Good point, doesn't modern Greek have hints of Turkish and some Slavic influence?
Monophthalmus' Revenge- A Diadochi Timeline
- Thread starter Tyrann Philip II
- Start date
Part Three: The Die Is Cast
Merely a few years prior to all of this chaos, Antigonus had been the unchallenged superpower of the Diadochi. His domain stretched from Anatolia to the Indus, and he was met with success after success. Everything had gone downhill following the Babylonian war, but after Ipsus, things were starting to look up again. Antigonus knew he would most likely die on this campaign; every day he felt weaker and weaker, every morning feeling the tactical and strategic brilliance of his youth slipping away slowly.
He hoped to the Gods that Demetrius would finish what he started.
Despite the protesting of some of his senior officers, most notably Pyrrhus, the conquest of the East had resulted in a major strategic and political victory: the capture of Babylon and Seleucia. Seleucus was faced with a choice the horrifying moment when he heard that Antigonus was marching into the East: Hold Babylon and Seleucia, and be hopelessly under-equipped and with his remains of an army and most likely face obliteration, or head east into his satrapies, risking the further decline of loyalty and the loss of the arguably best cities in his Empire. Remembering the famous quote of Menander, Seleucus thought to himself, The man who runs will fight again. Humiliated, Seleucus gathered up his men, and headed east, for Ekbatana.
The Antigonid army was overjoyed to find that little to no resistance awaited them in the great cities, although their arrival was met with mixed results. Some Babylonians, Medes, and other natives thought a more Autonomous treatment, as Seleucus was trying his best to fuse Greek culture with the customs and ideals of the locals. Others simply thought they were simply swapping for another Greek warlord, which in reality was pretty much the actual fact. Demetrius became increasingly irritated back in Antigoneia about being stuck in Syria while his father and his officers marched into Babylon. Why did HE, Co-regent and heir to the Antigonid throne, have to sit back in the capital and keep an eye on Macedonian colonists and unruly Seleucid POWs?! However, surprising news reached Demetrius- Ptolemy had uncharacteristically advanced into Judea, in attempt to grab as much Syrian land as possible before Antigonus figured out what was going on. Demetrius was said to have shrieked "FINALLY!" Demetrius assembled together an army of Macedonian colonists, Syro-Anatolian levies, and captured men from Ipsus, and marched into Judea. Demetrius had not forgotten his humiliation at Gaza, and even though he had earned himself the title of "the besieger" for his heroic work at Salamis and Greece, he still wanted to restore his honor by humiliating Ptolemy himself. On the other side, Ptolemy thought that he had the upper hand. According to his spy network, Demetrius led a group of demoralized, poorly equipped men, and was too brash and aggressive to make any wise decisions in the battle. However, Ptolemy was very wrong. Demetrius had learned (mainly through his father's scolding) some wise lessons in battle, and although still favoring strong and aggressive tactics, now had a tad bit of caution in the back of his mind, being sure to execute his plans and objectives carefully. The two attempted to outmaneuver each other, with no success, eventually meeting near the old Canaanite city of Ashkelon to do battle.
The two armies were similar in comparison, but Ptolemy had at least 40 Elephants that had been captured and tamed from the Southern lands beyond the Nile. To counter this, Demetrius had with him 3,000 Syrian Archers, renowned for their ability in archery. Each deployed their own phalanx in a similar fashion, but Demetrius deployed his Ethnic Macedonians in the center, with levied Syrians fighting in the Phalanx on the left and right wings. Demetrius positioned himself and his companions on the right wing, and fast moving Armenian cavalry levied from the Eastern fringes of the Antigonid Kingdom on the left. Unfortunately for Ptolemy, Demetrius was one step ahead of him. Demetrius deployed his phalanx in a slight angle, which would prove to be the decisive factor in the battle to come. The battle began with the advancement of Ptolemy's war elephants, which charged directly at the left flank. Unlike the highly disciplined Macedonians, the Syrian Pike levies were heavily shaken by the sight of Ptolemaic elephants rapidly moving towards them. Demetrius knew they would most likely break once charged, so he wheeled his archers around, which then unleashed a barrage of arrows. The stream of lethal fire panicked and killed the elephants, with the surviving ones turning and smashing into the Ptolemaic Cavalry and Phalanx, but unfortunately for Demetrius the panicking Elephants spooked his cavalry away from the fight. Nevertheless, Demetrius quickly advanced his phalanx in an angle towards the weakened sections of the Ptolemaic line, and his strategy worked with lethal accuracy: Due to the Antigonid Phalanx being angled, more pikemen on their side could strike at Ptolemaic pikes, while the Ptolemy attempted to bring back order into his lines and rearrange his phalanx. Unfortunately for Ptolemy, he reacted too late, and his left wing was encircled and obliterated. The rest of his men, seeing the whole left side surrender, threw down their arms and fled. The Antigonid Cavalry had recovered and returned to the battlefield, and chased after Ptolemy. Demetrius watched all of this with joy and pride overpowering his senses, but all of it immediately ceased when a messenger brought him grave news: Antigonus had collapsed at Seleucia.
