The Pyrrhic Dynasty : A Makedonian AAR

[SwissBarbar]

Yes, but you should read it, theres a new threat in the east, which promises amazing struggles. It'll blow your mind

[Chirurgeon]

Im so embarrased...I was gone longer than I thought!

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

When you left Pyrrhos II was fighting the civil war? Pyrrhos died of old age and his second son Philippos became Basileus Philippos V of Makedonia. Soon after becoming Basileus, Philippos launched a massive invasion of Syria and brought down the rival Demetrid dynasty (though the last of the Demetrid line still lives and serves as a general in Philippos' armies). Not all territories were recovered, though. Aigyptos rebelled and many territories in the east were lost to the Median Empire. Philippos spent his reign retaking Aigyptos and Nubia, conquering the Mauretanian coast, and fighting the Iberian Confederation one last time to get access to the British tin trade. Meanwhile, Pahlava was reborn and utterly crushed the Arche Seleukeia, with help from the Median Empire. The two powers have since formed a federated unification in the Neo-Persian Empire and invaded the Arche Makedonia in force, destroying the Babylonian client-kingdom. Alypios Antigonos, only son of Philippos (and only male member of the royal family of his generation), has taken command of the armies of the east in order to hold off Persian invasion while building an army. And, as always, the noble council in Makedonia has been plotting.

There was also a war with Sab'yn, but none of the royal family was involved and no territory offically gained by the Arche Makedonia.

I'll have a map in my next chapter, I just didn't have one that matched up the situation for the last chapter.

[Antinous]

This is going to be so great!!!

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Chapter 94 : Rock Bottom

In the winter of the year 143BC, a fleet of ships arrives in the port cities of Kantabria from the Pontos Mesogeios. The fleet, made up of many small and medium sized ships, is commanded by Admiral Menelaos. This fleet would soon embark on an adventure like those of myth and stories of old:


Trade connections had been established to the islands in the north, but all of the trading was currently being conducted by traders coming down from the islands or local Keltoi going up to the islands and returning. Philippos had ordered Admiral Menelaos to gather a fleet and to sail it north to make the way clear for Hellenic trade fleets as well as assess the possibility of establishing trade colonies in the future.

Admiral Menelaos is no fool, prior to his journey around Iberia, the admiral had visited Karchedon. Thanks to Pyrrhos, the city of Karchedon had been left intact and relatively unharmed by those Makedones who sought retribution. In the great libraries of Karchedon, Admiral Meneloas copied charts and descriptions of the ancient Karchedoi explorers and traders. To most Makedones, these documents had been something sitting on an old shelf and were simply passed over by sailor and scholar alike. Admiral Menelaos knew they would be needed on the journey ahead of them, for he was not just to find the islands but also to chart them and make contact with the inhabitants.

In Kantabria, the admiral refits his ships for the travel. He had learned the hard way that ships designed for the Mesogeios Pontos were not well suited for the "Megas" Pontos. After this journey, Admiral Menelaos also found many men were deserting, not wishing to go through an even longer version of such a trips. So, Admiral Menelaos puts out a call for new soldiers and sailors. Many Hellenes and Makedones of the western Arche, who seek adventure, volunteer for the quest. Local Kantabrians and Keltoi also joined the crews of the ships as sailors, guilds, translators, and navigators. In the coming years, the mismatched men of Admiral Menelaos' fleet would definately have a trip worthy of inclusion in the cronicles of great tales...

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Arabia

The winter of 143BC and spring of 142BC brought warfare to the lands of Arabia, once again. After quite some time of reconstruction, the Kingdom of Sab'yn finally manages to rebuild its miliatry forces and launch and counter-attack at the minor kingdoms that years prior had split off from its empire.

The closest, and almost always troubled, land is the Kingdom of Carna. Just outside the lands of the Sab'yn, this city had been the furthest push of Chrysoloras Delphikos and his army of Makedones. Now, the king of the city has to defend his lands from an army of those who were once his overlords with only locally raised troops. After months of siege, the Sab'yn army grew tired of waiting in the desert and attacked the walls of the city:


The defenders of the city had had practice defending the walls, and they make easy sport out of the large, unarmored army that approached the walls. Some Sab'yn soldiers, especially those with some form of armor, manage to get atop the walls with their ladders and force the defenders to fight to defender their city:


Although the Sab'yn soldiers who get atop the walls are better trained and equiped than the defenders, too much of the Sab'yn army had fallen before it even reached the walls and the army of Sab'yn had no chance for success:


When the last of the Sab'yn army falls dead or flees from the field, the city of Carna knew it is safe once again... for now, that is. A battle had been won against the odds, but news soon comes that that another Sab'yn army is on the way to force the city into surrender:


A few months later, an of the Sab'yn moves east to the Kingdom of Zufar. This lightly populated region of Arabia had been freed from the Kingdom of Sab'yn by the Aigyptoi army but had never been expected to holdout long. To the surprise of all those concerned, the Kingdom of Sab'yn had not sent an army to retake the region once the Aigyptoi moved into Maka, and the Kingdom of Zufar became officially established.

