Blood & Gold 3.0

[Russian]

Originally Posted by Basileus Giorgios

I echo the call for maps- they're always very helpful, I find.

That's the biggest Arabia I get for this period

Endymion, you could use some photoshop for arrows and the like. Even microsoft 'paint' will do.

[Elfwine]

A useful site for maps of the Asia Minor and surrounding areas:

http://rbedrosian.com/Maps/maps.html

[Russian]

A little bit of art did not hurt anyone

[Endymion]

Click to enlarge. The orange represents the allies and dependencies of Megas Alexandros.

[Endymion]

Also, on a side note, I think that I may return to using the Common Era reckoning for years and months in the majority of entries, though I will provide the Argead dating at the beginning for a general idea.

[Socrates]

Originally Posted by Endymion

Also, on a side note, I think that I may return to using the Common Era reckoning for years and months in the majority of entries, though I will provide the Argead dating at the beginning for a general idea.

I prefer the Argead dating, both in terms of authenticity, but also because dates going upwards make more sense in my head. (It inevitably makes your brain conceive of the BCE era as counting down to something, rather than having its own development - can't we convert to the HE system already?)

[Endymion]

Originally Posted by Socrates

I prefer the Argead dating, both in terms of authenticity, but also because dates going upwards make more sense in my head. (It inevitably makes your brain conceive of the BCE era as counting down to something, rather than having its own development - can't we convert to the HE system already?)

You know, that's actually a really good point that I never considered. I just may keep things as they are...

[Cuāuhtemōc]

Keep the Argead dating system.

[Endymion]

The Later Conquests of Megas Alexandros
Part II: Of Aphrikē and Sikilia

Upon landing at Hērōopolis, Megas Alexandros and his forces made to return to Babylōn, marching north through Aigyptos and Syria. However, the Great King made several important stops along the way, first halting to personally view the construction of his great city of Alexandreia-in-Aigyptos, then again stopping in Syria at the site of Tyros to refound the ruined city as the Hellenic colony of Philippoi (after his father) and finally, and perhaps most peculiarly, at the fields of Gaugamēla. There, both in honour of his previous victory there and his recent successes in Arabia, he erected an altar and offered sacrifices to Zeus Ammōn and Athēna Nikē, on the first day of Peritios in year 13 of the Argead Era. Whether this was in fulfillment of an earlier private oath taken before departing for Arabia is unknown, although it is known that Gaugamēla would always have a strong significance to the Great King as the battle’s site and date marked the beginning of the Argead Era of the Macedonian Calendar. It is said that Megas Alexandros made his triumphant return to Babylōn on the tenth day of Xandikos, accompanied not only by his victorious troops, of which there were well over 20,000 at this time who had returned with him from the campaign, but also thousands of captured slaves and well over 30,000 talents worth of incense, gold and looted treasures, much of which having been taken in the sack of Mariaba. The celebrations for this victory lasted nine days and included not only the customary sacrifices to Zeus Ammōn, Athēna Nikē and Hēraklēs, but also offerings to the native Syrioi [1] deities Mylitta and Mardochaios.

Olympias, still residing at Pella where Krateros ruled as the King’s epitropos in Eurōpē, wrote to her son to congratulate him on his recent triumph soon after his return to Babylōn:

“…my son, you have now bested all the kings who came before you, and probably all those who shall come after. For Megas Kyros never crossed the Indos River with his men; the great lord Dionysos, who is said to have conquered the lands of India, did not subjugate the whole of Asia as you have done; and there is no man, be they king or god, who to my knowledge has ever managed to penetrate as far as their wealthy lands of Eudaimōn Arabia and conquer the men of that land. Be at peace now, for your destiny is fulfilled in my eyes and those of the Moïrai. And if you be not content, then say the word and I shall come to Babylōn and soothe your weary conscious.”

