Quote Originally Posted by Simon Appleton
I am ashamed to reveal my ignorance of ancient history, but am so curious I have to ask: what happened to the factions in RTW? Some of the factions - Seleucia, Pontus, Thrace etc - I know virtually nothing about.
Okay, instead of writing a long reply for you, which would be tiresome for me and both boring and inadequate for you, I will rather recommend you check out a book series called "The Peoples of Europe". It covers the history and origins of several existing and non-existing European peoples, usually touching in on their ethnic background and intermingling with other peoples.

I believe these books will answer many of your questions.

http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/s...&subj=S&site=1 (there's two pages)