4133 (618 BCE)
The Call of Akulabash
With vassalage of Rusas III formalized by the Court on the road made in 4133, Sinsharishkun, is nearing a second fated invasion of his. However, much consideration to the campaign must be taken; to this end, Sinsharishkun meets many of his court at his current residence of Kalhu. As the emperor views the situation, his current military situation is that 40,000 soldiers are raised across the empire, with the ability to rapidly raise in excess of 75,000 if needed. The invasion of Urartu, requires in total far less than this number, which is distributed across the wider empire; 27,000 of this 40,000 is currently at arms in Assyria and on ready notice and 4,000 are in arms under Akulabash who is currently in the city of Damascus overseeing the situation in the Levant. Additionally, if necessary, more troops can be raised through the noble houses and their levies, which could account for 30-40k soldiers, though using their levies is best reserved for only the most dire situations, such as an invasion of Assyria (in otl, part of why Assyria could repel the Medo-Babylonian coalition so effectively, is that it pushed into this noble levies and thus had suddenly a large army to oppose the enemy). As well, a large number of warriors could be gathered from its vassals, excluding Egypt.
To this end, the 27,000 soldiers rallied in Assyria currently, veterans of the war in Babylonia, would be led directly by Sinsharishkun and his top bureaucrats (head eunuch, cupbearer and chamberlain [in Assyira, the high bureaucracy, always participated in wars]), with an additional number of 2,300 from Musasir, and Rusas III would ride into battle with the Urartu standard along with his 20 bodyguards on horseback and his bureaucrats and attendants following with the baggage trains behind. The objective was set by Sinsharishkun and his court as follows (without any input from Rusas III):
1. Destroy the Scythian threat to the Assyrian heartland and to its Syrian holdings.
2. Restore Rusas III as a subjugated vassal to be used against Media and the Scythian warhost.
3. Stop Median expansionism in the north and following this engagement, use the new Urartian vassal as a way to retake Mannaea and then Media proper.
4. Stop Lydian expansion without gaining them as an enemy.
The objectives sought, required a large scale war and one that would include two fronts at different levels of intensity. To this gain, Sinsharishkun appointed Ipqu-Aya, head chamberlain to govern Assyria in his absence (chosen due to his fanatical loyalty to the monarch and slight dislike of the nobility, thus little chance of his support of a noble rebellion in Assyria) and sent word to Akulabash. Akulabash was called by Sinsharishkun to gather forces from among the vassals in the Levant, especially from Damascus, the Phoenician vassals, Carchemish and Hamath and then enter Quwe and Tabal and attack any Cimmerian holdings and establish Assyrian suzerainty in the area. In addition, orders specified that Akulabash to avoid any confrontation with Lydia and if a Lydian army is near, to retreat; as well, he was to not pursue the Scythians-Cimmerians into Lydia or too far north and stay within the limits of the Taurus mountain ranges. Due to the majority of Ashkwarpa's warhost having its presence within Urartu, the numbers of soldiers that Akulabash needs, is minimal and too large a force, would be cumbersome.
Akulabash receiving said order, gathered his troops, which consisted primarily of cavalry and marched north gathering an assortment of soldiers on his trip. By the time that he reaches Haran, his army should be complete, with a hopeful goal of reaching approximately 8,000 soldiers. Scouts sent forth by Akulabash are relayed to Carchemish, Haran, Aleppo and the Phoenician cities, to send detachments at their meeting place first at Hamath, after which, the army will travel to Quwe and Tabal and attack the enemy. Quwe, formerly an area heavily influenced by the Phoenician cites, its capture allured the cities of Phoenicia, who readily agreed to the contribution. Harran likewise was willing to gift support to the war effort, due to the danger wrought by the nomads from the north. However, the cities of Hamath and Carchemish presented some level of resistance, but for differing reasons. Carchemish in the contrast, had began to resent Akulabash for the creation of the Southern Protectorate, which in the opinion of the locals of Carchemish, would disturb the trading balance whereby Carchemish gained much through the free movement of Arabs from Qedar. Hamath on the otherhand, had always been a heartland of rebellion if forced into any sort of work outside of its immediate area; Hamath also ruled by Aramaic speaking peoples and allied to varied tribesman, saw the Scythians as a net positive to harming its competitor Harran, a more Assyro-Babylonian colony. Hamath and Carchemish also however, had no formal alliance to each other and their contrasting cultures (Carchemish, still a Neo-Hittite/Indo-European city) dictated that little in the way of rebellion was imminent, yet their resistance could pose issues in Akulabash reaching his army goals in terms of supply and soldiers.
