The Pyrrhic Dynasty : A Makedonian AAR

[Reverend Joe]

I say, burn it to the ing ground. Not out of retribution for their rebellion, but out of revenge for the movie "300."

[ezekiel2517]

Can't wait for next update. I joined the .org because of this AAR

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Thanks, everyone.

I've been working on the next chapter and I might have it up as soon as today.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Chapter 65 : Illyrians and Indians

Peloponnesos League, led by the Spartans, had taken most of Hellas, but the destruction of Athenai and Chalkis had cost them a great deal of support. They are now faced with a strong enemy border. Thessalia is a strong supporter of Makedonia but Aitolia is still available for conquest. In order to prevent another region joining, falling to, or being destroyed by the Spartans, Philippos quickly moves his army to Aitolia and occupies the city of Thermon. Because of the destruction of Athenai, the Spartans have lost all support in the area and Philippos is welcomed to the city as a protector:


Before he can challenge the Spartans, Philippos has to sure up control of Aitolia and prepare for what will happen to Hellas once it is retaken. Only a fool gets into a war without a plan for what comes after. Philippos also begins secret negotiations with the Athenians, the Korinthians, and a few other city-states who are ready to betray the Peloponnesos League.

The Eastern Front

While Hellas awaits a war, allied forces move in the east. After taking control of Kappadokia and restoring the region to Makedonike control, the Galatians and Illyrians moved into Kilikia. The Galatians moved south and the Illyrians moved east. After wandering through the mountains of eastern Kilikia for a while, the Illyrians decide to move south into the plains of Syria and pick a fight:


In a lightly forested region, the Illyrians corner a small Demetrid army of mostly levies. While the spearmen move forward, the slingers open fire on the enemy to weaken them up:


Then, as they come close to the enemy, the spearmen throw their javelin and prepare to charge:


The Demetrid army tries to fall back, but the Illyrians give chase and catch them just inside a small grove to trees:


The fighting goes on for a short time, but the Demetrid army lacks much strength. While moving around the flank of the battle, the Illyrian cavalry notice a flanking manuever by the enemy. While their infantry hold down the Illyrian spearmen, Demetrid kataphraktoi are moving around the rear to charge. The Illyrian cavalry quickly move to counter the flanking and charge in at the kataphraktoi before they can charge the battle line:


The kataphraktoi hit the battle line but are quickly followed by the Illyrian cavalry who hit them from behind. Loosing their mass and speed, the kataphraktoi get tied down in melee combat. Seeing their elite kataphraktoi surrounded, the Demetrid infantry panic and the whole battle line gives way and begins to flee, with the Illyrian spearmen giving chase just behind them:


The kataphraktoi soon break as well, but the Illyrian cavalry do not follow. Rather, they join the spearmen in chasing down the enemy infantry:


Although few are elites, the Demetrids have lost a great deal of men by the end of the day:


In Aigyptos and Lybia, Ptolemai VII and his son move into the desert, only to encounter a line of desert forts and a defense force well aware of their movements:


In Armenia, the army of steppe cavalry continue their campaign of destruction and annoyance against the Demetrids. Having surrounded the city of Armavir and cut off outside supplies, the Demetrids send in reinforcements to relieve the city. The steppe horsemen turn to meet their enemy and prepare to fight from two sides:


The horse-mounted archers once again use their tactic of firing at the enemy from all sides...


...then charging in and attacking the few demoralized men left standing:


Repeating this tactic twice in one day, the steppe horsemen greatly damage the two small Demetrid armies but fail to wipe them out and take back the city of Armavir:


The Arche Seleukeia and Gandhara

Divided and engaged in constant war, neither half of the Arche Makedonia can claim to be the sole greatest people in the known world. With the destruction of Athenai and the heart of Hellenic culture, Pyrrhos looses the lead. Meanwhile, the Arche Seleukeia rises from the ashes and is able to call themselves the most advanced people once again:


After more than a year of siege, the Arche Seleukeia manages to defeat the armies of Arabia in Persis. With their army wiped out, the Kingdom of Sab'yn negotiates a ceasefire with the Arche Seleukeia but does not give up on their goal of invading Iran:


Although there is no alliance with Media, Media has an alliance with Baktria and Baktria an alliance with the Arche Seleukeia. With this delecate peace and the defeat of the Sab'yn army, the Arche Seleukeia has peace on their western border. Now, they once again shift their whole focus to their eastern border.

Ever since the fall of the Mauryan Empire and the isolation of Gandhara, the war had shifted. The forces of India had at one point pushed all the way to the gates of Persepolis, but now the tides have turned. In a series of victories over the last couple decades, the forces of the Arche Seleukeia manage to push the Indians all the way out of Iran and Arachosia:


The Arche Seleukeia then starts to push into India itself and to the Indus River. In a few places, they even manage to cross the river and begin a campaign to conquer India itself:


From the Gandharan capital of Taksashila, however, the Seleukid forces are pushed back:


To the north, the Seleukids have a new problem. Though silent for a great deal of time, the nomads of the eastern steppe begin to move once again:


Back West

In Aigyptos, the envoys of Pyrrhos in Meroe manage to negotiate a deal. Promising the reborn Ptolemaic dynasty many things, they manage to get the Nubians to break their alliance with the Demetrids:


