The Pyrrhic Dynasty : A Makedonian AAR

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Chapter 61 : Rebirth of the Ptolemaioi

Ptolemai I - IV had been of a direct line, but it had been cut short when the last of them were killed by Demetrios in his conquest of Aigyptos. Though, Ptolemai V and VI of Assyria were of a side family. When Aristotelis killed Ptolemaioi VI in Assyria, it seemed that the family of the great general Ptolemai I had been destoryed, but it had not been. There was one survivor of the direct line of Ptolemai I - IV. When just a child, he and his mother had fled to Nubia during Demetrios' conquest. This boy, now a man, is Ptolemai VII, King of Meroe.

Meroe had been but a nuisance on the southern border of the Ptolemaioi, then a trade partner with the Arche Makedonia. When they betrayed the Arche Makedonia and lost their king and heir in a single battle, Ptolemai VII seized power. Since then, Ptolemai VII has reformed the government, military, and economy. Now, with his only true enemy, the Arche Makedonia distracted, he makes his move for power.



First is a declaration of war on the Kingdom of Sab'yn, who had has trade colonies on the coasts of Nubia and Aithiopia:


While king, Ptolemai VII had also begun rebuilding his family line. His Makedonike wife had given him two sons. His first born son comes of age just as his plans begin. So, while the majority of the army is in the north, Ptolemai VII gives his son a small army and sends him south the take Aithiopia and the Sab'yn trade colonies:


Meanwhile, to the north, the armies of Ptolemai take ground without a fight. In northern Nubia the people are burdened by taxes, war, and oppressive foreign rule. Without any forces of their own, the people turn to the closest thing they have to a local power. Thus in a series of rebellions, territories of the Demetrids throw off their small garrisons and appeal to Ptolemai VII for protection:


Northern Nubia as well as the oasis of Hibis fall into the hands of Ptolemai without a fight. Although the rebellions are lead by Nubians and Aigyptians, the majority of the Klerouchoi Makedones and Hellenes, settled by the old Ptolemaioi or Antigonids, choose to remain. This alone is a giant gain for Ptolemai VII, as he gains access to Makedones to field as phalangitai in battle.

While he consolidates power in the north and wages war in the south, Ptolemai VII negotiates peace with his enemy. Even though they just lost cities to him, the Demetrids agree to an alliance, which Ptolemai VII decides to use to buy time:


After a short time, news comes to Meroe from the south. Ptolemai VII's son has succeeded, and all of northern Aithiopia is now in his hands. With no threat from southern Aithiopia and not fearing naval invasion from the Kingdom of Sab'yn, Ptolemai VII now has but one battle front:


Next: Chapter 62: Back in the Arche Makedonia

[Lysimachos]

Uh-oh, they are back in the game...

[Hax]

Cool. Awesome chapter, great to see.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Short and good. Did you cheat that or was this "really" the course of history?

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

I wish I could say it happened like that. I sent four spies to each of the cities Pselkis, Diospolis-Megale, and Hibis. But after about ten turns of 0% public order without rebellion, and Ptolemaic troops outside that don't attack, I gave up. I force diplomacy'd them to me then gifted them to the Ptolemaioi. I think the fact that Baktria and Ptolemaioi have the same culture prevented the rebellion from occuring as easily.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Chapter 62 : Back in the Arche Makedonia

While the Ptolemaioi rebuild themselves under Ptolemai VII, the events within the Arche Makedonia are much less eventful.

The Demetrids

In Syria, Euktimenos Idomeneus, son of Pefkoloas is still a child. While he is technically the Basileus, his government is ruled by his advisors and his strong-willed mother. While her father (Bykoli) and her husband (Pefkolaos) were off fighting wars together, Antigone was left at home, alone. Due to her status and the lack of a man in her household, Antigone quickly gained control of all aspects in the home, then in the family. Together with her inclination for power and her feeling of abandonment, she has developed into quite a strict ruler.

The loss of northern Nubia does not concern the Demetrids, who quickly make an alliance with the Ptolemaioi. The Demetrids also realize that Anatolia, Pontos, and Kappadokia are lost. They therefore decide not to even reinforce the remaining garrisons. Instead, they send large garrisons to Kilikia and Armenia. There, they wait for the forces of Pyrrhos to advance.