Although they had become independant and established and army, the Kingdom of Zufar has little money, people, or resources. When the Kingdom of Sab'yn finally comes to "put down the rebellion" in sping 142BC, the Kingdom of Zufar is little prepared:


By the time the enemy army is to the city of Ubar, it is too late to fight a battle in open field. The city's defenders decide to force the Sab'yn troops into street fighting within the small town. Therefore, the army takes up position in the city market:


The Sab'yn army moves into the city. While a small group moves around the edges of the city, the bulk of the army marches into the streets. The streets quickly narrow and the Sab'yn army finds thems already wedged in before they even face their enemy:


The king of Carna takes the cavalry and chases off the flanking troops with ease, giving his infantry the morale boost of knowing they will only have to worry about an attack from one side, down a single narrow street.

The spearmen of Carna hold their ground and use the tight space to negate their enemy's numerical superiority:


The battle lasts for some time. It seems to be a stand off, but the city defenders slowly begin to loose the fight. Being pushed back into the market square, and tiring, the battle begins to look lost. Suddenly, the entire Sab'yn army turns and runs from the city:


At first the men of Carna are confused, but the confusion lasts only a moment. Soon bravado takes over. The spearmen of Carna charge forward and pursue their fleeing enemy. They only travel a single city block before they find themselves facing their enemy once again:


By mistake or design, the Sab'yn army draws the Carna infantry from the market square and into an open intersection. Now, the Carna defenders are force to fight their enemy on two different sides.

The situation soon becomes worse when the king of Carna calls back a group of spearmen to help fight off the Sab'yn cavalry which had out-fought the Carna cavalry and chased them back into the city around the back:


The Sab'yn cavalry quickly fall dead by the spears, but the army of Carna remains outnumbered. When the enemy general dies, the Sab'yn army breaks once again. This time the king orders his men not to pursue, fearing another false retreat.

Once it becomes clear this isn't a feint, the king orders his cavalry out but keeps his infantry in the city, just to be careful. The disorganized and broken Sab'yn soldiers flee into the desert and disappear:


Somehow, the tiny army of Zufar repel the large army from Sab'yn, but loose almost a third of their army in the process:


Although victory is achieved by both the Kingdom of Carna and the Kingdom of Zufar, a new wave of request for military aid arrive in Syria. Alypios Antigonos now must add war in Arabia to his great pile of troubles. If aid is not sent, it is possible the Arabian kingdoms will break their treaties with the Arche Makedonia or possibly even rejoin the Kingdom of Sab'yn.

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The Keltoi

Just as in Arabia but on the far side of the Arche, a Makedonian allied buffer state is in risk of falling.

In the wake of the destruction dealt by the Romaioi in Gallia, the Arche Makedonia (through the family of Pyrrhos II) had restored the lands and title of the Arverni kings. Prior to the Romaioi invasion, the Arverni kings had ruled over many different tribes. Since their return to power they had been finding it hard to control many of these foreign tribes, especially those that had been untouched by Romaioi power. For many years, the Arverni and their subserviant allies in Sequallia had been physically devided by the Aedui Confederation. Thus, the Sequallia had been subserviant to the Arverni in name only and ruled themselves. However, the recent renewal of war and the Arverni conquest of Lugonesis had physically reunited the two broken territories. The Arverni kings once again tried to dominated the Sequallia, but the Sequallia kings had grown accustomed to autonomy.

When the Aedui and their confederation once again came to make war with the Arverni, the Arverni found little support from people who were supposed to be within their own kingdom. The tribes of the north had found new leadership in the Sequallia tribe (who had protected and lead these lesser tribes in the times of the Romaioi conquest and during the time isolated from the Arverni). The northern tribes have left the Arverni to face the Aedui alone:


The Arverni, Aedui, and Sequallia had managed to gain control over all the Keltoi tribes in the west (that did not live within part of the Arche Makedonia), but to the east there was still the Kingdom of Bononia, north of the Istros. Once a great power in the region, the Boii had lost territories to Germanic invaders, the Arche Makedonia, and the Getic Confederation. The Boii are far from destroyed, though. They had resisted invasions from Germania, Lugia, and Getai but still stand strong and are ready to rise again.