Megas Alexandros was, however, neither at peace nor content, despite his many victories and conquests. Indeed, it should be noted that his recent Arabian venture had now secured for the King a near monopoly over the lucrative cultivation and trade of incense, not just in the east, but throughout the world. The Great King, however, was first and foremost a warlord and with none to make war upon he found himself prone to restlessness. Soon after his return to Babylōn, he moved the royal court to Sousa for the spring, followed by Ekbatana in the summer months, following the traditional customs of the Kings of Persis. Megas Alexandros was determined to extend his dominions even further and attain even greater glories. Thus, upon returning to Babylōn for the new year celebrations in late September, he immediately resumed his plans for a military campaign against the wealthy maritime realm of Karchēdōn, citing its people’s assistance of the city of Tyros against his forces many years before, during his conquest of Asia, as reason enough to demand retribution. Nearchos was thus dispatched from Byblos in the early spring of the year 14 with twenty ships, the majority of them triremes, on a military expedition to the west. The objectives of the navarchos were to gather as much information of tactical use as possible concerning the coasts of Sikilia and the north of Aphrikē, after which he was to sail as far as the Pillars of Hēraklēs and gather further information on the Karchēdoi colonies of Hispania. Meanwhile, Megas Alexandros began readying the massive fleet constructed several years earlier by Krateros in Kilikia, which was now anchored mainly at Tarsos and Soloi and numbered nearly 300 ships. Having heard tales of the naval prowess of the peoples of Karchēdōn, however, the Great King did not feel that this flotilla was adequate, and instead ordered many of the ships of his massive Arabian fleet dismantled in the Hērōopolitē Gulf where they were still anchored and again brought over land by wheeled carts and oxen and reassembled in Phoinikē. This process proved time consuming and difficult, and many of the Great King’s stratēgoi urged him to await the reports of Nearchos before doing so, though their protests proved to be in vain.

Meanwhile, in the midst of the Great King’s preparations, an embassy sent from the Hellēnes of Sikilia arrived in Babylōn in the summer of that same year. As the King and his court were in Ekbatana at that time, the envoys and their retinues were thus compelled to continue north upon being informed of the king’s whereabouts, and they did not finally receive an audience with Megas Alexandros until late Gorpiaios, in the halls of the ancient palace built by the King Astyagēs of Mēdia in Ekbatana just before its subsequent capture by the fabled Megas Kyros. It is said that the delegates, despite being surrounded by what they considered to be barbarian decadence and oriental excess, where nonetheless so awed by the splendor of the court, that they performed the customary proskynēsis now insisted upon by the Great King, without having to be compelled to do so as they would have in any other situation, for such was the might that the Argeadai had risen to. The emissaries informed Alexandros that they had been sent by Agathoklēs, who had recently established himself by force as tyrannos of Syrakousai. Syrakousai was the leading Hellenic power on the island of Sikilia and had established a virtual hegemony there over the other cities of the Hellēnes. The polis was also known to be a longstanding enemy of the Karchēdoi, due to the expansion of the maritime kingdom in Sikilia, where it had founded many of its own colonies. At this time, the Karchēdoi had essentially been driven out of much of Sikilia by the Hellēnes and confined to the eastern coasts of the island for the last two decades. However, Agathoklēs wished to entirely eradicate them and secure his own ambitions in Sikilia, and, having heard of the planned campaign of the mighty Megas Alexandros (whose own reputation was now known as far as the Pillars of Hēraklēs themselves) offered the Great King his allegiance and friendship. The tyrant now doubt also had his own self-preservation in mind when he sent these delegates, as if Alexandros were to successfully conquer Karchēdōn, what would stop him from imposing his authority over the Hellēnes of Sikilia and Megalē Hellas as well? Due to the tactical position of Sikilia and its benefit in any coming naval war, along with his need for allies in the west, the Great King accepted the petitions of Agathoklēs several weeks later, sending back his envoys with rich gifts of gold, silks and incense.

