1
Welcome to A Hellenistic Age, though this will be my first post on this site I hope I am able to make it relatively entertaining. The idea of this TL is more or less to have a longer lasting Hellenistic period but also a relatively powerful Argead state in the Mediterranean. Plus more Eumenes of Cardia.
Alexander_the_Great_mosaic.jpg

Point of divergence

334 BC


In May of 334 BC Alexander III ‘the Great” as he would be called led his 37,100 strong Macedonian army in the victorious Battle of Granicus defeating the 25,000 strong force of Persians which was routed off the field taking some 5000 causalities while another 2000 were captured and sent back to Macedon as a slave force. With this victory and the later minor victories in the besieging of Hellespontine Phrygia (I'll be using Lesser Phrygia instead) the satrapy was granted upon a young general by the name of Aetios of Byzantion* who had previously served under Parmenion with distinction having won a skirmish against Memnon of Rhodes and lead the Thessalians cavalry at Granicus, thus the satrapy was entrusted to him along with a force of some five thousand men to guard the region under his command and ensure supplies made it too the main force.

333-323**

Alexander III Argead would continue his campaign across Asia Minor and into Syria & the Levant beating the Persians in several battles from Issus to Gaugamela conquering the whole of the Achaemenid Empire. Alexander would be victorious over most of the empire though various pockets of resistance held out even after the last stand at the Persian Gate such that other Satraps and generals would try to conquer these areas independently of their Macedonian Monarch. Alexander himself would after a year spent securing the interior of Persia in 327 BC launch another campaign towards Sogdiana this time intent on subduing the region, he led 47,000 men to the Sogdian Rock a fortress thought to be nearly impregnable by Sogdians themselves. He arrived in the early spring and after being told by Oxyartes of Bactria that they would men with wings to capture the fortress. Alexander in response asked for volunteers, whom he would reward if they could climb the cliffs under the fortress. There were some 300 men who from previous sieges had gained experience in rock-climbing. Using tent pegs and strong flaxen lines, they climbed the cliff face at night, losing about 30 of their number during the ascent. In accordance with Alexander's orders, they signalled their success to the troops below by waving bits of linen, and Alexander sent a herald to tell the defenders that if they looked up, they would see that he had found his winged men. Demoralized the garrison soon surrendered having their spirit broken after being showed that their fortress was not impregnable. Alexander after the siege however found himself stricken with love upon Oxyartes daughter Roxana who he would soon marry and in doing so would gain himself a peace treaty.

Meanwhile in Lesser Phrygia Aetios had in 329 BC occupied Bithynia recruiting the local citizens of Lesser Phrygia he had equipped the army himself using their taxes. He trained them in the Macedonian style of war using phalangites which were backed by lightly equipped peltasts equipped with axes meant to both protect the flank and skirmish. His cavalry was trained in the Thessalian style, finally his army numbered 8000 infantry & 2000 light cavalry. He would successfully conquer the land by defeating the then crown prince of Bithynia Bas at Ancore the capital of his princedom. The battle of Ancore had the armies of both sides numbering some 10,000 though the Macedonian troops likely had a distinct superiority in quality and cavalry. The battle started with an early skirmish from the cavalry lead by Aetios himself, though given their numeric superiority they were able to quickly rout the Bithynian riders off the field within the hour, with his cavalry gone King Bas and his son Zipoetes tried to lead the infantry back into the city but were harassed by Aetios while his commanders of the infantry Nikeratos (Phalangites) and Pyyrhos (Phrygian peltasts) would push into the rear. The Phrygians would soon met the Bithynian rear which melted away as the army descended into a rout. The slaughter soon flowed into the city, within hours the once prosperous city of Ancore had been burnt to the ground though both the Royal family and its treasury were captured. He would rename the city Nicaea or Nikaia after his wife and after its lengthy restoration it would serve as his capital.

In the following years from 329-322 BC Aetios would successfully appease the people within his satrapy with slightly lighter taxes and laws which allowed more freedom for the people. Building a small kingdom for himself within the north of Asia Minor. Just as well three sons and a daughter would be born to him of his wife Nicaea, Pyrrhos was born in 328 BC, Alexander in 326, Krateros in 325 and finally his daughter Nicaea in 324 though his wife would pass away not long after.

*Alexander’s campaigns will follow their OTL path with the difference only being that a few satraps might be different.
**Aetios of Byzantion is a completely fabricated character that replaces Calas a Macedonian general who had served in pretty much the exact same capacity under Parmenion though he lost to Memnon and had also led the Thessalian cavalry under Alexander during Granicus. Though he and his dynasty will serve as the of main character for this TL I hope to avoid turning them into gary stu's or somesuch.
 
Last edited:
2
323 BC

In June of 323 BC Alexander the Great would be announced dead at age 32, his bodyguards* would hold a meeting within the palace at Babylon of which his Generals would decide the fate of his empire. However, the common soldiers soon disobeyed orders and broke into the palace intent on finding out the fate of their beloved King and general. With his death announced the bodyguards soon voted in Perdikkas as regent of Alexanders unborn children and his Empire, though a fight nearly broke out over who the actual heir was. At the insistence of Aetios who had recently arrived with reinforcements by order of the deceased King the idea of his half-brother Arrhidaeus should be king for a time was voted upon and had won.

This was mostly accepted by the soldiery, so the meeting was adjourned as successful with Arrhidaeus being crowned Arrhidaeus I Basileus of Macedon. Issues were soon to be had though as Perdikkas & Leonnatus appointed themselves regent while Antipatros* & Krateros were appointed as administrators of Europe. Because these were made without consulting Arrhidaeus, Meleagros* had left and grabbed Arrhidaeus he also gathered the soldiery who supported Arrhidaeus. The young man tried to escape as he was scared but was taken into the crowd and his brother’s robes were forced upon him. Meleagros in public view then put his armor on with the intent to defend Arrhidaeus making quite the show, the soldiers in support of Meleagros threatened Alexanders old bodyguards with harm. This terrified Perdikkas who called up Alexanders Persian Royal Guard, taking up the quarters where Alexanders body still lay. Fighting soon started and the Royal guard though tough was forced to surrender as it was under heavy missile fire, Perdikkas escaped to the Euphrates however where he was reinforced by the Hetairoi cavalry. Assassins were sent under the guise of diplomacy but Perdikkas traveled with a bodyguard and the assassins choose not to fight them instead retreating.

