So, Alexander's companions and satraps are basically turning the Black Sea into a Macedonian lake simply by being competent when something happens, good for him. One would think that, with Macedon still being the most important province in terms of millitary training and traditional loyalist base, it might start expanding throughout the Danube basin, with an eventual border between 'civilized Macedonian imperial lands' and 'annoying barbarians not worth conquering' being on the Carpathians.
 
Started reading through this when I saw its nomination on the Turtledoves, and I must say I am hooked. This is some top-notch Antiquity content.

One would think that, with Macedon still being the most important province in terms of millitary training and traditional loyalist base, it might start expanding throughout the Danube basin, with an eventual border between 'civilized Macedonian imperial lands' and 'annoying barbarians not worth conquering' being on the Carpathians.
Could potentially merit a series of campaigns either by Alexander or one of his successors, but logistics here are going to be terrible to contend with given the near-total lack of infrastructure in the northern Balkans (in contrast to the other regions of focus up to this point, which have been home to settled societies for millennia). I could see either the Danube or the Carpathians being a sound eventual Argead northern border.
 
Sorry to double post, but I have also decided to throw together a map of this world and its major powers (based on the 320 B.C.E. map and accounting for geopolitical changes):
M6jlyOI.png

  • Cyan is the Argead Empire as well as all of its vassal states (Hellenic and Italiote Leagues, Epirus). I've depicted the Italiote League as including Neapolis/Naples, which I'm assuming became subsumed by the Italiote League rather than conquered by the Samnites and thereafter the Romans. Furthermore, I have opted to put the Indian border on the Aravalli Mountains as mentioned to be the de jure border between Alexander and Dhana Nanda; Argead control most likely doesn't extend much further inward than the Indus, so I opted to have it meet the sea west of Kathiawar rather than follow the Sabarmati.
  • Gold/orange is Egypt, including its Cyrenaican vassal states. This map doesn't show its full extent into Upper Nubia, but given the limited relevance of Meroe thus far I didn't think that was too much of an issue.
  • Red (in India) is the Nanda Empire, which similar to Alexander's empire is shown here with a (relatively) de jure border on the Aravalli in spite of probably exercising very little control over the southwestern parts of that territory. I can't find any sign that the empire in OTL subdued Gujarat, so I've put it as not meeting the western Indian Ocean here.
  • Blue is Carthage, which still retains the city of Lilybaion in addition to its older territories.
  • Pink (in Italy) are the Samnites, depicted here as a unified entity rather than their fragmented/confederal status more befitting reality.
  • Red (in Italy) is Rome, shown here with its pre-Samnite Wars territories.
  • Tan/bronze (in the Peloponnese) is Sparta, which seems to still be independent in spite of its relative geopolitical irrelevance.

Putting it together really highlights just how immense the Argead Empire is at this point in history - the empire is over 3,500 miles long from Sicily to the Himalayas! At the same time, so long as the Argeads maintain a healthy naval presence in both the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean, administration of everything except the Sogdian/Bactrian territories should be manageable. I foresee tribal nomads giving them a lot of trouble in those northern regions, seeing as they are also some of the most exposed in terms of natural defenses.
 
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Sorry to double post, but I have also decided to throw together a map of this world and its major powers (based on the 320 B.C.E. map and accounting for geopolitical changes):