The reports received upon the return of Nearchos later that fall, sometime after the new year, were found to be favorable and encouraging by the Great King, who began finalizing his plans for the invasion that winter. In Dystros, the court departed Babylōn for Kilikia in order to allow the Great King and his stratēgoi to personally oversee the completion of his fleet at Tarsos, which by now included over 300 triremes, along with many skilled navigators and sailors recruited from Phoinikē and Hellas. Further, over 60,000 men had already been levied by the satrapai for the planned land campaign in Aphrikē, mostly from the peoples of Hellas, Lydia, Iōnia, Makedonia, Mēdia, Persis, Phrygia and Thrakē, many of whom were veterans of the earlier campaigns in Arabia and India. Thus, in the middle of the month of Daisios in year 16, Megas Alexandros embarked on his most ambitious military venture since crossing the Indos, setting sail from Tarsos with 400 triremes and biremes, 200 further ships, 15,000 cavalry and over 45,000 infantry. The fleet first skirted the coasts of Anatolē and Hellas before sailing across the Sea of Ionio and finally landing at Syrakousai. Due to several spells of bad weather, however, the forces of the Argeadai did not reach Sikilia until late in the month of Hyperberetaïos, less than a week before the new year; further, it was reported that several ships had been lost in the voyage, although the exact number is believed to be only somewhere between five and ten warships. Upon reaching Syrakousai, the Great King and his forces immediately set to work to striking the first blow against Karchēdōn. In early Dios, Megas Alexandros and his forces, along with their Hellenic allies led by Agathoklēs, marched west and besieged the wealthy city of Akragas, formerly a colony of Hellas and now the sole remaining stronghold of the Karchēdoi in Sikilia. Despite its excellent defenses, Akragas was swiftly taken within several weeks by the superior siege enginery of the Great King and his allies, thus destroying the only remaining foothold of Karchēdōn on the island.

King Hamilkar II of Karchēdōn, prompted by the outraged Gerousia, immediately sent an embassy to the Great King at Syrakousai, where he had opted to winter with his troops [2]. The delegates demanded that the Great King return Akragas and leave Sikilia, boldly announcing that anything short of which would be considered an open declaration of war. Furious at what he considered to be great hubris on the part of the Karchēdoi, especially after aiding his enemies in the past, Megas Alexandros ordered the king’s envoys to be put to the sword and their heads sent back to Karchēdōn as a warning, along with a counter offer: Surrender immediately to the King of Asia and be spared devastation. The Karchēdoi, however, were a proud people and their superior maritime experience and past victories in war insured that they were neither frightened nor deterred by the feared warlord.

That winter, Megas Alexandros organized his forces and planned for a massive landward invasion of Aphrikē in the spring. However, the Great King was informed by Nearchos, who as his chief navarchos was one of the leading stratēgoi of the campaign, that such a feat would be impossible without the destruction of the enemy’s powerful navy. The Great King thus set out from Syrakousai in late Xandikos, accompanied by not only his own massive fleet of nearly 600 ships, but also a further 100 triremes supplied by the tyrannos Agathoklēs, who had now proven himself an indispensible ally. The Karchēdoi, however, were by this time well informed of the Great King’s plans and had taken the winter to regroup and prepare the best of their forces. Thus, the forces of the Argeadai did not have to wait long to encounter the enemy. The full might of the navy of Karchēdōn, and commanded by its king, Hamilkar II, and numbering some 400 ships, met and engaged the Great King just off the coast of the isle of Gaulos in the Sea of Mesogeios on the twenty-third day of Artemisios in year 17. The resulting battle was long and bloody, and though the Karchēdoi clearly had the upper hand in terms of tact and skill, they were not only greatly outnumbered but also forced to face a wind that was against them [3]. The Great King also relied heavily upon the advice of Nearchos, due to his own naval expertise, and this also proved to be of immense assistance. In the end, Megas Alexandros proved victorious and Hamilkar and his forces were defeated and forced to retreat south, essentially leaving the lines of communication and travel in the eastern Sea of Mesogeios open for the forces of the Argeadai. The battle, however, had proven to be one of the most costly in the history of Makedonia, with over 150 of the Great King’s ships left destroyed and littering the sea floor—though the Karchēdoi suffered even more greatly, with Hamilkar II having lost the same number, roughly half of his fleet by most accounts. Nevertheless, the heavy cost of the victory ensured that regrouping was essential, and thus Megas Alexandros was forced to anchor his fleet off of Melitē for a time, awaiting further reinforcements from Agathoklēs and preparing for a second naval campaign.

