From the Ionian to the Indos: A Seleukid AAR

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

I get a feeling of unsupportable heat by just looking at these canned guys...

This battle must have been a nightmare. I hate it when it gets into such chaos.

[Swordmaster]

I think you should push Baktria into their historical position in the far south-east of the map.

I've been considering retaking the lands I've lost to them (some rebelled, some gifted) and restoring them to being a single-province satrapy, more so because Theodoros is in the vicinity with his army. But in the end I didn't feel like weakening them too much in this stage of the game. I'll wait until they decide to attack me, which should have happened a long time ago but hasn't for some reason.

[Swordmaster]

I get a feeling of unsupportable heat by just looking at these canned guys...

This battle must have been a nightmare. I hate it when it gets into such chaos.

I played it twice. The first time, I killed Leontiskos early on, which made the whole thing rather ludicrous to continue. The second time, these elephants did really smart things to my line, forcing me to spend way too much attention to that part of the battle instead of trying to do something with those canned guys. Their heavy armour wasn't very handy when they had to run from the elephants. But in the end, the atmosphere was pretty much like I'd wanted it, successor battles in the desert. Sort of an exercise for later on.

[QuintusSertorius]

I've been considering retaking the lands I've lost to them (some rebelled, some gifted) and restoring them to being a single-province satrapy, more so because Theodoros is in the vicinity with his army. But in the end I didn't feel like weakening them too much in this stage of the game. I'll wait until they decide to attack me, which should have happened a long time ago but hasn't for some reason.

Retake them, give them to Pahlava. Then we get a more historical expanding Parthia, and you conveniently put someone in between you and Baktria, so they become someone else's problem. Don't a fair few of those provinces have Pahlava as their "faction creator" anyway?

I played it twice. The first time, I killed Leontiskos early on, which made the whole thing rather ludicrous to continue. The second time, these elephants did really smart things to my line, forcing me to spend way too much attention to that part of the battle instead of trying to do something with those canned guys. Their heavy armour wasn't very handy when they had to run from the elephants. But in the end, the atmosphere was pretty much like I'd wanted it, successor battles in the desert. Sort of an exercise for later on.

Hmmm, now you've got me thinking about having my own houserule for battles that not only won't I target enemy generals, but I'll make an effort not to kill them even when they suicide-charge my line.

[Swordmaster]

Retake them, give them to Pahlava. Then we get a more historical expanding Parthia, and you conveniently put someone in between you and Baktria, so they become someone else's problem. Don't a fair few of those provinces have Pahlava as their "faction creator" anyway?

That wouldn't make sense. Game-wise, I gave Aria and Margiana to Baktria to prevent them from being taken by the Parthians (Parthia and Baktria are still allies). I want to bring Parthia to its knees, not make them stronger. My aim is to protect the Greeks in the east from the nomads, if that means allowing Baktria to gain a significant level of independence and power, so be it. They will be dealt with later on.

Remember also that we're not going the historical way. The Arche Seleukeia shall not perish, least of all by the hands of Roman diplomats and generals!

Hmmm, now you've got me thinking about having my own houserule for battles that not only won't I target enemy generals, but I'll make an effort not to kill them even when they suicide-charge my line.

There's only so much you can do. If he decides to attack my phalanx head-on, he'll die.

[Maion Maroneios]

Excellent AAR so far Swordmaster! Finally an epic AS one! I realy hope you will come to kick some Romaios @$$ later on:)

[Swordmaster]

Excellent AAR so far Swordmaster! Finally an epic AS one! I realy hope you will come to kick some Romaios @$$ later on:)

Thanks! I'm sure those pesky legions will start showing up somewhere around 190 BC.

[Swordmaster]

11. Parthia's fortunes reversed

A few months after his first victory over the Parthians, Theodoros was attacked anew, this time by the army which had defeated Alexandros earlier on. Its forces had weakened, however, and apparently the leadership had changed, too, now in the hands of one Shapourvaraz. The basileus heard that there had been internal problems all over the Parthian realm ever since the death of King Arsakes' son and heir.


Theodoros tried to gain a height advantage before the forces finally met.