  • Cyan is the Argead Empire as well as all of its vassal states (Hellenic and Italiote Leagues, Epirus). I've depicted the Italiote League as including Neapolis/Naples, which I'm assuming became subsumed by the Italiote League rather than conquered by the Samnites and thereafter the Romans. Furthermore, I have opted to put the Indian border on the Aravalli Mountains as mentioned to be the de jure border between Alexander and Dhana Nanda; Argead control most likely doesn't extend much further inward than the Indus, so I opted to have it meet the sea west of Kathiawar rather than follow the Sabarmati.
  • Gold/orange is Egypt, including its Cyrenaican vassal states. This map doesn't show its full extent into Upper Nubia, but given the limited relevance of Meroe thus far I didn't think that was too much of an issue.
  • Red (in India) is the Nanda Empire, which similar to Alexander's empire is shown here with a (relatively) de jure border on the Aravalli in spite of probably exercising very little control over the southwestern parts of that territory. I can't find any sign that the empire in OTL subdued Gujarat, so I've put it as not meeting the western Indian Ocean here.
  • Blue is Carthage, which still retains the city of Lilybaion in addition to its older territories.
  • Pink (in Italy) are the Samnites, depicted here as a unified entity rather than their fragmented/confederal status more befitting reality.
  • Red (in Italy) is Rome, shown here with its pre-Samnite Wars territories.
  • Tan/bronze (in the Peloponnese) is Sparta, which seems to still be independent in spite of its relative geopolitical irrelevance.

Putting it together really highlights just how immense the Argead Empire is at this point in history - the empire is over 3,500 miles long from Sicily to the Himalayas! At the same time, so long as the Argeads maintain a healthy naval presence in both the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean, administration of everything except the Sogdian/Bactrian territories should be manageable. I foresee tribal nomads giving them a lot of trouble in those northern regions, seeing as they are also some of the most exposed in terms of natural defenses.
Thanks for the map! That's really well done, and your remarks are more or less spot on. The only thing I would change about it is the island of Crete, which is shown as under Argead control but is actually independent (although I'm not sure if I mentioned this anywhere in the TL).
 
Is anything going to happen to Sparta? Or are they going to continue to decay into further and further irrelevance, hoping that no one remembers that they still exist?
 
On the subject of the ungovernability of Bactria and Sogdiana due to their deep landlocked nature and exposition to nomadic raids, could they adopt the old Achaemenid practice of Mathišta and send the heir to throne for a time to govern there? Also, it doesn't seem the Argeads have conquered the Cimmerian Bosporus yet, doing so as well as could give them a lot of leverage against the ever restless Greek cities.
Is anything going to happen to Sparta? Or are they going to continue to decay into further and further irrelevance, hoping that no one remembers that they still exist?
With Argead hegemony strong as ever, it looks like it will evade their attentions, as they have more important matters to deal with than a calcified relic that doesn't even threaten the Peloponnese. Maybe a king like Cleomenes III can arise to reform the army and society, but Argead hegemony is even stronger, and without the Diadochi wars, there is even less of an opening for them.
 
24. The early reign of Bakenanhur
24. The early reign of Bakenanhur

Year 2, second month of the season of Harvest, under the majesty of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt Sehetepkara [1], the Son of Ra Bakenanhur, ever-living, His Majesty spoke thus:

‘Hear what I did, exceeding the ancestors, I the King, living likeness of Horus, fashioned by Khnum, whom the foreign lands fear more than any other, the good god, beloved by the Two Lands, whom Amun-Ra has granted the beneficent kingship over Upper and Lower Egypt: when I ascended the Throne the land was in turmoil, the fields were barren, the flood did not come and the temples were but heaps of rubble, like that which has never come into being. Words of treason were spoken against me, and isfet had spread throughout the land, the common people were desperate and cried out in anguish. I was with the army in Asia, and all agreed that the kingship should pass to me. I hurried to Egypt and overcame the wrongdoers, on the battlefield I was like a hunting lion, the enemy casualties innumerable. I reinstated the worship of the gods and ordered all the temples of the land renovated, it was I who restored ma’at and it was I who smote isfet. The Two Lands rejoiced in my presence. ’


- Inscription of Bakenanhur at the Horus-shrine at Ipet-Mehu

Bakenanhur’s victory at Imou in November 317 cemented his claim to the Throne of Horus, and he was coronated at the Ipet-Mehu not long after in a magnificent ceremony. Unlike his predecessor, and more in line with other monarchs since the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty, he preferred the Delta and the north over the south, which he visited rarely. He seems to have divided his time between the administrative capital at Memphis and the dynastic capital at Tjebnetjer, with visits to his own ancestral home of Sau or to Waset mentioned in the records. It seems he quickly gained the allegiance of the rest of the country, and already during his first year donations in his name are mentioned at Ipetsut.

