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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.
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.
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.
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