The Pyrrhids

After the fall of central Anatolia and Kappadokia, things are slow in the Arche Makedonia civil war. Seeking to prove their loyalty, the army of Lesboi march south into Karia and take the city of Halikarnassos in the name of Pyrrhos. The city falls without a single loss to the Lesboi:


While the war is fought just to he east, in Pella, Pyrrhos makes sure money is set aside for building projects. Since the support of the nobles of Makedonia and Hellas, especially those living in Pella, are so important to the continued efforts and finances of Pyrrhos, he builds great structures and and revises of the capital. Around the time Karia falls, huge event structures are completed in Pella, dedicated to Megas Demetrios. Here, games are held that trump those of even Olympia:


With Anatolia and Kappadokia in his hands and a few building projects once again underway, Pyrrhos and his dynasty once again make Makedonia the greatest people in the known world:


The Romaioi

To show support for their "allies", Tiberius Aurelius Cotta, consul of Roma, sails the Romani Legion from Capua to assist in the Arche Makedonia civil war. When news reaches Pyrrhos that the Romani are in the Aegaen Mare, he decides to give them a key task. With the conquest of Anatolia, the only Demetrid military harbor west of Aigyptos is the great harbor at Rhodos. From there, they control the eastern Mesogeios Sea and supply the Spartan rebels. So, the important and difficult task of taking the city of Rhodos is given to Tiberius Aurelius Cotta and his legion:


The Romani quickly land on the western edge of the island and immediately move against the army of Rhodoi, who meet them in the open field:


While the infantry moves forward, Cotta leads his cavalry in a charge of the reinforcements, coming from the city. Having misjudged the placement on the field, the small group of Rhodoi archers from the city come in from the rear of the Romani, where they are easily wiped out by the Romaioi cavalry:


While Cotta returns the line, the skirmishers on both sides begin to throw their javelin and the battle begins:


The skirmishing lasts quite a while, giving the Romani cavalry time to circle completely around the rear of their own line and attack around the opposite flank. There, they charge the Rhodoi siege equiptment and kill all those manning them:


When the javelin of the skirmishers finally run out, Cotta orders his battle line forward:


While the enemy is still disorganized, the first line of Romani throw their pila...


...and charge in to engage their enemy:


Meanwhile, the cavalry once again circles the flank. This time they charge in and challenge the governor of Rhodos and his kataphraktoi bodyguard:


When the Rhodoi skirmishers attempt to circle around the opposite flank from the cavalry battle, the Romaioi skirmishers move out and defend the flank:


While the first line of Romani hold down the enemy, the second line spreads out and attacks from the side as well as reinforceing the first line from the rear:


Having fought this whole time, the cavalry clash finally comes to an end when the governor of Rhodos falls dead on the field:


With their general dead, the Rhodoi attempt to fall back, but all are quickly wiped out or surrender when surrounded by the Romani.

While the cavalry and first two lines chase the last of the Rhodoi, the third line slowly moves forward, not having been needed in the battle:


Tiberius Aurelius Cotta wins himself a victory, though it lacks too much granduer as it is in the name of a foreign king:


The Romani then march into the city of Rhodos and take the city without a fight. Had the armies of Rhodos stayed behind their walls, they may have stood a chance. Fighting in open field cost them their whole army and forced the city to surrender. As per Pyrrhos' orders, the town is left unharmed, dispite the complaints of the Romaioi soldiers:


Next Phase of the War

In southern Anatolia, Sotades besieges the city of Side, the last garrison between him and Kilikia:


In northern Kappadokia, Herokles, son of the murdered Herakleon, takes his Bosphorian army up against another small Demetrid garrison:


In Iberia, Philippos sets up a series of forts to defend the critical river crossings that mark the edge of Makedonike power. After turning over power to the local governors and coastal Iberian allies, Philippos gathers his men and makes for the eastern coast:

The known world in 170BC:

Next: Chapter 63 : The Next Generation

[Reverend Joe]

Are you ever going to do anything about the Dacians? Like, have a bored, power-hungry leader in Makedonia engineer a war with them further down the road in order to gain more prestige, only to draw the Arche into a decades-long border war?