His line-up was compact and mobile, ready to counter whatever the Parthians had in store. The spearmen and peltastai were concentrated on the left, where the basileus expected the fiercest fighting.


Theodoros was not impressed by their cavalry, however.


He ordered his slingers forward; only a king could demand such loyalty from his men that they did not break under the rain of arrows.


A unit of Parthians felt like having a good charge. Which flank?


Hear, hear - left flank.


The Syrians' compact formation, however, made that they would soon be surrounded by spearmen and decimated.


Theodoros sent part of his cavalry after the other Parthian horses, also on the left flank.


All the while the Syrian archers firing their bolts of death from behind the sturdy phalanx.


Sandwich tactics. The charging party here is that of Strouthion Syriakos, only son of Theodoros' brother Sarpedon.


Most of the cavalry fighting continued on the left, while the Parthian infantry had almost caught up to join the battle. Theodoros now personally joined the fight.


The thorakitai proved to be very reliable men.


The royal bodyguards in action.


By the time the infantry arrived, most of the Parthian cavalry had already been dispersed.


The Syrian cavalry had free rein in mopping up light infantry.


The Parthian phalanx thought it was being quite smart sandwiching one of the Seleukid units.


Not!


The whole affair was over. Brave men had turned to routing rabbits.


Theodoros didn't join the chase but followed the scene from afar.


Victory in Khoarene - at last, after so many humiliating defeats for the Arche Seleukeia.

The Seleukids spent winter not far from Apameia, and when they approached the city in early spring the following year, the Parthian garrison made haste and took to their heels. Theodoros entered the Greek city with pomp and glory in 241 BC, his twentieth year of reign.

===

Next will be another update from the Parthian Wars.

[Gaivs]

Awesome stuff! About time we see a victorious Seleukid in an AAR. Well done :)

[Swordmaster]

12. Parthia forced to its knees


Map of Theodoros' eastern campaign.

Theodoros remained in Apameia for the rest of the year, allowing his troops some rest and himself to gather more information about the Parthian defenses further up north. He would go back the way he came, into Hyrkania and thence invade Parthia proper from the north, avoiding the large stretch of desert that separated Apameia and Hekatompylos. The overall campaign would take longer than he had hoped, though, and he already started out with a delay, late in the summer of 240 BC.

Almost exactly one year later, the Hyrkanian capital fell before his forces, the Parthians again fleeing without offering any real chance of confrontation. Theodoros continued north and on the border of Astauene, he met one of the last Parthian forces willing to withstand him, even though that didn't mean much. He scored victory after victory, and in late 238 BC, broke through the gates of the Parthian capital Hekatompylos and conclusively terminated their imperial dreams. Parthia was on its knees, its foremost nobles had been slain, its armies wrecked and dispersed. Theodoros, not wanting to continue hunting nomads on the steppes, agreed to a peace treaty by which Astauene was returned to the Arche Seleukeia, and Alexandros Syriakos returned from captivity.

Upon entering Hekatompylos, Theodoros adopted the name of Antiochos, in honour of his father, setting a tradition in the Seleukid dynasty.

Some shots from the campaign:


Khoarene, 241 BC


Hyrkania, 240 BC


Hyrkania, 239 BC


Parthia, 238 BC


Parthia, 238 BC


Parthia, 238 BC


Peace treaty, 238 BC





Last of the Parthians. All other FMs slain.


Credit to the Lonchophoroi Hippeis.


The world in 237 BC. Never mind Roman expansion, I may interfere later on.

===

Next: Theodoros/Antiochos goes east.

[Chaotix]

Nice job smashing the Parthians there. What's up with Alexandros? How'd you role play him being captured?

Are you going to subdue the Baktrian traitors next?

[IndianPrince]

AMAZING AAR SM !!! Itz really quiite epic !!!

Oh btw plz do hurry to the Indos bit ... eagerly awaiting u confronting Indians ^_^

Prince

[Swordmaster]

Nice job smashing the Parthians there. What's up with Alexandros? How'd you role play him being captured?

Are you going to subdue the Baktrian traitors next?

