Matt I submitted this double, I think
Okay, here I go again.
This is about what might happen if Alexander discovered a possible conspiracy against him and the events that followed. It covers an empire that ultimately extends from Gaul to India, and which lasts 130 years, and in one form, beyond that. Here's the link to the discussion thread to it, and enjoy!
Outside of Babylon
323 BC
As Alexander arrived at Babylon, a man known as Demetrius came out to greet him. Alexander knew him as a mid-ranking officer who had served in the conquest of Persia. "My King, I have been sent to invite you to a celebration hosted by Medius. However it is a trap. I am forever loyal to you, and in awe of your accomplishments, and so I don't believe you deserve to die because some generals are mad at you.
Alexander knew immidiately it could not be a lie. There were several of his officers who were angry at being forced to take Persian wives. "Tell me who is behind this." he said heatily, with a voice that could've broken glass. Demetrius told him and Alexander asked him to lead him to the palace. He did so, and Alexander and the rest of his men entered the palace. As Medius attempted to greet him, Alexander raised his hand for silence, and had the room surrounded. "All of you are under arrest." Everybody in the palace looked very scared, except for Cassander, named as the top conspirator who's face was a mask of fury as much as Alexander's. Alexander would have no doubt ordered everybody in the room at the time he entered executed on the spot. But then, Antigonus, whom Alexander trusted, whispered something in his ear. At first, Alexander slapped him roughly away, and even stabbed him with his sword. But even though his blood was boiling very hot, what Antigonus said somehow sank in. He told evrybody to stop, and had the trial of the conspirators convened within the hour.
.
The Life Of Alexander the Great
Ptolemy Agrippa
published 275 BC
......And so Alexander had executed most of those who conspired against him including Cassander, Iollas, and Phillippus. He, however, gave Medius and a number of lesser figures lesser punishments by having their hands chopped off in public showing after they agreed to give information in exchange for not being executed. Demetrius, the one who notified Alexander of the conspiracy, was promoted. Alexander then embarked on his plans to conquer Arabia. Leaving Antigonus in charge of Babylon after he was told to find out out about the exploratory fleet of the Caspian Sea,
Alexander and his army, much of which consisted of a Bactrian corps that
had recently arrived,set off in ships that had been built in a month or so.
They sailed down to the Persian Gulf ,and to Dilmun, an ancient trading post which surrendered without a fight when the fleet arrived. Alexander left some men to secure it and continued sailing for two and a half months to the Southwest corner, where the Arabian kingdoms were located. The armies disembarked and defeated the Himyartic and Sabean kingdoms in a few battles. Like Persia, Alexander kept several high officials in power, showed respect for Arab ways, and made a number of his generals take Arab wives.
After hearing that the Sinai was a month or so to the north, Alexander left a small Macedonian garrison and sailed up to the Sinai. Strong winds blew him and his fleet into the gulf in the west. Alexander and his army again disembarked. Some of the men were given instructions to build a port at the location, and they camped their for the night, only to get attacked by raiders from the east. Some of them were captured and proved to be Nabataens, from a kingdom to the east.
Alexander desparately wanted to conquer it, but he had just survived an assassination attempt on him by one of his own guards. He would have likely died, if the assassin hadn't made excessive noise, and allowed the other guard to put a sword in his back. Alexander had then ordered an execution of the men he believed responsible for the attempt on his life. So he had Demetrius take a fifth of his army[1]to the east, while leaving a company to oversee the construction of the port, and he marched north to Tyre, where he awaited messages on Nabatae and what the Caspian Sea fleet had found.
After a month or so, Demetrius arrived in Tyre, with the news that the Nabataens had submitted to Alexander's authority, despite that the army had been subjected to stiff hit-and run attacks before marching on main cities like Petra. Most of the army had been left to occupy Nabatae. A messenger arrived at the same time, saying the Caspian Sea fleet had only found lands inhabited by uncouth barbarians, who had nearly wiped the landing party out.