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

While Cotta returns the line, the skirmishers on both sides begin to throw their javelin and the battle begins:

Ahhh, the mountains of Karia.... Nice picture.

The skirmishing lasts quite a while, giving the Romani cavalry time to circle completely around the rear of their own line and attack around the opposite flank. There, they charge the Rhodoi siege equiptment and kill all those manning them:

Romani Cavalry? Those behind surely look like Hetairoi! Is that an issue of your build?

The next Generation I think indicates the death of Pyrrhos!?

[Olaf The Great]

Ahhh, the mountains of Karia.... Nice picture.


Romani Cavalry? Those behind surely look like Hetairoi! Is that an issue of your build?

The next Generation I think indicates the death of Pyrrhos!?

It's his generals cavalry

BTW how did you get a roman general with a roman portrait+name?

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

I've thought about conquering Dacia, and if they ever betray our long-lasting alliance they will fall very quickly. However, there are many other places on my list of what I want to conquer first. The Aedui will more likely force me to intervene in the Gallia situation and cause border problems soon, too.

When I conquered Roma, one of their family members was outside the city and became rebel. I then bribed him to join me and since he was 16 or 17 at the time he is still alive to lead his armies. Since you cannot have different bodyguards for Family Members, he looks like my generals and has a Hetairoi bodyguard.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

When I conquered Roma, one of their family members was outside the city and became rebel. I then bribed him to join me and since he was 16 or 17 at the time he is still alive to lead his armies. Since you cannot have different bodyguards for Family Members, he looks like my generals and has a Hetairoi bodyguard.

[Chaotix]

Keep it up, MAA, the AAR is great!

But speaking of bodyguards, don't the KH ones have two different kinds- spartans and non-spartans?

[General Appo]

Yes, but the Spartan ones only come for some of the starting generals. You could give a starting general anything as bodyguards, but the ones born in the game all get the same.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Chapter 63 : The Next Generation

While Pyrrhos and his sons fight the civil war, his brothers' families continue to rule in Northern-Italia, Gallia, and Iberia. A great blow comes to the family when Gelon dies in Bononia. Gelon was the second-born of Nepos' three sons and brother to Pyrrhos. With the death of Gelon, Pyrrhos is left the last member of his family in the older generation:


The rule of the western satrapies falls to Pyrrhos' nephews, sons of Neikolaos and Gelon. Due to the long lives and early successes, both of Pyrrhos' brothers leave many sons, who rule in their fathers' places.

Around the same time in Bosphoria, Pythianos dies. Pythianos was second-born son of Euboulides' three sons and uncle to Herodes, who fights in Kappadokia:


Isolated in far off Babylonia, Isidoros Oresteus rebuilds the city walls of Babylon. The construction of the walls being only the first part in Isidoros' plan to restore Babylon to its former glory:


During the winter of 170BC, Sotades decides to take the garrison at Side by force. Having fought wars since he was young, Sotades tires of war but continues to do his father's bidding. Hoping to quickly complete his task of taking southern Anatolia and then switch to defending tactics, Sotades attacks the city to seize it by force:


With such a small garrison, the walls are attacked and taken with almost no effort:


Then the Pezhetiaroi march into the town and toward the city garrison hiding within:


While the Pezhetairoi attack the enemy infantry...


...the Thraikioi circle around the rear and take out the slingers:


The city falls quickly and easily, with the majority of causalties falling to arrow fire from archers within the towers at the very beginning of the battle:


As the spring of 169BC comes around, Pyrrhos decides to return to Makedonia. As he grows older, his ledgendary skill at battle begins to fade. Rather then risk his health, he turns over the war effort to Sotades and makes his way back to Pella. Pyrrhos ruling in Pella marks the first time a Basileus has ruled from the capital since Alkyoneus did during the shared rule of he and Demetrios.

Sotades is not very earer to lead in his father's stead and sets up defensively in southern Anatolia. After securing the territory in Anatolia all the way up to the edge of Kilikia, Sotades shifts to plans of defence in case of a counter-attack without any plan for advancing. The war on this front comes to a standstill.