However, despite his victory over Horsaiset there still remained some simmering unrest, mostly concentrated in the Western Delta. Already during his first year several expeditions into the Western Delta are mentioned, to supress revolting dynasts who still refused to submit. The exact reason for their intransigence is unknown, but it probably was the same as the reason for their rebellion’s during Nakhthorheb’s rule; dissatisfaction with the increasingly centralized rule combined with Bakenanhur’s seemingly shaky claim to the throne. Various princes of the Delta continued to resist Bakenanhur, they withheld taxes and even launched raids on royal estates, and like many of his predecessors he was greatly hindered by them. Unlike those earlier kings however Bakenanhur was determined to break them, and he had the means to do so. Not much is known about these campaigns, as Egyptian kings did not like to focus on internal unrest in their records, but foreign sources attest that not long after his coronation Bakenanhur started his campaign.

In 316 the pharaoh was present at the siege of Per-Wadjet, an ancient Delta town, where several dynasts were holed up. Siege towers were constructed, the walls seized and the town fell. The dynasts were dragged before the pharaoh and executed, in what must have been a significant blow to their cause. Many of them now surrendered and were pardoned, but some continued their resistance. It was in early 315 when the conflict reached its height, when an army under Bakenanhur confronted a coalition of Delta princes supported by Libyan mercenaries near Mareia in the Western Delta. Located on the shores of Lake Mareotis it is mostly known from Greek sources, who report on it because Bakenanhur deployed many Hellenic mercenaries during the campaign. Once again the sources are scarce, but the outcome of the battle could leave no doubt; once again the new king of Egypt was victorious. Estates were seized and added to the royal domains or donated to one of the major cults. Those dynasts who had remained loyal or had changed sides were allowed to keep their lands and machimoi, but in hindsight it is clear that this was the beginning of the end for the Delta aristocracy. Throughout the centuries they had held sway over Egypt’s richest lands, they had brought forth several pharaonic dynasties and had been the driving force behind the almost continual rebellions against Achaemenid rule. Now however, after successive defeats against the ruling dynasty, which itself had origins among the Delta aristocracy, their military power was broken. The pharaoh’s professional senenu and mercenary forces bested the machimoi, many of whom now took up direct service in the army in exchange for keeping their plot of land. Off course many of the Delta dynasts were kept in place, but they were now just landholders without much military strength.

It is only after this campaign that Bakenanhur turned his attention to other matters, foremost the legitimization of his rule. In August 315 he travelled to Waset, where he was once again coronated at Ipetsut, which coincided with the Opet-festival [2]. Once in Waset he made a tour of southern Egypt, visiting Iunu-Montu, Djeba and Swenet. He made lavish offerings to the temples of the south and made sure that the Cult of Amun-Ra would be loyal by granting them several recently seized Delta estates. At Ipetsut itself he ordered the construction of a new shrine to Amun-Ra, lavishly decorated and with on the walls a rather embellished version of the story of his ascent to the throne and his supposedly predestined kingship. The Temple of Osiris-Heqadjet, part of the complex of Ipetsut, was somewhat dilapidated and Bakenanhur had it restored, ensuring that it would be his name that would be inscribed upon its walls. At the dynastic capital at Tjebnetjer work was already underway on the tomb of Bakenanhur at the inner court of the Temple of Anhur-Shu, besides the tombs of Nakhthorheb and Nakhtnebef II, showing that he was to be regarded as their rightful successor and a true member of the dynasty.