Demetrius left his Senior Officers and best advisers to Secure any last Ptolemaic stragglers, and sped off towards Seleucia with his companions.
Merely a few years prior to all of this chaos, Antigonus had been the unchallenged superpower of the Diadochi. His domain stretched from Anatolia to the Indus, and he was met with success after success. Everything had gone downhill following the Babylonian war, but after Ipsus, things were starting to look up again. Antigonus knew he would most likely die on this campaign; every day he felt weaker and weaker, every morning feeling the tactical and strategic brilliance of his youth slipping away slowly.
He hoped to the Gods that Demetrius would finish what he started.
Despite the protesting of some of his senior officers, most notably Pyrrhus, the conquest of the East had resulted in a major strategic and political victory: the capture of Babylon and Seleucia. Seleucus was faced with a choice the horrifying moment when he heard that Antigonus was marching into the East: Hold Babylon and Seleucia, and be hopelessly under-equipped and with his remains of an army and most likely face obliteration, or head east into his satrapies, risking the further decline of loyalty and the loss of the arguably best cities in his Empire. Remembering the famous quote of Menander, Seleucus thought to himself, The man who runs will fight again. Humiliated, Seleucus gathered up his men, and headed east, for Ekbatana.
The Antigonid army was overjoyed to find that little to no resistance awaited them in the great cities, although their arrival was met with mixed results. Some Babylonians, Medes, and other natives thought a more Autonomous treatment, as Seleucus was trying his best to fuse Greek culture with the customs and ideals of the locals. Others simply thought they were simply swapping for another Greek warlord, which in reality was pretty much the actual fact. Demetrius became increasingly irritated back in Antigoneia about being stuck in Syria while his father and his officers marched into Babylon. Why did HE, Co-regent and heir to the Antigonid throne, have to sit back in the capital and keep an eye on Macedonian colonists and unruly Seleucid POWs?! However, surprising news reached Demetrius- Ptolemy had uncharacteristically advanced into Judea, in attempt to grab as much Syrian land as possible before Antigonus figured out what was going on. Demetrius was said to have shrieked "FINALLY!" Demetrius assembled together an army of Macedonian colonists, Syro-Anatolian levies, and captured men from Ipsus, and marched into Judea. Demetrius had not forgotten his humiliation at Gaza, and even though he had earned himself the title of "the besieger" for his heroic work at Salamis and Greece, he still wanted to restore his honor by humiliating Ptolemy himself. On the other side, Ptolemy thought that he had the upper hand. According to his spy network, Demetrius led a group of demoralized, poorly equipped men, and was too brash and aggressive to make any wise decisions in the battle. However, Ptolemy was very wrong. Demetrius had learned (mainly through his father's scolding) some wise lessons in battle, and although still favoring strong and aggressive tactics, now had a tad bit of caution in the back of his mind, being sure to execute his plans and objectives carefully. The two attempted to outmaneuver each other, with no success, eventually meeting near the old Canaanite city of Ashkelon to do battle.