Psamtik I and the Reaction from Egypt
Seated upon the throne of Egypt, Pharaoh Psamtik I, the successor of Necho I was a renowned figure in Egypt and seen universally in his land as a savior. Though Egypt remained a vassal technically of Assyria, Psamtik I had defied the initial Assyrian vassalage plan, wherein Egypt was ruled by 26 princes, with Necho I as simply the chief of these. Rather, Psamtik had waged a low intensity war of arms and diplomacy and subdued the other 26 princes and placed upon himself the rulership in totality of Egypt, a true pharaoh of the new 26th dynasty (it should be recognized that Necho I was designated and conferred the title of Pharaoh by the Assyrian monarch, thus the 26th dynasty is a creation of Assyria). Psamtik spent most of his regime restoring Egyptian honor and rebuffing the Nubian 25th dynasty to the south, which would collapse near the end of his regime. Psamtik, also took a neutral stance to Assyria, neither submitting totally, yet not brazen enough to rebel; nor should he considering the benefits Assyria brought to Egypt through its hegemony over the Levant.
Despite this, Psamtik, in 4133 (618 BCE), looks upon recent developments with mixed feelings. Support for the Assyrian empire in Levant is one thing, but support for Assyria against the Nabtu is a separate and delicate matter for Psamtik and Egyptian policy. The Nabtu represent a sort of black market and under the table trade that moves outside of the Assyrian view and its existence was often highly regarded by the Assyrian vassals who were less inclined to the Assyrian political dominance, such as Egypt, Hamath, the Philistines, the Chaldaens within Babylonia and the Qedar. How Egypt will deal with this new Southern protectorate would become much of the new fuss within the court of Egypt; how may Egypt relate itself further to new reforms within Assyria? Psamtik's view unsurprisingly, would be to maintain a conservative tone in relation to Assyria, yet with the addition of the southern protectorate, issues were changing and Psamtik pondered along with his court on the best way to deal with the implications upon them.
Despite this new development, Psamtik I experienced a recovery in Egypt from misfortunes of the past 40 years, wherein Egypt was becoming more and more connected commercially to Greece and Europe in a way unheard of since the Bronze Age. Greek traders arrived within the Nile, with an enthusiasm and willingness to venture forth into the world. This includes the addition of potential Greek mercenary and the increased connections with Europe would be something that Psamtik I would be decisive upon and movements toward finding ways to increase this commercial relation came to be a new policy by the year 4130 for Psamtik and this preoccupation with economic goals would differentiate Egypt from Assyria in this period (in difference with otl, Egypt is under a more stable middle east comparatively).
The Hooves of Thunder
Cyaxares and his army had entered the vicinity of Lake Van very recently, 30,000 strong, his army was the best of Media and was intended to be the capstone for further conquests in the north. Made up of a subject peoples and his Median warriors, the army was composed of Mannaean, Elamite, Persian, Kassite and Median light infantry (the entire force of Median infantry were light to medium armor, Median infantry was almost entirely archers) and then a large assortment of Median cavalry, both lancers and horse archers, with the lancers furnished with healthy armor and light melee cavalry and horse archers possessing little to no armor. Much of the Mannaean troop had been coerced into service and much of Mannaean sentiment was opposed to this eastern invader of Media. During his traverse through eastern Urartu, Cyaxares had subjugated each enemy guard-post, which had typically let out the fire signals, informing the kingdom of the invasion. In normal situations, the guard stations woudl be filled with warriors and Urartu would generally decimate such a heavy cavalry oriented army in the eastern fringes, but due to the decimation of war, rebellion and strife, the defenders generally fled or surrendered. Cyaxares, a ruler wishing to exhibit his benevolence, nurtured an image of a loving and merciful king and along his travel, would pardon surrendering enemy warriors. Despite this image, Cyaxares would allow his men to raid the empty villages who had been largely abandoned after the signal fires were lit.
When in late 4133 a Median soldier brought to the camp (the Medians are encamped on the extremes of the Lake Van valley, that is, where the hill country ends and the fertile lands surrounding the lake become the norm, fertile soils, farmlands and numerous villages dot the landscape) a field sign with inscriptions with Urartian words etched, Cyaxares became enraged. Several of his Urartian informants were brought into his vicinity, cowardly defectors from their king Rusas III, who had informed Cyaxares that Rusas III was still alive and had fled to Assyria and that Tushpa would be his to take. Cyaxares was now the one informing them, that Tushpa according to this field sign, had a new king, a certain "Zunan, Anointed one of Shivini, King of Biai". In astonishment, the informants fall on their knees seeking forgiveness and beseeching mercy, that they had 'never heard of a prince Zunan and neither was there a noble or general named Zunan in their times within Tushpa'. Despite their cries of mercy, Cyaxares suspecting one of two possibilities, either he possessed truly incompetent informants and defectors, who not only dull in their intellect, were treacherous. The other option, worse, that these informants were none put spies for this new king of Tushpa who was drawing his army into a trap of some kind. Regardless of the two options, they may pay with their blood and Cyaxares ordered the execution of the entire group of informants.
Seeking to gather information was difficult as 4134 (617 BCE) set in, much of the region had fled from either the Scythians or the Medes and unknowingly, a large population of remnants had moved toward the vicinity of Tushpa. Cyaxares expecting a trap however, saw none.