Though Alexander was troubled by this, he was much more concerned about Antipater, whom he had expected to meet at Babylon instead of his sons.
[1] I'm don't think it would have taken that many men to conquer the Nabataens, but I can't say for sure.
Alexander had known that Antipater had had bad relations with Olympias, who had written letters to Alexander, saying that Antipater was formenting discord. Alexander had asked Antipater to show up in Babylon to answer these charges. When Antipater sent his son Cassander instead, it convinced Alexander that his mother had not been lying.
After Cassander's and Iollas' execution, Alexander had initially sent messengers telling Craterus to capture Antipater. By the time Craterus got it, however, a revolt had broken out in Greece, known as the Lamian War, and Craterus decided this threat had to be contained before going off and arresting him. He assembled a fleet at Cilicia. In the summer of 322BC, Alexander reached him, and the revolt was mostly defeated a couple of months later at the battle of Crannon. There were still some problems with the Aetolians, but Alexander was finally able to get Antipater to meet him for a council of war. Antipater, however, suspected a trap, since he had found out not too long ago that his sons were dead, and fled after a failed muder attempt that left his reamning son, Philip, dead.
Figuring out that the Aetolians would not ally with him, and knowing that Alexander had the stronger position, Antipater fled north and west. He was quickly caught, though by a party Alexander sent after him, proving that the weak and cowardly can never escape justice. Craterus was left to take care of the Aetolians, while Alexander dealt with Antipater personally...
Northern Aetolia
322 BC
"I tell you, I did not tell Cassander to arrange your murder!" shouted Antipater. "Why, in the name of Zeus would you send him then?!" bellowed Alexander twice as loud.
Antipater was exsaperated. Though he would have gladly have Alexander assasinated when he found out his sons were dead, the Lamian War had distracted him from that. And Craterus kept people he sent from leaving the country.
But the fact remained that Antipater never would have approved of Alexander's murder otherwise, Cassander and Iollas had exceeded his instructions, and decided to get rid of the potential threat. He ought to have realized that there were many soldiers and officers in the Macedonian army loyal to Alexander, thus ensuring he would be found out.
But Antipater knew there was no arguing with Alexander. Once he had made up his mind about something, he could not be argued with. "My King, I am forever loyal to you! I would never betray you in such a way!" "LIAR!!!" screamed Alexander at the top of his lungs.
At last, Alexander grew tired of arguing with Antipater and said. "You have obviously wanted to have me killed, so I wouldn't check up on the situation here. It is far past time for your execution to come." And with that, Alexander waved a hand for a man to come forward with poison. Antipater did not resist as his mouth was forced open, and the poison went down into his throat. Shortly, Antipater knew no more
And finally, after nearly 20 years of military campaigns, Alexander returned home. He had to get to the tough work of consolidaqting his empire.
First, he had to come up with an effective taxation system for his vast lands. He mostly used the system of the Persian Empire, keeping the silver taxes based on the amount of land the satraps being taxed had held. Based on a number of his advisors' advice, however, he instituted a number of original taxes, designed to keep control over the ever-large territory.
First, there were indirect taxes, which taxed the amount of goods, and direct taxes which taxed the propiety of how many land products have, they had, which included livestock and crops. A slave tax was added later, because of the continiunuing need for econimic control over the empire.
He also instituted a messenger system similar to the eyes and ears of King Darius I, where messengers went on surprise inspection tours, and reported on whether the satraps looked up to no good
This system helped uncover a plot in Arabia to throw out leaders loyal to Alexander.Unfortunately, it did not help when a messenger disappeared in the province of Parthia. About a month after he was supposed to have returned, Bad news arose in the spring of 319 BC, when yet another revolt by Persian satraps succeded in spreading throughout much the east-central part of the country. Luckily, quick action by Antigonus in the east crushed it in a few months. The Bactrians also helped, but alone they could not have helped the loyal satrapies much, because news of a great ruler out of India caused the army commander to order the pass between Bactria and India[2] fortified with most of the Bactrian corps. Alexander would later hear about this, and dispatched Craterus to help Antigonus, who had went into Bactria when hearing about this. Needless to see, the messengers always had bodyguards, and scouts to warn them of any sudden changes, from then on.
