and he reached for his horn. He then realized to his horror that Areus was nowhere to be seen. he desperately scanned the battlefield looking for his friend and at last he saw him. Areus was engaged with the Spartan King Akrotatos in single combat. He had picked up a hoplon shield and was exchanging blows with the Spartan King. Areus ducked and parried the King's spear while slashing with his kopis. Sarpedon gathered the nearest horsemen and rode in the direction of the Spartan King. He then saw Akrotatos bash Areus down with his shield and lift his spear.
"Nooo!" cried Sarepdon
The spear came down entering Areus' chest. Blood spurted out and his friend began to jerk violently before laying still. Fueled by his anger Sarpedon charged at Akrotatos who noticed too late. Sarpedon rode past severing his head from his body. Seeing this, much of the Greek army began to flee except the Spartans who rallied around the second King Eumamidas. The Seleucid army surrounded the 2 000 Spartans and the massacre began. At the end of the day no Spartiates remained alive and only 300 surviving allied greeks arrived in Sparta. Over 5 000 Seleucids lay dead aswell and Sarpedon lost a quarter of his army strength. However the battle for Hellas was over and he had won. There would be no more resistance here and once he had conquered Sparta, all of Greece would be his.

That night Sarpedon buried his fallen and gave Areus a heroes' funeral. The war was far from over he knew that. The Epirotes would attack him soon, threatening his new holdings and he would have to fight them...Without his friend at his side

**seleucid empire** · 06-13-2012, 12:47

Chapter 3: A Family Reunion
Winter 249 BC
“Who is the happiest of men? He who values the merits of others, and in their pleasure takes joy, even as though t'were his own."

In the highest tower of the Palace of Antioch there is a room. It was a forgotten room that had not been used since it's creation. But today that would change. A dozen men walked up the winding staircase. At the top of the tower three men from the group entered while the rest stood outside guarding the room. The three men were brothers, famous throughout the land for their innumerable victories. They were of course Antiochus II Theos, Sarpedon, and Alexandros, the three Great Brothers. It had been Alexandro's idea to meet here in secret. After all they didn't want their enemies to know their armies were leaderless. After a servant had brought in wine and left Antiochus began to speak.

"Brothers it has been a long time since we all stood in the same room together"
"Yes around nine years?" replied Sarpedon
"Well I would like to say I am very glad to see you both here. Unfortunately I have not brought you here to make up for lost time, although we have plenty of time to do that tonight. I have brought you here to discuss the next phase of our plan. Alexandros I trust Ethiopia is pacified enough that you can permanently leave the region?"
"Well there is some trouble with the Axumites but it is stable enough."
'What about you Sarpedon, how goes the war in the west?"
"It is nearly done brother, as soon as i finish off the Kingdom of Tylis and destroy the last remnants of the Epirote Kingdom in Illyria my work in the west will be done. There is a troubling note though. I had originally planned to take Serdike to secure the northern border of Macedonia but the Getia Federation has beaten me to it."
"Well when you return to the west evaluate their strength. If they seem weak attack Serdike and take it. It is vital we secure Macedonia."
"Of course. But what is our next move Theodoros?"
"I have finished my conquest of the Hayasdan Kingdom. Now all that remains is the East and Southern Arabia."
"Arabia?", asked Alexandros
"Yes, as you know we have recently been attacked by the Sabaen Federation who are getting stronger as we speak. I want you Alexandros to invade their lands and subdue them."
"Why do we need to subdue Southern Arabia. We are perfectly capable of defending our lands from their raids and their isolation would make any invasion very difficult."
"If we conquer arabia we will have secure our southern borders freeing our forces for other fronts. I understand it is a difficult task but I will put all the resources of Egypt at your disposal. As for you Sarpedon I want you to continue your campaigns. Destroy any threat to Macedonia and Greece and then begin conquering the ports of the black sea. I will place all the resources of Asia Minor at your disposal. I will go east personally to deal with the Parthian Menace."