The next day, seeing who was not in their party, the soldiers of Meleager's faction had second thoughts. A mutiny developed. Representatives undertook to interrogate Arrhidaeus as to whether he had ordered Perdikkas’s arrest. he revealed Meleagros had ordered the killing of Perdikkas though he himself was against it. the soldiers then dismissed the earlier ruling of the council and tried to reason with Perdikkas who opted instead to cut the cities supply lines beginning a siege. Another council was held in favor of asking Perdikkas for peace even though they had numerical advantage, though this could be due to Aetios and Eumenes of Cardia both trying to convince the soldiers to settle for peace. Arrhidaeus soon realised Meleagros intentions and announced to the council that he would step down before any more blood was spilt, Aetios & Eumenes used this good hearted gesture to calm Meleagros faction and to propose a compromise where Arrhidaeus would remain King and renamed Phillip III and that Alexanders soon to be born child be named Alexander IV.

When the terms were accepted the two forces rode out into the field to meet, Meleagros rode ahead to enact a proper truce between armies. Meleagros had during the ride overheard the Hetairoi’s complaints about him and upon meeting with Perdikkas brought forward his complaints. They agreed to purge army of its divisive elements and soon the forces would meet in a ritual of arms. During the ceremony roughly 300 of Meleagros supporters were picked out by Perdikkas and soon executed by elephant trampling in front of the army. Though Meleagros himself was spared for a time Aetios had arranged for his death by bribing his own guard, he died in his sleep by a dagger to throat, his killer never caught.

Another council was held to appoint the various satraps they were appointed as such.
ZChiSyj.png


With the appointing of the satraps done most of them left to govern their new territory, however as the satrapies given to Eumenes were still unsubdued Perdikkas ordered both Antigonus and Aetios to subdue those regions for him, after they left Antigonus ignored those orders however Aetios agreed to help though as he had come to like Eumenes during the time they worked together in Babylon.

*The Seven body guards at the time of Alexanders death were as follows Aristonous, Lysimachus, Peithon, Leonnatus, Perdiccas, Ptolemy of Lagus, Peucestas. These men being the most trusted soldiers of Alexander were thus considered to be the end all authority on his will.
** Antipater wasn't actually in Babylon during this meeting, he was in Pella in Macedon since Alexander had left him in charge.
*** Pretty much everything here is OTL.
**** Meleager is the most experienced general in the Macedonian army at this point.
 
Last edited:
3
322 BC

The news of Alexanders death would travel far throughout his empire, however in Hellas Alexanders death had the largest impact with various Greek cities such as Athens, Thessaly, Argos and the whole of the Aetolian League revolting against Macedonian Hegemony within Greece. Antipatros soon lost a major battle at Thermopylae to the Athenian-Aetolian army which numbered some 27,000 men, retreating to the fortified city of Lamia, Antipatros called for aid from the satrapies of Asia Minor. In Asia Aetios having recently been re-appointed the satrap of Lesser Phrygia by the regent of the empire Perdikkas. He had arrived and taken command of his personal army there still numbering 10,000 to support Eumenes having just subdued Cappadocia when the news of Antipatros, on top of that Alexanders sister Cleopatra had sent a proposal of marriage too Aetios on the terms that he support Antipatros against the rebellious Greeks. Aetios then convinced Eumenes to join him stating that Greeks should be put down in Alexanders name and that once that was done they could subdue Paphlagonia which was entirely un-garrisoned unlike Cappadocia. Eumenes agreed and the pair raised a larger host in the Phrygian lands numbering 7,000 phalangites, 5,000 Macedonian Hoplites and 8,000 Phrygian peltasts which combined numbered some 20,000 infantry they were supported by 6,000 cavalry made up of Phrygian & Cappadocian's loyal to the pair.

With this army they crossed the Hellespont supported by the Macedonian navy under Cleitus the White who had crushed the Athenian navy only a few weeks prior. Aetios & Eumenes led the army to the city of Lamia where Antipatros was still besieged by the Athenian general Leosthenes who had bested Antipater a few months prior. The Phrygian army under the pair soon descended upon the Athenians.

Leosthenes was confident in his ability and thus took the field against Aetios, under Eumenes plan they moved quickly with the army screening using their larger cavalry force. They were able to quickly push to a melee pitting the Macedonian sarissa against the Athenian dory which was unable to combat the longer reach of the pike. While the Athenian infantry was slowly being pushed back the cavalry also entered a deadly duel though the larger force under Eumenes was able to decisivly crush Leosthenes cavalry in the melee and kill the man after a little under an hour of fighting. With their commander dead and his cavalry having been captured or retreated the demoralized Athenian-Aetolian infantry tried to make a organised fighting retreat, however Antipatros by this point in the battle had organised a sally outward and attacked the rear of the army causing a mass panic in their line which descended into chaos. After 3 hours of fighting the Athenian-Aetolian army had been destroyed and the Greek city states chances at autonomy were gone with it. With the siege broken and the coalition army completely annihilated Antipatros, Aetios and Eumenes met and decided their next move. They soon sent out ambassadors to conclude peace with the various cities separately, the cities having realised by now they had lost their bargaining chip complied with Antipatros demands. By the end of 322 BC Greece had been completely subdued and Athens had lost its original democratic government instead being forced into a more plutocratic path. With peace talks concluded and their treasure having been given to them for their support in the war Aetios & Eumenes traveled back to Asia Minor in the late summer with the intent of subduing Paphlagonia for Eumenes which they did secure by October of 322 BC.

In the absence of war Aetios now back in his palace within Nikaia concluded that due to difficulties in raising heavy infantry in the old Macedonian style he required a new method. So he with great difficulty created a series of taxes and an organisation dedicated solely to enforcing these taxes, they would spend the rest of the year measuring up the lands wealth and deciding upon how much they could tax from the people. However, in the meantime he created a series of law reforms within Phrygia, children were now required to train with axe and shield as well as javelin throwing. He also raised the size of his army from the professional 10,000 too 22,000 using the silver Tetradrachm he was paid in for his support in the Lamian War. Aetios also married Cleopatra sister of Alexander who’s hand was originally offered for his support in the Lamian war, though he did it for the prestige it soon became apparent that he would hold Antipatros animosity if he dared make any other moves in Macedon. News would reach Aetios that Ptolemy had stolen away Alexanders body to Egypt and that in response Perdikkas had declared war upon him and begun moving troops to Egypt, at the same time he ordered Antigonus to appear at the capital to stand trial for not supporting Eumenes. Antigonus would disobey those orders as well and fled to Antipatros' capital in Pella. During these events Antipatros, Krateros, Aetios and Eumenes had jointly agreed to revolt against Perdikkas as he was ruling the Empire in absolute without Phillip III. For this effort they pooled together enough resources to fund an army 50,000 strong for at least a few years, they also bought 30 elephants from Ptolemy of Egypt as force multiplier as elephants were known to scare horses.
 