Yet in the first month of 4134, his soldiers reported garrisons of enemies and patrols of non Scythian origin to the west and south. To make matters worse, informants from Assyria reported to Cyaxares, that Assyria had set forth, with a strong army and within said army, was Rusas III. Taken aback, Cyaxares realized that his informants from Urartu may have been honest after all; could a rebellion outside of the nobility or the military have taken Tushpa after Rusas had famously fled? The situation in that case was much different, a peasant army or bandits within Tushpa, who deemed themselves kings. Regardless, of this information, Cyaxares marched his army toward Tushpa.
The Throne of The Sun God
The apocalyptic movement within Tushpa borne through the panic of 4133, had been manipulated by Zunan to create an organized state. Garrisons defecting and bandits arriving to join the new state, found themselves in an interesting state. Zunan, previously a lowly bandit from the western shores of Lake Van, had become a powerful leader, with a genius oratory skill, a melodious lyrical skill and a hunger for power. Panic had driven himself and the people to rapidly reinforce the area of Tushpa and send outward scouts and distribute information into the countryside. In late 4133, his guardsmen had fought off several Cimmerian contingents who attacked the vicinity of Tushpa, slaying their captains, the city of Tushpa, formerly taken by panic, were emboldened and gripped with devotion to Shivini, one of the patron gods of the city, the sun god. Despite the high morale, the city of Tushpa and its defenders coudl pose only minor resistance to the enemies on the outside and were only safe within their walls for now. As a rule, Zunan, realized that the great salvation of his would be both a Scythian or Median victory over the Assyrians and the death of Rusas III. His army and people could outlast the Medes and Scythians at the city of Tushpa if given the chance and if they were bold enough, however, the Assyrian siege ability and the appearance of Rusas III, would present an immense danger.
Several Median soldiers had captured the fortress known as 'the Watchful Sword of Haldi', before capturing and moving forward, were assailed by an ambush that routed the Median detachment. This loss for Media however put the forces of Zunan at edge, though through constant rituals, oratory speeches and grandiose comments, the garrisons pressed on. Bandits within the force swelled, criminals fleeing the law joined the army in large numbers. The influence of the Median army had destroyed the niche of several bandit cadres who had made great loot from the extortion of refugees, but the arrival of the Medes saw this opportunity wane and they placed their luck in the hands of Tushpa. Such a diverse army of Tushpa was thus developing, one of high morale, yet extremely low cohesion and discipline. The garrisons were primarily recently conscripted men, who possessed little experience outside of the walls of a fort, bandits who were accustomed to raids and small skirmishes, yet would flee at the first change of momentum and the general volunteer forces armed with whatever could be found. Though, in the fourth month of 4134, much of the new Median and Scytho-Cimmerian attacks ceased.
To the north, the host of Ashkwarpa had finally become fat on the spoils of war in Urartu, planning to return to Pontus with their loot, their escape was interrupted by the arrival of the Median army which by the early month of 4134, had engaged in skirmishes with the warhost. A first major strike was a division of several hundred Median lancers and horse archers captured over a thousand Cimmerian infantry and cavalry men, who were too busy looting a village to respond rapidly against the approaching force. Median infantry and horsemen had also gained more success against the Tushpan defenders than earlier Cimmerian attempts. Further, though the attained goal of loot and glory had been garnered against Urartu, Ashkwarpa could not be idle as Media attacked his soldiers.
Thus, in the fourth month of 4134, two armies neared each other and encamped 20 km southeast of Aniastania (devastated by the war host and much of its population fled southward or taken into slavery by the Cimmerians) and began exchanging between themselves letters and captives.
Cyaxares relaying to Ashkwarpa his letter (not in paper of course)
"Greetings to you, the master of donkey and swine, how dost the rubble of Aniastania bid thee? March north and leave this place, your armies quake in fear at the sight of Thundering Hooves of the Arya and become prey to my many arms. Your army approaches near, have you forgotten to whom you march? Thunderous streaks fill the sky at your transgression, to hold yourself in an esteem worthy of engagement with Me. If you seek peace, as you should, traverse to the north and do not return, lest I call you to treat with Me. Ask your warriors of our might, they know well the valor of the men of Arya and the courage of our horses. Step across the boundary and be crushed, scattered through the field in a bloody mess or flee and save for yourself your life and your men." - Kalhu Codex, the message of Cyaxares to Ashkwarpa
In reply, Ashkwarpa instructing his Lydo-Anatolian attendants to bestow upon his enemy a reply:
"We, the noble host, have not forgotten upon whom we march, rather we have heard little of you and your 'camp followers'. From you, we seek no peace except your heads and glory... You have touched one of us and thus we seek a bloody confrontation. Remember, you are but prey to us, tremble for we approach with bow to strike the heads of the most powerful prey, and have wandered from afar as conquerors of worlds... You may seek peace when you hear our triumphant composition, yet we unlike you, are not cowards filled with mercy toward foes (implying that Cyaxares is a coward for inquiring for peace)."
-Kalhu Codex and its colorful retelling of events of the eras.
This is it for the update, we will recover from this point with the next update, which will cover the next stage of the war over Biai (Urartu).