In Pella, Laandros, fourth-born son of Pyrrhos' four children comes of age:


At the same time, Anaxagoras comes of age. Anaxagoras is second-born son of the murdered Herakleon and brother of Herodes:


Anaxagoras moves to Pella for his education, there he meets Laandros and the two become friends. Pyrrhos encourages their friendship in hopes of solidifying the alliance between his family and the family of Euboulides. Due to the troubles in Hellas, they are not sent to the Spartan Agoge or to the schools of Anthenai, but the schools in Pella are nearly as advanced anyways.

While getting their education in Pella, the two youths are adversly influenced by Laandros' elder broter, Euphrantos. Euphratos introduces the two to the vices of Pella's underworld and the pleasures of the ruling class. Thus the two are torn between the day-time world of their education and the night-time world of pleasure. They do not develop into the outstanding men that Pyrrhos had hoped for.

In northern Kappadokia, Anaxagoras' elder brother, Herodes, attacks the city of Ani-Kamah. The city of Ani-Kamah had originally been a fort city of the Armenian peoples, but since its capture by the Arche Makedonia it had begun to develop into a decent sized city:


With many seige towers, Herodes attacks the enemy walls. The seige starts off on a bad note, as many seige towers are destroyed and many men lost to missile fire at the base of the enemy walls:


Once on the walls, however, the Makedones wipe out the enemy archers with little effort:


With the walls in their control, the attacking force takes a pause to rest and await the possible surrender. When the surrender doesn't come, Herodes orders his Bosphorian archers onto the walls.

Once on the walls, the Bosphorian archers open fire on the enemy below. With archers, who are superior to even those from Persia, the enemy is quickly wiped out:


The Makedones then advance on the city center, where they attack from multiple sides and surround the remaining enemy:


The city falls and Herodes dedicates the victory to his fallen father as well as Basileus Megas Pyrrhos. Few men die, but the cost is far more than originally suspected:


With this victory, the regions between Kappadokia and Armenia are conquered, and Pyrrhos gains an easily defendable border:


Just after his victory, Herodes receives word from Bosphoria that his uncle Polyades has died. With the death of his two uncles, and having no cousins, Herodes and his brother are the last of the line of Euboulides:


Around the same time, a great blow is dealt for Lybia. In the city of Kyrene, Antisthenes Gortynios, governor of Lybia, dies. Although he is not well known across the Arche, in Lybia, Antisthenes is a hero. After marrying into the family of Demetrios, Antisthenes spent almost his whole life defending Lybia from the agression of the city of Kart-Hadast. When Neokles invaded Africa, Antisthenes helped in the invasion, winning more support in Lybia. Later, he provided Lybia to Pyrrhos at the outbreak of the civil war due to his respect of Pyrrhos' fighting in the African invasion:


The deaths during this era take the lives of the majority of the important people of the former generation. The three families of the Arche Makedonia are almost completely shifted to the younger generation. The family of Demetrios had lost their older generation, as well as most of their younger generation, at the very onset of the war. The death of Herakleon had crippled the family of Euboulides at the beggining of the war, and in the last, year both his brothers have died. Pyrrhos is now the last of the sons of Nepos, the three brothers who had defeated the Romaioi. Besides Pyrrhos, only Lysippos surrives of the older generation and both these men are done with warfare.

As Pyrrhos looks to the younger generation, he is glad he sent Philippos to Iberia. The civil war and the excesses of the homeland seem to have corrupted his two younger sons and war fatigue tired his first-born. When news reaches Pyrrhos that Philippos is returning eastward, Pyrrhos sends word to him to hurry, for he is needed.

The known world in 169BC:

Next: Chapter 64 : A Lull In the War

[General Appo]

Damn the curses of age.
What will Philippos do when he comes home? Retake Hellas? Land at Antiocheia (or Demetreia as I believe you´ve renamed it) or just get corrupted.
The title on the next chapter sounds strange, but at least we will perhaps see what exactly Orseteus has in mind. King of Babylon? Strange man indeed.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Philippos attended the Spartan Agoge, so when he gets back to Hellas, there will be a chance for some good roleplaying. Although I haven't done it yet, my plan is to take all of 'greater' Syria in one quick move.