Last edited:
4
321 BC

Antipatros forces crossed the Hellespont with no trouble in early spring, meeting with the joint Phrygian-Cappadocian forces under Aetios & Eumenes near Astakos from there they traveled down to Antigonus’s lands in Greater Phrygia their forces numbered 50,000 (14,000 phalangites half of which were Alexanders veterans brought by Krateros, 16,000 Greek mercenary hoplites, 12,000 light infantry and 8,000 cavalry. They also bought some 30 African Elephants from Ptolemy who had decided to whole heartedly support them.) Perdikkas having heard word of them crossing the Hellespont and entering Asia Minor with a large army decided against pursuing a campaign in Egypt due to a lack of logistics and instead traveled northward intent on defeating the disloyal Antipatrid forces. By the early summer he met their forces near Tarsus in what he hoped would be their downfall, Perdikkas had with him 49,000 soldiers (12,000 phalangites, 20,000 heavy infantry of various types 8,000 light infantry alongside 9,000 cavalry) while the full Antipatrid forces numbered 50,000.

The battle of Tarsus began with maneuvering with both sides trying to gain the advantage, the peltasts of Aetios were able to gain some ground in the skirmishing but little else besides a few local hills could be taken by their forces. Neither side was liable to directly head to a melee so small skirmishes would be fought mostly by the lighter troops though they could be occasionally supported by the heavy infantry and cavalry. However, as the first day came to a close Perdikkas knew that he would need a push of pikes to win this battle after having been constantly if rather slowly pushed back, thus on the second day he arranged his men in battle formation to which Antipatros chose to do the same interestingly though he followed the plan of Eumenes by placing his strongest contingents of cavalry on the left under Antigonus opposite their usual role on the right thus facing Perdikkas weakest contingents while his weakest cavalry on the right would retreat so that the infantry supported by Elephants under Aetios could cut off the Perdikkid cavalry from returning. When the skirmishing began in the early midday the cavalry met first, Antigonus would quickly rout the opposing Perdikkid cavalry on the left and followed them nearly off the field. Meanwhile on the right flank the Antipatrid cavalry was retreating and pulling Perdikkas’s Hetairoi* under Seleucus into a trap where their forces were cut off from returning to the field by a reserve line of skirmishers hoplites and elephants lead by Aetios. While Seleucus was still cut off from returning the main armies entered melee with both contingents of pikes connecting first in a bloody display neither was able to gain much ground though it seemed Perdikkas Argyraspides* were on the winning front, Meanwhile the Antigonid cavalry attacked Seleucus in support of Aetios and after an hour of fighting destroyed Perdikkas’ only hope of victory. Still it took hours for the field to be cleared as the pikes and spears pushed back and forth until Antigonus attacked Perdikkas and his guards directly killing them on the field and taking his banner so as to get his troops to surrender which they did by raising their sarissa and dory into the sky in a signal of surrender.

With a victory such as this it was clear that Antipatros and his faction now ruled the Macedonian Empire, the only question now was what to do with the Perdikkid loyalists. Seleucus & Antigenes the commanders of the Hetairoi and Argyraspides respectivly had been killed on the field and Perdikkas himself was killed by Antigonus. With most of the Perdikkid loyalists in the army still alive Antipatros disarmed them and had them sent back to Greece hoping to settle them there though a great number of the commanders were executed or poisoned quietly. The Argyraspides though were split up and sent to the outlying satraps with orders for them to be sent on dangerous missions or to be killed as they were too skilled to be left alone. The army however continued on down to Mesopotamia then Babylon as it was decided a new council should be called to divide the realm once more.

The so called Partition of Babylon went as such
Macedon & Greece were now under Krateros as one of Alexanders most respected generals.
Thrace would stay in Lysimachus's hands.
Greater Phrygia was reappointed to Antigonus.
Lesser Phrygia & Bithynia were reappointed to Aetios though he was also given Lydia on top of those for his support in the war, Menander the original satrap of Lydia had stepped down in favor of entering the service of Antigonus so there were little issues with this.
Cappadocia & Paphlagonia were also reappointed to Eumenes of Cardia who had shown great skill in command.
Caria was reappointed to Asandros.
Cilicia was appointed to Arion a young Macedonian lieutenant that had served Antipater well and commanded some of the victorious infantry at Tarsus.
Syria was reappointed to Leomedon who been neutral.
Mesopotamia was appointed to Polyperchon friend of Antipatros and a skilled general in his own right.
Babylonia was appointed to Alexander IV who upon coming of age would begin to rule it in his name, until that point it was officially ruled by Antipatros as regent.
The satrapies of Greater and Lesser Media were merged simply into Media under Piethon.
Persia was reappointed to Peucestas who had ruled it quietly and well.
Parthia & Hyrcania were appointed to Phillip who also ruled the satrapy of Bactria.
Aria & Drangiana would be reappointed too Stasandor who was originally put in place by Alexander.
Alexander's easternmost satrapies would stay the same as there was little point in changing the satraps there.
VBCNItl.png

With what was hoped to be the final division of the realm the Antipatrid army was disbanded for the most part with the Aetaic, Antigonid and Eumenid forces in particular returning to Asia Minor, Krateros however left his veteran troops under Antipatros care so as to work as the professional Royal Army. The year came to a close with little war other then a small rebellion in Bactria that the local troops handled. Alexander IV and Phillip III were being tutored in court of Antipatros at Babylon.
*The Hetairoi or companion cavalry of Alexander meant to be some of the most skilled riders around, exactly why they were considered such a threat a that reserve force was made just for them.
**Argyraspides or the Silver Shields of Alexander were the most skilled of his infantry, OTL they had an amazing track record even after his death they were a feared force that were only stopped when their baggage train was captured.
 
Last edited:
I’m all down for more Eumenes, my favorite Successor. Welcome to the forum bud.
Thank you I like the forum so far, I had quite a bit of difficulty in figuring out how to actually make a scenario where Eumenes sided with a faction that didn't lose. Aetios was created for that reason so that someone mostly charismatic could both solve his original problem in controlling his troops and supporting a good contender.
 
5
320 BC
Without a major war to fight the soldiers in the easternmost satrapies were getting unrestful, they wanted to return home regardless of their orders so under Menexinos they rose up in from under Sibyrtios attacking his capital at Alexandropolis in Arachosia. They crushed him there taking his treasury and started on their way back west in hopes of reaching Macedonia before the word spread that they rebelled. Antipatros when he found out was furious, taking it upon himself he along with his son Kassandros took the Royal army and attacked Menexinos near Pasargadae in an inconclusive battle though he was able to attack their baggage train and capture it with his light riders. Without the baggage train Menexinos army became hard to control forcing their general to the field in front of Antipatros who offered them a way home for Menexinos in return. Taking him in chains back to Babylon he dispatched sent orders too Phillipos of Bactria that he was to supply Sibyrtios with some men to guard his lands until a new force could be raised. Throughout the rest of the empire however was mostly peace, Ptolemy ruled Egypt well and other than a small revolt or two the Egyptians were content to live under his rule. In Syria Leomedon was having some trouble with the Cypriots but was able to lower the required taxes to keep them content while in Anatolia the various satraps were able to rule quite easily especially since the Macedonian & Greek colonists were settling in fine among the local peoples. It would seem the realm was able to maintain itself in peace outside of a few revolts.