"Oh and one more thing. As you know 15 years ago I visited the oasis of Siwa. I asked two questions and received 3 answers for them. One of the questions I will not reveal to you now but the second question I asked was whether we would reunite the Empire of Alexander the Great. The oracle told me these two things: First he said, It will take three mortals to unite the empire of a God, and then he told me, If the three mortals fail then all Greeks will be consumed by a red tide"
"I understand the first part," replied Sarpedon,"The three mortals clearly refer to us. But what of the second part?"
"It means," replied Theodoros,"That we must not fail..."

**seleucid empire** · 06-14-2012, 09:34

Chapter 4: Darkness Ascending
Winter 246 BC

Antiochus II Theos slowly unfolded the letter but already knew it contained ill tidings. The state of the message bearer was enough to tell him that. He had stumbled into the throne room tired and dirty. He looked like a man who had not slept in days. After handing the message to the King he had collapsed from exhaustion. Antiochus slowly began to read.

My King were it not for my ill health and advanced age I would have personally came to you to tell you of this news. However the years are not kind to me and I have been forced to send my son Parmenion instead. What I tell you will be troubling. Many years ago you told me of the prophecy you had been told at the Oasis of Siwa. The red tide that would consume the Greeks. I believe it has arrived. Weeks ago troubling news came to me of strange and horrifying occurrences at the outskirts of the empire. Travelers told stories of burning villages empty of life and piles of skulls strewn along the landscape of the east. I went to investigate and arrived in Alexandria Ariana just as a huge horde of horsemen descended upon the city. I saw their banners. Red as blood.

I saw nothing I could do for the city so I retreated. Days later a large group of refugees from Bactria arrived in the village I was staying at. They told me terrible news. These invaders were the Sakae, horsemen from the far east. They had began to migrate months ago overwhelming many peoples and conquering the entire north-east. They arrived at Bactra about a month ago. The so called King of Bactra lead his impressive hosts out to meet the nomads. That was the last anyone ever saw those men. They simply vanished. Bactra itself fell. It is a terrible enemy that can destroy a Kingdom such as Bactra so quickly.

I urge you my King to come to the east as soon as possible. The Red Tide is upon us.
Your loyal and faithful servant Demetrius

Theodoros turned to Lycus
"Lycus that was a message from Demetrius. It seems we must push our plans ahead. Ready the men, we are marching east!"

**seleucid empire** · 06-14-2012, 11:26

Chapter 5: The Next Generation
"We may consider each generation as a distinct nation, with a right, by the will of its majority, to bind themselves, but none to bind the succeeding generation, more than the inhabitants of another country"

It was noon when the scouts returned. Earlier in the day they had spotted vast number of men camped in the plains near Seleukia. Antiochus had sent several of his men to scout ahead. If they were hostile it could be a problem as he had only brought a thousand cavalry with him while they numbered at least 10 000. Apollonois jumped off his horse and approached the King with a relaxed smile.
"My King they march under the silver banners. They are friendly forces."

After hearing this Antiochus ordered his cavalry to move towards the camp. As they approached the soldiers in the camp began to cheer and shout Antiochus' name. In the center of the encampment two young men waited and bowed to the King as he approached. One of them began to speak
"My King I welcome you to our humble Camp. My name is Diomedon of the house of Isaurikes first among the noble houses of Antiocheia. This is my brother Apolloniketes."