The two armies were similar in comparison, but Ptolemy had at least 40 Elephants that had been captured and tamed from the Southern lands beyond the Nile. To counter this, Demetrius had with him 3,000 Syrian Archers, renowned for their ability in archery. Each deployed their own phalanx in a similar fashion, but Demetrius deployed his Ethnic Macedonians in the center, with levied Syrians fighting in the Phalanx on the left and right wings. Demetrius positioned himself and his companions on the right wing, and fast moving Armenian cavalry levied from the Eastern fringes of the Antigonid Kingdom on the left. Unfortunately for Ptolemy, Demetrius was one step ahead of him. Demetrius deployed his phalanx in a slight angle, which would prove to be the decisive factor in the battle to come. The battle began with the advancement of Ptolemy's war elephants, which charged directly at the left flank. Unlike the highly disciplined Macedonians, the Syrian Pike levies were heavily shaken by the sight of Ptolemaic elephants rapidly moving towards them. Demetrius knew they would most likely break once charged, so he wheeled his archers around, which then unleashed a barrage of arrows. The stream of lethal fire panicked and killed the elephants, with the surviving ones turning and smashing into the Ptolemaic Cavalry and Phalanx, but unfortunately for Demetrius the panicking Elephants spooked his cavalry away from the fight. Nevertheless, Demetrius quickly advanced his phalanx in an angle towards the weakened sections of the Ptolemaic line, and his strategy worked with lethal accuracy: Due to the Antigonid Phalanx being angled, more pikemen on their side could strike at Ptolemaic pikes, while the Ptolemy attempted to bring back order into his lines and rearrange his phalanx. Unfortunately for Ptolemy, he reacted too late, and his left wing was encircled and obliterated. The rest of his men, seeing the whole left side surrender, threw down their arms and fled. The Antigonid Cavalry had recovered and returned to the battlefield, and chased after Ptolemy. Demetrius watched all of this with joy and pride overpowering his senses, but all of it immediately ceased when a messenger brought him grave news: Antigonus had collapsed at Seleucia.
Demetrius left his Senior Officers and best advisers to Secure any last Ptolemaic stragglers, and sped off towards Seleucia with his companions.
Part Four: One-Eye Is No More!
The Diadochi in 298 BC, upon the death of Antigonus, Red is Antigonid progress into Mesopotamia.
Demetrius arrived with his exhausted Companions a few days following Ashkelon. When he found his father, he was slipping in and out of consciousness, with doctors feverishly working on him. Demetrius prayed and prayed that his father would recover, but somewhere in the back of his mind knew that this was his father's final moments. Demetrius retired to the citadel of Seleucia, and waited for news.
In the early morning hours, Demetrius received the terrible news: Antigonus Monophthalmus was dead.
Instead of bursting into tears, immediately resorting to alcohol, or just collapsing himself, the now King of the Antigonid Kingdom silently walked to a room, and locked the door, refusing to talk to anyone. This state of depression went on for several weeks, with Demetrius barely eating or drinking. Although short, this gave Seleucus some time to rally more levies to his banner, and train the peoples of Persia in the Macedonian phalanx. Eventually, his son Antigonus II was able to convince him out of his self-exile, and rehabilitated the malnourished king. It was truly an end of an era for the Hellenistic world. All of the Macedonian Old Guard were dead, leaving the younger rising stars in power. Demetrius quickly arranged a grand funeral for Antigonus, and transported his body back to Antigoneia. Although grand and quite a spectacle, the funeral was relatively short, as Demetrius still had a war to win. His second action was to rename Seleucia to the more fitting name of Demetria, which was just insult to injury to Seleucus. Despite having his fortunes turn much later in life, Antigonus had accomplished much in quite a short amount of time.
An interesting turn of events had occurred in Thrace: Lysimachus had been assassinated. One of his own bodyguards had killed him in his sleep, and his Kingdom had collapsed in on itself. Hearing news of the successor's death, Dacian, Gallic, and Thracian tribes poured across the Danube. In response, Cassander marched his army northwards, and decisively defeated defeated the invaders at Antheia, although suffering terrible casualties. Although Cassander managed to take the biggest chunk of the Lysimachan Kingdom, the natural defense border on the Danube had been lost, and the northern tribes would continue to look for windows of opportunity. Cassander, fearing the Antigonid springboard of Southern Greece, officially made peace with Demetrius, and signed a formal non-aggression pact with him. The Northwestern flank was finally secure, leaving only Ptolemy and Seleucus to challenge Demetrius. Ptolemy was still mending the emotional, statistic, and physical wounds of Ashkelon, and wouldn't dare to make any other offensive into Syria. Seleucus was a different story. He had always planned to retake Mesopotamia as quickly as possible, but Demetrius' renaming of Seleucia struck a nerve. He accelerated the mustering and training of Iranian levies by a tenfold, bringing in any men his satrapies would allow him. When all was said and done, Seleucus had the army he needed: 68,000 Infantry, with 23,000 Macedonians, the rest being Satrap levies, 30,000 Cavalry, roughly 20,000 light infantry and skirmishers, and he had also managed to muster 50 War Elephants. This was no where near the fighting capabilities his Elephant corps had at Ipsus, but they could still be used effectively, if used correctly. It had cost loyalty and manpower, but Seleucus had what he needed. After a grand march out of Ekbatana, Seleucus headed towards Susa, determined to reclaim what was rightfully his.
