AHC/WI : Thessalian, not Macedonian, hegemony over Greece.

Jason of Pherae was a thessalian leader that, for the first time in a long time, managed to unify Thessaly under one rough rule, ending taking the title of tageuo/tagos (roughly tyrant or archon) of Thessaly.

He seems to have been equally skilled in politics (more than his son) and in military (being considered one of the first to use hemithorakion before it got more widespread).

His sudden rise was as much suddenly stopped by his assassination in -370, but he seems to be almost a prior exemple of what Philipp of Macedon achieved eventually : political and military build-up, then interventionism.

It's not really sure how much he planned to intervene in Hellade proper, altough he had a real influence on central Hellade, but he's said to have planned expeditions against Achaemeids.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find a way for Jason and/or his successors to gain a lasting influence and domination over Greece (at least Hellade). It can have a different form than Macedonian obtained and maintained it, but Thessalians must have a clear hegemony over the various poleis and ethnic states.
What would be the changes brought by such Thessalian hgemony?

Bonus point if Thessaly can have an overlordship over Macedonia, and double for expeditions against Persians.
 
If Jason's son, Alexander, defeats Thebas in 364 then he would gain control of the Boeotian League and from there and Thessaly he, or his descendants, would have a good position to unify the rest of Hellas and considering how temporarily close they are to Phillip a conflict with Macedonia would serve to make then act as the protectors of the Greeks giving even more momentum for their bid for Hegemon of Greece but for that they would had to defeat Macedonia.
 
If Jason's son, Alexander, defeats Thebas in 364 then he would gain control of the Boeotian League
How much tough, giving the Theban hegemony is still at its peak at this moment?
Thebes was in position to fairly well recover from a defeat, and except if you have Epaminnondas dying earlier (which woul arguably limit Thebes strategical and tactical capacities up to a limited extend, while Sparta enjoying a breathing space).
I'm not under the impression that Cynoscephalae was that strategically compelling for Thebans, while it was for Thessalians. I agree, tough, that a Thessalian victory or a draw would allow at least inner build-up, and a better position to intervene when Thebes will really decline.
 
How much tough, giving the Theban hegemony is still at its peak at this moment?
Thebes was in position to fairly well recover from a defeat, and except if you have Epaminnondas dying earlier (which woul arguably limit Thebes strategical and tactical capacities up to a limited extend, while Sparta enjoying a breathing space).
I'm not under the impression that Cynoscephalae was that strategically compelling for Thebans, while it was for Thessalians. I agree, tough, that a Thessalian victory or a draw would allow at least inner build-up, and a better position to intervene when Thebes will really decline.

Well considering the way politics worked on those days, even a nominal Thessaly hegemony over the Boeotian League is going to hurt Thebes on the short term (on the middle term they would be able to recover) and with the rise of Macedonia, Alexander could sell himself as the shield protecting the League ensuring that the other members are loyal to him. The problem is that Alexander was the oposite of Jason, and his aggressive attitude would backfire against him on the long term.

Still it will be interesting to see how TTL analogue of the Third Sacred War would evolve.
 
I'm surprised that there's no real interest on Late Classical Greece.
Would a bumpity bump and a new question be enough?

What would be the tactics of an hegemonic Thessaly? I'm not sure it would produce the same phalanx formations and equipment, altough I could see an important use of non-hoplitic levies (as did Phillip IOTL), especially if Jason's successors manage to dominate Macedonia and Epirus.
 
If the Phocians had more success early on in the 3rd Sacred war, and an earlier than OTL Thessalian federation sided with them not Phillip who was defeated at an equivalent of the Battle of Crocus field decisively, Philip would have been defeated 3 times by the Phocians, and if taken enough losses would be crippled and Thessaly could start pushing into Macedonia. So Thessaly remains independent, Macedonia's rise is halted, and then Thessaly follows the same pattern that Phillip would've taken OTL, gradually build up levies and push into it's neighbors amassing more and more influence and power. Plus if early enough the Phocians would still have had a lot of the treasures of Delphi to reward their Thessalian allies who could use Phocia's original tactic ,of hiring mercenaries to prolong the sacred war,to hire mercenaries to bolster their forces.

This would however require butterflying away the ancient hatred between Thessaly and Phocis,and having Philip invade without Thessalian support, and is later than Jason,so not sure if it's any help to you. I'm also not entirely convinced they could have developed the right strategies and logistics that served Macedonia so well as they expanded.
 
One of the curiousities, I think, with Thessalian dominance is that the style of charismatic, personal monarchy based around military successes that one associates with Makedon and the successors is essentially nipped in the bud. Jason ruled as a tyrant, and I'm not sure he would have managed to have nearly as lasting of a legacy outside of the field of military tactics and technology. Sure, Greece was moving towards greater and greater unity - leagues and larger polities rather than mere city-states and their environs. But if it's the same Jason as OTL, with the same kid, I doubt we're going to see a sweeping conquest of Persia in the cards, or kingdoms in quite the same way.

I think any dominion Jason establishes will struggle to outlive him, but if he lives a little longer he'll probably be able establish some sort of panhellenic hegemony. During Jason's time, however, Persia isn't in as bad of a situation as it would be under Alexander the Great, and Jason's son is no Alexander the Great. Jason himself has always struck me as more of a Phillip sort of figure, albeit more mercenary and opportunistic. If he turned his eye to Asia, it would probably be aimed at securing the Ionian cities, not a great and sweeping "world" conquest.

I think it's very easy to make Thessaly a unified polity with long term influence over all Hellas. I think it's very hard to make him into a Thessalian Alexander.
 
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