This latest revolt convinced Alexander that some of the Persian satraps could not recognognize a king nearly a thousand miles away. He decided that the capital should be moved closer to where they lived, and thought on Babylon. This raised a howl of protest from none less than Olympias, who said the capital should remain in Greek lands and Perdiccas, a general who had fought with Alexander in Persia, said it would be traitorous to move it to the land of their recent enemies. Alexander almost killed him, but he was cautioned by his advisors that the capital should also have access to Greece. He then decided on Tyre. Depite having more of liking for Alexandria, Egypt, he knew the capital should be closer to the Persians.
So finally it was decided that Alexander would only reside in Babylon for the winter, since he still felt the need for as close as contact with Persia as possible, to discourage the revolt. Tyre would be the capital for the rest of the year. Pella would remain as the ceremonial capital.
Meanwhile, Alexander having only recently fought off a challenge, was in danger of revolt in his homeland and in Greece. There needed to be a way to score a victory, that would keep his enemies from causing trouble. And that would arrive on June 12, 319 BC, when an emissary from Syracuse arrived in Pella, as Alexander was about to depart for Egypt, to remind the people their that their pharoah still existed. He had heard of this great conquring king, and he requested aid in mopping up the Carthagnian settlements on Sicily. Alexander agreed to this, but he decided to use this opportunity to take Carthage for himself. He had, in fact a fleet of ships reayd to sail before he got to Babylon, but the Lamian War had caused their mission to be aborted. When Alexander heard of this, he saw an opportunity to resurrect this, but as a diversion.[1] He agreed to send a small amount of troops in aid, and gave them permission to attack when they wished.
So, Alexander decided to sail for Egypt. On July 20, he arrived in Alexandria, to the great cheers of the Egyptian people. The Egyptians had of course heard of Alexander's great victories, and been waiting practically since the dawn of time for him to show up. There were celebrations for several days,as Alexander traveled to all the major Egyptian towns, and participated in religious ceremonies at the time. Needless to say, this did not make generals like Perdiccas happy. Luckily, an Egyptian officer in Thebes mentioned the kingdom of Kush to the South. Alexander then sent Perdiccas south to bring this land under the king's sovreignty. Perdiccas would go on to get killed in a guerilla fight 4 months later.
Taking some Egyptian troops with him, which brought the total of his army to about 25, 000 men. he got more reinforcements in Cyrenaica. He arrived near Carthage on August 9 Near Carthage, he saw the city was walled, and could see from far off, so he decided to look for natives who would help in exchange for a vassal kingdom. He then was able to enlist the support of the local tribe of Numidians, the Massyli agaisnt the Carthagnians. The Massaesyli, to the west, though, refused.
Realizing that the Massaesyli would likely notify the Carthagnians, Alexander decided to attack Carthage almost immidiately. He had some crude siege machines constructed, and proceeded to surround the city. The Massaaesyli, who tried to arrive to defend Carthage, were attacked by the Massyli. The Carthagnians fired arrows to try to distract the Massili. At this point, Alexander showed up and effectively surrounded the city. The Carthagnians, enraged, were now caught in a trap. They would have sent a message to Hamilcarwho had been sent to Sicily, to defend against the attack of their lands there. But the fleet initially sent sent by Alexander as an invasion force haad effectively blocked the harbor after destroying messenger ships that attemmpted to break out. The Massyli line was close to breaking at this point, so Alexander sent a number of companies under Demetrius to keep the Carthagnians from scattering the Massyli. He himself made a roundabout attack on the Massaesyli, and succeded in routing them. The remainder was taken prisoner. As he then reinforced the weak Massyli line, he was hit by an arrow in the side of the chest. Alexander was then rushed into camp to deaprately have the arrow removed, and close the wound. At one point, Alexander thought he saw a white light, but luckily he happened to have good doctors, and he eventually recovered.
