Persian Civil War

[Marshal Murat]

432 B.C.

Forty years past, Xerxes obtained what his father was unable to gain. The lands of Greece. The triumph was heralded across the land, and Xerxes, King of Kings, became greater than his father. The next twenty years were that of peace and tranquility as Greek philosophers expounded on atoms and life. Sparta still trained her soldiers, and the borders of Persia were maintained.

After the death of Xerxes, Artaxerxes I took the post of King of Kings, Ruler of the Known World. However the soldiers of Persia grew restless after so many years of peace. One night, Artaxerxes I died in his sleep. The unfortunate loss of the noble Artaxerxes I left is sons, Xerxes II and Sogdianos. Soon after the death of the King of Kings, the brothers took to the winds, summoning their allied satrapies and nobles. They then planned on taking Babylon. The satraps wait with baited breath, watching for the prince with the strongest army and the most power.

You take command of Xerxes II, the eldest son of Artaxerxes. You are the official heir to the King Artaxerxes, but you know that Sogdianos is plotting against you. You have taken your loyal knights and followers, and fled to the west. You spent much of your childhood amongst the Athenians and Spartans, Corinthians and Boetians. You respect the noble Hellenes, admire them, love them. As you are ferried across the Hellespont on the night after the death, you must decide many things.

First on your list is treasury. Charity is for the poor, not for a noble, and certainly not for the Crown Prince. Your followers believe in you, and you have contacts in Athens, Thebes, Corinth, Argos, Pella, and Euboea. The Greek satrapies aren’t as wealthy as the Babylon, or Tyre, but they have an income. You could ask politely for their coins, and you are the Crown Prince and future king.
“Dokrates, my Athenian friend, what do you say? I need money for my troops and to ‘persuade’ satraps. How should I get this money?” The short, burnt Athenian abruptly awoke, rubbing his eyes. Blinking furiously, he grinned suddenly.
“You are the Crown Prince. Order the Greek satraps to give you the money you need. The Athenians have hoarded cash for such a day as this. Promise the Greeks freedom,’ the Greek then winked, ‘and the men would kiss your feet.”
Nodding silently you wave Dokrates back to sleep.

Next on the list is levying troops. Sogdianos’ power base is in Media, Parthia, and Baktria. His troops are skirmishers, cavalry, and some medium soldiers, you know this. The Greeks are heavy infantry, bronze spears and shields. This seriously limits your troop variety and would render you vulnerable to Sogdianos’ troops. Do you want to levy the Greek hoplites?

Naval forces were never your strong suit, but the Greeks have a sizable fleet. The Phoenician warships are larger however. Do you want to send word to the Greek fleets to assemble or send letters to the Phoenician warships? The Phoenician warships are heavier, more bulky. The Greek warships weren't as large, but fast.

Last is your citadel. Your power needs to have a base. Somewhere that the loyal satraps can dine, where the conquered satraps can fester. A supply base, armory, treasury. A citadel. You know that Sparta is not the best city, and the Athenians were planning on building a wall to the port of Piraeus. There are many cities and citadels you can chose from, but you need to establish your power-base.

1. Treasury
A) Ask your friends in Greece to contribute to your treasury. The Greeks aren’t opulently wealthy, but they do have fortunes.
B) Order the Greek satraps to give you the treasuries of the cities and provinces, promise them freedom after the conflict. You know of their troubles and torments.

2. Troops
A) Levy Greek hoplites for your army, provide a solid core.
B) Raise skirmishers and peltasts with your cash, then hire hoplites with what you have left. Light troops are more important to any campaign you plan.

3.Navy
A) Order the Greek fleets to assemble at Piraeus.
B) Order the Phoenician fleets to assemble at Piraeus. The Greek ships are flimsy, they aren't needed.

4. Citadel for your treasury.
A) Athens
B) Corinth
C) Thebes
D) Pella
E) Rhodes
F) Argos
G) Sparta

[Ignoramus]

1.) B. Appearing weak at this stage could be quite dangerous. In order to maintain the loyalty of the Greek satraps, authority and decisive action is needed.

2.) A. Whatever skirmishers the Greeks could raise, they would be far inferior to the Parthian and Baktrian soldiers. It would be better to provide a well-armoured force to awe wavering satraps into submission.

3.) B. The Greeks wouldn't be too pleased at having to contribute money, hoplites, and ships, so the Phoenecians are a wiser choice. Besides, their ships are well-built, and shouldn't sink in storms.

4.) C. Thebes is relatively central in the Achaen Peninsular, and it would prevent unrest between Athens and Sparta.

[seireikhaan]

1) B. For the same reason as Ignoramus. We're the crown prince, we need to assert that we have the authority to back it.

2) A. The Greeks are the best heavy infantry in the world. It makes little sense to recruit its skirmishers when the enemy will have far superiors skirmishers anyways. Additionally, they will have no way to adequately counter the phalanxes.

3) A. Naval warfare at this time was all about speed and ramming. Triremes need to be quicker and smaller. Larger ships aren't as nimble, and can't reach the ramming speeds that the Greek ships can.

4) B-Corinth. Corinth occupies a very nice strategic poing between Athens and Sparta. It gives easy access from all points, and can act a harbor for ships as well.

[Gurkhal]

1. Treasury

A. The Greeks shouldn't be pushes to hard, nor should we promise them independence. If we do, then we are setting up problem for us in the future as others might want the same thing. Also, we arn't really desperate enough for their aid to fracture the empire of our grand-father. That would look bad.

2. Troops

A. The hoplites are the best thing Greece can offer. Other form of troops should be drawn from other places. For example we might gain light infantry and cavallery from both Thrace and Minor Asia as well as other places.

3.Navy

B. The Phoenicians makes the hearth of the Persian navy, if we can make them come to us, then we will dominate the sea fully with both the Greeks and the Phoenicians on our side. Domination of the city would give us an immense advantage over our foe. Also, the Greeks are providing the land army, we shouldn't streatch them to much.

4. Citadel for your treasury.

C. I'll throw in my support to the Thebeans. They did aid us in the past, hope is they'll aid a Persian king this time as well.

[DemonArchangel]

1.) I say A as well. Greece (and the west in general) is the core of our empire and we want to hold onto that. Also, Greece is wealthier than the deserts of Baktria and Sogdiana. It's not worth giving the Greeks their independence.

2.) A.) Recruit the Hoplites from Greece.

3.) B.) Phonecians. The Greeks are good sailors though, so they should be kept in reserve. Also try not invest too much money in the navy, given that my rival is way, way inland.

4.) C) Thebes should be my citadel, but Athens my main port.

[IrishArmenian]

1) B.
2) A.
3) B.
4) C.