However, there were other states that were rising. In Illyria a king was crowned for the Ardiaei, King Sirras who had taken control of one of the smaller tribes only a few years prior had managed to unite many tribes and now led an army likely numbering some 40,000 northward to put down and subjugate the other Illyrian tribes as he had already put down the old Dardanian Kingdom north of Macedonia itself. Krateros was amassing an army in response but he was hesitant to wade into rather unfamiliar territory while the Greeks were still angry enough to try overthrowing Macedonian Hegemony again. On the Italic peninsula a number of Latin cities were pushing back against the Samnite who had previously destroyed their armies and raided their cities & holdings whenever they pleased.

0B3v3MW.png

The Argeadai Empire & its surrounding states and tribes circa 320 BC
 
6
319 BC

Just as peace had become a way of life in the Argead Empire it was taken away as in the late spring of 319 BC the Cypriots rose in rebellion beating Laomedon's garrisons on the island separately mostly by starving them out, many Cypriot merchants chose to band together creating a rather large fleet of some 120 ships though they were small it was more than enough to blockade the harbors where Macedonian troops were garrisoned. Laomedon's didn't get word of this for over a month however as no reports of rebellion came from his governor on the island, finally after two months without word he sent a small fleet with some marines to find out what had happened. They ended up being attacked and forced too retreat but were able to capture a few of their opponents, bringing them to Syria where they were interrogated into revealing how Cyprus had fallen. Laomedon didn't have a very credible navy as he didnt rate naval warfare highly he was thus forced to rely on the satraps of which only Ptolemy agreed to help on the terms that he is given half the island after the war to which Laomedon agreed.

By mid-summer he was on his way to Cyprus with an army some 8,000 strong, as the Cypriots were unable to raise a large force of their own, he thought he wouldn't require much. When he arrived Ptolemy's, fleet fought a battle over the waters of Salamis, the much smaller Cypriot fleet was unable to fight the larger Ptolemaic fleet and was eventually forced back into the harbor with the Macedonians victorious. Laomedon led his army off the boat to the side of Salamis letting the fleet cut off naval support he encircled the city and set in for a siege. While that was h fleet fought a battle over the waters of Salamis, the much smaller Cypriot fleet was unable to fight the larger Ptolemaic fleet and was eventually forced back into the harbor with the Macedonians victorious. Laomedon led his army off the boat to the side of Salamis letting the fleet cut off naval support he encircled the city and set in for a siege. While that was happening, an older Greek mercenary named Pytheas heard about the siege and rallied a large force of peasants mostly armed with slings and clubs they numbered only a scant 3,000 but were able to sneak upon the Macedonian army at night. He attacked then leading the peasants down into the fray, most of the army was split up to cover the various gates of Salamis so he was able to distinguish which camp had the army commander in it prior to attacking. The soldiers hearing the peasants tried to gather weapons and armor but most could not prepare in time for the melee, still even without armor or organisation the Macedonian troops were able to inflict serious causalities upon the Cypriots prior to Pytheas second attack with a small contingent of heavily armored mercenaries, He was able to fight and kill Laomedon in combat before the Macedonians were reinforced by their comrades from a neighboring camp, the Cypriots were forced into retreating into the night Pytheas may not have known it at that very moments but he had won Cypriot independence of Macedon at least for a time. Without a leader the somewhat victorious Macedonian troops fled back to the fleet sailing back to their homes in Syria without something to show for their loss.

Meanwhile in west within Illyria King Sirras had made it far to the north now owning much of the coastal Adriatic he had with some difficulty managed to convince a number of tribes that knew how to sail to join him, now he was building a fleet mostly of small vessels but with time he knew he could dominate the Adriatic with them regardless. His army was much larger though it included just about every man of fighting age he could find and their families making it difficult to travel very quickly. He had begun to reform his tribe into something like the Macedonians though he had to make concessions such as the title of king being elective rather than inheritable. In the east an India man and his teacher began a laborious process of recruiting an army as the Kingdom he’s in begins to fall apart.

318 BC

With the loss of a satrap Antipatros had to appoint a new man to the satrapy of Syria, deciding that his son should have some land the next satrap of Syria was his son Kassander Antipatrid a rather able administrator while he may have a bad temper the man still served as one of Alexandros III Companions. With that settled he looked west and ordered Krateros & Lysimachos to deal with the ever growing threat of an Illyrian invasion of northern Macedonia. Meanwhile he would begin a process of rooting out any corrupt governors, satraps and generals in the empire. In Anatolia Aetios himself was in a precarious position, he had been ordered by both Krateros and Antipatros to support the invasion of Illyria with manpower recruited from his land however, the Ionian Greeks who had previously served him faithfully were now ready to revolt due to the bad governance of Nikeratos who was originally one of his commanders and had been ruling Ionia with an iron fist as if he was King. Unable to abide that he had the man executed but he couldn't leave the satrapy with them ready to revolt, he sent numerous envoys to explain the situation though he knew they might be seen as excuses so his last envoy was also sent with roughly a third of his treasury which in turn forced him to finally downsize his army too around 16,000 men.

317 BC

Krateros seeing little gain in invading the Ardiaei tribes sent an envoy to King Sirras, a meeting was set up in early march and talks began for a small treaty such that Sirras wouldn't attack northern Macedon for a few hundred Tetradrachmae. With talks concluded successfully Krateros sent word to Babylon of the peace, however when the messenger arrived a few months later he found Antipatros had died in his sleep of old age and thus once again voting had started. Meanwhile in the east an Indian warlord had beaten the armies of Peithon and Poros and was advancing steadily against the armies of Stasanor and Tlepolemos who had sent word to Antigonos in Babylon that they needed support. Once again the Empire had no regent and was under attack, in this confusion Kassander tried to claim the title of Regent but without the support of any of the Satraps and soldiers he was unable to make much momentum. Antigonos seeing that the title was open made his own claim to it seeing as he was likely the most capable of the men in Babylon and they had little time he gave his word he would stop the warlord Chandragupta in the east and secure those satrapies securing the support of the nobility and soldiery he took the title without argument. He soon sent orders to his son in Greater Phrygia to simply take care of the land, another order was dispatched to Eumenes and Polyperchon both of which were ordered to take their armies and reinforce himself and the Greco-Persian armies in the east as soon as possible.