Despite what seemed like a minor victory, Carthage were covinced they were eventually doomed, so they decided to go down fighting with a battle for the ages. A large consignment of troops then charged out of the city at the west line. Surprisingly enough, it was making it's way through holes in the Macedonian-Massyli line. But Ptolemy brought some extra troops from the south of the city, and crushed the Cathagnians. Unfotunately for the Carhagnians, this in the end only ended up shortening the siege. On November 13, Carthage surrendered. Leaving a company of troops there, Alexander then sailed for Sicily, where the sofetim or kings told him there was still a Carthgnian armyin Siciily. Alexander, after ensuring his control of Carthage, and leaving a Numidian vassal kingdom decided to sail for Sicily.
[1]A fleet that was ready in OTL, but I initially did not know of it. It was mentioned on the old board.
Okay, here I go again.
This is about what might happen if Alexander discovered a possible conspiracy against him and the events that followed. It covers an empire that ultimately extends from Gaul to India, and which lasts 130 years, and in one form, beyond that. Here's the link to the discussion thread to it, and enjoy!
Outside of Babylon
323 BC
As Alexander arrived at Babylon, a man known as Demetrius came out to greet him. Alexander knew him as a mid-ranking officer who had served in the conquest of Persia. "My King, I have been sent to invite you to a celebration hosted by Medius. However it is a trap. I am forever loyal to you, and in awe of your accomplishments, and so I don't believe you deserve to die because some generals are mad at you.
Alexander knew immidiately it could not be a lie. There were several of his officers who were angry at being forced to take Persian wives. "Tell me who is behind this." he said heatily, with a voice that could've broken glass. Demetrius told him and Alexander asked him to lead him to the palace. He did so, and Alexander and the rest of his men entered the palace. As Medius attempted to greet him, Alexander raised his hand for silence, and had the room surrounded. "All of you are under arrest." Everybody in the palace looked very scared, except for Cassander, named as the top conspirator who's face was a mask of fury as much as Alexander's. Alexander would have no doubt ordered everybody in the room at the time he entered executed on the spot. But then, Antigonus, whom Alexander trusted, whispered something in his ear. At first, Alexander slapped him roughly away, and even stabbed him with his sword. But even though his blood was boiling very hot, what Antigonus said somehow sank in. He told evrybody to stop, and had the trial of the conspirators convened within the hour.
.
The Life Of Alexander the Great
Ptolemy Agrippa
published 275 BC
Chapter 8: The conspiracy,and the Arabian conquest
......And so Alexander had executed most of those who conspired against him including Cassander, Iollas, and Phillippus. He, however, gave Medius and a number of lesser figures lesser punishments by having their hands chopped off in public showing after they agreed to give information in exchange for not being executed. Demetrius, the one who notified Alexander of the conspiracy, was promoted. Alexander then embarked on his plans to conquer Arabia. Leaving Antigonus in charge of Babylon after he was told to find out out about the exploratory fleet of the Caspian Sea,
Alexander and his army, much of which consisted of a Bactrian corps that
had recently arrived,set off in ships that had been built in a month or so.
They sailed down to the Persian Gulf ,and to Dilmun, an ancient trading post which surrendered without a fight when the fleet arrived. Alexander left some men to secure it and continued sailing for two and a half months to the Southwest corner, where the Arabian kingdoms were located. The armies disembarked and defeated the Himyartic and Sabean kingdoms in a few battles. Like Persia, Alexander kept several high officials in power, showed respect for Arab ways, and made a number of his generals take Arab wives.
After hearing that the Sinai was a month or so to the north, Alexander left a small Macedonian garrison and sailed up to the Sinai. Strong winds blew him and his fleet into the gulf in the west. Alexander and his army again disembarked. Some of the men were given instructions to build a port at the location, and they camped their for the night, only to get attacked by raiders from the east. Some of them were captured and proved to be Nabataens, from a kingdom to the east.