"Greetings young brothers. What is your purpose here? And under whose authority did you gather this army?"
"This army is for you my lord. We are friends of your youngest son Antipatros and it was he who convinced us to raise an army for your journey to the east. It is not a large force but I hope you can put it to good use."
"Antipatros?"
"Yes my lord, he hopes this token force will please you. We have 5 000 phalagites, 3 000 Thureophoroi and 1 000 elite cavalry "

"Well you must tell my son I am very pleased when you return to Antiocheia"
The two brothers exchanged looks. Diomedon began to speak
"My King it is our wish to accompany you to the East"

Antiochus hesitated for a moment. Then he nodded his head in approval
"So be it"

**seleucid empire** · 06-15-2012, 10:00

Chapter 6: Priorities
Summer 244 BC
“What difference does it make how much you have? What you do not have amounts to much more"

When Diomedon entered the tent he could immediately tell the King was troubled again. He was on his desk looking over sheets of Papyrus.
"My King what ails you?" asked Diomedon
"Ahh Diomedon just the man I wanted to see. You have a good knowledge of statecraft and management. Tell me Diomedon what does a Kingdom need?"
"It needs a King and it needs people"
"Yes but what else?"
"A strong military"
"And what does a strong military need besides its leaders?"
"Well...strong men?"
"No even more than that it needs money. Without money an army cannot exist. We are marching towards perhaps the greatest threat Greeks have ever faced, even more dangerous than the Persian Empire during their invasion."
"Yes my King but we have your leadership. You have never lost a battle"
"Yes but this time even if I don't lose battles I can still lose the war. We have 24 000 men, less half the amount I wanted for this war. The Sakae have over 100 000 horsemen. These men don't fight like the men of the west. Battles against these men will mean huge casualties. To win this war young man we must focus not on our armies but on our treasuries"
"What do you intend to do my King?"
"As you know since my father's grand strategy came into action 30 years ago, all of our funding has gone into our military and to pay for my brother's armies. Its time to change that. We have conquered many territories. Now we need to develop them so they will be of some benefit to us. I will begin by building a large network of roads to stimulate trade. Then I will move onto ports and eventually mines"
"A wise plan"
"Yes we must fight on the defensive for now and slowly build up our strength before we can destroy the Saka. Diomedon fetch paper and write a message to the governors of my new acquisitions. Tell them to build basic roads connecting all major towns and cities."
"Very well my King"
"This will be a war of attrition Diomedon. If we do not find the money to raise new forces then I fear we have already lost"

**seleucid empire** · 06-15-2012, 13:01

Chapter 7: Eastfall
Summer 240 BC

“Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily.”

The Giant walls of Bactra cast a shadow over the entire camp. They had arrived yesterday and immediately started setting up siege lines. The Sakae garrison was large but mostly infantry which could not go head to head with the Seleucid infantry. What worried Diomedon was that they had encountered no resistance on their march here. What worried him even more was that the usually cautious King Antiochus had suddenly become optimistic and without care. Diomedon decided to have a talk with him. He entered the Kings tent and bowed

"Greetings Diomedon, shouldn't you be with your men supervising the siege works?" said Antiochus without looking up
"Yes my King but there is something on my mind."
"You wish to know why we have not encountered resistance on our march here and where the Sakae horde is"
"Yes my King," replied Diomedon, hiding his surprise.
"I am guessing the Sakae horde have surrounded us and even now close in on our army for the kill" replied the King calmly

Diomedon was shocked.
"Then we must break off the siege and find favorable ground to avoid being surrounded."
"We'll do no such thing."
"But..."
"I thought you trusted my leadership Diomedon"
"I do my King, but we will be surrounded if we don't move"
"Diomedon have you ever fought a nomad army?"
"No"
"I have. I chased the Hayasdan King into the stepples after conquering his Kingdom. He found support from the local Scythian tribes and every day those fast horsemen showered arrows down on my army before retreating, never offering battle. It nearly destroyed me. However this time we have encountered nothing on our march. That tells me that they feel confidant enough to face us in open battle. They know as well as we do that Bactra is the key to controlling all of the east. They will come to us so we know exactly where we are going to fight. We know they will act soon and we know the majority of their horde will be here. Their King Arsakes will not miss a battle this important so he will be present as well. This is our chance Diomedon. Our chance to break the horde in a single battle"