Let Slip The Dogs of War

The Triparadeisus Conference

The Anti-Perdiccans gathered at Triparadeisus in Syria. A paradeisus was a large, enclosed area combining park lands, orchards, and hunting grounds-a "paradise" indeed. Judging by its name, Triparadeisus was extra special, and so made the perfect spot for this summit.

Perdiccas' former army, with two kings, two queens[1], and two regents, under the command of Seleucus, marched through Phoenicia and Palestine to Triparadeisus. Antigonus came from Cilicia, and Olympias payed a completely unexpected and daring visit from Macedon.

Olympias had come to the conference with one goal in mind, and that goal was to return to Macedon with Alexander IV. The deaths of Antipater, Leonnatus, Craterus, and now Perdiccas had given her the chance she needed to to retrieve Alexander herself. It is a wonder she was welcomed in the conference, as she was a former ally of Perdiccas, enemy of Antipater, and friend of the outlawed Eumenes. Fears that the army would not tolerate action against an Argaed, especially Alexander's mother, must have compelled them into tolerating her.

These fears were not unwarranted either. Adea Eurydice had been stirring up trouble in the army. She had very nearly caused a mutiny, inviting the outlawed Attalus into the camp to give his speech, with him entering and leaving with impunity. By this time, Antigenes and Peithon had had enough, giving up the regency. The men, specifically Antigenes 3,000 veterans, had been promised payment by Perdiccas, and were tired of waiting for it. Since Attalus was in possession of the treasury in Tyre, he was a formidable ally for Eurydice. Showing she was willing to take Phillip over to the Perdiccan side, she began encouraging the soldiers to switch sides, along with Attalus. This would give the Perdiccans the critical legitimacy they needed, but Seleucus and Antigonus were able to stave off disaster, with Eurydice eventually backing down in the face of certain death.

At Triparadeisus, Olympias had lucked out once again. Peithon and Antigenes giving up the regency left Alexander IV with no regent. Owing to her unrelenting persistence, at the end of the conference, she would be travelling back to Macedon with Alexander IV.

Naturally, Ptolemy retained Egypt, but he was also granted "any lands further west from Egypt that he may acquire with his spear". Essentially it was an invitation to turn his attention west, instead of north and east. They knew he had his eyes on Phoenicia as a buffer for Egypt, so they tried to divert his attention west. They stopped just short of recognizing his autonomy.

Peithon was confirmed in his position in Media, with general oversight over the east, and Antigenes was awarded Susiana. Babylonia was handed to Seleucus, providing he was able to oust the Perdiccan incumbent there. Critical Hellespontine Phrygia was give to Arrhidaeus, with Asander retaining control of Caria. Perhaps feeling safer and more secure without a satrapy, Menander did not retain Lydia, and instead was put under the command of Antigonus. Lydia was awarded to Cleitus, who had been having a hard time with the Greek fleet, with Polyperchon being named the replacement for Eumenes in Cappadocia. Antipater's oldest son, Cassander, was placed under Polyperchon's command[2].

There was still the question of who would be the regent/guardian of Phillip III. Few wanted to deal with Eurydice, so they once again approached Ptolemy. It was not that they wanted to give Ptolemy more legitimacy than he already had, far from it, but nobody could handle Eurydice. They must have figured she would cause trouble with Ptolemy as well. Feigning reluctance, this time Ptolemy accepted the offer, increasing his legitimacy more than he could have ever hoped.

[1] Eurydice still marries Phillip III in this TL.
[2] I love irony.
 
Hmmm. I wasn't aware Athens still possessed an independent navy. I'll keep this in mind.


Can you give a source for this by any chance? Not that I don't believe you, I just want to look into it more and get a better understanding of it.

Yes...Slyderfox I have,but please specify for what points(items)?I am sorry to disappoint though,my sources are not from the net(Wikipedia).The source is unreliable,unverified and by and large misleading(apart from the fact that many times is confusing).I use texts,documents,synods,seminars,and of course archeological findings.

I will see if some of what you want is reported in the net in any language under my sleave in order to help.

Back to your thread:nice development with Eumenes,if he were not betrayed by the Silver Shields OTL,history would be quite different;he had already aquire the fame of a great general.
He killed Neoptolemus?not bad for an ex-secretary...what is happening with him now? I hope I didn't miss something in the text...

Ptolemy would need middle eastern coast to safeguard Egypt though;he must get it somehow...unless he finds an ally and turns against Carthage...

