Selucids?

[hrvojej]

If you can't win all the battles, I would suggest lose ground in the east. Maybe I'm wrong, but for an inexperienced player, I think it would be much harder to beat horse archer armies than run-of-the mill armies of Egypt, however many of them are there. So, I'd suggest abandon Seleucia and the city in Assyria (name eludes me ATM) or trade them in for peace with Parthia and/or Armenia, and concentrate on the money-making cities on the coast, namely Sidon and Jerusalem. Pontus will have to pass through a narrow pass to get to you, so plug it and don't let them. Which leaves you fighting Egypt - not easy, but it's worth it. Others can only provide you with poor villages upon counterattacks, whereas once you break Egypt you have practically won already due to their huge rich cities. Aside from "don't lose a single battle" (which means you don't have to cede any ground then), this would be my best advice. Good luck!