I had Alexandros captured because as the only capable general other than the king himself, he could have led a second army to make the whole affair even more quickly over and done with, and give me more overkill towards Parthia. I tried to keep it a little challenging and have my best general removed, but in that last battle of him he just wouldn't die, whatever I tried, so I had him "captured".

Baktria... almost. See next update, probably.

[Swordmaster]

AMAZING AAR SM !!! Itz really quiite epic !!!

Oh btw plz do hurry to the Indos bit ... eagerly awaiting u confronting Indians ^_^

Prince

Thanks! Coming soon...

[Maion Maroneios]

Another excellent update, Swordmaster! I'm really enjoying this one! I hope you quickly solidify your eastern front and turn your Imperial eyes towards the west. Ah, how nice it is to interfere with smaller factions when you are the ''big'' guy

[QuintusSertorius]

Swordmaster, interesting that our two AARs are running pretty much level on number of reads.

[Swordmaster]

Swordmaster, interesting that our two AARs are running pretty much level on number of reads.

Indeed. Those who read your AAR will probably also read mine, and vica versa.

[Swordmaster]

Another excellent update, Swordmaster! I'm really enjoying this one! I hope you quickly solidify your eastern front and turn your Imperial eyes towards the west. Ah, how nice it is to interfere with smaller factions when you are the ''big'' guy

Exactly. Except that those smaller factions all add up to a big deal of irritation!

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Nice updates. I love the idea of the history-book-like campaign map. Did you guide the Roman expansion? Which factions occupies Pergamon? And now I want to see some detailed screenshots of Hellenes fighting Indian guild warriors.

[Swordmaster]

13. To India

King Antiochos Theos didn't spend much time in Hekatompylos. He installed some of his most capable governors in the recently reconquered regions, and dispatched messengers to Diodotos of Baktria demanding he send contingents of archers and spearmen to help strengthening the garrisons in the area. The satrap was quick to comply to any of Antiochos' requests, fully aware of his formal overlord's military presence.

The basileus left Parthia early in 237 BC, and travelled east through Aria, where he met Diodotos personally for the first and last time. He received vital supplies and a number of support troops from the Baktrians, but didn't linger any longer than necessary among the untrustworthy easterners. He travelled further east to the remotest regions of his realm and spent winter in Prophthasia, where most soldiers had expected their journey to end. But Antiochos was too ambitious for that, and wanted to cement his legacy by repeating the deeds of his grandfather Seleukos - marching straight onto the Indos.

The long column marched onwards as spring came and crossed the Helmand into Arachosia. Although not formally part of the Arche Seleukeia anymore, there was no resistance in the region, apart from the city of Alexandria which was held by a local lord. Antiochos' appearance, however, compelled the man to surrender without fight, and he was allowed to retain his status within the city as a client to the Seleukid king. He even displayed his generous hospitality as the army wintered nearby and Antiochos was guest at his court.

The next year, the Seleukids crossed the mountain passes as soon as weather permitted and advanced into India proper, where Antiochos would reaffirm the celebrated peace between the Mauryan and Seleukid empires that their ancestors had engineered. But the territories around the Indos were not firmly controlled by the Mauryan ruler, and a local rebel had taken power in Patala. Of course, Antiochos was a skilled politician, and turned this situation to his full favour. He sent an embassy to the emperor and struck a deal with him, agreeing to expel the rebels from Patala in exchange for definitely settling the border between both realms at the Indos, returning all lands west of it to Seleukid control.

Thus, Antiochos crossed the Indos late in 235 BC and enjoyed the mild winter in the region. He did a number of minor skirmishes until he came upon a force the Patalan ruler had sent.


The forces met in a dry region east of the Indos.


The Patalan forces maintained a loose formation, but had brought elephants as shock troops.


Antiochos' forces were hardened by years of campaigning, and not that easily upset, though.


The enemy's cavalry was not particularly heavy; Antiochos ordered his horsemen to disperse those.


The Greeks were surprised by the longbowmen's nasty knives, though.


The elephants charged and broke the Seleukid centre, destabilizing the whole battle formation. They made few casualties, though, as the phalangites were experienced and responded quickly to commands.


The phalanx commander knew that there was a thin line between retreating too early and retreating too late. There was a good deal of luck involved, too.