Few points about the Greeks:Aetolians were the most numerous population in Greece and could field a more numerous army and were allies of Athens from old.
You forgot the islands I mentioned to you,allies of Athens from the Delian League and even during the second empire;their ships would make the Athenian navy the indisputable master of Eastern and Western Mediterranean.

Olympias plays dangerous Byzantine games...excellent updates though...
 
Few points about the Greeks:Aetolians were the most numerous population in Greece and could field a more numerous army and were allies of Athens from old.
You forgot the islands I mentioned to you,allies of Athens from the Delian League and even during the second empire;their ships would make the Athenian navy the indisputable master of Eastern and Western Mediterranean.

Olympias plays dangerous Byzantine games...excellent updates though...

I'm getting the numbers from "Ghost On The Throne" and "Dividing The Spoils". In both of those, the Aetolian forces were put at 12,000. The numbers provided the Athenian navy were around 150, later receiving 50 reinforcements. Here, since they waited longer, they start out with 200, with Rhodian and Corinthian ships bolstering their number. So that is what I am going off of.

And yeah, Eumenes really did kill Neoptolemus in hand to hand combat IRL, nothing was changed there.

I have a massive update ready, though since it's written and not typed atm, I might break it up, not sure though.
 
The Second War Of The Diadochi​


Victory was far from assured for the anti-Perdiccans. Eumenes was still in central Asia Minor with a sizable force, and Alcetas was entrenched in Pisidia. Moreover, Attalus was in Tyre with a thousands of troops, and a large fleet. Adding to this, Aristonous had command of Cyprus with a fleet of his own. If united, the Perdiccans could prove unstoppable.

Eumenes wrote to the other Perdiccans, urging co-operation. In response to this, as well in response to the imminent invasion of Phoenicia that was to come from Ptolemy soon, Attalus took his men, fleet, and the treasury at Tyre, with him to Cyprus, setting up a formidable stronghold for the Perdiccans with Aristonous. There, with a sizable fleet of their own, they would be a massive thorn in Antigonus' side, and would be hard to dislodge.

The failure of Alcetas and Eumenes to unite, would spell doom for the Perdiccans in Asia Minor. Alcetas felt he should be in overall command, despite Perdiccas instructing his brother to remain under Eumenes' command.

This gave Antigonus the ability to deal with the two disunited camps separately. He chose to go after Eumenes first, hoping his problems winning over the troops could put a quick end to the Greek's chances. Eumenes however had gone through great pains to win over his senior officers loyalty, even auctioning off land to them. Despite the immense bounty on his head, Eumenes suffered surprisingly little defections.

Antigonus' persistence however, finally payed off. Shortly before drawing for battle, one of Eumenes cavalry commanders defected, completely throwing off his plans, on which he relied heavily on the cavalry to carry out, even picking the terrain specifically for them. It was an easy victory for Antigonus, and Eumenes fled, dismissing most of his men and entrenched himself with his most loyal officers and companion cavalry in the impregnable fortress of Nora. Antigonus left a small force to besiege it, and moved south to confront Alcetas.

Attalus and Aristonous had not been quiet during this time. They had been raiding the Cilician and Anatolian coast, and even managed to get a few thousand reinforcements to Alcetas. Alcetas waited for Antigonus in a valley Antigonus needed to pass, near Cretopolis in Pisidia. Antigonus inflicted a slight defeat on him, but he was able to pull back to the coast, where Attalus and Aristonous were there to evacuate him and his men to Cyprus.

All the while, Ptolemy had taken advantage of the chaos to invade the coastal Phoenician and Palestinian cities. His goals, as mentioned earlier, was to create a buffer for Egypt, but Phoenicia also provided him with the experience needed to build a navy to protect Egypt via the sea. Despite this being a blatant violation of the agreement at Triparadeisus, the others took little notice.

Eurydice however, was getting on Ptolemy's last nerve. She had been attempting to get in the way of Ptolemy's plans since the day she arrived, and was trying to assert authority with Phillip III as her weapon. It wouldn't be long before Ptolemy lost his patience.

Polyperchon's Chance​

By the summer of 319, Antigonus was in a powerful position, despite the continued problems with the Perdiccans on Cyprus. His army swelled to over 50,000 and with the ability to draw from the vast treasuries, he could easily afford this large force.

The Perdiccans too, could afford to pay their forces on Cyprus. As mentioned, Attalus had taken the 800 talents with him in his move to Cyprus. Antigonus was building a fleet however, and it seemed a matter of time before he had one large enough to rival that of the Perdiccans.