Discontentment had been growing for some time in Pannonia over the mismanagement of the aged Makedonian "advisor to the satrapy". Once a great man, this distant relative to Philippos had lost the majority of his mind in his old age. Due to high taxes and cultural differences between the locals and the Hellenistic settlers, it does not take much to push the region over the edge.

In the summer of 142BC, the keltoi of Pannonia lead a revolt against the Makedonian governor and threw out the garrison. The anger of the rebels manifest itself in the destruction of the Katoikai and the murder of Hellenistic settlers:


Once the Makedones are overthrown, however, the Boii make their move and quickly annex the region. The speed and intent of the Boii lead many to believe the whole rebellion had been orchestrated by the Kingdom of Bononia to begin with, but there is little evidence to prove this.

The Arche Makedonia is now faced with war in Arabia, Nubia, Numidia, Babylonia, Armenia, and Iberia as well as rebellion, corruption, and possible large scale betrayal. A few years prior, Basileus Philippos had thought that the Arche had finally been repaired of its troubles caused by the civil war, but now a whole new set of troubles come at him, all at once.

For now, the Basileus must delay his plans once again and face one trouble at a time. Rebellion in Pannonia cannot be tolerated. The greatest mistake of the Pannonioi and Boii is that they had not noticed the Makedonian Basileus and his four armies just across the border of Pannonia, in Illyria. When the scale of the rebellion is revealed, Philippos quickly orders his armies to march north and put it down before it spreads to the Alpine satrapy or threatens Illyria:


Basileus Philippos V also sees this as a great way to test his new military concepts of the Thorakitai in large scale, and practically within sight of the Noble Council of Pella.

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The known world in 142BC:

Next: Chapter 95 : The Boii

[Chirurgeon]

Wow this is great. I like the part about Iberia. Those mysterious Islands to the north and their even more mysterious inhabitants will come to light soon. How exciting. I have yet to see a major clash with the Hellenistic world and the Casse. Sounds intriguing.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Wow, this is so intriguing! A five-star-chapter in my opinion.

[Antinous]

Arche seems similar to the kingdom of Alexandros the great after his death.

Keep crankin out the storys.

[SwissBarbar]

Very nice chapter

[julius_caesar_the_first]

So the Arche reached rock bottom? Good. Now the only way left to go is up.

Keep up the great work MAA

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Thanks. I plan to write a whole story about the adventures in Britain. It will probably be first person and completely made up.

The next chapter is a different style and is actually just an introduction to the chapter after it. I have already written the next chapter, but feel like rewritting it again because I don't really like its feel. I'll probably post it in less than a week this time, though.

[Kuningaz]

Really great chapter. Please dont annihilate Vindobona I was born there

[machinor]

Really great chapter. Please dont annihilate Vindobona I was born there

And I'm living there right now!

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

You have got no plans for Heruskolandam, have you?

[Kuningaz]

And I'm living there right now!

Well I live in Aquae now (figure out which town that is) but I'm currently on a students exchange in Mexico all the way across the megas pontos

[machinor]

Well I live in Aquae now (figure out which town that is) but I'm currently on a students exchange in Mexico all the way across the megas pontos

I'm not that geeky to know all of the Roman era names of Europe's cities.
Aaaah Mexico... always wanted to go there. I hope you enjoy your exchange!

[ollicompolli]

Wow...this is amazing...

[gamegeek2]

Longest AAR ever. No doubt.

[julius_caesar_the_first]

I wonder if MAA could get this AAR registered officially as a World Record.

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Now tat would be EPIC!!!!
I mean a world record

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

I haven't even been to any of the places in Total War games, save the Yucatan (M2TW). But don't worry, I haven't any plans to burn down anyone's home town... right now.

"The Antigonids" was introduced on 6 October 2007. I've been writting this AAR for almost a year and half. That seems too long to write an AAR...

I had planned to post the next chapter sooner, but over the weekend I realized that I don't have access to the computer I wrote it on until Tuesday (tommorrow). Though, that's somewhat of a good thing. I had an exam today and midterms tommorrow and the day after, so I should / am concentrating on studying for those. Once again, I've failed to meet my own arbitrary AAR dateline.

[Mediolanicus]

Don't worry about missing your deadline, youe fans can wait (although with impatience, but we understand).

Good luck with those exams and midterms! (what's the difference between those two actually?)

[Chirurgeon]

I can't tell you how many deadlines I have missed. Alas the fans are so addicted to these things we keep coming back. In the grand scheme of things it doesnt matter! Take your time on the update and don't sweat it :)

[Kuningaz]

I'm not that geeky to know all of the Roman era names of Europe's cities.