Thus the Indian warriors could gain little advantage out of the gaps in the line.


The hellenic peltastai skillfully cut down most elephants.


The phalangitai moved back into position.


The Babylonians helped repelling the infiltrating troops.


But when not faced with phalangitai, the Indians were superior in arms.


The enemy general had been able to bring the routing elephants back into battle, but again they did little more than plod amongst their own troops.


Their cavalry didn't make a big difference, either.


Seeing their elephants and general flee the battle, most Indians took to their heels.


Run to the hills, fellas.


Victory was ours.

Despite being fully capable of asserting his reign all along the Indos, Antiochos did little to claim his promised territory. He knew that his sovereignty in these parts could have been merely nominal, for how could he control the Indos if he had not even laid low the treacherous Baktrians?

The Mauryan emperor, however, had misunderstood Antiochos' position, and had expected him to further advance into India. As such it surprised the Seleukid king when an ambassador arrived, offering him a deal of continued peace in exchange for a contingent of 650 war elephants. Thus he had been even more successful than Seleukos Nikator had ever been, gaining both territory and access to weapons that were increasingly rare and valuable in hellenic warfare.

Thus it came to pass that Antiochos II consolidated his entire eastern border save for that of the Baktrian satrapy, and even gained armoured elephants in the process. He was at the top of his power, and his foes trembled before the idea that he might ship these mighty beasts to the west.


Which he did.

[Swordmaster]

And now I want to see some detailed screenshots of Hellenes fighting Indian guild warriors.

There you go.

Nice updates. I love the idea of the history-book-like campaign map. Did you guide the Roman expansion? Which factions occupies Pergamon?

Thanks. I restored some of the balance in Europe shortly after this battle, setting back the Romans and Sweboz and aiding the Aedui. The latter were pretty dead, I was just in time to save them. So no, on the maps you've seen so far, I haven't done anything except keep the Koinon Hellenon alive on the peninsula and keep Hayasdan out of the steppes.

Pergamon is Epeiros, of course, dedicated to QuintusSertorius. The main focus of the next half a dozen of updates, perhaps.

[QuintusSertorius]

Nifty, so you'll be facing some Epeiros-as-Pergamon soon? Makes sense in a lot of ways to take them out of that already fraught contest in Greece and add some western Greek to the eastern in Anatolia.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

I demanded cool photos and here they are. Cool.

[Swordmaster]

Nifty, so you'll be facing some Epeiros-as-Pergamon soon? Makes sense in a lot of ways to take them out of that already fraught contest in Greece and add some western Greek to the eastern in Anatolia.

Actually, I'm just out to show you how to properly behave for a Pergamene king (read: Seleukid client ruler).

[Swordmaster]

I demanded cool photos and here they are. Cool.

I'm sure now you're going to demand pictures of Seleukid armies marching through Wales or Scandinavia or battling Lusitanians or whatever.

Forget it.

[Tyrfingr]

A most impressive AAR, I've spent the last hour reading it along with QuintusSertorius "Epeiros-as-Pergamon", this is the coolest AAR on the block.

[QuintusSertorius]

Actually, I'm just out to show you how to properly behave for a Pergamene king (read: Seleukid client ruler).

Did you use create_unit at all to give them more authentic looking armies? After all Pergamon weren't big on phalanxes or elephants. Used loads of mercs/regionals too.

[Swordmaster]

A most impressive AAR, I've spent the last hour reading it along with QuintusSertorius "Epeiros-as-Pergamon", this is the coolest AAR on the block.

Thanks!

Did you use create_unit at all to give them more authentic looking armies? After all Pergamon weren't big on phalanxes or elephants. Used loads of mercs/regionals too.

So far, they haven't given me a chance to do so. Showed up with full stacks of hoplites on my doorstep only a few turns after I installed them in Pergamon.

[QuintusSertorius]

So far, they haven't given me a chance to do so. Showed up with full stacks of hoplites on my doorstep only a few turns after I installed them in Pergamon.

Ha! Eager to show they won't be a pushover like your other client states. They're a proud Successor to Alexander after all!

[Maion Maroneios]

Great update again, Swordmaster! I want to see those nasty elephantes trample the Ptolemaioi soon