Antigonus was now attempting to eliminate his rivals in Asia Minor. Arrhidaeus got wind of this, and attempted and failed to rescue Eumenes from Nora. This was just what Antigonus needed as a reason to invade however, and before long, Arrhidaeus was firmly pinned down in Cius, now turning his attention to Cleitus in Lydia. Cleitus garrisoned his most important towns, and joined the club of Perdiccans on Cyprus.

In contrast to the others, Polyperchon fled east. It didn't take much for him to realize his days were numbered as long as he stayed in Cappadocia. Antigonus was concluding negotiations with Eumenes. In 318, the two cut a deal, with Eumenes having his satrapy back along with additional territories, in exchange for an oath of allegiance to Antigonus. This had effectively made Polyperchon redundant in Antigonus' Asia Minor, hence why he fled.

Polyperchon's flight east was a godsend for the Perdiccans on Cyprus. Antigonus would be sidelined by Polyperchon in the east, buying them precious time, as his plans for Cyprus were delayed. Moreover, his popularity with the troops due to his time with Craterus, as well as his cunning diplomatic skills, would make him a formidable opponent.

Antigonus left Asander and the majority of his forces in Asia Minor, while he traveled east with Eumenes to go after Polyperchon. Polyperchon had used his diplomatic skills to gain access to the vast treasuries in the east, using them to hire and raise a considerable army.

Meanwhile, Peithon, who had failed in knocking out Peucestes in their own civil war in the east, was in Babylon with Seleucus. Polyperchon bypassed them, instead recruiting Peucestes (who commanded 18,000 men and 114 elephants) and Antigenes (who commanded 3,000 veterans), expanding his army.

This caused Antigonus to pause, spending late 318-317 gathering up a large force of 28,000 heavy infantry, 10,000 light infantry, and 10,000 cavalry, totaling up to 48,000 men. Also with him were 64 elephants.

Antigonus' march to Susa, now with Seleucus and Peithon under his command, was pretty straightforward. Against the advice of Eumenes, he forced a crossing of the fast flowing Coprates river. 10,000 of them had crossed before Polyperchon arrived on the scene, surprising and overwhelming them. 4,000 were captured, with hundreds more killed. Antigonus had lost a large amount of men, and not wanting to let his men bake in the heat, and not wanting to force a crossing again, retired to the cool of Ecbatana, arriving in August.

Antigonus had made a risky move which would turn out to be a mistake. Ecbatana was far too north to prevent Polyperchon from moving back west. Once again, Eumenes had protested the move, but Antigonus was desperate, and had little choice.

Seleucus was now isolated in Susa, and Polyperchon and his ilk could threaten Babylon and Syria. Polyperchon and Antigenes recognized the opportunity, and desired to move back west. Peucestes protested this heavily, not wanting to leave behind his eastern satrapy. After a bitter argument, Peucestes finally back down, and the coalition marched west.

As the approached Susa, Seleucus was in dire straits, and new remaining there would be a death sentence. With his men on the verge of lynching him, he fled west, past Babylon and towards Syria and Asia Minor with his most trusted men.

Meanwhile, things were looking ominous for the Antigonid cause in Asia Minor. Cleitus, with the help of the others on Cyprus had freed Arrhidaeus from Cius. Nicanor had arrived on the scene with a sizable fleet, but was defeated by Cleitus off of Byzantium.[1] Badly mauled, he retired back to port.

Now Alcetas landed in Cilicia with his 15,000 men that he had escaped to Cyprus with earlier. Asander was in a tough spot. Cleitus and Arrhidaeus were in Hellespontine Phrygia with 7,000 men, and now Alcetas was in Cilicia with 15,000. Asander was still confident , with 35,000 men under his control, he outnumbered both of them combined. Then Seleucus arrived and the situation became far more urgent.

By the time Antigonus had left Media, Polyperchon was in Babylon. Leaving Peithon with a small force to retake Persis, he marched west, crossing the satrapies and storming into Babylon, which at this point had been abandoned by the coalition forces, for Syria. The goal had been for Polyperchon and Alcetas to unite, but Asander got to Alcetas in Cilicia first.