Taking the Royal Macedonian troops stationed at Babylon and the surrounding areas his force numbered some 39,000 veteran soldiers, with that he made his way east by the coast of the Persian gulf and into Arachosia after months of marching he began a short campaign against Chandragupta's armies meeting the Indian troops in various skirmishes around the country side declining to meet the somewhat larger army in battle for a time. Records indicate he soon fought three battles against Chandragupta though the first and second ones were inconclusive the Macedonians took more losses in those battles, but the third with support from Eumenes and Polyperchon was fairly great victory still it was not enough. The fighting continued into late Autumn when Antigonos was offered a roughly 300 war elephants and a few marriages in return for the easternmost satrapies of Paropamisadae, Punjab, the Indus River and Gandhara. Antigonos seeing only two options take a mutual peace or continue fighting took the first returning home he had spent the time in march telling his soldiers that he was victorious against his foe even if he had lost the Indian satrapies.

In the west Illyrian raids had stopped against Greece proper but Sirras had begun an attack on Apulia and the Samnites hoping that the resources of Italia would prove bountiful, his men sacked numerous Greek cities and in Apulia often fighting various Greek citizens and proving himself the victor. His conquest slowed however against the Samnites who were much more martial oriented than his Greek foes. Under a man named Herennius the Samnite armies were able to match Sirras and push him back to some extent, with the Winter coming up Sirras was forced to make peace offering a number of marriages and a few territories he had taken to some of the tribes nearest his land in return they would simply not attack his remaining territory. By the time winter had set in Sirras was already back in Illyria with his fellow tribesmen having been mostly victorious against his foes and having lined his coffers nicely.
 
You know a strong argead empire would probably actually help the Mauryans as it butterflies the independent indo Greek kingdoms that nibbled away at the empire and replaces them with a massive power but one that’s much more focused on the other side of the Iranian plateau and is less likely to commit resources in India as opposed to Europe.
 
You know a strong argead empire would probably actually help the Mauryans as it butterflies the independent indo Greek kingdoms that nibbled away at the empire and replaces them with a massive power but one that’s much more focused on the other side of the Iranian plateau and is less likely to commit resources in India as opposed to Europe.
I agree I kind of regret making a large Maurya state to the east but this is sort of a balance for the shear power that a mostly united Argead state is able to put out as will be seen in a few years prior to Alexander's rise to the throne.
 
I agree I kind of regret making a large Maurya state to the east but this is sort of a balance for the shear power that a mostly united Argead state is able to put out as will be seen in a few years prior to Alexander's rise to the throne.

For a while at least I’d say there are going to be mainly strong diplomatic relations between the two states with at least a few royal marriages considering both Chandragupta and Binduasaras hellenophilia
 
For a while at least I’d say there are going to be mainly strong diplomatic relations between the two states with at least a few royal marriages considering both Chandragupta and Binduasaras hellenophilia
That's the plan, though the Argead state will have a more western focus even with it's center of power in Mesopotamia and Syria it's still going to play a huge part in Mediterranean politics though other Diadochi states will play bigger parts.

Argeadai will likely for the foreseeable future stay the dominant outside force in Indian politics.
 
Last edited:
7
316 BC
Antigonos had been at a loss since the war with Chandragupta, his political power was fading away regardless of what he did as the Soldiers, Satraps and Nobility were all enraged that he would surrender so easily and with little to gain still he had created a time of peace in the east for now. But without a simple way to gain back his political fire he needed legitimacy other than his place as regent over Alexandros IV the boy of seven who was quickly showing his intelligence. With that in mind he began to gather troops and sent an envoy to Egypt demanding that Ptolemy hand over Alexander's body to be buried in Babylonia the current capital.

At the same time he began the long process of relocating Greeks and Macedonians into Asia. As they couldn't rely on the Asian people as recruits in regions like Persia for their infantry as they were to feminine he required Greeks to be settled in military camps.* These men were offered free land in return for military service and would come to be called Katoikoi or residents. However, in regions such as Anatolia where the settled Greek population was already large this wasn't required nearly as much so the Katoikoi were settled in Syria, Mesopotamia and of course Babylon itself. In Anatolia Eumenes had been given charge of Aetios first born son Pyrrhos as he acknowledged him to be a far better commander and he had served under Phillipos & Alexandros as secretary.

In the land of Ardiaei, Sirras had once again begun his yearly campaigning starting from his base in Foggia a region only recently taken from the Samnites. A far larger army had been brought this time unlike the last year where he had only brought his best veterans to set up small conquests and raid, his current force numbered some 18,000 for fighting in the mountainous terrain against Samnium. He moved west taking various towns and villages and even a city or two before meeting a proper Samnite army under a man named Pontius, his foe led 14,000 soldiers against him well armed and mostly well armoured it seemed. The difference in battle was clear, Illyrian infantry used a large square formation like a phalanx such that they could take the shock of battle but though fierce they were slow to maneuver, the Samnites however used much looser formations and threw javelins before entering melee similar too skirmishers they also kept a proper reserve line such that they could fill in any gaps created by the Ardiaei. The battle would be fierce and the Samnites though they eventually lost would nearly break King Sirras's army in the battle forcing him to retire from the field back too Illyria with little to show that year. He had however learned a great deal from them, he soon tried and succeeded in convincing his many followers to train in throwing javelins and in using a new formation different from their original phalanx instead basing it on the Samnites much looser form.

He would take to campaign again that year but stayed in Illyria simply attacking a nearby Celtic tribe that seemed to have roamed away from the northern alps into his territory in Dalmatae. He beat them and pushed them eastwards though a few of his warriors seemed to like the shields they carried.

*Historically the Diadochi in the east were distrustful of the native Asian people, thus relying on the Greek settlers in the region. This contributed to the low manpower reserves that the various states such as the Seleucids always had.
** I will post another map with the next update in a few hours, I just happen to be away from my computer.
 