Isidoros Oresteus is in a weird situation. I've made a nice army for him, but he doesn't really have anywhere to go. If he goes south, Sab'yn will attack me. If he takes Seleukeia, Media will attack me. And he can't go north because the Demetrids have huge numbers of forces in Assyria. Until the next big push in the war comes, I guess he'll just sit in Bayblon, rebuilding the city.

[Chirurgeon]

Great installments!! You do this so that it seems almost feaseble from a historical perspective. Well done!

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Great installments!! You do this so that it seems almost feaseble from a historical perspective. Well done!

Thank you, Chirurgeon.
Ironically, you said you will be doing more updates now that it is summer, I'll probably be doing less updates now that it is summer.
That said, here's an update:

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Chapter 64 : A Lull In the War

With the complete conquest of Anatolia and Kappadokia, the armies of Pyrrhos come to a halt. Due to Pyrrhos' age and health, he has retired from warfare and moved back to Pella. His first born son, Sotades, who he has left in command of the armies also becomes tired of warfare. Sotades settles down and sets up a defensive line between Anatolia and Kilikia, where he rests. While in the city of Side, Sotades begins to develop skills for governing:


To the north, the young Herodes also halts. Young and inexperienced, Herodes does not wish to fight a war all by himself. There too, defensive lines are made and Herodes defends the Kappadokia - Armenia border.

In Babylonia, Isidoros Oresteus is forced to remain on the defensive, as well. With secret contact to Makedonia established, Isidoros keeps informed of the status of the war and is ever ready for the day when orders come from Pyrrhos that the final invasion of Syria is coming. While he waits, Isidoros also becomes quite attuned at governing Babylon:


Back in Pella, Makedonia, Pyrrhos runs the political and economic affairs of the Arche Makedonia. Now retired from warfare, Pyrrhos becomes quite satisfied managing the internal runnings of the Arche:


Still seeking to impress the local nobility, Pyrrhos builds a great gymnasion. Built to complement the games, that were established the previous year in Pella, Pyrrhos once again out does the city of Olympia:


Although the war slows down and the eastern borders remain stagnant, three important points of interest appear. The first is in Armenia, where the allied army of steppe cavalry continues to pester the Demetrid garrison at Armavir. Originally dispatched by Lysippos, these men are tasked simply with weaking the Demetrid hold on Armenia. Although direct confrontations are rare, as the snow piles up on the ground, the two apposing armies of the region meet:


Taking the initiative, the steppe cavalry quickly surround the Demetrid detachment and fire their arrows at them from all sides:


The lightly armored soldiers are quickly wiped out and soon only heavy phalangitai remain:


Once the phalangitai are severly paniced from being surrounded and from taking losses, the steppe horsemen charge in from all sides:


The enemy stand no chance and are all eliminated. When the garrison from Armavir arrives, the steppe cavalry fire their few remaining arrows at them and then turn northward to retreat:


The short hit-and-run battle is a great success and about a third of the Demetrid forces in Armenia are lost:


The second eventful region of the time is the city of Ippone. The city itself was an important port for Kart-Hadast and was one of the first cities taken in the African Invasion, but now it is simply a problem site. The city itself is isolated along the Numidian coast, with a large discontent population, under constant attack from the Numidians. Fed up with the region, the previous governor had resigned and returned to Kart-Hadast, leaving the young Zaikedenthes Echinaieus in command of the garrison as the city is once again attacked by Numidian forces:


With great walls around the city, the enemy are forced to try and take the city with siege equiptment. The Numidians begin the battle and start moving their equiptment forward. To counter them, the local archers set their arrows on fire and attempt to light up the enemy equiptment:


Just as they get near the wall, the first tower is caught on fire and begins to burn to the ground:


Though one tower goes down, at the other side of the gateway, the Numidian seige tower safely reaches the walls and the enemy rush onto them:


Firing great distances, the local archers set on fire a Numidian mining entrance. The wooden entry way collapses, killing all inside:


As more men rush to climb the last remaining tower, the archers finally set it on fire, too:


The wall defenders easily wipe out the last of the enemy, who are now trapped on the wall and surrounded:


With no more siege equiptment remaining, the last of the Numidian army retreats and Ippone remains in the hands of the Arche Makedonia, for now:


The third, most important, and most tragic event of the time occurs in Hellas. The Spartans had managed to form an alliance with almost all of the Hellenic city-states in the Peloponnesos. With an alliance to the Demetrids, the Sparatans' Peloponnesos Alliance directly apposes Pyrrhos, but there had yet to be combat in Hellas.