In the early fall, the Great King thus set out for what would be his second naval campaign against the Karchēdoi, having managed to gather further ships and troops from his allies in Sikilia. The period of regrouping had also proven beneficial for Hamilkar II, who had managed to lick his own wounds and rearm himself. Megas Alexandros was thus now forced to deal with a reinforced enemy, which he now realized he would need to decisively defeat at sea in order to achieve any hope of launching his long desired land campaign. He thus found himself relying heavily on the assistance of not only Nearchos and his other navarchoi, but also Agathoklēs and the other experienced mariners from Syrakousai, who had joined him in person from Sikilia while he was at Melitē. Indeed, it is often written, and with no small grain of truth, that were it not for the Great King’s partnership and reliance upon both Agathoklēs and Nearchos, that the entire campaign against Karchēdōn would have been utterly futile and disastrous. Late in the month of Apellaïos in year 18, near the coast of Kossyra, Megas Alexandros finally encountered Hamilkar. It was there, at the famed Battle of Kossyra, that the Argeadai and their allies finally shattered the myth of Karchēdoi naval superiority—and established its successor: the myth of Hellenic maritime dominance. Though the figures are difficult to establish due to the aura of myth that surrounds the battle to this day, it is commonly accepted that some 200 of Hamilkar’s ships, over two-thirds of his fleet, and nearly 30,000 Karchēdoi sailors perished in the skirmish, compared to minimal Argeadai casualties [4]. Megas Alexandros had finally secured a decisive naval victory against the forces of Karchēdōn and, with the fall of Cossyra, secured his supply lines indefinitely.

On the first day of the month of Xandikos in year 18, Megas Alexandros landed at Thapsos, finally setting foot in Aphrikē with his forces. The situation in Karchēdōn by this time, however, had changed dramatically over the course of the last few months. Upon returning to the capital with his shattered fleet, following the disaster at Cossyra, Hamilkar had found himself disgraced and unpopular, with the powerful nobility of the Gerousia having turned against him. Seizing upon the widespread discontent, the king’s ambitious cousin and long term rival for power, Bomilkar, immediately made a bid for the throne, backed by the majority of the powerful aristocracy. Thus it came to pass that less than a month after returning to Karchēdōn, Hamilkar was brutally stabbed to death in his bed by his own guards and Bomilkar assumed the throne as King of the Karchēdoi. Bomilkar, who himself had little scruples, also managed to twist the landing of the Argeadai in Aphrikē to his own political advantage, playing upon the fears of the Gerousia and pressuring them to greatly extend his thus far limited regnal powers due to the current state of crisis. This of course only created further problems, as many of the powerful noble families of the city began to distrust the king and his ambitions and soon turned against him. Nevertheless, with the legendary Great King of Asia now swiftly advancing, the Karchēdoi had little choice but to fall behind Bomilkar and allow him to mount an expedition. Meanwhile, in Daisios, the Great King and his forces had proceeded to besiege and capture the ancient city of Hadrumēnros, dealing yet another terrible blow to the pride of the Karchēdoi, as that city had been one of the earliest colonies of Phoinikē in Libya and also one of the first cities subjugated by the rising polis of Karchēdōn after they had gained autonomy several centuries before, with the fall of Tyros to the forces of Babylōnia. It was thus regarded as an ill omen by much of the Gerousia that Hadrumēnros should be the first city of Aphrikē to fall to Alexandros and soon contributed to a loss of morale amongst the forces of Bomilkar, before his counter-attack had even begun.