Unfortunately for Seleucus, Demetrius was constantly paranoid of a Seleucid assault, and had posted a chain of outposts on the newly acquired eastern border, and was quickly alerted about Seleucus' march west. The besieger quickly gathered his army in Mesopotamia, and quickly marched towards Seleucus. The two played a long cat-and-mouse game, but none was able to gain an advantage over the other. Finally, in the July of 298 BC, on the plains near Susa, the two armies began to skirmish. For six hard days slingers, javelinmen, and archers ran back and forth throwing, shooting, and hurling a variety of projectiles at one another. On the beginning of the Seventh day, the two armies lined up. The Persians of Seleucus looked on with fear at the Antigonid Macedonians in their shimmering bronze armor, and the Macedonians of Demetrius stared back in unease and fear at Seleucus' war elephants. The fate of the eastern theater of the Diadochi wars would be decided here.
Author's note: Apologies for short update, I promise the next will be long, and will cover in depth the Battle of Susa with pictures (yay). Until then, best wishes and stay tuned!
The Diadochi in 298 BC, upon the death of Antigonus, Red is Antigonid progress into Mesopotamia.
Demetrius arrived with his exhausted Companions a few days following Ashkelon. When he found his father, he was slipping in and out of consciousness, with doctors feverishly working on him. Demetrius prayed and prayed that his father would recover, but somewhere in the back of his mind knew that this was his father's final moments. Demetrius retired to the citadel of Seleucia, and waited for news.
In the early morning hours, Demetrius received the terrible news: Antigonus Monophthalmus was dead.
Instead of bursting into tears, immediately resorting to alcohol, or just collapsing himself, the now King of the Antigonid Kingdom silently walked to a room, and locked the door, refusing to talk to anyone. This state of depression went on for several weeks, with Demetrius barely eating or drinking. Although short, this gave Seleucus some time to rally more levies to his banner, and train the peoples of Persia in the Macedonian phalanx. Eventually, his son Antigonus II was able to convince him out of his self-exile, and rehabilitated the malnourished king. It was truly an end of an era for the Hellenistic world. All of the Macedonian Old Guard were dead, leaving the younger rising stars in power. Demetrius quickly arranged a grand funeral for Antigonus, and transported his body back to Antigoneia. Although grand and quite a spectacle, the funeral was relatively short, as Demetrius still had a war to win. His second action was to rename Seleucia to the more fitting name of Demetria, which was just insult to injury to Seleucus. Despite having his fortunes turn much later in life, Antigonus had accomplished much in quite a short amount of time.
An interesting turn of events had occurred in Thrace: Lysimachus had been assassinated. One of his own bodyguards had killed him in his sleep, and his Kingdom had collapsed in on itself. Hearing news of the successor's death, Dacian, Gallic, and Thracian tribes poured across the Danube. In response, Cassander marched his army northwards, and decisively defeated defeated the invaders at Antheia, although suffering terrible casualties. Although Cassander managed to take the biggest chunk of the Lysimachan Kingdom, the natural defense border on the Danube had been lost, and the northern tribes would continue to look for windows of opportunity. Cassander, fearing the Antigonid springboard of Southern Greece, officially made peace with Demetrius, and signed a formal non-aggression pact with him. The Northwestern flank was finally secure, leaving only Ptolemy and Seleucus to challenge Demetrius. Ptolemy was still mending the emotional, statistic, and physical wounds of Ashkelon, and wouldn't dare to make any other offensive into Syria. Seleucus was a different story. He had always planned to retake Mesopotamia as quickly as possible, but Demetrius' renaming of Seleucia struck a nerve. He accelerated the mustering and training of Iranian levies by a tenfold, bringing in any men his satrapies would allow him. When all was said and done, Seleucus had the army he needed: 68,000 Infantry, with 23,000 Macedonians, the rest being Satrap levies, 30,000 Cavalry, roughly 20,000 light infantry and skirmishers, and he had also managed to muster 50 War Elephants. This was no where near the fighting capabilities his Elephant corps had at Ipsus, but they could still be used effectively, if used correctly. It had cost loyalty and manpower, but Seleucus had what he needed. After a grand march out of Ekbatana, Seleucus headed towards Susa, determined to reclaim what was rightfully his.