Leaving 8,000 men to hold off Cleitus and Arrhidaeus, Asander marched to meet Alcetas with 27,000 men. Alcetas was waiting for him at the Cilician gates, where a momentous battle ensued. The battle of The Cilician Gates, Asander would emerge the victor, the 5,000 remaining troops of Alcetas' force surrendering to him. Alcetas fled, and soon committed suicide, with Asander's forces restored to 25,000. Cleitus and Arrhidaeus had already hopped on their fleet in an attempt to rendezvous with Alcetas, but upon hearing of his total defeat, landed in Cyprus instead. The Perdiccans still remained a thorn in the Antigonid side.

Antigonus' Triumph​


With this setback, Polyperchon's coalition decided to meet Antigonus in battle on the flat plains of Syria. They were afraid Asander would come from behind and surround them, so forced a battle with Antigonus. Here, over 90,000 soldiers and almost 200 elephants would clash in a grand fashion.

Antigonus deployed Demetrius with large amounts of light cavalry on the left wing. On the right wing he placed Eumenes with his heavy cavalry. In the middle and the right, he placed his elephants, with his infantry in the core. Polyperchon by contrast had a much more orthodox and balanced formation.

Demetrius' light cavalry were routed on the left, but not before Cassander was killed in the engagement. The elephants in the center proved ineffective and were withdrawn, allowing for a bloody phalanx battle to ensue. Antigenes crack veterans broke through Antigonus' phalanx, but opened up a hole between themselves and the left wing. Eumenes took advantage of this, and according to his later accounts[2], "...crashed into their left flank, sending them into disorder."

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Polyperchon's War Elephants
Both sides disengaged and regrouped. Before they could join battle and regroup however, Antigonus had played his trump card. He had sent a troop of cavalry around in the chaos of battle to seize Polyperchon's baggage train. Trying to downplay the situation like Alexander famously did at Guagamela, Polyperchon's men didn't buy it, and refused to fight. Night was falling, and it was too late for Polyperchon to retake the baggage train. Peucestes, who had been in contact with Antigonus, convinced Antigenes to arrest Polyperchon, and hand him over to Antigonus. Polyperchon's men flocked over to Antigonus. Soon, Antigonus had Polyperchon and many of his officers executed. Antigenes was killed as well, and his veteran regiment dispersed. Peithon, who had remained in the east, was placed back in Media, and Peucestes was reinstated in Persis. Seleucus as well, was permitted to retain Babylon. Antigonus must have expected the three men would be excellent counters to each other's ambitions. Now, in 316, it seemed like a balance of power had finally been reached. Wishful thinking this was!

[1] The Greek fleet had retired.
[2] You guessed it, Eumenes writes an account of the wars of the diadochi afterwards!
 
Chandragupta Maurya​
A young man who has every right to be considered just as great as Alexander, Chandragupta, had asked Alexander for support in overthrowing the Nanda Kingdom. Whatever Alexander's plans were however, they were cut short when his men mutinied and forced him to turn back. Chandragupta took it upon himself to overthrow the unpopular dynasty, establishing an empire of his own.

By 320, at Triparadeisus, the Macedonians had more or less acknowledged that the Indian satrapies were lost to Chandragupta. By 317, while still under 30, Chandragupta controlled all of India from the Khyber Pass to the Ganges Delta. In the management department, he was far superior to Alexander (as was just about anybody), creating a precise and effective administrative pyramid to cover, fiscal, military, and civil functions across his empire.

When Antigonus inherited the eastern satrapies upon his defeat of Polyperchon, they were being pressure by Chandragupta. Antigonus however wanted little do to with the eastern satrapies, leaving them to their own devices.


Lead Up To The Third War of The Diadochi

Antigonus made it a point to have all the gold, silver, and bouillon, from the eastern satrapies, some 25,000 talents, to his base in Cilicia and Asia Minor. It was clear he was making Asia Minor the core of his empire, preferring to ignore everything east of the Euphrates. In 316, the Perdiccans however were still active on Cyprus, and Antigonus suspected they were in contact with Ptolemy, who still had connections on the island.

In Egypt, Ptolemy had had enough with Eurydice and Phillip. He never had any intention of establishing an Argaed line in Egypt, and was starting to feel that the advantages of having an Argaed in his domain were being outweighed by the woman that came with it. There was the problem of his men remaining fiercely loyal to the Argaed line however, so he needed to tread carefully. Being Ptolemy however, he thought up a simple and almost foolproof plan.