Then, in an even greater move, they manage an alliance between Meroe and Pyrrhos in exchange for even more promises and the agreement of a joint invasion of lower Aigyptos:


Meanwhile, having withdrawn back to the mountains of Kilikia, the Illyrians are attacked by Demetrid forces. This battle takes place near a ridge where Demetrios himself had set up a small fort to look down on Assyria so many years ago:


Taking up position on a hill, the Illyrians wait for their enemy to come to them:


Although the Demetrid phalangitai slowly move forward, the Demetrid kataphraktoi charge in on the left flank of the Illyrian line:


The charge is absorbed and the Illyrian spearmen begin their fight with the heavily armored horsemen. Meanwhile, the Illryian cavalry moves out from behind the line and begins to make their flanking move:


Although they are slow to move up the hill, the Demetrid phalangitai eventually join the battle and attempt to hold back the Illyrian spearmen:


On the left flank, the kataphraktoi gain the advantage and begin to push back the Illyrian battle line, but their victory is short lived. Soon, the Illyrian cavalry charge in from behind and completely decimate the kataphraktoi numbers:


In the center of the line, the Makedonike commander of the Illyrians falls dead, but the Illyrians fight on:


With the left flank now clear, those on the left flank circle around the rear of the enemy phalangitai and begin throwing their remaining javelin:


Tired from fighting and frightened from javelin fire from behind, the Demetrid phalangitai are quite easy to break and wipe out with a single cavalry charge:


Although their general dies, the Illyrians win the day and manage to hold the small fort in the hills of Kilikia:


Next: Chapter 66 : The Spartan War

[Leviathan DarklyCute]

Nice one. Were will you go next?

[Hooahguy]

been a while since ive been here- wow- so much has gone on!!!
very good!

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Nice update. However, two things irritate me:

1. "Your forces are attacked by an army of Makedonia"??? I thought you called them Demetrids?

2. In one picture of the last battle, there is the watchtower visible in the background. How did you achieve this? I never see the watchtowers on the battle map in EB, only once as Sweboz in 1.0... but never as Makedonia or Karthago.

[Swordmaster]

2. In one picture of the last battle, there is the watchtower visible in the background. How did you achieve this? I never see the watchtowers on the battle map in EB, only once as Sweboz in 1.0... but never as Makedonia or Karthago.

Good job spotting that. I'd never thought of watchtowers being visible in battles. I'll have to look out for that.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Thanks for commenting, everyone.

As the next chapter title says, the next step is on to Hellas. Then I'm waiting to gather my forces and take all of greater syria at once.

It is the Demetrid dynasty, but they are still the eastern half of the Arche Makedonia. Though changing all of the entries in the text file to "Makedonia" was just easier, for one thing.

Watchtowers have been in the game for a while, perhaps since the beginning of RTW. Though, you can only see them if you are on the same tile as them and they will appear off the battle screen. If you are fighting a battle on an tile just next to one, they don't seem to show up at all.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Chapter 66 : The Spartan War

It had been only a decade and a half since Philippos had completed the Spartiatai Agoge, but to Philippos, his training had been many lifetimes ago. It was in Sparte that Philippos learned the basics of warfare and leadership, but he had since built upon that knowledge and become a great leader with many victories. Now, with a successful campaign of conquest behind him, he returns to Hellas to confront the very masters who began him on his journey.

The Spartiatai rebellion and the Peloponnesos League had reached its highest point and lowest point at the same time. The destruction of Athenai would be as far at the Spartiatai would expand. After meeting with his father and brothers to devise the future plans for Hellas, Philippos makes his move. With Aitolia and Thessalia firmly behind him, Philippos takes his army to Attike. Between the Sea of Korinthos and the mountains, Philippos encounters the army of Sparte and her allies. Not far from the ruins of Thebes, the battle is waged:


Philippos sets up his battle line and prepares for battle, but it is the Spartiatai who make the first move. Surprisingly to Philippos, the entire Spartiatai army charges forward at his line. Philippos orders his men to hold their ground, and they absorb the initial impact:


In the center are the elite of Sparte, who charge the line of short pikes without fear:


While less than half the Spartiatai force holds down the pike wielding Makedones in the center, the bulk of the Hellenic force circles around both flanks of the line. Philippos quickly sends his sword thorakitai and elite peltastai to counter, but in this move leaves Philippos without any reserves:


Leaving orders with his aging Syrian archers to act as the reserves if needed, Philippos takes every last cavalry and moves south. Circling between the southern edge of the battle and the sea, Philippos manages to circle his cavalry around the Spartiatai rear:


Without any Spartiatai cavalry or even any infantry kept in reserve, Philippos encounters no resistance for his cavalry and is able to arrange an orderly charge. With a single order, ever last horse of the giant Makedonike cavalry devision charges forward at the center of the Hellenic line:


The charge is a great success and Hellenes fall dead all around the horsemen. With so many horses all around them, moving at great speed, the center of the Spartiatai line breaks and even the most trained soldier turns to run for his life:


