Battle for the Silk Road - a Baktrian AAR

**Sheep** · 03-30-2007, 01:02

I am playing on VH/M. It's still early in the game, so the Seleukids haven't really had a chance to push the Pontics into the Black Sea or to conquer Egypt just yet. They have gone hog-wild in the Arabian Peninsula and southern Asia Minor though, and also have been steadily moving eastwards. They've attacked Patala on the very eastern border of the map twice already and had their asses handed to them twice as well.

Then there are those troublesome Baktrians providing an inconvenient distraction as well.

**Pelopidas** · 03-30-2007, 02:00

Very interesting...in my own campains, Alexandria falls into Seleukid hands around 260, for the lattest.
And even when I'm sending 10 000 denaris per turn to the Ptolemaoï, those decadents bastards aren't even able to keep the Levantine coast.

I'm surprised by your Pontos, in fact, good thing :]

**Sheep** · 03-30-2007, 06:22

So... I can't roleplay every battle. This is what happens when you attack an army consisting of over 50% archers with no archers of your own.

**alatar** · 03-30-2007, 17:15

Captian Minnio, the worse general in the world.

**Intranetusa** · 03-30-2007, 17:49

They should make it so you can conquer the Silk Road from Rome to Seres (China).
So you can connect the silk road from east to west and get rid of the middlemen (Parthians).

btw, historically, didn't the Romans buy silk only after Crassus's defeat at Carrahe? Not sure...

**Warmaster Horus** · 03-30-2007, 19:01

"They", if you're talking about the EB staff, have already done something extraordinary, and (supposedly) have lives. What you're asking would be to go up to China, which I don't think is really possible.

As for silk buying, I believe that the Romans bought silk from the Parthians before; Crassus wanted glory, and any excuse for war served (not sure here). But before Crassus' expedition in the East, they were trading partners, and anyway, the Censors had probably forbidden silk from being worn in public. If the SPQR series (by John Maddox Roberts) is historically accurate on all points, then Rome certainly did buy silk before the Battle of Carrhae.

**Intranetusa** · 03-31-2007, 02:33

"they were trading partners, and anyway, the Censors had probably forbidden silk from being worn in public."

I thought silk was forbidden because it was a sign of decadence since so much money was flowing out of Rome to buy it?..Cuz Rome started to buy craploads of silk after a peace treaty with Parthia years after Carrahe.

dunno, maybe I have the timeline confused...

**Sheep** · 03-31-2007, 05:06

Originally Posted by Warmaster Horus

"They", if you're talking about the EB staff, have already done something extraordinary, and (supposedly) have lives. What you're asking would be to go up to China, which I don't think is really possible.

Well, they do have the Tarim Basin, which is part of China today (Xinjiang). So you're pretty much all the way there at that point. It's just next door... a few thousand miles next door anyway.