According to Eumenes, Ptolemy decided to simply poison Arrhidaeus and Eurydice. Inviting them to a dinner, he must have gotten a slave to place a "fiery poison", which "disappears in water" when mixed with an unidentified mineral. The poison was likely arsenic trioxide, the unidentified mineral having to have been either realgar or orpiment. Whatever it was, if true, it lends credibility to the idea that Alexander was poisoned as well, as Arrhidaeus and Eurydice shortly after the dinner came down with the same symptoms and sickness as Alexander had in Babylon. Within a week, the two were dead.

Ptolemy immediately declared a period of mourning, Eumenes claiming he was trying to cover his tracks and absolve himself of suspicion. We must remember however, Eumenes could hardly be considered impartial, as he was Antigonus' man, and would surely try to paint Ptolemy in a negative light. The length to which Ptolemy went to show his sadness at the death of the king and queen however, does seem in and of itself an admission of his part in their deaths. Their bodies would remain with Alexander's corpse, eventually taken to Alexandria with it.

If Arrhidaeus and Eurydice's death was truly the work of Ptolemy however, it would mark a momentous step. A legitimate king had been killed without much repercussion. It was a step forward, foreshadowing the future of the rulers moving to establish their own dynasty and empire, instead of keeping up the facade of simply serving under one Argaed empire.

Antigonus however, was not ready to take that step yet. Not wanting to give his rivals much to use against him, and not wanting to agitate his army who was still fiercely loyal to the Argaed line for the most part, Antigonus preferred to keep the title "Royal General of Asia", over being crowned king. He was still willing to keep the facade up that he was protecting the empire for Alexander IV, as long as it remained useful to him.

Peace could not be maintained for long though. Antigonus and Seleucus had a falling out party with each other. Fearing for his life, Seleucus fled to Ptolemy, who warmly welcomed him. They contacted Lysimachus, Peithon, and even the Perdiccans on Cyprus, who Antigonus was still having trouble eradicating. Antigonus attempted to recruit the Greeks to help him with taking Cyprus, but the loose alliance was uninterested, as they were having their own internal troubles.

Lysimachus had not been inactive this entire time. He had been fighting brutal wars in Thrace, protecting Macedon from threats across the Danube, while putting down rebellions from within. This had prevented him from taking part in the Hellenic War, and taking advantage of the power vacuum in Macedon. A treaty with Olympias, along with further wars, assured he would stay out of Macedon. By 316 however, Lysimachus' position in Thrace was finally stable, and he could afford to turn his attention elsewhere. The message from Ptolemy and Seleucus was just what he was looking for.

Third War Of The Diadochi

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Diadochi in 316 (before Seleucus' flight to Ptolemy)​

Winning the support of Peithon, Lysimachus and the Perdiccans on Cyprus the new coalition prepared for war. The winter of 316 was spent by both sides preparing for the coming war. It was a great time to be a mercenary. Antigonus, who had spent his winter quarters in Cilicia, now marched to Syria in the spring of 315. There he was met by representatives of Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Peithon (the Perdiccans on Cyprus not bothering to send one). They gave him an ultimatum they could hardly expect him to agree to, with the only justifiable part in it being the restoration of Seleucus to his position in Babylon. The rest was them asking to share in the plunder, specifically the large amounts of bullion he had with him in Asia Minor and Cilicia. Lysimachus demanded Hellespontine Phrygia, Ptolemy demanded official recognition of his territories in Palestine and Phoenicia, and Peithon wanted complete independence.

Antigonus rejected the ultimatum, and accepted the inevitability of war with his former friends and allies. He was confident in his ability to defeat the coalition. So began the Third War of The Diadochi, pitting Antigonus, Eumenes, and his son Demetrius, against Ptolemy, Seleucus, Lysimachus, and Peithon.

Antigonus was surrounded, but he had both the ability, money, resources, and manpower, to feel confident in victory. His first move was to reach out to Peucestes in the east, recruiting him in an attempt to keep Peithon busy. The two disliked each other, and having been on opposing sides for most of the time after Alexander's death, it was easy to convince Peucestes to confront Peithon. Besides, it was likely that Peithon would once again try to take over Peucestes lands anyway, so it seemed the logical choice for him to take.

His next move was to attempt to keep Lysimachus from crossing the Pro-Pontis. After much bargaining, he managed to recruit the Hellenic fleet (now down to 200 after the Rhodians returned to Rhodes) to block the Hellespont and Bosporous. He could not have believed the Greeks would be willing or able to keep Lysimachus in Thrace permanently, guessing correctly they would be much happier to see him out of Europe.