Alexander desparately wanted to conquer it, but he had just survived an assassination attempt on him by one of his own guards. He would have likely died, if the assassin hadn't made excessive noise, and allowed the other guard to put a sword in his back. Alexander had then ordered an execution of the men he believed responsible for the attempt on his life. So he had Demetrius take a fifth of his army[1]to the east, while leaving a company to oversee the construction of the port, and he marched north to Tyre, where he awaited messages on Nabatae and what the Caspian Sea fleet had found.
After a month or so, Demetrius arrived in Tyre, with the news that the Nabataens had submitted to Alexander's authority, despite that the army had been subjected to stiff hit-and run attacks before marching on main cities like Petra. Most of the army had been left to occupy Nabatae. A messenger arrived at the same time, saying the Caspian Sea fleet had only found lands inhabited by uncouth barbarians, who had nearly wiped the landing party out.
Though Alexander was troubled by this, he was much more concerned about Antipater, whom he had expected to meet at Babylon instead of his sons.
[1] I'm don't think it would have taken that many men to conquer the Nabataens, but I can't say for sure.
Chapter 9: Antipater, and the Reconquest of Greece
Alexander had known that Antipater had had bad relations with Olympias, who had written letters to Alexander, saying that Antipater was formenting discord. Alexander had asked Antipater to show up in Babylon to answer these charges. When Antipater sent his son Cassander instead, it convinced Alexander that his mother had not been lying.
After Cassander's and Iollas' execution, Alexander had initially sent messengers telling Craterus to capture Antipater. By the time Craterus got it, however, a revolt had broken out in Greece, known as the Lamian War, and Craterus decided this threat had to be contained before going off and arresting him. He assembled a fleet at Cilicia. In the summer of 322BC, Alexander reached him, and the revolt was mostly defeated a couple of months later at the battle of Crannon. There were still some problems with the Aetolians, but Alexander was finally able to get Antipater to meet him for a council of war. Antipater, however, suspected a trap, since he had found out not too long ago that his sons were dead, and fled after a failed muder attempt that left his reamning son, Philip, dead.
Figuring out that the Aetolians would not ally with him, and knowing that Alexander had the stronger position, Antipater fled north and west. He was quickly caught, though by a party Alexander sent after him, proving that the weak and cowardly can never escape justice. Craterus was left to take care of the Aetolians, while Alexander dealt with Antipater personally...
Northern Aetolia
322 BC
"I tell you, I did not tell Cassander to arrange your murder!" shouted Antipater. "Why, in the name of Zeus would you send him then?!" bellowed Alexander twice as loud.
Antipater was exsaperated. Though he would have gladly have Alexander assasinated when he found out his sons were dead, the Lamian War had distracted him from that. And Craterus kept people he sent from leaving the country.
But the fact remained that Antipater never would have approved of Alexander's murder otherwise, Cassander and Iollas had exceeded his instructions, and decided to get rid of the potential threat. He ought to have realized that there were many soldiers and officers in the Macedonian army loyal to Alexander, thus ensuring he would be found out.
But Antipater knew there was no arguing with Alexander. Once he had made up his mind about something, he could not be argued with. "My King, I am forever loyal to you! I would never betray you in such a way!" "LIAR!!!" screamed Alexander at the top of his lungs.
At last, Alexander grew tired of arguing with Antipater and said. "You have obviously wanted to have me killed, so I wouldn't check up on the situation here. It is far past time for your execution to come." And with that, Alexander waved a hand for a man to come forward with poison. Antipater did not resist as his mouth was forced open, and the poison went down into his throat. Shortly, Antipater knew no more
Chapter 10: The period after and the conquest of Carthage
And finally, after nearly 20 years of military campaigns, Alexander returned home. He had to get to the tough work of consolidaqting his empire.