At first, Philippos pulls his cavalry away and lets the center of his line give chase while the flanks of both armies continue to fight. While the Spartiatai retreat, Philippos slowly moves the cavalry parrallel to the fleeing enemy. Then, as the Hellenic forces begin to regain their senses and consider regrouping to confront the pursuing Makedonike thorakitai, Philippos speeds up his cavalry. After gaining a good distance ahead of the fleeing Hellenes, Philippos wheels his cavalry quickly around to the left and charges straight at the routing men. Seeing the cavalry coming at them, the Hellenes pause or even turn around. Soon they find themselves surrounded. On one side are the thorakitai and on the other a huge division of Makedonike horses:


With these soldiers being the very same who burned Athenai and slaughtered its people, Philippos orders his men to show no mercy and to wipe out every last enemy. Soon the remaining fighting on the flanks of the battle dies down and the Skythian cavalry chase down the very last of the Spartiatai. By the end of the day, almost the entire Spartiatai army is no more:


With the victory, Attike and all of the conquered islands of the Aegean expel or kill their Spartiatai garrisons and declare themselves loyal to Pyrrhos and Philippos:


Philippos then moves to Athenai, where he enters the city as a great hero and is greeted as the savior to the people. Philippos immediately begins to rebuild the city and promises that Athenai will be even great than it was before. Fortunately, for the first time since the beginning of the war, the funds are there to back up the promise. From Athenai to Ephesos to the far reaches of the Arche Makedonia, the renewed treasury funds the repairs and even some new buiding projects. The mines of Iberia, Anatolia, Pontos and Kappadokia finally begin to restore monetary security to Makedonia.

After spending spring and summer in Athenai, Philippos moves to the straights of Korinthos in autumn and into the peloponnesos. After a short siege, Philippos takes the city of Korinthos by force and defeats the Spartiatai garrison. The battle is quick and easy, and ends up being the fatal blow to the Peloponnesos League:


With the fall of Korinthos, the cities of Argos, Elis, Olympia, and all the remaining allies of Sparte surrender and beg for mercy from Makedonia. After exiling any rebellious leaders, Philippos forgives all of the cities of the peloponnesos and restores them to the control of the Arche Makedonia. The surrender of the Hellenic cities is as much a pyschological victory as a military victory. In asking for Philippos' help and swearing loyalty to Makedonia, the cities give up all future claim to independence from Makedonia, and the act thus solidify the Makedonike control of Hellas.

Now only Sparte remains to resist the Arche Makedonia, but Philippos waits. As winter sets in, Philippos replenishes his army with citizens of Athenai or the peloponnesos who are anxious to prove their loyalty through military service. While the Illyrians fight in Syria and his father negotiates peace with Nubia, Philippos waits and prepares:


Finally, in the spring of 165BC, Philippos moves his army to Argos then Olympia. By summer, Philippos crosses into Lakonike to confront the Spartiatai for the finally time:


The battle begins when Philippos confronts a small army of Spartiatai outside of the city Sparte. The Spartiatai hold the high ground and Philippos is forced to march up the hill:


At first the Spartiatai hold their ground and don't seem willing to move forward, but then a small group begins to move down from the hill and charges the Makedonike line:


Assuming this is a feint, Philippos does nothing, but the Spartiatai detachment charges in at the marching thorakitai and disrupt the formation. Philippos orders his men to stop and reform, but the small attack is suddenly joined by another unseen force that comes out of the tree cover. Once again, the Spartiatai surprise Philippos:


In order to fill the gap, Philippos rushes his sword thorakitai in, once again giving up his reserves for later use. Once there, the sword thorakitia confront more elite Spartaitai Hoplitai:


The situation only gets worse for the sword thorakitai when another group of Spartiatai Hoplitai charge in at the flank of the fight, forcing them to fight in multiple directions:


While the battle wages in the center of the clearing, a small group of Spartiatai attempt to move around the flank of the Makedonike line, through a small grove of trees:


However, they are quickly countered by the flank guarding force of spear thorakitai, sword thorakitai, and elite peltastai:


Throughout the battle, the cavalry attempt to circle around the flank of the battle, but they are constantly countered by light Hellenic troops and unable to make an effective charge. Althought the cavarly cannot charge in at the rear, a small group of sword thorakitai manage to break through the battle and attack a group of elite Spartiatai Hoplitai from the rear:


This charge leads to the entire Makedonike line bending around the side of the Spartiatai line and causing them to fold in a chain reaction down their line. Finally free from battle, the cavarly quickly circles in and runs down the routing enemy, once again giving no mercy. Yet again, the army of Sparte is completely wiped out:


The victory is so great that no a single Spartiatai who flees the battlefield regroups and takes up arms. Every last Spartiatai soldier disbands and disappears:


After the battle ends, Philippos walks the fields and views the masses of dead or dying. The military surgeons attempt to help those who can be saved, but most are already dead. As he walks, a well adorned Spartiatai body catches his eye and he walks up to it. It is not until he is right next to the body that he realize he knows the man... knew the man. There, covered in blood and far older than he remembered is one of the masters who had instructed him in the ways of warfare so long ago. It would seem the knowledge has come full circle. For a moment Philippos is lost in his thoughts, thinking of both his training and of the battle he just fought. For the first time, Philippos is glad his father kept him out of this civil war as long as he did. Philippos is pulled from the moment when an aid calls to him and he returns to his men, who are already preparing to make the last push to the city of Sparte.