Unfortunately for Seleucus, Demetrius was constantly paranoid of a Seleucid assault, and had posted a chain of outposts on the newly acquired eastern border, and was quickly alerted about Seleucus' march west. The besieger quickly gathered his army in Mesopotamia, and quickly marched towards Seleucus. The two played a long cat-and-mouse game, but none was able to gain an advantage over the other. Finally, in the July of 298 BC, on the plains near Susa, the two armies began to skirmish. For six hard days slingers, javelinmen, and archers ran back and forth throwing, shooting, and hurling a variety of projectiles at one another. On the beginning of the Seventh day, the two armies lined up. The Persians of Seleucus looked on with fear at the Antigonid Macedonians in their shimmering bronze armor, and the Macedonians of Demetrius stared back in unease and fear at Seleucus' war elephants. The fate of the eastern theater of the Diadochi wars would be decided here.
Author's note: Apologies for short update, I promise the next will be long, and will cover in depth the Battle of Susa with pictures (yay). Until then, best wishes and stay tuned!
Apologies, slight error with the map: Bactria and the Central Asian satraps have broken off peacefully from Seleucus.
Correct, I edited a generic Diadochi map. Antioch is Antiogneia, and Seleucia has just recently been renamed Demetria
I think I’ll make a Seleucid TL after this, they were originally my favorite successor kingdom, and it sometimes feels bad to pummel them into the earth 
I'll be sure to read it if you do that, the world needs more Diodachi TLsI think I’ll make a Seleucid TL after this, they were originally my favorite successor kingdom, and it sometimes feels bad to pummel them into the earth
Part 5: The Battle of Susa
Susa. Surrounding the once grand Achaemenid city of old were miles of sun-scorched plains which eventually led to the Iranian mountains. The city still bore scars from when Alexander and his men stormed and sacked the city. On this day, Persians, Elamites, and some Greek colonists looked out on the horizon to see thousands of Greeks and a few of their countrymen line up in battle formation. They all wondered what their next overlord who would be.
Although Demetrius did bring veterans of Ipsus, Ashkelon, and other well-trained Macedonians, Seleucus was still an able and wily commander. Even still, he still had his elephant corps somewhat intact, a further hindrance to any cavalry operations that could be pulled off. However, Demetrius still held on to his infantry advantage, as most of Seleucus' best men had been killed at Ipsus and in their place were at best mediocre Persians trained to fight in the Macedonian fashion. The sporadic skirmishes between the two were for the most part indecisive, but the heavy Syrian archers of the Antigonids were able to shred through a large amount of Seleucid light infantry on the final day of skirmishing. With most of the opposing skirmishers out of the way, Demetrius goaded Seleucus into making the first move. The Besieger ordered his Syrians to move into position where they began to unleash a torrent of arrows onto the Seleucid phalanx. The surviving Macedonians within Seleucus' ranks were quick to react, almost instantaneously taking cover behind their shields. However, the Persians were a bit too slow, and many fell under the Antigonid barrage. Seleucus begrudgingly ordered his line forward, dividing his elephants and placing them on each wing in order to both support his outnumbered cavalry and prevent any outflanking maneuver from Demetrius.
Demetrius observed the approaching Seleucids and ordered his Syrians back. His troops had seen a lot of bizarre and terrifying sights under him and his father, but nothing put them on edge like the sight of war elephants. They were awe-inspiring and terrifying beasts, but Demetrius had fought against them long enough to know their weaknesses. He issued an order to his officers to arrange the phalanx into a "bulge" formation but keeping a few men to guard the flanks. Upon seeing this, Seleucus made an error that would haunt him to his dying day. Thinking that the Antigonids were marching forward to meet his phalanx, he ordered his cavalry to charge. His officers misinterpreted this and not only issued the order for the cavalry to charge, but the elephants went with the cavalry. Demetrius quickly wheeled his archers back into position but was too late to stop the initial elephant charge. The Seleucid elephants easily punched through the stretched Antigonid line, but eventually repetitive skirmish fire drove them back. Although quite a few elephants were killed in the failed charge, most of the cavalry and still a good number of elephants managed to escape.