First, he had to come up with an effective taxation system for his vast lands. He mostly used the system of the Persian Empire, keeping the silver taxes based on the amount of land the satraps being taxed had held. Based on a number of his advisors' advice, however, he instituted a number of original taxes, designed to keep control over the ever-large territory.
First, there were indirect taxes, which taxed the amount of goods, and direct taxes which taxed the propiety of how many land products have, they had, which included livestock and crops. A slave tax was added later, because of the continiunuing need for econimic control over the empire.
He also instituted a messenger system similar to the eyes and ears of King Darius I, where messengers went on surprise inspection tours, and reported on whether the satraps looked up to no good
This system helped uncover a plot in Arabia to throw out leaders loyal to Alexander.Unfortunately, it did not help when a messenger disappeared in the province of Parthia. About a month after he was supposed to have returned, Bad news arose in the spring of 319 BC, when yet another revolt by Persian satraps succeded in spreading throughout much the east-central part of the country. Luckily, quick action by Antigonus in the east crushed it in a few months. The Bactrians also helped, but alone they could not have helped the loyal satrapies much, because news of a great ruler out of India caused the army commander to order the pass between Bactria and India[2] fortified with most of the Bactrian corps. Alexander would later hear about this, and dispatched Craterus to help Antigonus, who had went into Bactria when hearing about this. Needless to see, the messengers always had bodyguards, and scouts to warn them of any sudden changes, from then on.
This latest revolt convinced Alexander that some of the Persian satraps could not recognognize a king nearly a thousand miles away. He decided that the capital should be moved closer to where they lived, and thought on Babylon. This raised a howl of protest from none less than Olympias, who said the capital should remain in Greek lands and Perdiccas, a general who had fought with Alexander in Persia, said it would be traitorous to move it to the land of their recent enemies. Alexander almost killed him, but he was cautioned by his advisors that the capital should also have access to Greece. He then decided on Tyre. Depite having more of liking for Alexandria, Egypt, he knew the capital should be closer to the Persians.
So finally it was decided that Alexander would only reside in Babylon for the winter, since he still felt the need for as close as contact with Persia as possible, to discourage the revolt. Tyre would be the capital for the rest of the year. Pella would remain as the ceremonial capital.
Meanwhile, Alexander having only recently fought off a challenge, was in danger of revolt in his homeland and in Greece. There needed to be a way to score a victory, that would keep his enemies from causing trouble. And that would arrive on June 12, 319 BC, when an emissary from Syracuse arrived in Pella, as Alexander was about to depart for Egypt, to remind the people their that their pharoah still existed. He had heard of this great conquring king, and he requested aid in mopping up the Carthagnian settlements on Sicily. Alexander agreed to this, but he decided to use this opportunity to take Carthage for himself. He had, in fact a fleet of ships reayd to sail before he got to Babylon, but the Lamian War had caused their mission to be aborted. When Alexander heard of this, he saw an opportunity to resurrect this, but as a diversion.[1] He agreed to send a small amount of troops in aid, and gave them permission to attack when they wished.
So, Alexander decided to sail for Egypt. On July 20, he arrived in Alexandria, to the great cheers of the Egyptian people. The Egyptians had of course heard of Alexander's great victories, and been waiting practically since the dawn of time for him to show up. There were celebrations for several days,as Alexander traveled to all the major Egyptian towns, and participated in religious ceremonies at the time. Needless to say, this did not make generals like Perdiccas happy. Luckily, an Egyptian officer in Thebes mentioned the kingdom of Kush to the South. Alexander then sent Perdiccas south to bring this land under the king's sovreignty. Perdiccas would go on to get killed in a guerilla fight 4 months later.
Taking some Egyptian troops with him, which brought the total of his army to about 25, 000 men. he got more reinforcements in Cyrenaica. He arrived near Carthage on August 9 Near Carthage, he saw the city was walled, and could see from far off, so he decided to look for natives who would help in exchange for a vassal kingdom. He then was able to enlist the support of the local tribe of Numidians, the Massyli agaisnt the Carthagnians. The Massaesyli, to the west, though, refused.