Meanwhile, Antigonus was taking measures to challenge Ptolemy and the Perdiccans for control of the seas. He convinced the Rhodians, who at this point were practically independent from the Hellenic League, to begin building ships for him. An attempt to undermine the Perdiccan control of Cyprus failed, but had the desired effect of making Ptolemy send forces there, leaving him with slightly less men to defend on the mainland.

Antigonus turned south to Ptolemy's Phoenician territories. City after city fell, with Ptolemy's garrisons fleeing before Antigonus' fearsome army, taking Ptolemy's fleet with them. The only city that didn't surrender was Tyre. Antigonus, who badly needed this stretch of coastline, set up a simple siege of the city, with blockade runners getting through with impunity. It would also deny Ptolemy access to the valuable timber of the region. Antigonus was using economic warfare against Ptolemy along with his military actions.

All facilities and expertise he would need for a new navy was flourishing here in Phoenicia, and it was vital that he take it to hamper Ptolemy's ability to raid Antigonus' coastline. While maintaining what would be a 15th month siege of Tyre, Antigonus captured Gaza, and dedicated the entire eastern seaboard to building his fleet.

Meanwhile, for whatever reason, Asander joined the anti-Antigonid alliance, and revolted in Caria. Antigonus sent Polemaeus with troops to confront Asander. They arrived in late 315, but Asander, his army bolstered by mercenaries sent from Ptolemy, was able to hold them at bay. The theater grounded into a stalemate. Polemaeus had done his job though, containing the situation until Antigonus was able to wrap things up in Phoenicia. Antigonus left the middle east under the command of Eumenes and his untried son Demetrius (now 22), while he marched on to Caria to finish off Asander himself.
 
Antigonus In Asia Minor

Eumenes was left with 20,000 men, including 2,000 Macedonian infantry, 5,000 horse, and 43 elephants, with orders to hold Ptolemy at bay. However, Demetrius was not very co-operative, bitter that his father gave overall command to a Greek over himself. He wanted the glory that would come with defeating two of Alexander The Great's generals, and was reluctant to the idea of sharing it with Eumenes.

Meanwhile, Antigonus reached Asia Minor in time to spend the winter of 314 in in Celaenae, his newly expanded fleet accompanying him. In 313, Asander was terrified into coming to terms. In a show of clemency to his former friend, Antigonus allowed him to retain Caria, but kept him strictly under Antigonus' control, and without garrisons or an army to command. To cement the deal, Asander gave Antigonus his brother as a hostage.

The Perdiccans Change of Fortunes

Olympias had remained unusually quiet since returning to Macedon from Triparadeisus with Alexander IV. She was weary of both Lysimachus and Antigonus, but also with the newly freed Greeks (who she had played a part in helping to free) to the south of Macedon. She decided to finally enter the fray, calling on the former Perdiccans on Cyprus for aid, while joining the Anti-Antigonid coalition. With Ptolemy's help, Aristonous sailed to Macedon with 10,000 men, while Attalus remained on Cyprus. The war was brought back to Europe.

This completely threw Antigonus off guard. He had been planning to move on Lysimachus in Thrace, but due to the failure to sway Byzantium his way, could only send a token force across. He did however succeed in fomenting rebellion in Lysimachus' realm, as the discontented Greek cities rose up. Moreover, the Odrysian King, Seuthes III, took this as a good a chance as any to rise up and make a bid for independence again.

Lysimachus became temporarily tied down, but soon showed his military brilliance. Defeating both Seuthes (whom he made another treaty with afterward) and Antigonus' forces, he turned on the Greek cities, with all but one falling without resistance. A joint Thracian-Scythian army was crushed, arriving too late to relieve the Greek cities. Lysimachus had thwarted Antigonus' plans in a pure stroke of military genius.

Back in Greece, Antigonus had convinced the much fractured Hellenic League that Olympias had her sights on Greece. This was not far from the truth either, as Aristonous was gathering troops for just such action. Leosthenes was called upon again, this time with a force of 20,000 (the Aetolians had forces guarding the passes), and prepared to repulse the coming invasion.

The opening engagements would occur at sea however, as always did when the Athenians were involved. In a series of indecisive engagements, neither side gained the upper hand. Antigonus did what he could supplying the Greeks with a few ships, and Ptolemy responded by doing the same.

Without control of the seas, Aristonous was having a hard time getting passed the Aetolians. He along with his 15,000 troops (5,000 from Olympias) would be bottled up in Macedon for now.

