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Blood & Gold
A History of the Argead Empire
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[/FONT]"And so it was that the mighty Lord of Asia did return in sorrow to Babylōn from Ekbatana, his robes dyed black to mourn the fall of his beloved Hēphaistiōn, the great hero who even today is revered as the erōmenos of the God King in some circles..." --Amyntas of Ephesos, The Life of Alexandros.
The year 323 B.C. opens on a dark and near desperate note.
The mighty warlord Alexandros III Megas has ordered that his court remain at Babylōn, in deep mourning for the death of his beloved Hēphaistiōn, who has recently succumbed to fever the previous autumn. King Alexandros himself is in a state of near frantic grief since the death of his companion, and has spent lavishly on a splendid funeral and magnificent funerary games to honor his fallen comrade. Further, the Great King of Asia has petitioned the oracle at Ammōneion for the official recognition and honors of a divine hero to be conferred upon Hēphaistiōn, a request which has been duly proclaimed and granted, initiating the famed cult of the hero Hēphaistiōn, which will soon spread throughout the empire, urged onward by royal support. Alexandros himself orders a great temple erected in Babylōn to house the hero’s ashes and cult.
In Pella, King Alexandros’ mother, Polyxenē Olympias, takes advantage of her son’s recent dark mood to rid herself of her rival for influence in Makedonia, Alexandros’ satrapēs Antipatros. Despite previous rumors of their sexual involvement with each other, by now, the former political partnership between Antipatros and Olympias has turned into a full scale power struggle, one which the queen mother now finds she is losing. Writing to her son in Babylōn, she falsely accuses the aging Antipatros of inciting disloyalty and rebellion in Makedonia, and urges him to dismiss Antipatros from his command.
Alexandros, now increasingly suspicious of those around him due to rumors attributing Hēphaistiōn’s death to poison, summons his former friend to Babylōn to answer for the charges brought against him, relieving him of his command in Pella. In his place, the Great King sends the general Krateros as his new satrapēs in Makedonia, along with over 11,000 of his long serving Macedonian veterans, now finally discharged and allowed to return home. Further, he orders Antipatros to levy new troops in Hellas, Makedonia, and Thrakē, and to lead them into Phrygia to reinforce his position there.
In early June, however, King Alexandros falls ill with fever. For days he lies close to death, and many of his stratēgoi and courtiers begin preparing for the worst. Finally however, on the third night of his illness (1), the Great King’s fever breaks and his health begins to improve. Alexandros’ recovery is seen as miraculous by his contemporaries, and a sure omen of his divinity. A series of public games are held in Babylōn to celebrate, and after six months, public mourning for Hēphaistiōn is finally declared to be at an end.
The recovered Alexandros III is a new and far more invigorated king, having seen his brush with death as further proof the epic destiny in store for him. In thanksgiving for his recovery, the Great King goes so far as to pledge funds from his own royal coffers to the restoration of the Etemenanki in Babylōn--the ruined ziggurat dedicated to the god Mardokhaios--something he has thus far refused to do, and only finally agreed upon out of superstitious gratitude to the Babylonian priests who have sacrificed for his recovery.
Alexandros immediately returns to his preparations for the long awaited Arabian campaign, having received reports of the great amount of wealth in copper and aromatic resins in the far off lands of Eudaimon Arabia. Further, in the weeks following his return to Babylōn from India, before his illness, in which many foreign despots and rulers have sent emissaries and gifts to the Great King, hoping to pacify the growing might and ambitions of Macedon and establish profitable alliances, delegates from the Arabian kings of the south have been noticeably absent. This Alexandros sees as reason enough to declare war, insisting on their status as lawful vassals by ancient Persian custom—and thus upon his own rightful succession as King of Kings. The Great King begins amassing a fleet in the newly expanded harbors of Babylōn in July, having not only recruited the most skilled of shipbuilders and sailors from Phoinikē and Hellas, but also ordered a great deal of vessels to be dismantled and taken over land to Babylōnia.
The year finally draws to a close with a far more fortuitous omen then with it had begun: in August, King Alexandros’ wife Rōxanē—the daughter of the Sogdian nobleman Oxyartēs—gives birth to a healthy son at the Palace of Naboukhodonosōr in Babylōn. The boy, thus far the king’s first surviving legal son, is named “Alexandros” in honor of his mighty father.
As King Alexandros III Megas amasses his forces in Babylōnia for the coming Arabian campaign, his general Krateros arrives in Makedonia to take up his command, along with his retinue of 11,500 war veterans, who are joyously reunited with their families, after over a decade of separation. While Antipatros attempts to stall in Pella, not wishing to face the wrath of Alexandros III, no matter how trumped up the charges are against him. However, he soon finds himself under increasing pressure from both Olympias and Krateros to embark for Babylōn.