Last edited:
8
315 BC
g4nmrvt.jpg

Pictured: Silver shields of Antigonos
Ptolemaios would not return the body of King Alexandros III, he could not for it granted him legitimacy in his place of power in Egypt for the people had risen Alexandros to divine status in the wake of his Persian Conquests, at the same time he was unable to fight Antigonos with only Egypt behind him. With that in mind he began the process of looking for allies starting with the still angry son of Antipatros and Satrap of Syria Kassander Antipatrid. The two would meet somewhere near the border of their respective satrapies late into February, as it soon turned out they were of like mind in their roles under Antigonos and the child King in Babylon so they made a small pact with both leaving from there to collect more allies. Under Kassander came the banners of Arion Satrap of Cilicia who may have joined him from loyalty to the man's late father as he had been one of his few supporters for regent or it may have been for a source of money and prestige, another was Asandros satrap of Caria who joined for the possibility of more land to carved from the other satraps. From Ptolemy came Lysimachos who had been the Satrap of Thrace but with the offer of Macedon from Ptolemy had joined their side. The men would meet at Rhodes in secret during a particularly cold spring night in the late march, they would agree to an alliance through various marriages planned for their families to intermingle in the infamous Pact of Rhodes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Armies of the Pact of Rhodes
Ptolemy - 13,500 Heavy Infantry of which 7,500 were made up of Phalangites with the rest being mercenary Hoplitai the standard ratio of Macedonian armies at this time was that at least a third of all infantry were Phalangites, 3,000 Light Cavalry much of which was simply Prodromoi* meant for skirmishing and scouting duties, 1,000 Xystophoroi**, 5,000 Egyptian archers militia were also a part of his army for a total of 22,500 soldiers though he also had a contingent of 120 African War Elephants.
Kassander - 12,500 Heavy Infantry, 2,000 Prodromoi, 2,000 Xystophoroi, uniquely Kassander also had a 3,000 strong force of Syrian Toxotai*** they were distinguished by the fact that they wore Linothorax similar to that of Phalangites and carried powerful composite bows, he also had a force of 2,500 Peltastai for a total of 22,000 soldiers while another 70 war elephants were contained in his army.
Lysimachos - 8,000 Phalangites, he also employed nearly 4,000 Thracian heavy infantry equipped with their powerful Rhomphaia a polearm with a slightly curved blade allowing for stabbing and overhand thrusts in their phalanx formation on the wings. 4,500 Peltastai were employed as well as 2,000 Prodromoi & 1,000 Xystophoroi for 19,500 soldiers total.
Arion - 6,000 Phalangite, 3,000 Peltastai, 2,000 Prodromoi cavalry for a total of 11,000 soldiers.
Asandros - Asandros had the smallest army with only 5,000 Phalangites and 3,000 Peltastai.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PaXroquh.jpg


Pictured: A map of the Argead Empire alongside the Pact of Rhodes and surrounding states.

With a continuous lack of confirmation on the return of Alexanders body from Ptolemaios, Antigonos dispatched Polyperchon to Syria in an effort to build up a campaign for Egypt on land, he sent another dispatch towards Krateros in Macedonia such that he should gather the fleet stationed at Pella and take it to Cyprus so he could subdue the island securing it as a Naval base for the Antigonid strategic plans. Antigonos sent another dispatch along with funds to Phillipos in Bactria that he should purchase some war elephants from Samraat Chandragupta in India and send them to Babylon with a contingent or two of Sogdian horse archers. Antigonos himself began preparations alongside his second in command Menandros where they took the Royal army to Mesopotamia specifically Mari not far from the Syrian satrapy where they would await the Bactrian reinforcements.

In Syria however all of this was known to Ptolemaios who in recent months had moved the majority of his forces to upper Syria along with Kassander's army so that they could take apart Antigonos and his Allies piecemeal. The message to Krateros had been intercepted by Arion and Asandros who had combined their armies in Cilicia in an attempt to gain local superiority over Demetrius in Greater Phrygia who's force was roughly similar in size to Ptolemaios. In the east Phillipos had gotten Antigonos message and had begun haggling with Chandragupta, he with much difficulty secured some 300 Indian elephants in return for a few marriages one in particular was the marriage of Thessalonike of Macedon, Phillipos II youngest daughter and half sister of Alexander III to Chandragupta himself, Thessalonike was at this time in Babylon along with the Queen Roxane and the young Alexandros IV.

By early Summer Polyperchon who's army numbered 24,500 soldiers had entered Syria, he had not expected much of a greeting from Kassander but the complete lack of Kassander's appearance had him on edge and rightfully so as by the time he arrived in Aleppo he was attacked by the combined forces of Ptolemy & Kassander. The battle was long and hard fought but his men were tired from the long march where as the Ptolemaic troops were not. He was forced to concede the field after a few hours of fighting but Ptolemaios would not let him go that easily, he chased him for two days harassing Polyperchons rear and winning several small skirmishes until after nearly two weeks of retreat Polyperchon arranged his forces so they would fought another battle. This one was a decisive victory for the pact as Polyperchon would die in the cavalry melee to Kassander's sword and his army would more or less dissolve against the Ptolemaic armies many of his men were taken into their armies while the rest disbanded or fled to Antigonos. In Mari Antigonos would receive the news of Polyperchons death in the form of the few thousand men that were able to get away and meet up with the Antigonid army. His decision from there was difficult as by all reports he still had the larger army with his 46,000 men but any battle could see him lose that, still he would take to the field hoping to meet up with his son in Anatolia at some point. Antigonos fought against the united forces of Ptolemaios and Kassander fighting two indecisive battles near the Syrian border in which he was unable to best the duo and took a few thousand casualties for his trouble, falling back into Mesopotamia he hoped to gather more troops for his army as Phillipos was still waiting upon the arrival of Thessalonike to trade for the Elephants and thus couldn't reinforce Antigonos. In Mesopotamia he fought again against the duo taking a defensive stance in the area across the Euphrates he won against two attempted crossing by Kassander nearly destroying the man's army but was forced to retreat from his position after Ptolemaios had in the span of a night managed to cross the Euphrates a few miles to the north and attacked his camp in a bloody night raid though it was eventually fought off. Another battle was fought as he crossed the Tigris forcing him to leave a few thousand men behind to cover his crossing, he would continue his march from Mesopotamia too Media where he forced Peithon the satrap to hand over his army. In Babylon the King Phillpos III and his nephew Alexandros IV were likely in great danger if Ptolemaios or Kassander choose to attack the city, so in the dead of night the Persian Royal Guard, King Phillipos, Prince Alexandros and his Mother and Aunt Roxane and Thessalonike respectivly fled the city by boat up the Euphrates just in time as a few days later Kassander would besiege the city taking it in just three days.

In Anatolia things were not much better, Demetrius still a very young man at age 22, had seen little of war compared to his opponents in Arion and Asandros though he began a rather good campaign against both managing to push them from their initial attack on his land at Perge back into Cilicia. His campaign stalled in the sieges he was forced to conduct after his battlefield victories, he was unable to take the city of Tarsus though he did take the surrounding area before a counterattack led by Arion forced his retreat as a large contingent of his forces were routed during a separate siege leaving him outnumbered.

In Cappadocia the usually loyalist Eumenes was under attack from the East by the King of Armenia Yervand III, who's army was said to number 29,000 mostly light infantry a force larger than Eumenes but without good infantry Yervand stuck to raiding his territories never engaging in a protracted battle. Eumenes stuck on the frontier was thus unable to support Demetrius in Cilicia for if he was the war there would already be over. In Hellespontine Phrygia things were different as Aetios at this time had little reason to side with anybody, still he garrisoned the forts and cities along the Hellespont and Bosporus deciding that no army should cross into his lands with out his authority.