Realizing that the Massaesyli would likely notify the Carthagnians, Alexander decided to attack Carthage almost immidiately. He had some crude siege machines constructed, and proceeded to surround the city. The Massaaesyli, who tried to arrive to defend Carthage, were attacked by the Massyli. The Carthagnians fired arrows to try to distract the Massili. At this point, Alexander showed up and effectively surrounded the city. The Carthagnians, enraged, were now caught in a trap. They would have sent a message to Hamilcarwho had been sent to Sicily, to defend against the attack of their lands there. But the fleet initially sent sent by Alexander as an invasion force haad effectively blocked the harbor after destroying messenger ships that attemmpted to break out. The Massyli line was close to breaking at this point, so Alexander sent a number of companies under Demetrius to keep the Carthagnians from scattering the Massyli. He himself made a roundabout attack on the Massaesyli, and succeded in routing them. The remainder was taken prisoner. As he then reinforced the weak Massyli line, he was hit by an arrow in the side of the chest. Alexander was then rushed into camp to deaprately have the arrow removed, and close the wound. At one point, Alexander thought he saw a white light, but luckily he happened to have good doctors, and he eventually recovered.
Despite what seemed like a minor victory, Carthage were covinced they were eventually doomed, so they decided to go down fighting with a battle for the ages. A large consignment of troops then charged out of the city at the west line. Surprisingly enough, it was making it's way through holes in the Macedonian-Massyli line. But Ptolemy brought some extra troops from the south of the city, and crushed the Cathagnians. Unfotunately for the Carhagnians, this in the end only ended up shortening the siege. On November 13, Carthage surrendered. Leaving a company of troops there, Alexander then sailed for Sicily, where the sofetim or kings told him there was still a Carthgnian armyin Siciily. Alexander, after ensuring his control of Carthage, and leaving a Numidian vassal kingdom decided to sail for Sicily.
[1]A fleet that was ready in OTL, but I initially did not know of it. It was mentioned on the old board.
Somewhere south of Meroe
November 17, 319 BC
Gray mist greeted Perdiccas as he rose out of camp and looked into the forest. It had all seemed so easy at first, and now they were fighting an often-unseen enemy. Damn that Alexander for sending him down here!
At first the campaign had gone quite well. Perdiccas' troops had marched to Napata and inflicted a decisive victory against the Kushite army. At Meroe, the capital, the fighting went even better, as the mixed-Macedonian and Egyptian force sacked the city, and capturing the king Nastasen, and captured and killed what a captured Kushite officer was roughly half of their men.
But after that, as the remainder scattered into forest, it had quickly gone south. Karkamani, a fairly high-ranking general, had convinced the scattered Kushite forces that they could not win in open-battle. As Perdicus left Selucus in charge of Meroe's occupation, with a little less than half of the army, and pursued the enemy forces, he started to become quite irritated at the fact that fair amounts of casualties were inflicted on them with small forces, and before more troops could be concentrated to defeat them, they would retreat. Perdiccas spent many long nights agonizing over the lack of a decisive battle.
One day, last October had been the worst. There had been heavy rains, and Perdiccas was unfortunately being led all over the place by Nubian forces. Than they had come under mass attack. The Kushites, hiding in bushes, had attacked them suddenly, inflicting heavy casualties, about a quarter of the army.
Perdiccas got fed up at this point. He had started burning down villages, and killing the people, while leaving small companies to hold down areas he thought were succesfully pacified. But of course, contact had been lost with a number of them particularly in the east.
And yet, Perdiccas was convinced victory would come in another month. The Kushite forces, as far as he could tell, were mostly concentrated in the south-east. Despite the fact that they were recruiting villagers, he thought most of the country would have a hard time attacking in the west, because he had burnt down a good part of the jungle there, and didn't expect anyone from there to attack him. His brain, however always felt like it was going to explode these days.