After a short time, the Peloponnesos Alliance turns to Athenai to join them. The Athenians are hesitant, but reluctantly join the alliance. In order to "defend" the city, the Spartans then send an army to Athenai. Because the hesitance to join the alliance and the long standing rivalry between the cities of Sparte and Athenai, the Athenians rejected the idea of Spartans inside the walls of Athenai. Though, when the Spartans arrived, they are allowed into the city. In short order, those who apposed the alliance start causing a upheaval in the Agora. The events in the agora quickly spread and soon their is rioting all across the city. It is only a matter of time before that anger is then shifted toward the Spartan garrison.

When the Spartan garrison is attacked by rioting Athenians, they are quick to respond. To calm the rioting, the Spartans turn to their old friend, violence. Soon, all the city is behind the rioters and against the Spartans, but it does not matter. By the time the violence ends, almost all of the inhabitants of Athenai lie dead and half the city is on fire:


The day is remembered throughout time as one of the worst events of the Hellenistic world. Athenai, the center of education, democracy, culture, art, and the very heart of Hellenism itself is destroyed. Not since the burning of Persepolis has such a horrid event taken place. With the loss of the cultural center of the Arche, the Arche Makedonia looses its top place. The Arche Seleukeia, rising from their own ashes once again takes the place of the most advanced Hellenistic people in the known world:


The destruction of Athenai does have a possitive side effect for Pyrrhos, though. With the destruction of Athenai, the Peloponnesos Alliance begins to fall apart. Wanting nothing to do with those who destroyed Athenai, many cities seek to leave the alliance and those not yet in it swear loyalty to the Arche Makedonia. Some cities within the Alliance even secretly contact Pyrrhos and request aid against Sparta. To deal with the problem, the Spartans set up garrisons and occupy all cities who are seeking to leave the alliance and begin a campaign of conquest. The rest of Attike quickly falls, then Euboia, and finally the islands of the Aegean. When the city of Chalkis resists the Spartan rule, it too is burned to the ground and its citizens slaughtered:


After such events in Hellas, events in the other regions seem moot. But in Numidia, the city of Ippone is once again attacked...


...and Zaikedenthes Echinaieus successfully defends the city once again:


This battle marks a change in the policy of those adminstering the region from nearby Kart-Hadast. The losses received from defending the city of Ippone has cost the lives of many Hellenes and Makedones. Wishing no more losses, the remaining Hellenistic forces are withdrawn to Africa. Dispite the withdrawl, Zaikedenthes Echinaieus remains in Ipone as governor and leads the all local garrison. On the positive side, Zaikedenthes learns from the battle and becomes a better leader:


In Armenia, the steppe cavalry once again gets into a fight with the local Demetrid forces:


Isolating a small detachment, the steppe horsemen surround and rain arrows down upon their enemy:


Soon, only a few kataphraktoi remain. Due to their heavy armor, the steppe horsemen decide to cease fire and charge in to fight the kataphraktoi, hand to hand:


Although the kataphraktoi are stronger in all categories, the superior numbers of the steppe cavalry win the day. The kataphraktoi are quickly wiped out and General Boxos Zariaspaios is killed.