1613517148233.png


A temple near the riverbank

More important were the works of Bakenanhur at the Ipet-Mehu [3]. There he had several shrines constructed and he expanded the Festival Hall, where Nakhthorheb had celebrated the Sed-festival and where Bakenanhur had held his coronation. The enclosure wall was completed under his rule and he also attested as having ordered the construction of extensive living quarters for the priests, including workshops and storerooms. His most impressive addition was the temple of Amun, which with its marble columns shows a remarkable Greek influence that doesn’t show up in southern Egypt. Another striking monument was a colossal statue of the king himself, which stood on an artificial mound in the floodplain just outside the entrance of the temple complex. Carved from red granite from Swenet it shows the king seated as a majestic figure, gazing towards the Ipet-Mehu. While his predecessor depicted himself often as a valiant king, muscular and ready to strike the enemy, the image of Bakenanhur is one not of royal militarism but of eternal youth, which put the emphasis on his divinity. During the season of the flood, when the waters rose, the statue stood amidst the waters of the floodplain. For the Egyptians it was an striking image, for the statue of the king arising from the waters was meant to imitate that of the creator himself, Atum-Ra, who stood upon the benben mount which arose from the primordial waters of Nun. Implicitly connecting himself with the act of creation, Bakenanhur thus promoted himself not just as a normal monarch but as a true divine ruler.

But even a divine ruler could not rule the Two Lands all by himself. Bakenanhur made some important administrative reforms, most notably the splitting of the vizierate. The vizier Ankhefenkhonsu had been appointed by Nakhtnebef II, but Bakenanhur perhaps feared that allowing one man such responsibilities could undermine his own position. Ankhefenkhonsu, himself originally from Upper Egypt, was thus send to Waset, to function as the vizier of Upper Egypt. A high-rank nobleman named Sennedjemibranakht [4] was named as Vizier of Lower Egypt. Usermontu was kept in place as governor of Nubia. Bakenanhur himself was, despite his military background, more of an administrator than Nakhtnebef II had been, and he is known to have taken interest in and having presided over court cases and other disputes.

While inside Egypt itself Bakenanhur promoted himself as a divine ruler, abroad he had to be more careful. Whenever a request arrived from Babylon, such as when Alexander requested Egyptian architects for one of his monuments, the pharaoh more or less acquiesced, and Alexander naming Egypt as a vassal state in one of his inscriptions is not entirely without merit. Bakenanhur was a realistic man, and he must have known that Egypt stood no chance against the Argeads on their own, despite the frustrations this must have caused among his compatriots. Despite this the early years of his rule were prosperous. The end of the civil war and the resumption of trade with the Argead Empire, combined with several excellent inundations and the continued flow of gold from Nubia meant that the Egyptian economy rebounded quickly after the disaster of the succession struggle. In his family life the king was also successful, early in his reign he fathered a son with his Great Royal Wife Mutnefret, who he named Nakhthorheb, who became heir to the kingdom. This was not his first son, for the king, himself around 45 years old when he ascended to the throne, already had been married before marrying Mutnefret, and it was from that marriage that he already had a son named Psamtek and several daughters. With the succession secure and Egypt back on the road to prosperity it must have seemed as if despite his bloody ascent Bakenanhur’s reign would be a fortunate one for Egypt.

Footnotes

  1. Bakenanhur’s throne name, which means ‘who pleases the ka of Ra’
  2. OTL sometimes pharaohs tried to coincide a coronation ceremony with the Opet-festival, for example Horemheb did so.
  3. The temple complex near Memphis, see update 16
  4. This name means ‘Sennedjemibra (= Nakhthorheb) is victorious’, such names, containing a royal name appear throughout Egyptian history, and emphasize loyalty to the ruling dynasty.
 
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I hope people aren't dissapointed by the somewhat shorter updates, I'm rather busy so it's either this or long periods without any updates at all.
 
I hope people aren't dissapointed by the somewhat shorter updates, I'm rather busy so it's either this or long periods without any updates at all.
No problem, I rather like short updates. Some previous updates where large enough to simply overwhelm me.
 