That summer, Bomilkar finally marched south with his forces, at that time numbering some 35,000 men, the majority of which being mercenaries hired from the Numidioi tribes of the south. Megas Alexandros and his forces, which by now numbered some 50,000 men, excluding auxiliaries contributed by the poleis of Sikilia, did not encounter the Karchēdoi, however, until late Gorpiaios, on the plains outside the city of Neapolis. There, the Great King managed to not only break the enemy lines with his own élite hetaïroi cavalry (the majority of whom who now rode on splendid Arabian horses, supplied by Ptolemaïos in his capacity as Satrapēs of Arabia), but also outflank the Bomilkar’s Numidioi light cavalry and smash through their lines with his famed phalanx [5]. Decisively defeated and suffering heavy casualties, Bomilkar was forced to swiftly sound the retreat and flee to the north to Itykē. There, the following month, the majority of his mercenaries rioted for lack of pay, proceeding to extract their fees in kind by looting and pillaging the most ancient colony of the Phoinikē and then abandoning their king. Meanwhile, his way cleared of all significant obstacles, Megas Alexandros continued north, marching his troops to the gates of Karchēdōn and where he is said to have demanded that they be opened for him as the rightful Lord of the Earth and Son of Zeus Ammōn, and that his men be offered hospitality accordingly. At this point, the Gerousia was in a very difficult situation. Their king, Bomilkar, had now abandoned them and fled to the safety of Itykē, where many believed he planned to take ship for Hispania. Though they had plenty of capital, the aristocracy lacked the ability to hire further mercenaries with its communications now cut off by the advancing enemy. It was also no secret that if the city refused to surrender, the Great King of Asia and his forces would not hesitate to sack and destroy it in as brutal a manner as possible in retribution for its assistance to Tyros many years before. The city of Karchēdōn thus surrendered to the Great King in late Hyperberetaïos and Megas Alexandros made his triumphal entry into the city three days after the first day of the new year. In honour of the city’s voluntary subjugation, the Great King agreed to spare the ancient polis and its inhabitants, though he proceeded to claim a great deal of the contents of the state treasury and extract heavy indemnities from the nobility and other prominent citizens in exchange for their continued protection. Having received the formal subjugation of the whole of Karchēdōn and its possessions by the Gerousia several days later, who also recognized as him as the rightful King of Karchēdōn at this time, Megas Alexandros proceeded to offer sacrifices at the temple of the god Melgart in honour of his recent victories. Further, in order to win the cooperation of the native aristocracy and achieve greater legitimacy, the Great King and several of his stratēgoi, including the Nearchos, proceeded to take brides from the most ancient families of the Phoinikoi ruling class the following month, with Alexandros himself wedding a princess by the name of Elissa, one of the daughters of the late king Hamilkar, whom he had greatly respected as an opponent. The weddings were celebrated with due pomp and splendor, though it is worth noting that only Nearchos and the Great King himself did not abandon their new Punic wives before returning home to Babylōn. It was the forty-three year old king’s fourth marriage, though the bride could scarcely have been older than fifteen. The entire affair has attained a near mythical status today as “The Feasts in the Gardens of Didō” and is often compared with that other famed event of mass nuptials celebrated at Sousa in the year 7, although the latter event would have far more historical significance, as it sowed the seeds for the policies of intermarriage and syncretism pursued by the Argeadai.