Letters soon arrive in the next few months from Babylōn, ordering Antipatros to depart with all possible haste, though Alexandros III is more concerned at this time with the fresh troops he is bringing for the Arabian campaign then any perceived threats. At first, Antipatros considers rebellion as a possible means to avoid his coming disgrace and possible execution. His son, Kassandros, also newly returned from Babylōn as his father’s personal messenger attempts to force his father’s hand in this direction, covetous of the possible path to power that would lie before him in the instance of victory. However, Antipatros is no fool, and is aware of his son’s destructive ambition; he also sees little success in any such endeavor, when faced not only with over 11,000 loyal veterans of the Persian campaign under Krateros’ command, but also a direct war with Alexandros himself—a prospect the general does not relish.
After three months of stalling, Antipatros departs Pella, accompanied by not only a force of 15,000 soldiers (mostly from the provinces of Makedonia and Thrakē), but also much of his family. Crossing the Propontis, he is joined by another 4,000 troops in Iōnia, mostly levied from the League of Korinthos. He spends some time in Ephesos with his forces, before crossing into the heart of Anatolē. However, it is now apparent that the health of the Antipatros is beginning to fail, the septuagenarian stratēgos no longer being accustomed to long treks across foreign land. Over the next few weeks his health begins to worsen. Finally at Arbēla, Antipatros falls ill and dies suddenly within the space of a few days, probably from natural causes. In his place, his son Kassandros takes command of the reinforcements, leading them into Babylōnia, along with the corpse of his father.
At Babylōn, Alexandros is greatly saddened to hear of the death of his longtime friend, despite the accusations brought against Antipatros. As a result, Alexandros not only issues a posthumous pardon in favor of the faithful stratēgos, but also grants him the full funerary honors of Macedonian nobleman.
Notes:
(1) This is a departure from OTL, in which Alexander ignored his doctor’s warnings and the fever continued to worsen. Here, the initial illness is strong enough to force him to his bed, and the fever breaks much sooner.
A History of the Argead Empire
The Reign of Alexandros Basileus Theos
Part I: The Return to Babylōn
323 B.C. – 322 B.C.
[/FONT]"And so it was that the mighty Lord of Asia did return in sorrow to Babylōn from Ekbatana, his robes dyed black to mourn the fall of his beloved Hēphaistiōn, the great hero who even today is revered as the erōmenos of the God King in some circles..." --Amyntas of Ephesos, The Life of Alexandros.
The year 323 B.C. opens on a dark and near desperate note.
The mighty warlord Alexandros III Megas has ordered that his court remain at Babylōn, in deep mourning for the death of his beloved Hēphaistiōn, who has recently succumbed to fever the previous autumn. King Alexandros himself is in a state of near frantic grief since the death of his companion, and has spent lavishly on a splendid funeral and magnificent funerary games to honor his fallen comrade. Further, the Great King of Asia has petitioned the oracle at Ammōneion for the official recognition and honors of a divine hero to be conferred upon Hēphaistiōn, a request which has been duly proclaimed and granted, initiating the famed cult of the hero Hēphaistiōn, which will soon spread throughout the empire, urged onward by royal support. Alexandros himself orders a great temple erected in Babylōn to house the hero’s ashes and cult.
In Pella, King Alexandros’ mother, Polyxenē Olympias, takes advantage of her son’s recent dark mood to rid herself of her rival for influence in Makedonia, Alexandros’ satrapēs Antipatros. Despite previous rumors of their sexual involvement with each other, by now, the former political partnership between Antipatros and Olympias has turned into a full scale power struggle, one which the queen mother now finds she is losing. Writing to her son in Babylōn, she falsely accuses the aging Antipatros of inciting disloyalty and rebellion in Makedonia, and urges him to dismiss Antipatros from his command.
Alexandros, now increasingly suspicious of those around him due to rumors attributing Hēphaistiōn’s death to poison, summons his former friend to Babylōn to answer for the charges brought against him, relieving him of his command in Pella. In his place, the Great King sends the general Krateros as his new satrapēs in Makedonia, along with over 11,000 of his long serving Macedonian veterans, now finally discharged and allowed to return home. Further, he orders Antipatros to levy new troops in Hellas, Makedonia, and Thrakē, and to lead them into Phrygia to reinforce his position there.