Finally, the two phalanxes met, each pikemen jabbing at the opposing side in hopes of impaling an unlucky opponent. Demetrius attempted to pull off the maneuver done at Ashkelon by angling his men to break through a weaker portion of the Seleucid line, but Seleucus saw this coming and raced his men to keep the Antigonids at bay. For hours and hours Macedonians and Persians dropped to the ground, but no side managed to gain the upper hand. Seleucus then attempted a last-ditch effort to break Demetrius. From what he could see, his Syrians and superior skirmishing force had exhausted their ammunition and had now joined the ranks of Demetrius' infantry. He ordered what was left of his cavalry and elephants to outflank Demetrius line and hit his men in the rear. As his men were about to get within charging distance, Demetrius sprung his trap. His archers had joined up with his regular infantry, but this was to bait Seleucus to use his cavalry and elephants too early. Mainly targeting the slow and cumbersome beasts, they rained barrage after barrage upon the poor elephants until they either broke and ran or gave one last roar and fell to the ground. After the last elephant had fallen, the Antigonid Cavalry smashed into the much weaker Seleucid recruits, who broke soon after. The Antigonid phalanx, reinvigorated by the cavalry victory, began slowly pushing back the Seleucid line, who quickly were hit in the rear from an outflanking maneuver from Seleucus. At first, the conscripted Persians started to break, and one by one, the Seleucids began to route.
Between the horrid stench of decaying flesh, onlookers from Susa heard a massive uproar of cheering and yelling and looked up to see the Antigonid banner being waving furiously in the distance.
Pictures of battle will be out shortly, I'm sorry I took so damn long to update this.
-Tyrann
Susa. Surrounding the once grand Achaemenid city of old were miles of sun-scorched plains which eventually led to the Iranian mountains. The city still bore scars from when Alexander and his men stormed and sacked the city. On this day, Persians, Elamites, and some Greek colonists looked out on the horizon to see thousands of Greeks and a few of their countrymen line up in battle formation. They all wondered what their next overlord who would be.
Although Demetrius did bring veterans of Ipsus, Ashkelon, and other well-trained Macedonians, Seleucus was still an able and wily commander. Even still, he still had his elephant corps somewhat intact, a further hindrance to any cavalry operations that could be pulled off. However, Demetrius still held on to his infantry advantage, as most of Seleucus' best men had been killed at Ipsus and in their place were at best mediocre Persians trained to fight in the Macedonian fashion. The sporadic skirmishes between the two were for the most part indecisive, but the heavy Syrian archers of the Antigonids were able to shred through a large amount of Seleucid light infantry on the final day of skirmishing. With most of the opposing skirmishers out of the way, Demetrius goaded Seleucus into making the first move. The Besieger ordered his Syrians to move into position where they began to unleash a torrent of arrows onto the Seleucid phalanx. The surviving Macedonians within Seleucus' ranks were quick to react, almost instantaneously taking cover behind their shields. However, the Persians were a bit too slow, and many fell under the Antigonid barrage. Seleucus begrudgingly ordered his line forward, dividing his elephants and placing them on each wing in order to both support his outnumbered cavalry and prevent any outflanking maneuver from Demetrius.
Demetrius observed the approaching Seleucids and ordered his Syrians back. His troops had seen a lot of bizarre and terrifying sights under him and his father, but nothing put them on edge like the sight of war elephants. They were awe-inspiring and terrifying beasts, but Demetrius had fought against them long enough to know their weaknesses. He issued an order to his officers to arrange the phalanx into a "bulge" formation but keeping a few men to guard the flanks. Upon seeing this, Seleucus made an error that would haunt him to his dying day. Thinking that the Antigonids were marching forward to meet his phalanx, he ordered his cavalry to charge. His officers misinterpreted this and not only issued the order for the cavalry to charge, but the elephants went with the cavalry. Demetrius quickly wheeled his archers back into position but was too late to stop the initial elephant charge. The Seleucid elephants easily punched through the stretched Antigonid line, but eventually repetitive skirmish fire drove them back. Although quite a few elephants were killed in the failed charge, most of the cavalry and still a good number of elephants managed to escape.