The next day, Philippos and his army marches into the undefended city of Sparte and retake the rebel town in the name of Pyrrhos:


Many cry for the complete destruction of the city and the slaughter of every last Spartiatai citizen. Others say that they should be forgiven and left unpunished, just like the rest of the Hellenic cities. Philippos is young enough to want vengence but old enough to know that destroying the city would loose him more support in Hellas then it would gain, so he stays his hand. However, the city of Athenai must be avenged. Seeking the balance of his options, Philippos allows his men to loot the city but not destroy it. Once the city is firmly in the control of his army, Philippos collects a portion of the population and orders them relocated to distant colonies in the Arche Makedonia. The citizens of Sparte will live, but they are spread out so that they cannot unify in defiance once again.

The city of Sparte itself is never the same. It had long since stopped being the city of legend with undefeatable mythical soldiers even before the days of Philippos II. Since its conquest by Antigonos Gonatas it had always had some autonomy, even more than most of the cities of Hellas. Now, however, it is the most tightly controlled city in Hellas. The warrior tradition too, is to fade. With the destruction of most of the warrior class and the scattering of many more, Sparte would never again field any sort of elite hoplitai or have her own army. The agoge would remain for a while longer, but it too would not be what it used to be. Ironically, Philippos would be one of the last men of importance to complete the true Spartiatai Agoge.

The known world in 165BC:

Next: Chapter 67 : The Battle for Ioudaia

[General Appo]

Good going. At least most of the Greeks were smart enough to realise which the winning side was.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Very cool update. I like it if you give it that immersion, not only telling battle after battle. After all they are "humans". You spawned the Spartans and the Hoplitai for them, right?

Pure coincidence that "The Spartan War" is the name of a chapter of my AAR too. The only difference is that for your chapter there are actually people who really read it...

[Swordmaster]

Very cool update. I like it if you give it that immersion, not only telling battle after battle. After all they are "humans". You spawned the Spartans and the Hoplitai for them, right?

Pure coincidence that "The Spartan War" is the name of a chapter of my AAR too. The only difference is that for your chapter there are actually people who really read it...

I have to admit honestly that I can't decide which of the two "Spartan Wars" is more enjoyable to read. MAA's is more of an epic battle scene, whereas the atmosphere in Nixalsverdrus' reminds me of a battle description in a history book (especially that governor's wife's window in there ). Both make me eager to go out and capture Sparta myself.

[Chirurgeon]

been a while since I have been on the forums and it looks like the blue team is doing quite well. Impressive indeed :)

[Happy balroae]

great aar but why is ireland a kind of sickly looking yellow

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

I've been away for a while, but I'm back. Thanks for commenting/complimenting, everyone.

I had been wanting to write more immersion, but I don't really have any characters to write about. I had never really come up with a character in my head for Pyrrhos beyond him being a strict military man but smart. Also, Pyrrhos' traits have gotten horrible in old age and I wanted to avoid roleplaying them. Now that Philippos has entered the main part of the story, I'll try to focus on him more, as he makes his way to being Basileus.

I noticed the chapter titles were the same just before posting the last chapter, Centurio Nixalsverdrus. Don't give up on your AAR, just yet.

Good to see you're back, Chirurgeon.

I did a couple edits to my minimap before posting it. I've recolored the half of "Lusotanna" that I moved to Ireland so that they are the Goidilids.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Chapter 67 : The Battle for Ioudaia

Sparte has fallen. The Spartiatai are scattered. Hellas is firmly in the hands of Pyrrhos and once again part of the Western Arche Makedonia. Now only the Demetrid Dynasty of Syria lay between the Pyrrhids and reuniting the old Arche Makedonia.

For the first time in decades, Philippos returns to his homeland of Makedonia. Though he had met with his father before taking on the Spartiatai, it was but for a day. Now, this is the first true time he has to spend with his aging father. To Philippos, the image of this father Pyrrhos is almost that of a mythical hero. Pyrrhos had been a caring father when he raised his children in Italia, but the image and stories of him as a great hero had been repeated so many times during Philippos' childhood that Philippos had created an image in his head that not even Pyrrhos could fill.

They had seen eachother recently for a short time, but in fact, other than a few short visits Philippos had hardly seen his father since he was sent off to complete his training with the Spartiatai at sixteen. Even in Hellas, Philippos continued to hear stories of how heroic his father was. First in Pyrrhos' efforts in the war against the city of Kart-Hadast, then rumors and propaganda against the family of Aristotelis, and even the tales of the civil war he had heard while in Iberia.

Now, able to spend more time with his father, private time, when Pyrrhos didn't have to be an actor, Philippos began to see the true image of his father. Pyrrhos had now become an old man, crippled from birth but with many additional scars and injuries from a lifetime of warfare. His mind too seemed to be slipping. During their talks, Pyrrhos would occationally quickly change topics to something that didn't seem related or important, only to suddenly get back on topic. And there were times when Pyrrhos refered to the Demetrids and Eastern Arche Makedonia as the Romaioi or the Qarthadastism. Though, for the most part, Pyrrhos kept his wits about. His mind was dulling, but since he had always been sharp, he is still relatively sound of mind.