All of a sudden, from the edge of the camp Kushites started appearing out of nowhere. The mist was slowly clearing and he could tell that about half of them were not dressed in army clothes. And worst yet, they had come from the opposite bank of the river they were camped on. "No this cannot be happening!!" screamed Perdiccas. And then, they were attacked on the forest side by Kushite regulars. But the village people looked way more angry than the regulars. Armed with bows and spears, they had such venom in their look that Perdiccas's heart felt faint. He almost regretted destroying a lot of their country. But the weak feeling was replaced by hot rage, as he saw Kushites dismembering and castrating the corpses of the soldiers, who, being more professional, were starting to counterattack, and were killing about as many of the villagers, as the villagers were of them. And his army still slightly outnumbered them.
"Uncouth barbarians!!" Perdiccas's rage caused him to charge at the villagers himself, armed with his big sword. But about 30 seconds later, a villager who looked more like a monkey than a man impaled a spear through his chest. Perdiccas could feel feet tromping on him for a while, leaving greater pain, then, surprisingly, some of his men were escaping! And then... nothing.
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=29246November 17, 319 BC
Gray mist greeted Perdiccas as he rose out of camp and looked into the forest. It had all seemed so easy at first, and now they were fighting an often-unseen enemy. Damn that Alexander for sending him down here!
At first the campaign had gone quite well. Perdiccas' troops had marched to Napata and inflicted a decisive victory against the Kushite army. At Meroe, the capital, the fighting went even better, as the mixed-Macedonian and Egyptian force sacked the city, and capturing the king Nastasen, and captured and killed what a captured Kushite officer was roughly half of their men.
But after that, as the remainder scattered into forest, it had quickly gone south. Karkamani, a fairly high-ranking general, had convinced the scattered Kushite forces that they could not win in open-battle. As Perdicus left Selucus in charge of Meroe's occupation, with a little less than half of the army, and pursued the enemy forces, he started to become quite irritated at the fact that fair amounts of casualties were inflicted on them with small forces, and before more troops could be concentrated to defeat them, they would retreat. Perdiccas spent many long nights agonizing over the lack of a decisive battle.
One day, last October had been the worst. There had been heavy rains, and Perdiccas was unfortunately being led all over the place by Nubian forces. Than they had come under mass attack. The Kushites, hiding in bushes, had attacked them suddenly, inflicting heavy casualties, about a quarter of the army.
Perdiccas got fed up at this point. He had started burning down villages, and killing the people, while leaving small companies to hold down areas he thought were succesfully pacified. But of course, contact had been lost with a number of them particularly in the east.
And yet, Perdiccas was convinced victory would come in another month. The Kushite forces, as far as he could tell, were mostly concentrated in the south-east. Despite the fact that they were recruiting villagers, he thought most of the country would have a hard time attacking in the west, because he had burnt down a good part of the jungle there, and didn't expect anyone from there to attack him. His brain, however always felt like it was going to explode these days.
All of a sudden, from the edge of the camp Kushites started appearing out of nowhere. The mist was slowly clearing and he could tell that about half of them were not dressed in army clothes. And worst yet, they had come from the opposite bank of the river they were camped on. "No this cannot be happening!!" screamed Perdiccas. And then, they were attacked on the forest side by Kushite regulars. But the village people looked way more angry than the regulars. Armed with bows and spears, they had such venom in their look that Perdiccas's heart felt faint. He almost regretted destroying a lot of their country. But the weak feeling was replaced by hot rage, as he saw Kushites dismembering and castrating the corpses of the soldiers, who, being more professional, were starting to counterattack, and were killing about as many of the villagers, as the villagers were of them. And his army still slightly outnumbered them.
"Uncouth barbarians!!" Perdiccas's rage caused him to charge at the villagers himself, armed with his big sword. But about 30 seconds later, a villager who looked more like a monkey than a man impaled a spear through his chest. Perdiccas could feel feet tromping on him for a while, leaving greater pain, then, surprisingly, some of his men were escaping! And then... nothing.