Finally, the two phalanxes met, each pikemen jabbing at the opposing side in hopes of impaling an unlucky opponent. Demetrius attempted to pull off the maneuver done at Ashkelon by angling his men to break through a weaker portion of the Seleucid line, but Seleucus saw this coming and raced his men to keep the Antigonids at bay. For hours and hours Macedonians and Persians dropped to the ground, but no side managed to gain the upper hand. Seleucus then attempted a last-ditch effort to break Demetrius. From what he could see, his Syrians and superior skirmishing force had exhausted their ammunition and had now joined the ranks of Demetrius' infantry. He ordered what was left of his cavalry and elephants to outflank Demetrius line and hit his men in the rear. As his men were about to get within charging distance, Demetrius sprung his trap. His archers had joined up with his regular infantry, but this was to bait Seleucus to use his cavalry and elephants too early. Mainly targeting the slow and cumbersome beasts, they rained barrage after barrage upon the poor elephants until they either broke and ran or gave one last roar and fell to the ground. After the last elephant had fallen, the Antigonid Cavalry smashed into the much weaker Seleucid recruits, who broke soon after. The Antigonid phalanx, reinvigorated by the cavalry victory, began slowly pushing back the Seleucid line, who quickly were hit in the rear from an outflanking maneuver from Seleucus. At first, the conscripted Persians started to break, and one by one, the Seleucids began to route.
Between the horrid stench of decaying flesh, onlookers from Susa heard a massive uproar of cheering and yelling and looked up to see the Antigonid banner being waving furiously in the distance.
Pictures of battle will be out shortly, I'm sorry I took so damn long to update this.
-Tyrann
Meh, I got nothing better to do
Part 6: So Falls Nikator
A lone Antigonid Scout sped across the Persian countryside. Already irritated that a fever had kept him absent from the grand Battle at Susa, he was further disgruntled by being assigned the task of locating any sign of the scraps of the Seleucid army. He brought his horse to a stop, and took in his surroundings. Persia was miserable. It could be days, weeks, even months, before they reached an even slightly habitable city, constantly watched by statues and idols of heathen Gods. The Achaemenid Kings of Old were long gone, but eerie reminders of their fallen power stood on guard. The Scout spotted a small stream in the corner of his eye, and walked his horse over to the water. Having his mount drop dead in the middle of nowhere would most likely result in his own, so he took great care to make sure his steed was well-fed and well-watered.
As his horse drank, he heard a faint noise. At first he was sure it was some river animal, and paid no mind to it. However, the noise persisted. It almost sounded like a faint wheezing from further down the river. Further annoyed but now somewhat inquisitive, the Scout dismounted and carefully walked over to the source of the noise. He could feel the adrenaline rush through him as he approached his target, hands gripping his blade tightly. He rounded a bend in the stream, and was greeted with the source of the sound. In a crumpled, bloody mess lay Seleucus Nikator. His abdomen was coated in a scarlet shade, his armor rent, and his skin deathly pale. The general turned his head to face the Scout and rasped one word- "Water." After recovering from his disbelief, the Scout quickly brought his canteen to Seleucus' lips and gave him his water. The fallen Diadoch only drank for a short while before pushing away the water and continuing his rasping. "Come to finish me off?" He spoke plainly to the Scout. "I-I... I don't know sir." The Scout stuttered back. "What happened sir? We all thought you were fleeing eastwards." said the Scout. "Never trust Persians my boy, I should've known from Darius long ago." Seleucus bitterly replied.
"We could get you help sir, there still could be time to treat your woun..." the Scout began, "So your King can kill me himself?" Nikator spat back. "Let me be, let me die in peace, I beg you." The Scout could see tears welling in his eyes. "I want to see my boy* again, I want to be free of this wicked world full of vipers and damnable serpents." Moved by his plea, the Scout spoke up, "Would you like me to send your body back to Macedonia sir?" "Macedonia?" Seleucus laughed once more. "Why the hell would I want to go back to that Gods-awful place? The weather's terrible and friends turn to cruel enemies in mere seconds!" The general began to rant, but quickly recomposed himself. "Persia is simple." He spoke with a smile. "The People here are lovely, and we repaid their loveliness with cruelty, metal, and fire." His face was ridden with shame. "I was there when our supposed 'Great King' burnt Persepolis to the ground, that beautiful city full of culture and art, I remember the screams of the women and children, and the laughing of our own men. I realized that day I wasn't on a divine quest for the sake of Zeus' son, but on the warpath of a madman."
"Take this." Seleucus reached for his sword. The Scout was put on edge for a moment, but relaxed when he realized Nikator was handing him the blade. "You seem like a good enough sort." He finished. "Thank you sir!" The Scout could barely hide his disbelief, much to Seleucus' amusement. "If I could make one more request of a selfish man", Seleucus began, "Would you bury me good sir?" Now the Scout was welling with tears. "Yes sir, I would be more than happy to." He replied. Seleucus smiled sadly and rested his head. "Thank you for not letting me die alone." Seleucus rasped out. The Scout reached out to hold his hand as he endured his final moments. His wheezing continued to become softer and softer, until he fell silent. Seleucus was no more, but he would find peace in knowing he would see his son once more.