The topic of discussion was mostly what a father and son would normally speak of after a long time apart. Though one topic came up that was always on the mind of a ruler, succession. When the nobles of Pella had declared Pyrrhos their Basileus, Pyrrhos had appointed Philippos to be his heir, though he was not the first-born. Advanced in years, Pyrrhos now saw his own death coming and feared who would be the heir of Philippos. The younger brothers of Philippos were lazy, unintelligent, and sought only pleasure. Were they to rule, the Arche would fall apart. Pyrrhos' first-born son, Sotades clearly did not want power. He sought neither battle nor great responsibility. Both Sotades and Philippos had daughters, but only Philippos had a son and he was far too young to lead the Arche were Pyrrhos and Philippos both to die. After a lengthy discussion, it was decided that Philippos' son would be next in line, but Sotades would be his regent were Philippos to die before he came of age to rule. It was also decided that Philippos would find another heir were his own son to turn out dull or like his younger brothers. Never again would the Arche Makedonia have to suffer a series of horrible leaders simply because the blood line said it was their right.

In public, Pyrrhos, Philippos, as well as the nobles, advisors, generals, and the rest of the royal family talked of the plans against the Demetrids and the reconquest of Syria. The Demetrids had armies in Kilikia and Syria, with decent defenses in Aigyptos. Armenia used to be a strongly garrisoned region, but over time it had been weakened by allies of Pyrrhos as well as foreign enemies. If Syria were to fall to Pyrrhos, both Armenia and Babylonia would be weakened and fall with little effort. So, the plan was made to use all available forces and take Syria all at once, but first a staging ground would be needed.

Numidia

Not only on the east did enemies of the Arche Makedonia take advantage of the civil war. In Numidia, the Numidian-Mauretanian Alliance had continually sent forces against the city of Ippone in attempts to take the city. After repelling the enemy many times, the governor and Hellenic garrison were withdrawn, leaving the young Zaikedenthes Echinaieus to defend the city with a purely local garrison. When yet another attack comes, the local garrison is put to the test:


With heavy flame-arrow fire, the majority of the siege equiptment is destroyed, but not all. A lone tower reaches the walls, but the true problem for the defenders comes when a breach is made in the outer city walls:


The unarmored local garrison defends the breach and even manages to kill off the enemy on the walls, but soon the heavy enemy cavalry comes through:


The spearmen attempt to hold the enemy in places, but the heavy cavalry quickly cut through the poorly armored defenders. In a last ditch effort, Zaikedenthes Echinaieus gathers his Numidian cavalry and circles around the far edge of the city. Then, surprising the enemy, attacks from the rear of the fight:


After throwing their javelin, Zaikedenthes' Numidian cavalry charges in at the rear of the enemy cavalry. Now stuck in an unexcapable pincer attack, the enemy finally begins to fall:


In the process of the fighting most of the garrison falls, but soon every last enemy horseman falls as well. Not only do the Numidians loose their elite cavalry, but two exiled nobles of the city of Kart-Hadast fall dead in that fight.

Although the enemy cavalry is destroyed, the rest of the Numidian infantry manage to reform and attack once more. Exhausted and low on numbers, Zaikedenthes orders his men to fall back to the city center:


The enemy marches the streets of the city as though they have already won...


...but when the met with the remaining city garrison, now rested, they are forced to flee:


Many men die in the defense of Ippone, but fortunately many who fall are only injured and are able to fight again another day:


With only a short window to resupply, the city of Ippone is once again besieged and given no rest from constant warfare:


Across the sea, to the north, a plague hits the trade city of Emporion and many citizens of the city begin to die as it sweeps through the streets:


And far off to the east, Sotades contently governs Anatolia. With his so desired repreave from the constant warfare of the civil war, Sotades manages to gain a sizable personal wealth from managing the rich lands of Anatolia:


Ioudaia

Ioudaia, one of the three client kingdoms of the Arche Makedonia and the most rebellious. The region had been ruled by Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, by Megas Alexandros and his generals, then by the Ptolemaioi. When the region fell into the hands of the Arche Makedonia, it was in a state or rebellion. The rebellion made the region easier to conquer, but simply trading hands of Makedonike dynasties wasn't enough for the locals who were rebelling. In order to establish a sense of autonomy, Demetrios autorized the region's conversion into an "independant" state under Makedonike protection. This had established quick control and most of the natives were fine with their situation, but those rebels and their descendants continued to cause problems.

Over the years, two generations of Hellenized Phoenician kings ruled over Ioudaia. Over that time, rebellions had occured and rioting in the streets of the major cities, but never to the point where it seemed as though the region would fall or the rebels would throw off the Makedones. When the civil war came, the king decided to remain loyal to the land of Makedonia and whoever was declared Basileus there. When Pyrrhos was declared Basileus but the eastern part of the Arche sided with the Demetrids, Ioudaia became surrounded by the enemy. Although it had never happened before under Antigonid rule, the king of Ioudaia began organizing the locals to defend they region by themselves. These locals, along with the isolated Delphikos family and their army were all there was between them and defeat, and all knew the Demetrids would make the region a directly controlled satrapy and not a client kingdom, with even less freedoms for the locals.