Despite everything, however, Bomilkar still remained at large and Megas Alexandros refused to consider his victory complete until the king was dead, as until then he would only be seen as an illegal usurper by the peoples of Karchēdōn. Thus, after wintering at Karchēdōn, Megas Alexandros once again gathered his forces and marched on the ancient city of Itykē in the spring of the year 19. Bomilkar, however, refused to surrender to a man he saw as a foreign usurper and instead managed to hold the well-fortified polis for nearly two months, before his starving people finally began rioting in the streets and calling for his death. Surrounded and outnumbered, and indeed, with very few supporters left, Bomilkar wisely opted to take ship and flee to Hispania in late Panēmos. The amused Alexandros was said to have remarked to Nearchos, “It is as if the shepherd has left his sheep to the wolves.” Itykē soon fell to Megas Alexandros within a manner of days of the deposed king’s flight and the frustrated Great King ordered it viscously sacked and destroyed accordingly, carrying off what treasures there remained and massacring anyone who couldn’t be captured or sold into slavery. The fall of Itykē, of course, despite its brutality, also served as a warning, both to the peoples of Karchēdoi and their colonies in Hispania: Any resistance against the Lord of the Earth could expect to be met with a similar fate. It seems that the message was taken to heart. Within hours of landing at Neos Karchēdōn later that summer, Bomilkar was swiftly betrayed by his former allies in the colonies and cruelly strangled on the beaches of Hispania, before his own household and family, all on the orders of the leading archontes of the colonies of Neos Karchēdōn and Gadeira. The Phoinikoi aristocracy of Hispania, rather than suffer a disastrous invasion by Megas Alexandros and see their rule in the colonies destroyed, instead opted to buy peace and autonomy from the Great King, by sending him the corpse of Bomilkar, 20,000 talents and their solemn oath of allegiance and loyalty as his sworn allies and vassals in his capacity as King of Karchēdōn. His conquest of the west finally complete, Megas Alexandros tarried for a time in Karchēdōn with his forces, spending another winter in Libya before finally sailing for Syria with the majority of his men in the spring of the year 20. In reward for his devotion and indispensible assistance in the campaign, it was Nearchos himself who was awarded the coveted position of Satrapēs of Libya and Karchēdōn, with a garrison of 25,000 men and 150 ships to keep the peace and enforce the Great King’s will. It is often said that on his return voyage to Syria, that Megas Alexandros briefly stopped in Syrakousai and, in gratitude for the friendship and help provided by Agathoklēs, awarded him the title of Basileus tōs Sikilias. However, this is entirely apocryphal and largely later dynastic propaganda on the part of the heirs of Agathoklēs in Syrakousai. The Great King never awarded this title to any of his allies or clients in life, and indeed, Agathoklēs himself would not even begin claiming the title of basileus until after the death of Megas Alexandros.

Map of the Argead Empire and its dependent states and allies following the conquest of Karchēdōn, Year 20 of the Argead Era

Notes:
[1] Both the Levant and Mesopotamia where considered to compose one whole region of “Syria” by the Greeks at this time, hence the geographical names “Assyria” and “Coele-Syria”.

[2] At this time, the Karchēdoi were still ruled by kings, though their power was largely restricted by both the Gerousia, or Council of Elders, and other elected magistrates.

[3] Megas Alexandros would take these favorable winds as a divine omen and would later erect several altars and temples to Aïolos Sōtēr and the Anemoi.

[4] Though the reader should be skeptical of this, as just how negligible these casualties were is unknown. It is worth noting that the core of the Great King’s fleet seems to have remained intact.

[5] This should come as no surprise, as the superiority of the phalanx against the lightly armed desert horseman had already been proven with little difficulty in Arabia.

[Socrates]

I love, love, LOVE this timeline!

Not only is it about a fantastic subject matter, it is also the perfect balance between detail and broad narrative. It's so much easier to read than date by date timelines or the modern sources looking back approach.

I particularly love the worshipping to Phoenician gods and the syncretic marriages. It'd be fantastic if this Hellenic-Persian-Egyptian-Phoenecian culture takes off. An update at some point on religion in the empire would be very interesting (although perhaps its a bit soon).

A few other questions:

(1) Would it be possible to add modern names in parentheses or footnotes? I really struggled looking up some of the African ones.
(2) What did "Basileus" signify at this point in history, relative to other titles?
(3) Would it be possible to get a map of the satrapes' rules within the empire, or further information on imperial administration at this point?
(4) Any news on developments in the East while Alexander is gallivanting through the Med?

[Arrix85]

very good update! and nice map!

What's the situation about succession?

Seems to me that right now there is no external enemy capable of defeating the Argaed empire, trouble will come from the inside? This empire is becoming pretty big to control.

[Lysandros Aikiedes]

Are the Agathoclid tyrants/kings Syrakousai (Syracuse) going to capitalize on their hegemony over the island of Sikelia (Sicily) after Alexander's death? Maybe in this TL, they become a true challenge for the Senatus Populusque Romanus.