Eumenes In Phoenicia

In Phoenicia, Eumenes and Demetrius continued to bicker. Demetrius continued to refuse to co-operate, and Ptolemy was bearing down on them. Unable to effectively respond, they were defeated in a small skirmish, with Eumenes pulling back to Syria, much to the disgruntlement of Demetrius. Ptolemy pursued, but they managed to put aside their feud long enough to successfully repulse him, sending hims scurrying back to Egypt, abandoning his gains.

The window opened up to Seleucus after Eumenes and Demetrius pulled out of Phoenicia was exploited to its fullest potential by Seleucus. He raced on to Babylon with only 1,000 men, and against all odds, made it to the city, which opened its doors to its former satrap, expelling the Antigonid garrison. He was quickly able to increase the size of his army.

Peace of The Dynasts

The relative lull in the fighting allowed the opposing sides to broker a treaty. Ptolemy was licking his wounds in Egypt, and Lysimachus was facing more trouble in Thrace that he had to turn his attention to. The peace that was agreed to, which recognized more or less, the status quo from before the war, made no mention of Olympias, Peithon, Seleucus, or Peucestes. They were not included in the treaty, and thus their wars continued.


Seleucus went east to help Peithon. Peucestes had been making hell for Peithon's ambitions for control over all of the east. He was proving more spectacular of a general than anyone could have expected, repulsing Peithon numerous times. Seleucus hoped to tip the balance of power in the favor of Peithon.

As Seleucus and Peithon continued after him, Peucestes took every chance available to harass their forces and make them miserable. Despite this, his position seemed untenable, and it looked like it was only a matter of time before his luck ran out. He was running out of options, and was hoping for a miracle to save him.

Word soon reached Seleucus that Demetrius was in Babylon[1]. After trying and failing to quickly defeat Peucestes, Seleucus was forced to abandon Peithon and return to Babylon to drive off Demetrius. Peucestes seized the golden opportunity granted to him. Knowing that it was now or never, Peucestes offered battle, with Peithon, who had been waiting for this moment for a long time, eagerly accepting. Despite being outnumbered, Peucestes pulled off a brilliant victory from the jaws of defeat. Right when it seemed like his force was on its last legs, and with Peithon almost assured of victory, it was discovered that Peucestes had seized Peithon's baggage train. Unable to get his troops to continue to battle without the baggage train, fearing he would face the same fate of Polyperchon, Peithon fled to Seleucus, who had just driven Demetrius out of Babylon. Peucestes force was bolstered by the assimilation of Peithon's troops, and now it was he that was master of the east.

[1] Realizing they can't work together, Antigonus recalled Eumenes back to him, and sent Demetrius on his own.
 
I also like the updates and your ability to write them so fast.On military grounds only I have some small remarks if I may:

Antigonus war was on a very far streched internal lines(Frederick the Great would have lost the war long ago!)

Demetrios was left alone to do what?(an annoying character without real ability,exactly like OTL).Tried to hold Babylon with a thousand men! did he see the size and extend of the walls of that city? and without a fleet to effect his escape?

Sea stalemate in Greece? in 320 BC (if not a bit earlier) the Athenians started building qinciremes(the seven new sheds were discovered in Piraeus in the excavations of 2010-2012 by the Danish Institute supervised by the Ephor of Coastal Antiquities) which means that their fleet would have had inctreased firepower with the ship catapelts and ballistas invented by Demetrius and used in the siege of Rhodes OTL-where he had got his name 'Poliorketes'= Besieger.
The total number of sheds that have been excavated so far are 378 which means that the Athenians had build alot of sheds for the use of their fleets and especially the big double ones for quinciremes.I am in a difficulty to understand how the battles in the Aegean sea were 'confused' with such supremacy in the sea (qualitative and quantitative) including their allies...
 
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I also like the updates and your ability to write them so fast.On military grounds only I have some small remarks if I may:

Antigonus war was on a very far streched internal lines(Frederick the Great would have lost the war long ago!)

Demetrios was left alone to do what?(an annoying character without real ability,exactly like OTL).Tried to hold Babylon with a thousand men! did he see the size and extend of the walls of that city? and without a fleet to effect his escape?