Attacks from the Demetrids had come before, both on the king of Ioudaia at Heirosolyma and at the Delphikos family at Megiddo. Prior attacks had been repulsed, but while Philippos battles the Spartiatai, the Demetrids once again attacked Ioudaia:


As winter hits and snows fall in the hills of Lebanon just to the north, the Delphikos family sallies forth to meet their besiegers with hopes of lifting the siege:


Eulandros Delphikos leads the army, dispite his age, but he is assisted by his son Chrysoloras and his son-in-law.

Eulandros waits for the enemy and the attack begins when the Demetrid forces move too close to the walls. With the enemy in range, the mercenary Cretan archers open fire while the infantry and cavalry rush out the gates:


The klerouchoi infantry form a battle line, but the enemy does not confront them. While the infantry hold their ground, the Cretans move out and take up a safe possition behind the battle line where they once again open fire on the enemy:


Attempting to weaken the battle line, the Demetrids launch attacks on the flanks of the line then quickly withdraw. They hope to distract the center, but the peltastai on the flanks hold their ground and do their job:


While the infantry distract the army and the archers pester them with arrow fire, the hetairoi manage to circle around the side of the battle and charge in, seemingly out of nowhere, at the flank of the Demetrid line:


In a series of charges and retreats, the hetairoi manage to frighten and break the Demetrid light infantry guarding the rear, then chase down the routers:


Forced into a fight, the Demetrid infantry advance forward and attack the Delphikos line. At first, the superior number of Demetrid men seem to be winning the battle, but all changes when the hetairoi return and charge the now unguarded rear of the enemy:


Although the majority of the enemy army is klerouchoi and light native infantry, the fact that the Delphikos wipe out an army in a defensive battle is still a great feat:


None of the men who survive the battle even return to fight for the Demetrids again. Even the lowest level of soldiers can see the way the war is going and know the inevitable result:


Dispite being low on supplies, low on men, and wary of ambushing, the Delphikos family and their army makes ready to march south and assist the city of Heirosolyma. Before they can march, however, tragedy strikes the Delphikos family. Eulandros dies:


Chrysoloras takes command of the army, but delays the march to Heirosolyma. When summer comes, the march is further delayed due to lack of safe water in the war torn region. By autumn, the Demetrids prepare to take the city by force and the garrison is forced for fight alone. Though, fortunately the Demetrid had already pulled the bulk of their attacking force away to quell rebellions in Nabataia:


As the enemy siege tower moves forward, the local defenders prepare themselves on the walls. These men are neither mercenaries, nor foreign conscripts, or even professional soldiers. They are something more fearsome, they are men protecting their homes and families:


The lone tower reaches the wall and the attackers pore out, but they are quickly surrounded by the city defenders who push from all sides:


The first group of men from the tower is wiped out with not too many losses, but the second wave out of the tower is made up of much better trained men with better equiptment:


While the fighting still rages on the walls, the Demetrid attackers also manage to break a hole in the walls and charge through it. The defenders wait and allow the enemy through the hole before charging, leaving the attackers surrounded:


Although, due to the superior training and equiptment of the attackers, they manage to gain the advantage in both fights and begin pushing the defenders back:


With the entire Demetrid force engaged in the battle, it is an easy task for the king of Ioudaia to circle his cavalry around the outside of the wall and position himself behind the enemy:


The king charges his cavalry in at the rear of the enemy, who quickly turn to face the cavalry with their spears:


The king's cavalry takes losses, but the avantage shifts to the city defenders. The attacking Demetrid forces have now turned their backs on the king's infantry. Even after the king pulls his cavalry out, the attackers are unable to regroup again and face the infantry. Unorganized and surrounded, the last of the Demetrids panic and try to flee but are quickly cut down.

The battle takes a great toll on the city garrison, but the city is defended:


In one of his first real battles, the king of Ioudaia manages to win a great victory:


The celebration is short, however, as another army arrives soon after to replace the defeated besiegers. Ths time though, word comes from the Delphikos family that this time they are on their way to relieve the siege:


On the edges of Demetrid territory, rebellions begin to grow. Nubia and southern Aigyptos had already chosen to side with the Ptolemaioi. Riots continue in Armenia. In Babylonia, a rebel general raises an army in open rebellion and claims to be a descendant of Seleukos I:


Rebellions continue for the west, as well. Ever since Philippos and his army left Iberia, things gradually have slipped out of control. Even the long held coastal regions have begun seeing unrest, though ironically the Lusotanna and Arevaci have remained quiet due to the fact they are unders such strict military control:


While the edges of the Arche falter, all eyes look to Syria. In order to gain a supply base for the Pyrrhic fleets and to knock out the Demetrid fleets, the Romaioi once again attack in the name of Makedonia. Landing in Kypros, the Romaioi begin a campaign to retake the island in preparation of the invasion of Syria:

The known world at the end of 165BC:

Next: Chapter 68 : A New Era

[Chaotix]

Epic AAR, Marcus! Keep it up!

[Justinian II]

Man, this is AWESOME.

[General Appo]

How many times have you fooled me into thinking that Pyrrhus might finally die by using a chapter title like that? Perhaps this time it´s actually for real.

[Chirurgeon]

God this thing never ends!! And that my friends is a good thing :) Must be hard to stay under that 50 screenshot limit MAA. Anyway keep up the most excellent work!

[Gaivs]

Probably the best AAR ever written just for sheer epicness!