In early June, however, King Alexandros falls ill with fever. For days he lies close to death, and many of his stratēgoi and courtiers begin preparing for the worst. Finally however, on the third night of his illness (1), the Great King’s fever breaks and his health begins to improve. Alexandros’ recovery is seen as miraculous by his contemporaries, and a sure omen of his divinity. A series of public games are held in Babylōn to celebrate, and after six months, public mourning for Hēphaistiōn is finally declared to be at an end.
The recovered Alexandros III is a new and far more invigorated king, having seen his brush with death as further proof the epic destiny in store for him. In thanksgiving for his recovery, the Great King goes so far as to pledge funds from his own royal coffers to the restoration of the Etemenanki in Babylōn--the ruined ziggurat dedicated to the god Mardokhaios--something he has thus far refused to do, and only finally agreed upon out of superstitious gratitude to the Babylonian priests who have sacrificed for his recovery.
Alexandros immediately returns to his preparations for the long awaited Arabian campaign, having received reports of the great amount of wealth in copper and aromatic resins in the far off lands of Eudaimon Arabia. Further, in the weeks following his return to Babylōn from India, before his illness, in which many foreign despots and rulers have sent emissaries and gifts to the Great King, hoping to pacify the growing might and ambitions of Macedon and establish profitable alliances, delegates from the Arabian kings of the south have been noticeably absent. This Alexandros sees as reason enough to declare war, insisting on their status as lawful vassals by ancient Persian custom—and thus upon his own rightful succession as King of Kings. The Great King begins amassing a fleet in the newly expanded harbors of Babylōn in July, having not only recruited the most skilled of shipbuilders and sailors from Phoinikē and Hellas, but also ordered a great deal of vessels to be dismantled and taken over land to Babylōnia.
The year finally draws to a close with a far more fortuitous omen then with it had begun: in August, King Alexandros’ wife Rōxanē—the daughter of the Sogdian nobleman Oxyartēs—gives birth to a healthy son at the Palace of Naboukhodonosōr in Babylōn. The boy, thus far the king’s first surviving legal son, is named “Alexandros” in honor of his mighty father.
As King Alexandros III Megas amasses his forces in Babylōnia for the coming Arabian campaign, his general Krateros arrives in Makedonia to take up his command, along with his retinue of 11,500 war veterans, who are joyously reunited with their families, after over a decade of separation. While Antipatros attempts to stall in Pella, not wishing to face the wrath of Alexandros III, no matter how trumped up the charges are against him. However, he soon finds himself under increasing pressure from both Olympias and Krateros to embark for Babylōn.
Letters soon arrive in the next few months from Babylōn, ordering Antipatros to depart with all possible haste, though Alexandros III is more concerned at this time with the fresh troops he is bringing for the Arabian campaign then any perceived threats. At first, Antipatros considers rebellion as a possible means to avoid his coming disgrace and possible execution. His son, Kassandros, also newly returned from Babylōn as his father’s personal messenger attempts to force his father’s hand in this direction, covetous of the possible path to power that would lie before him in the instance of victory. However, Antipatros is no fool, and is aware of his son’s destructive ambition; he also sees little success in any such endeavor, when faced not only with over 11,000 loyal veterans of the Persian campaign under Krateros’ command, but also a direct war with Alexandros himself—a prospect the general does not relish.
After three months of stalling, Antipatros departs Pella, accompanied by not only a force of 15,000 soldiers (mostly from the provinces of Makedonia and Thrakē), but also much of his family. Crossing the Propontis, he is joined by another 4,000 troops in Iōnia, mostly levied from the League of Korinthos. He spends some time in Ephesos with his forces, before crossing into the heart of Anatolē. However, it is now apparent that the health of the Antipatros is beginning to fail, the septuagenarian stratēgos no longer being accustomed to long treks across foreign land. Over the next few weeks his health begins to worsen. Finally at Arbēla, Antipatros falls ill and dies suddenly within the space of a few days, probably from natural causes. In his place, his son Kassandros takes command of the reinforcements, leading them into Babylōnia, along with the corpse of his father.
At Babylōn, Alexandros is greatly saddened to hear of the death of his longtime friend, despite the accusations brought against Antipatros. As a result, Alexandros not only issues a posthumous pardon in favor of the faithful stratēgos, but also grants him the full funerary honors of Macedonian nobleman.
[URL=http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/absintheknight/?action=view¤t=323BCE-2.png]
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A map of the Argead Empire and its vassals, 323 B.C.
[/URL]A map of the Argead Empire and its vassals, 323 B.C.
Notes:
(1) This is a departure from OTL, in which Alexander ignored his doctor’s warnings and the fever continued to worsen. Here, the initial illness is strong enough to force him to his bed, and the fever breaks much sooner.
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