Lysimachos had different plans for in Greece he had been victorious beating Krateros not once but twice first in upper Macedonia ambushing a large contingent of his forces though the aging general managed to escape to Pistyros with Lysimachos in pursuit. Lysimachos once again attacked but with gold instead of sword, he bribed the commander Menos on Krateros left flank in the early morning so that during the battle the man held back with a third of the infantry as the rest of Krateros men were routed off the field and Krateros himself was captured, the man was rewarded with some land in Greece as the army and it's new contingents marched on to Pella which surrendered quickly. From Pella Lysimachos would conquer the whole of the Kingdom of Macedon by late Autumn as most towns and cities simply surrendered. Crowning himself King with the support of the Nobility gained by the sword and by coin he stabilized his position easily. The Greek city states were left to their own with out the usual Macedonian hegemony of the time, Athens however found it quite profitable selling their fleet to Lysimachos who along with the Macedonian fleet captured at port in Pella now had the second strongest Hellenic fleet in the Mediterranean behind only Ptolemaios.

In the West King Sirras was once again stirring, though it was not for a campaign as he had already diverted the Celts from his lands into the east across the Danube. Now he was set on reforming the Kingdom so that on his death it would stay a powerhouse under his son's, for that he began bribing those of the nobility that didn't like him to support a change in laws or at least stay silent. With some support and some silence from the nobility he began the first change that of the Diarchy, his oldest son Dasius would join him as a King in his own right though as the junior ruler he would have less power, his place was to rule in Italia. His next change was that of the army as he needed at least a small amount of professionals to man forts in his holding on the Italic peninsula, so he with great difficulty created a small force some 3000 strong and sent with them a number of tribes meant to settle in the area.
v9NY4Qph.jpg

Pictured: A map of the Argeadai Civil War and surrounding areas.
*Prodromoi were lightly armored scouts, they were usually armed with a few javelins and either a Xyston spear or possibly a Sarissa for charges.
**Xystophoroi was the name for the heavy cavalry lancers in most Hellenic armies, as Hetairoi or Companion Cavalry was used to denote the units that contained Aristocratic elements
***Toxotai was the name for Greek archers usually armed with a short bow, Cretans however were known to use a Longbow to devastating effect among Greek armies thus their place as renowned mercenaries.
 
Last edited:

Hecatee

Donor
Ideed Eumene's presence would have been a game changer in Anatolia. good update (but needs threadmarking)
 
9
314 BC
ab0a1d5d3ff00b4566905d17e981e0be.jpg

Pictured: the Macedonian Royal Cavalry led by Antigonos himself.

Antigonos had been preparing to fight, he had marched in force against Ptolemaios on the Tigris early into the spring and won a heavy fought victory sending the pact reeling from there his successes continued to mount as he crossed the Tigris he hoped to take Babylonia from Kassander who as far as he knew had the royal family in his care. He was careful to avoid many of Kassanders Prodromoi and with judicious use of his own scouts had moved in secret managing to get to Babylon long before Ptolemaios knew he was there. The surprise was used well but his siege could not have gone more wrong, even though he outnumbered Kassander the man countered his every move dragging the siege to a great halt as assaults failed and great siege engines were burned during the night. It took two weeks before Antigonos knew he had to retreat for fear of reinforcements coming to relieve Kassander, still he had made a display of power against the pact who at least for a time resigned against attacking his army by the Tigris where Antigonos had camped. During the next few months Antigonos had since gotten some support from Philipos of Bactria in the form of a large cavalry contingent numbering a few thousand as the elephants would not be delivered until Thessalonike was in Chandragupta’s court Philippos had opted to send just cavalry instead. However with a lack of elephants he was hesitant to attack Ptolemaios as he did have over a hundred African elephants alongside his phalanx, he opted to push forward managing to take back much of upper Mesopotamia. Antigonos had thought about leaving the east and crossing inti Anatolia but it would leave him without much support if it turned out his son had lost the peninsula. With that he began a Euphrates campaign starting by sailing a small organized pontoon fleet down river with his army using it along with scouts to skirmish against Ptolemaios as he was coming to Kassanders aid slowing him long enough to then attack Kassander himself as he was in retreat. Defeating the man once though it wasn’t decisive, he was attacked by their combined armies by the Euphrates a few days later but this time he wasn’t able to out run them. The two armies maneuvered for a couple days with much cavalry skirmishing happening as the Sogdians provided by Philipos became invaluable and allowed for a few important victories. Finally on the third day an actual battle began as both armies were prepared for fighting and began to march against one another, oddly enough though neither side choose to make a push with the cavalry as the skirmishers began their fight prior to the phalanx’s meeting. Still neither side took the cavalry initiative even as the infantry began to break from the fighting until Antigonos made his fateful move, he attacked on the right with his cavalry while ordering his phalanx to make a fighting retreat from the battle. On the left Kassander engaged his cavalry and began to push them off the field though the Sogdians caused numerous casualties while doing so, Ptolemaios gave orders for the his phalanx not to push against the routing troops while he fought Antigonos until his men were off the field at which point the old regent fled along with his cavalry. The battle was tactically inconclusive with the push of pikes and melee killing close to four thousand on each side though strategically Ptolemaios and Kassander once again had a chance to reclaim Mesopotamia.

Argyraspids1.jpg

Pictured: Eumenes of Cardia and his phalanx opposing the Armenians.
In Anatolia things began to become more complicated, Eumenes in his brilliance had beaten Yervand III by pinning his forces in the mountains of Cappadocia with superior maneuvering of his cavalry cutting off all areas of strategic retreat. His force surrounded the Armenians and offered only one chance at surrender of which they took, his men stripped them of stolen gold & silver as well as of their weapons before they were escorted out of his land in the following weeks. His next action was marching to Armavir* which was besieged and taken in a few days, his men under strict orders entered the city and while fighting spilled out into the streets from the walls the city still fell with only a hundred Macedonian casualties. King Yervand who had been imprisoned at Mezaca** was dethroned while a Persian mercenary by the name of Mithranes who had previously served under Alexandros Mégas was appointed to rule for a time by Eumenes from his officer core. With the victory in Armenia and its subduing Eumenes returned to Mezaca where he was given both good and bad news for in Mezaca Eumenes wife Artonis have given birth to twins boys named Alexandros and Nikomedes respectively both were born healthy and were to be well taken care of. However at the same time in secret the Royal family had arrived having sailed up the Euphrates and one of its many tributaries before riding to the wily Cardian's capital as it was closer than Demetrius'. Queen Roxana beseeched that Eumenes help Alexandros survive the war and support him in his bid for the throne, Eumenes was quick to accept but implored The royal family stay in Mezaca until the war was won as he was concerned they might be killed in the army camp. With his army still encamped at Mezaca he spent a few days organizing supplies and sending envoys to both Demetrius who was at Kelainai*** that he was joining his side and that he hoped to meet him there in a few weeks to a months time. Another envoy was dispatched to Aetios friend of Eumenes that implored him to join them at Kelainai as he had a similar sized army to Demetrius and war elephants of his own the only ones on the Anatolian peninsula.

image_by_erzebetblah-d8th2qx.jpg

Pictured: Phrygian Hoplite, wearing Linothorax due to its cheap price and effective use it was provided by Aetios himself for all Hoplites.