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Thanks everybody.
I've been trying to show less battle pictures to get more stuff in each chapter, so I've been having less problems with the picture limits.
I'll try to get the next chapter up faster than it took me for this last one. I'm taking more time in the writing phase to get more story of the characters in.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Good update, MAA. Thanks for the encouraging, we'll see...

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Thanks, Centurio.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Chapter 68 : A New Era

While Pyrrhids prepare for an all out invasion to finally crush the Demetrids and end the civil war, the Demetrids do all they can to try and counter attack. The first attack on Ioudaia failed, and soon the second fails as well when Chrysoloras Delphikos arrives at Heirosolyma with a newly recruited mercenary army. So, the Demetrids turn north from Syria. In the hills of Kilikia, the Illyrians loyal to Pyrrhos hold an old outpost from which they spy on Syria and Assyria. Seeking to retake this outpost, the Demetrids send a large army from Syria to crush the Illyrian army:


Unlike their previous battles, the Illyrians now face an organized Hellenistic army, fighting in the Makedonike style:


The Illyrian spearmen hold their ground and await the enemy line. So, the Demetrids are forced to march forward and meet the Illyrian line, all the while oblivious to the fact that the Illyrian cavalry had already circled around their rear:


The Illyrian cavalry charges from the rear, but they do not achieve complete surprise. The Demetrids quickly send their reserve forces back to confront the cavalry while at the same time charge the static line of Illyrian spearmen. The battle begins in full force:


While the spearmen hold down the bulk of the Demetrid force, the cavalry manages to break the reserve units:


With the reserves broken, the Illyrian cavalry now have an open way. They line up and charge at the rear of the enemy phalangitai at full force:


After a series of successive charges, the enemy forces are wiped out or flee. Although though the victory is clear and the Illyrians win the day, the bulk of the Illyrian force is wiped out. The act of holding down phalangitai took too long and cost the lives of many Illyrians. Now they simply hold their outpost and await the invasion, hoping to avoid further conflict:


While Pyrrhos and his family make ready for war, there are also a great many changes in diplomacy around the known world. Tired of raids from the north and having pushed the Indians back into the Indus valley, the Seleukids turn northward and attack the tribes of the north-eastern steppes. In order to retain their alliance with the Seleukids, the rebel Baktrian dynasty also betrays their alliance of steppe tribes:


Soon after this, the alliance of steppe tribes manage to create an anti-Seleukid alliance with the Indians of Gandhara:


Already allied to Gandhara, the Arche Makedonia under Pyrrhos jumps at the oppertunity and also joins this alliance against the Seleukid dynasty:


Dispite the alliance against them, the Seleukids continue to push north, retaking territories lost to them more than a hundred years passed:


Diplomacy remains hostile in Numidia, where former citizens of the city of Kart-Hadast continue to encourage hostilities against the Arche Makedonia. The city of Ippone is attacked once more:


And once more, the local garrison manages to repel the onslaught:


In the family of Eouboulides, only the murdered Herakleon managed to have any sons. Hearkleon is murdered but his two sons continue the family as the only surviving direct descendants of Antigonos Gonatas. Herodes gathered an army and invaded Pontos to assist Pyrrhos in the war, but the younger son, Anaxagoras is sent to Pella for education. In Pella, Anaxagoras meets and befriends Laandros, the youngest son of Pyrrhos, and the two adopt vices together in the big city. Although, after the fall of Sparte the two are split up. Laandros is sent to Hellas to assist in administration at Athenai and Anaxagoras returns to Bosphoria where he grew up.

While administering Bosphoria, news reaches Anaxagoras that the city of Olbia has rebelled and cast off their Skythian overlords. Now the city is divided on whether to declare themselves independant or join the Arche Makedonia. Seeking to expand his satrapy, his glory, and his purse, Anaxagoras quickly gathers and army of many types of people and marches north into Skythian territory to "rescue" the city of Olbia:


Preparations for the invasion of Syria are well underway. In Iberia, the unconquered tribes are still hostile, but silent. In Numidia, constant defensive battles are fought. Now, another war had started in the northern steppes to rescue Hellenistic cities. All these conflicts and the Arche Makedonia is still strong. With the wealth of Iberian, Anatolia, and Kappadokia the war funds are secure and all debts have been repaid.

In the east, however, the Demetrid dynasty was in trouble, the loss of Anatolia, Kappadokia, and Armenia had cost them all of their wealthy satrapies. Aigyptos still provided a profit, but the distant members of the royal family and nobility in Aigyptos had begun to disagree with the leadership in Demetreia and at times was near rebelling against the Demetrids. Young Basileus Euktimenos and his mother Antigone were even begining to loose support in their own court. With forces gathering on their borders, the war's end is approaching and the most oppertunistic of the nobles of Syria begin turning on those who seem to be the losers.

The war's end is so evident that in the areas controlled by Pyrrhos, the Demetrids are called "the rebels" and the domain controlled by Pyrrhos has regained the name "the Arche Makedonia" as though he had already unified the fractured empire. It would seems that Pyrrhos is invincible and that nothing can stop him.