*Antiochus was KIA at the Battle of Susa
You have no idea how much it hurt to kill off Seleucus.
Part 6: So Falls Nikator
A lone Antigonid Scout sped across the Persian countryside. Already irritated that a fever had kept him absent from the grand Battle at Susa, he was further disgruntled by being assigned the task of locating any sign of the scraps of the Seleucid army. He brought his horse to a stop, and took in his surroundings. Persia was miserable. It could be days, weeks, even months, before they reached an even slightly habitable city, constantly watched by statues and idols of heathen Gods. The Achaemenid Kings of Old were long gone, but eerie reminders of their fallen power stood on guard. The Scout spotted a small stream in the corner of his eye, and walked his horse over to the water. Having his mount drop dead in the middle of nowhere would most likely result in his own, so he took great care to make sure his steed was well-fed and well-watered.
As his horse drank, he heard a faint noise. At first he was sure it was some river animal, and paid no mind to it. However, the noise persisted. It almost sounded like a faint wheezing from further down the river. Further annoyed but now somewhat inquisitive, the Scout dismounted and carefully walked over to the source of the noise. He could feel the adrenaline rush through him as he approached his target, hands gripping his blade tightly. He rounded a bend in the stream, and was greeted with the source of the sound. In a crumpled, bloody mess lay Seleucus Nikator. His abdomen was coated in a scarlet shade, his armor rent, and his skin deathly pale. The general turned his head to face the Scout and rasped one word- "Water." After recovering from his disbelief, the Scout quickly brought his canteen to Seleucus' lips and gave him his water. The fallen Diadoch only drank for a short while before pushing away the water and continuing his rasping. "Come to finish me off?" He spoke plainly to the Scout. "I-I... I don't know sir." The Scout stuttered back. "What happened sir? We all thought you were fleeing eastwards." said the Scout. "Never trust Persians my boy, I should've known from Darius long ago." Seleucus bitterly replied.
"We could get you help sir, there still could be time to treat your woun..." the Scout began, "So your King can kill me himself?" Nikator spat back. "Let me be, let me die in peace, I beg you." The Scout could see tears welling in his eyes. "I want to see my boy* again, I want to be free of this wicked world full of vipers and damnable serpents." Moved by his plea, the Scout spoke up, "Would you like me to send your body back to Macedonia sir?" "Macedonia?" Seleucus laughed once more. "Why the hell would I want to go back to that Gods-awful place? The weather's terrible and friends turn to cruel enemies in mere seconds!" The general began to rant, but quickly recomposed himself. "Persia is simple." He spoke with a smile. "The People here are lovely, and we repaid their loveliness with cruelty, metal, and fire." His face was ridden with shame. "I was there when our supposed 'Great King' burnt Persepolis to the ground, that beautiful city full of culture and art, I remember the screams of the women and children, and the laughing of our own men. I realized that day I wasn't on a divine quest for the sake of Zeus' son, but on the warpath of a madman."
"Take this." Seleucus reached for his sword. The Scout was put on edge for a moment, but relaxed when he realized Nikator was handing him the blade. "You seem like a good enough sort." He finished. "Thank you sir!" The Scout could barely hide his disbelief, much to Seleucus' amusement. "If I could make one more request of a selfish man", Seleucus began, "Would you bury me good sir?" Now the Scout was welling with tears. "Yes sir, I would be more than happy to." He replied. Seleucus smiled sadly and rested his head. "Thank you for not letting me die alone." Seleucus rasped out. The Scout reached out to hold his hand as he endured his final moments. His wheezing continued to become softer and softer, until he fell silent. Seleucus was no more, but he would find peace in knowing he would see his son once more.
*Antiochus was KIA at the Battle of Susa
You have no idea how much it hurt to kill off Seleucus.
This was heart wrenching stuff, to see the last moments of a dying man. It would be much better now, if some native ruler takes control of Iran rather than these clearly barbaric Greeks. The destruction of Persepolis is still, one of the most loathsome acts in all of history, for me.
Seleucus' death leaves Hellenic control in the East nonexistent and a massive power vacuum in the Eastern Satrapies, so most of Iran and beyond in is utter chaos, but who knows, perhaps someone can rise from the ashes and restore order.
Maybe Chandragupta will try to further extend his reach? He married Seleucus's daughter. He can use that to assimilate some parts of his father in Law's Empire.