In the Hellespontine lands of Aetios problems were abound, his army had crushed an expedition of Lysimachos’s general Agrios to cross the Hellespont in the early spring after a forced march with his army caught Agrios men with their backs to the water. However with this victory came the scorn and villainy of Lysimachos himself who also attempted a crossing but would be thwarted twice once by weather in the late spring and again by the Phrygian army attacking in the dead of night after a crossing forcing his retreat during the coming day. Lysimachos after both failures figured that he should try to attack across the Bosporus instead then as the Phrygians likely wouldn’t be ready, his only issue was Byzantion the city that like the rest of Greece only acknowledged him as Hegemon but didn’t support him. With its place on the Bosporus made it easily defendable and gave it a local superiority he would need but the city didn’t support him or his armies when they came through refusing to aid him and actively siding against him leading to a long siege of the city he had not been prepared for. At the same time word was sent to Aetios by Antiochus of Byzantion a skilled sailor and mercenary, he sailed past the Greco-Macedonian fleet down too Percote spoiling Lysimachos plans and offering his service as a mercenary both of which were used by Aetios who marched for Chalcedon immediately. He caught Lysimachos but was beaten in battle twice forcing his retreat and the loss of many members of his veteran phalanx, though he managed a number of victorious skirmishes along his retreat he couldn’t best Lysimachos in the field with his full army leading to a continued retreat only stopping at Nikaia to collect his treasury and family before continuing the march from there to Kelainai and for the next month he barely kept a hold on the men as many of the Phrygian and Ionian soldiers wanted to leave and defend their lands while some of the Macedonians may have wanted to side with Lysimachos.

By late spring for Demetrius the arrival of both Eumenes and Aetios was looked upon as a miracle for it’s time, with the combination of their armies their force was the largest in Anatolia the only difficulty would be who to focus on. If they marched South-East to beat Arion & Asandros armies Lysimachos would invade from the North and vice versa if they went North-West. The trio argued for days over a plan but finally around midsummer a plan had been agreed on by the three, they would attack Arion with their full force to the South but with two different armies at two different spots as they already outnumbered him with half their force they hoped to force him into the field so that once he was defeated they could attempt to defeat Lysimachos. With that they left for the South splitting into two near the edge of Cilicia the army under Aetios went slightly North while the Eumenid-Antigonid armies went along the coast taking many of the settlements that Arion had earlier defended with fervor now the man stood back intent on defending Tarsus. When they realized their mistake the two armies came together at Tarsus and besieged the city heavily outnumbering the defenders by tens of thousands as Asandros had gone east to support Ptolemaios after his losses too Antigonos. Still Arion was an experienced man and had seen the sieges conducted by Alexander, he countered many of their attempts and slowed their progress to a crawl until finally after three weeks of attempts they had killed so many of the defenders they the last attempt barely fought against. The city was taken after an hour of light fighting as it’s people no longer had the heart, Arion escaped into the city and likely fled in the coming weeks but without an army or the funds to raise it he wasn’t a threat for the time being.
With their surprising ease of victory here the morale was high as the army headed north, attempted an attack on Lysimachos forces but were beaten back at least once and would continue to fight two more inconclusive battles due to the now equalized size of their forces both numbering a little over 30,000. They fought skirmishes back and forth but neither army would engage the other in a full battle as that meant the possibility of either side losing everything. In the late autumn Eumenes attempted with a large cavalry force attacking the supply lines in Bithynia, this succeeded for a time and forced Lysimachos back into the province from which Eumenes retreated and allowed Demetrius & Aetios to retake much of the Hellespontine satrapy from the Lysimachid forces as Ionian and Phrygian towns welcomed their old ruler. Eventually they would be stopped once again as the series of skirmishes and raids began over Bithynia where the fighting was more intense as Autumn came and unlike most armies they didn’t stop for the winter as both sides could afford a winter campaign with professional soldiers. However in the late November Lysimachos was forced back over the Bosporus as the Greek cities had risen up under the restored Aetolian League and had subjugated much of the other city states under it during Lysimachos’s Anatolian campaign.
1ce4ab79e0dddff914625e3e472df2ae.jpg

Pictured: King Sirras in full armor
For King Sirras he now had few enemies yet somehow Samnites continued to bring him trouble, in Italia his campaigns had brought many Italic tribes & cities to heel often being forced into a sort of vassalage with protection from the other tribes on the terms they provide precious metals. The Samnites in the meanwhile had not grown weaker instead managing to always replace the losses they took as tribes chose to fight him rather than submit, Sirras found it difficult as every month meant his son and his army were fighting Samnites raiders but rather than try to tame them by still as that had failed to work he opted to try bribing them for a time with money gained from the southern Lucani and Italiote he offered a great deal of his yearly earnings which many tribes took yet one stood out against him. This tribe the Pentri led by Gellius Mutilus, he was a famed man who has apparently bested some Latin cities in the western side of Italia and now led the most important tribe in Samnium. Sirras seeing there was little he could do other than fight gathered as many men as he could and lead them down to Foggia before entering Samnium and making his way to the Pentri capital of Bojano, though he was stopped by Gellius near there where the two began a series of skirmishes that evolved into two battles the first of which was won by Desius and the second of which saw the loss of half of the Illyrians and the injury of Sirras who lost his eye during the battle and was taken alongside his army too Foggia. Desius managed to bribe off Gellius who feared a war in the West but without his father and the possibility of the Kings death many in the Ardiaei saw a chance of taking control of the great Illyrian Kingdom. Many began to plot and a few of the Dalmatae tribes in northern Illyria revolted though they were quickly put down by the Royal Retinue and the levies as such the first cracks in the Ardiaei Empire began.

*Armavir was the old capital of Armenia prior to the Persian invasions and for a time would continue to be it’s capital till 210 BC
**Mezaca was the capital of the Cappadocian satrapy and as far as I know continued to be into Eumenes reign
***Kelainai was the capital of Greater Phrygia as a satrapy.
 
Last edited:
Top