As the finally preparations come to a close, with the armies already heading east, Pyrrhos and Philippos prepare to leave Pella and head east as well. One night, during a late meal with some nobles, Pyrrhos announces that he isn't feeling well and wishes to get some sleep. With Pyrrhos' personal slave not nearby, Philippos decides to help his father stand up and helps him by taking him to his room. They speak little and Philippos leads his father to his bed. Once he is laying down, Pyrrhos looks at his son, touches him on the side of his face, and smiles. Philippos smiles back, but before anything is said Pyrrhos' personal slave rushes into the room to offer any assistance to his master. Philippos takes his leave and returns to the banquet.

Philippos is awoken abruptly in the early morning when one of his own slaves wakes him violently. Telling him that he must come quickly. The slave leads Philippos to Pyrrhos' chambers. When he enters the chambers, there he sees a collection of slaves and bodyguards along with a doctor from Athenai. On the bed, Pyrrhos lays motionless and Philippos knows what has happened.

By midday, it is announced to the city of Pella that Pyrrhos is dead:


Pyrrhos's body is taken to Aigai and burned on a great funerary pyre, then his remains are taken to the tomb of Demetrios, where they are kept until a new tomb is built for Pyrrhos, by order of Philippos. Many attend the funeral, but due to the divide of the Arche it does not reach the size or granduer of Demetrios' passing.

As soon as the time of mourning has come to an end, it is announced that Philippos will succeed his father as Basileus. Due to the fact Pyrrhos announced his successor long before his death and that Philippos is nearly the only logical choice, the transition is an easy one. Philippos is readily accepted by all, even those in the nobility. And so, Philippos, son of Pyrrhos, is crowned Basileus of the Arche Makedonia and is remember by history as Philippos V:


As Philippos becomes leader of the Arche Makedonia, it is once again clear who are the greatest people in the known world:


While Philippos gets used to his new power, events around the edges of the of the Arche continue to unfold. In Numidia, the city of Ippone is once again besieged by forces of the Numidian-Mauretanian alliance:


And in Iberia, the city of Kotais is besieged by a small army of the Demetrids:


Although, in Armenia, it is clear who is winning. The allied army of steppe cavalry continue their campaign of hit and run attacks. Having wiped out almost all forces that can oppose them, the army starts isolating small groups of Demetrid soldiers and wiping them out before they can group together. In the winter, they meet their first group in the mountains:


Quickly circling around the flanks of the enemy, they rain arrows down on them from above:


The allied steppe army easily defeats the little group and moves on to other targets:


The army of mounted archers wipe out another army and eventually move to releave the siege of Kotais:


Once the arrows start to rain down on the enemy they begin to flee:


The enemy manage to escape before many die:


The steppe cavalry, though, chases the fleeing enemy army and confronts them once again just before they can reach the city of Armavir:


The Demetrid army attempts to form two defensive lines to protect against the attacks from both sides, but the mounted archers simply fire at the rear of the far line:


As all seems lost, the enemy commander attempts to flee and escape back to Armavir, but when his horse is killed beneath him and he falls to his death:


Once again, the steppe army wipes out a small enemy army:


After almost two years of siege, the last city that holds out on Kypros falls to the Romaioi, guaranteeing a base for naval support for the invasion of Syria:


About the same time, Olbia in the north falls to Anaxagoras as well:


This region is an odd mix of Hellenic and Skythian, even more so than the Bosphoria region. With this conquest, the coastal regions from the Istros River to Bosphoria join the Arche Makedonia. The regions just north of the Istros River had been somewhat part of the Arche Makedonia for decades, but military force had never been sent to the region in order to prevent a war with the Getai Confederation. Although Anaxagoras only takes control of the coastal regions, a great deal of Skythian peoples and their culture now fall under the leadership of the Arche Makedonia:


To the south of there, in Pontos, Anaxagoras' uncle Lysippos dies. With the recent deaths of Delphikos and Pyrrhos, Lysippos marks the final death of the old generation. For every commander in the armies of the Arche Makedonia, the civil war has been a fact of their entire adult life and now it is up to them alone to bring it to an end:


Diplomacy once again becomes an issue as another year begins:


Most notably, the Medians invade lower Babylonia and attempt to capture Arab holdings:


However, all world events are trumped when Philippos arrives in Kilikia and the invasion of Syria finally begins. To the north, the steppe forces and a conscripted Armenian force under the command of a general from Sophene attacks the last of the Demetrids in Armenia who hide in Armavir:


The Thraikioi of Armenia move south, into eastern Assyria, and attack the enemy garrison at Arbela:


Herodes moves his Bosphorian army out of the hills and moves down into western Assyria to attack the large city of Edessa:


Chrysoloras Delphikos moves his mercenary army north from Ioudaia and attacks the ancient Phoenician city of Sidon:


And in Kilikia, the Galatians lead the attack, followed by Philippos and his Thorakitai army, while his brother Sotades holds down the large Kilikia garrison in Tarsos:

The known world at the end of 163BC, a year after Pyrrhos' death:

Next: Chapter 69 : The Syrian War (Part I)

[Hax]

Another great chapter, MAA!

I can't wait til the start of the Syrian wars.

[paullus]

wow.

i mean, what else can i say?

[General Appo]

Good going, but you have´t changed the "You are attacked by an army of the blablabal" in the text something for Numidia. You really should, incredibly easy (as you no doubt no).

[Europe]

This is the part were the Demetrids start to win right?