On the subject of the ungovernability of Bactria and Sogdiana due to their deep landlocked nature and exposition to nomadic raids, could they adopt the old Achaemenid practice of Mathišta and send the heir to throne for a time to govern there? Also, it doesn't seem the Argeads have conquered the Cimmerian Bosporus yet, doing so as well as could give them a lot of leverage against the ever restless Greek cities.
If the heir is old and capable enough Bactria and Sogdiana is a prestigious enough satrapy for him to govern, but I don't think it'll become tradition as it was under the Achaemenids. If anything, it might be Macedon itself where the future king can learn to govern a country, although honestly I'm not sure about that either.
Any plans for Iberia?
Yes, actually, and pretty advanced ones too, strangely enough. Iberia will be pretty important later on in the TL.
 
I hope people aren't dissapointed by the somewhat shorter updates, I'm rather busy so it's either this or long periods without any updates at all.
I enjoy the shorter updates. A constant flow of updates means more people stay interested in the TL, so there can be more discussion.


If the heir is old and capable enough Bactria and Sogdiana is a prestigious enough satrapy for him to govern, but I don't think it'll become tradition as it was under the Achaemenids. If anything, it might be Macedon itself where the future king can learn to govern a country, although honestly I'm not sure about that either.

Yes, actually, and pretty advanced ones too, strangely enough. Iberia will be pretty important later on in the TL.
Do you have any ideas for Gaul as well?
 
At this point, Argead control of Gaul within the next few decades is about as likely as Egyptian control of the same, one would think.
 
At this point, Argead control of Gaul within the next few decades is about as likely as Egyptian control of the same, one would think.

True. There is not way how Argeads could conquer Gaul. It would be logistically extremely difficult if not impossible. Gauls probably can live their lives without any foreign intervention yet very long time. Best what Argeads can get is some political and economic influence on Souithern Gaul.
 
If the heir is old and capable enough Bactria and Sogdiana is a prestigious enough satrapy for him to govern, but I don't think it'll become tradition as it was under the Achaemenids. If anything, it might be Macedon itself where the future king can learn to govern a country, although honestly I'm not sure about that either.
Possibly. Argead royal ideology and conceptions of themselves would obviously be vastly different from those of the Seleucids, who never ruled their original homeland Hellas and Macedonia. Also, how will you solve the issue of Macedonian succession and court politics?
 
Finally read this timeline after putting it off for quite a while. Truly one of the most detailed stories for an epic saga like the Antiquity period and definitely deserves a Turtledove nomination, that's for sure.

Shorter updates are certainly more welcome. The first posts of the timeline were so long that they were a slog to read, so being able to read smaller posts is a good thing, imo.

Alexander conquering Gaul is practically ASB, no doubt about it. The logistics and positioning of his Empire simply wouldn't support that sort of endeavor, although I would be interested in seeing such a massive empire have an influence on a region so far removed from its presence simply due to its size. Greek/Carthaginian coins and items being common in Gaulish villages would be a possibility in that case.

Carthage expanding into southern Gaul is more likely, although probably less than Iberia or Africa.
 
Kind off, sort off, although less they are less developed than those for Iberia. Suggestions are always welcome!
Right now there really isn't much to suggest. Gaul is a periphery region and nothing that would affect it directly has happened yet. I guess Gaul's situation will depend on how the Argead Empire affects Rome, but that won't have major effects for a while.
 
Argead power projection in the Western Mediterranean, including southern Gaul and possibly even bits of Iberia, is technically possible in one way: establishing an overlordship of some kind over the Western Greek city states such as Massalia and Emporion. This isn't especially likely in and of itself given the current state of Carthage's naval primacy in the Western Mediterranean, but given the Argeads' pan-Hellenic tendencies and the prominence of those cities I can see it as a slight possibility.

What is certain is that their power projection would end at the coast - there simply isn't the logistical backbone or motive for the Argeads to spend so much blood and treasure on securing those regions inland. Influence of any sort is a different story, and indeed I'd say Greek influence on Gaulish civilization is likely to be decently high simply by nature of trade; should the Argeads somehow get a toehold in Massalia, goods and coin would most certainly spread up the Rhone and into the hinterland.
 
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