Well I modeled Demetrius moving into Babylon after what he did in OTL. In OTL, Antigonus sent him east, where he promptly took Babylon, and then left, thinking everything was done. Seleucus came back and easily retook it.
Sea stalemate in Greece? in 320 BC (if not a bit earlier) the Athenians started building qinciremes(the seven new sheds were discovered in Piraeus in the excavations of 2010-2012 by the Danish Institute supervised by the Ephor of Coastal Antiquities) which means that their fleet would have had inctreased firepower with the ship catapelts and ballistas invented by Demetrius and used in the siege of Rhodes OTL-where he had got his name 'Poliorketes'= Besieger.
Hmm, I did not know the Athenians had been making Qunqueremes (if thats how you spell it, I'm not sure) at this time. However, they would not have the ship ballistas and catapults invented by Demetrius, as the siege of Rhodes doesn't happen (at least not yet, and probably won't)
I am in a difficulty to understand how the battles in the Aegean sea were 'confused' with such supremacy in the sea (qualitative and quantitative) including their allies...
Eh?
 
Breaking The Stalemate At Sea
In 312, an Athenian fleet bolstered with freshly made Quinquireme, took to sea. Aristonous, fearing the longer he waited the less secure his position became, drew up a battle plan. He was to draw the larger Greek navy between the island of Skiathos and the mainland. Once there, he would send a small troop of ships into the mass, with orders to set them on fire. The idea was that the fire would spread throughout the tightly packed Greek navy, wrecking the fleet.Then Aristonous would send in the rest of his fleet to do mopping up work. Sadly, things hardly went according to plan.

The Greek navy was well prepared for Aristonaus' plan. A Macedonian deserter had tipped them off, and they formed a counter. Acting like they were playing right into the hands of the Macedonians, they sent a small detachment into the bottleneck. Part of their fleet remained idle outside the bottleneck, with the rest sailing around the other end of the island.

When Aristonous released his fire ships on queue, it seemed like his plan was working with remarkable success. The Greek navy, or what he thought was the whole Greek navy, was put into chaos by the fire. Continuing with his plan, Aristonous sent in the rest of the fleet, to finish off the Athenian fleet. It was now that the Athenians sprung their trap.

The portion of the fleet on the other end of the island now circled around, hitting the Macedonian fleet from behind. Startled but undeterred, the Macedonians were still confident they could beat off this Athenian ambush. Then, to their horror, the Athenian fleet waiting idly just out of view behind the bottleneck raced in, causing a complete surrounding of the Macedonian fleet. The result was a massacre. The Greeks, newly outfitted with their Quinquireme, went to town in slaughtering the Macedonian fleet. What few ships managed to escape were in no position to fight again, and fled to the safety of their port. The battle of Skiathos, would prove to be the last great Greek naval victory in history.

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Battle of Skiathos​
 
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With these defeats, Macedon continues to controls Thesalia or this forms part of the Hellenic League?
 
With these defeats, Macedon continues to controls Thesalia or this forms part of the Hellenic League?

Good point. After taking a quick glance at a map, it seems like Aristonous would have taken Thessaly (as the furthest north the Greeks are are the Aetolians blocking the passes, specifically Thermopylae.)
 
Well I modeled Demetrius moving into Babylon after what he did in OTL. In OTL, Antigonus sent him east, where he promptly took Babylon, and then left, thinking everything was done. Seleucus came back and easily retook it.

Hmm, I did not know the Athenians had been making Qunqueremes (if thats how you spell it, I'm not sure) at this time. However, they would not have the ship ballistas and catapults invented by Demetrius, as the siege of Rhodes doesn't happen (at least not yet, and probably won't)

Eh?

the spelling is :'Quinquireme'

The machines were invented before the siege of Rhodes but were used there for the first time;my opinion?your choise to use my friend...

One observation about the picture above:the shield with the Swastica is wrong!it is the left-direction swastica,symbol of the nazis whereas the Greeks have the right direction turning Swastica symbol of the sun and justice.You will clearly see it on the elaborate fence of the old building of the Greek Supreme Court in Athens(named 'Iliou Melathron' Ilion=Palas of Light/Justice)
 
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the spelling is :'Quinquireme'

The machines were invented before the siege of Rhodes but were used there for the first time;my opinion?your choise to use my friend...

One observation about the picture above:the shield with the Swastica is wrong!it is the left-direction swastica,symbol of the nazis whereas the Greeks have the right direction turning Swastica symbol of the sun and justice.You will clearly see it on the elaborate fence of the old building of the Greek Supreme Court in Athens(named 'Iliou Melathron' Ilion=Palas of Light/Justice)

It was just a random picture of the battle of Salamis I found on google. I can replace it if you want.
 
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