[Arrix85]

Originally Posted by Lysandros Aikiedes

Are the Agathoclid tyrants/kings Syrakousai (Syracuse) going to capitalize on their hegemony over the island of Sikelia (Sicily) after Alexander's death? Maybe in this TL, they become a true challenge for the Senatus Populusque Romanus.

A united Magna Grecia in southern Italy could be one of most original and interesting thing I've seen on this forum. A surviving greek rule which is not a stale roman eastern dominance, but something more "homegrown"?

[Lysandros Aikiedes]

Given the expansiveness of Alexander's empire, would they eventually partition it, either among the scions of the Argead dynasty, or would the satrapal offices become hereditary, while the Basileus ton Basileion in Babylon would be the spiritual ruler of this Helleno-Persian-Babylonian-Egyptian-Phoenician federation/cultural continuum?

[Arrix85]

I think that trouble will most likely come from a succession, assuming that trouble won't unfold as OTL (no heirs, the generals partitioning the empire)if there's more than one male heir, a little jealousy, ambition, and you have a civil war that given the huge size of the empire could result almost unwinnable by any side (so ending in a partitioning).

Unrelated notes:

Effect of this Alexandros' empire on steroids will be the widening of the Hellenic area. It's obvious I'm intrigued in the situation of my country, were we could see the merging of roman (with their concept of citizenship) and greek cultures but the greeks could have the military and political upper-hand.

[MerryPrankster]

Originally Posted by Arrix85

A united Magna Grecia in southern Italy could be one of most original and interesting thing I've seen on this forum. A surviving greek rule which is not a stale roman eastern dominance, but something more "homegrown"?

That would be interesting. I'd go for that.

I'd also like to see Rome in TTL be Alexander's "bridge too far."

[Socrates]

Originally Posted by Arrix85

I think that trouble will most likely come from a succession, assuming that trouble won't unfold as OTL (no heirs, the generals partitioning the empire)if there's more than one male heir, a little jealousy, ambition, and you have a civil war that given the huge size of the empire could result almost unwinnable by any side (so ending in a partitioning).

I think it's more likely in a civil war that one winner would cement himself at the centre of the empire, but peripheral parts might break off, potentially to be reconquered. Rome is a good example.

Effect of this Alexandros' empire on steroids will be the widening of the Hellenic area. It's obvious I'm intrigued in the situation of my country, were we could see the merging of roman (with their concept of citizenship) and greek cultures but the greeks could have the military and political upper-hand.

I doubt that Roman culture would have that much lasting effect if the empire is long lasting. There are much more powerful cultures in the empire that will dominate.

Originally Posted by MerryPrankster

That would be interesting. I'd go for that.

I'd also like to see Rome in TTL be Alexander's "bridge too far."

I don't think Rome would be the problem. Once the Argeads have established naval supremacy, revolts on the Med will be easy to put down. Central Asia, far from the sea, would be very difficult, as would Indian regions, due to their huge population.

[Elfwine]

Originally Posted by Socrates

I think it's more likely in a civil war that one winner would cement himself at the centre of the empire, but peripheral parts might break off, potentially to be reconquered. Rome is a good example.

But what, realistically, is the center of this empire? Macedon? That's too far from the actual center. Babylon? Is too "Eastern" in some ways.

[Derek Pullem]

Originally Posted by Elfwine

But what, realistically, is the center of this empire? Macedon? That's too far from the actual center. Babylon? Is too "Eastern" in some ways.

Alexandria in Egypt seems the obvious choice?

[Socrates]

Originally Posted by Elfwine

But what, realistically, is the center of this empire? Macedon? That's too far from the actual center. Babylon? Is too "Eastern" in some ways.

I think it's bound to be Babylon. It's a good place to have contacts with Greece, Egypt, Persia, and not too far travel from any of the three seas. Certainly the evidence from OTL is that he wanted it to be Babylon.