As the garrison from Armavir approaches, the steppe cavarly once again fire their remaining arrows and flees back to friendly territory:


The steppe cavalry win another fight and continue their campaign to annoy the Demetrids in Armenia:


Around the same time, an earthquake hits the cursed city of Ippone. As one of the largest quakes to hit the area, ever, great losses are taken and damage dealt:


Outside of the Arche Makedonia, other wars continue. The Arche Seleukeia continues their war with Gandhara and continues to push them back, retaking Iran. The Kingdom of Sab'yn, however surprises the Arche Seleukeia, when they suddenly attack Persis with a large attacking force:


In Aigyptos, Ptolemai VII and his son bypass the territories of their Demetrid allies and move their armies northward, into the deserts of Lybia. Now, the forts set up by Antisthenes Gortynios become a barrier for not only the Demetrids but for the rebuilt Ptolemaioi:


The era of little activity by the royal family comes to an end when Philippos lands in Epeiros. With his veteran army, reinforced by new recruits from Massalia and Syrakousai, Philippos is finally home. He eyes turn southward to Hellas:

The known world in 167BC:

Next: Chapter 65 : Illyrians and Indians

[Swordmaster]

Flashy stuff. Which faction are the Indians? Pontos? Hai?

[Lysimachos]

Flashy stuff. Which faction are the Indians? Pontos? Hai?

Palahvans. The violet Media is Hayasdan.

[Olaf The Great]

After Phillipos reclaims hellas, perhaps you can reinforce the garrison in Iudaia, and possibly attack Egypt.


That war doesn't seem to be going well for the Demetrids....(Maybe you can spawn a few experienced and heavily armed armies in Syria, as the AI doesn't seem to be able to cope well with recruiting..)

[Maion Maroneios]

I think that, in terms of reality, it would be extremely difficult for the Demetrids to respond to such repeated attacks from all sides. So giving them elite stacks will probably just end in their fragmentation into smaller units and spread to the ''pseudoarche's'' cities. Apart from the fact that it will further drain their economy. I don't know if you have ever played as a phalanx nation, but if you haven't I can tell you that an elite Alexandrian phalanx army requires huge amounts of cash. It really is a pain in the @$$, especially if you have many of them

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Pahlav as Gandhara, Hayasdan as Media, and the Ptolemaioi as the Kingdom of Meroe.

I was hoping that Aigyptos would be taken away from the Demetrids without me doing anything, but as you can see by the second to last picture, the AI hardcoding programming is screwing up my plan.

I would have thought that Ioudaia would have been conquered by now, but the AI just can't get their stuff together. They'll besiege it now and then, but rarely ever complete the siege. The whole AI for the Demetrids is acting quite stupid. But I'm adding that to the roleplaying that they lack any true leadership. They aren't really a challenge, but the AI rarely ever is.

I was thinking about spawning some armies for the Demetrids when I attack them next. But I should probably wait so that I fight an actual army all at once and not just groups of two Pezhetairoi here an there.

[Swordmaster]

Pahlav as Gandhara, Hayasdan as Media, and the Ptolemaioi as the Kingdom of Meroe.

I was hoping that Aigyptos would be taken away from the Demetrids without me doing anything, but as you can see by the second to last picture, the AI hardcoding programming is screwing up my plan.

I would have thought that Ioudaia would have been conquered by now, but the AI just can't get their stuff together. They'll besiege it now and then, but rarely ever complete the siege. The whole AI for the Demetrids is acting quite stupid. But I'm adding that to the roleplaying that they lack any true leadership. They aren't really a challenge, but the AI rarely ever is.

I was thinking about spawning some armies for the Demetrids when I attack them next. But I should probably wait so that I fight an actual army all at once and not just groups of two Pezhetairoi here an there.

Nothing beats the AI willingly agreeing on a ceasefire and attacking the same turn again. I try to keep my calm, but if I ever met the AI in person, I'd give him a serious beating for being so bewilderingly stupid.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Cool update. Did you have to cheat to create that Lakonian aggression, or did they act on their own?

[Chaotix]

I think they did it on their own, but MAA definitely left the southern Greek cities completely undefended to encourage them.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

The Spartans didn't really do anything until I started "poking at them". That is to say, they just stood there in a half stack next to Sparte for a long time. Then I took the tiny garrison of Thessaly and attacked their half stack, auto-calc'd, and lost. Then, they started moving and took most of Hellas, which was undefended.

[Europe]

I have been reading this AAR since chapter 4 or 6, (The Antigonid Dynasty). Because I have been lurking for a year now I guess I should say
Very Nice!

[Strategos Alexandros]

Haven't read this for a while (exams=) but good updates, I really want to see what happens to Sparta.