Hahaha well me neither, but I know my hometown's name (from latin classes^^). Well, it's Baden

Aaaah Mexico... always wanted to go there. I hope you enjoy your exchange!

You bet your a** I do Just can't play EB properly because the battles won't work on my new lap

[Aemilius Paulus]

Don't worry about missing your deadline, youe fans can wait (although with impatience, but we understand).

Good luck with those exams and midterms! (what's the difference between those two actually?)

Absolutely right.

We can all wait, and your RL is much more important than this, as much as most of us would hate to admit it. What you make on the midterms will be pivotal in your life, while this... Well, you know. I have had to largely withdraw from the main forums myself, due to school, restricting my .Org activity to the EB Tavern and User Profile conversations.

BTW, if you do not win the .Org Hall of Fame with your AAR, I am going to mobilize all of the peole on EB Forums on a revolution! Seriously, out of all the people in the entire TW community, I doubt anyone can match what you did. You have the best game to do an AAR on, and your AAR itself is incredibly long and masterfully written. Are you going to Conquer the World? That would be quite interesting, especially as most EB/your AAR fans would not be able to handle the end of this epic story. I hope EB II will not come out until you finish this mother.

P.S. How did AARs come about? Who "invented" them, if such thing is possible?

[machinor]

Hahaha well me neither, but I know my hometown's name (from latin classes^^). Well, it's Baden


You bet your a** I do Just can't play EB properly because the battles won't work on my new lap

Aaaaah Baden... famous from the Karlsplatz metro announcer's "...und zur Lokalbahn nach Baden".
I'm from the Raetia-Noricum-border orginally. Now try to find out, where that is.
We should get back to the topic, though.

Hopefully, the Arche will be able to aid its client kingdoms in Arabia. Or else some of the minor kings who currently depend on mighty Makedonia might think about splitting from the empire since they don't get any fast help from the basileus. It would seem that the task of managing an empire and distributing one's attention equally does not become easier with increasing size of that empire.



EDIT:
AARs were simple After Action Reports (as the name suggest), where players would tell about their battles or campaigns. Those simple reports evolved into today's more narrative tales which often are rather inspired by than about the actual campaign. I don't think that there is a distinct inventor or creator of this kind of thing. You may see it as some kind of evolution without a distinct turning point (very much like in history). At least there is no inventor I know of... however, AARs in their current form were already around for some time when I first came into contact with the Total-War-series online comunity, so I might not be the ultimate source.

[Kuningaz]

Aaaaah Baden... famous from the Karlsplatz metro announcer's "...und zur Lokalbahn nach Baden".
I'm from the Raetia-Noricum-border orginally. Now try to find out, where that is.

Hm, Wikipedia tells me it's got to be in the beautiful Bundesland of Tirol, but of course I got no idea which town
Now that's really enough off topic, sorry

[V.T. Marvin]

If I may add a completely personal recollection on the AAR evolution: I was lurking RTW forums since it came out (mostly twcenter - RTR forms then), but for some reason was never much interested in AARs until Arsacese (aka Obelics) started his epic Waste Land. For me it was a revelation and I dare to say a turning point for many.

Well that really seems like a prehistory now. Even to the point that his opus magnum survived till today in fragments only due to the tragic loss of twcenter server

I just hope that MAA has his story backuped safely for the sake of posterity. Alas! People and computers are mortal, but memory of the glorious past shall survive! And this story surely shall too.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Well, I'm done with all of my exams. (Now I have to look forward to two papers I have to write in the next couple weeks.)

I had an odd dream last night that I watch the Battle of Thermopolyae, in person, then went home and wrote an AAR about it on my computer. So I woke up encouraged to work on my AAR. I'm still not happy about the format, so it might take until tommorrow before I post it, though.

Managing a huge empire is difficult, even though I have to roleplay some of that difficutly. I don't ever plan to conquer the whole maps since I'm roleplaying this campaign. I roleplay that the steppes and desert are unconquerable and that the Europeans are un managable (ala Romans in Germany --> Varus). Coastal "barbarian" regions are conquerable, but I don't plan to go into Germany, or even Gaul really. I might even roleplay difficulties in Arabia, Nubia, and Iberia (the game made difficulties for me in Pannonia by itself).

I do have a copy of the complete AAR on my harddrive, but it seems more likely that my computer will die than the fora.

By the way, it seems I won the HOF award. I just want to thank everyone who voted for me (I voted for Chirurgeon).

[Chirurgeon]

Congrats man! you totally deserve it! Thanks for all your continued support with all the AARs on the forum. This has to be one of the most Active AAR forums around and the community is wonderful