Antioch culturally not stand out. If Alexander does not rise above, then ... just for me this city is very important, but the fate of Carthage is not so significant ...It seems difficult to imagine a world where Alexandria doesn't become at least a pretty impressive city on par with OTL Antioch.
(Incidentally, curious when the Diadochi will get in on that urban foundation game in this timeline. Syria and Mesopotamia could use some more Greek settlements.maybe an Amyntasia on the Orontes?)
Of Satraps and Kings
- Thread starter SlyDessertFox
- Start date
Also, sorry for my butchering of any coherent naming conventions. It must get confusing when I alter between calling some stuff by their Greek version and others by the Latin (or local) names. Or when I arbitrarily switch, like referring to Carthaginians as Carthaginians for the entirety of this timeline and now calling the Karkhedonians.
It's okay, it's a minor crime and I'm guilty of it too. It's only immersion breaking when it happens in an in-universe text where the fictional author should know better.
Incidentally, will the Lagids invent any Carthaginian-Hellenic fusion deities in this timeline? I hope so.
Incidentally, will the Lagids invent any Carthaginian-Hellenic fusion deities in this timeline? I hope so.
Melqart was apparently heavily associated with monarchy in Carthage, so I figured some form of Herakles-Melqart promotion would be in the works. There's also easy Greek parallels to make with Tanis/Astarte. Not sure what to do with Ba'al Hammon though. The thing about Ba'al is Ba'al seems to just mean "god", with various "Ba'als", with the head of Carthaginian religion appearing to be Ba'al Hammon, the sun god. Though it's even more complicated when you consider Ba'al seems to be conflated with Melqart in Tyre (similarly to how Tanis in Carthage seems to be the same goddess as Astarte in Tyre).
Figuring out exactly what kind of god Eshmun is is also...very frustrating, lol.
This timeline isn't dead guys. My semester ends next week so I'll try and crank out some updates shortly.
Glad this timeline got nominated for a Turtledove (thanks @DominusNovus and @Practical Lobster ). I promise you guys it's not dead, even if I don't have the motivation to write an update right now.
I'll see if I can put one together or get someone else to do so.
Right, completely forgot about this. Threadmarks coming shortly.
Just finished reading. Loving it!
Little sad there's little going on in bactria,though,since they are my favorite of the post alexander states. Also,is this Dead?
Little sad there's little going on in bactria,though,since they are my favorite of the post alexander states. Also,is this Dead?
A Repentant Heretic
Banned
Ba'al Hammon, I believe, was identified with Cronus by Greeks. Although I am not sure if Greeks worshiped Cronus.
Perhaps Zeus-Ba'al Hammon as alternative?
Chapter XIX
Chapter XIX: Seleukos Invades Greece
Having been cast aside in the peace negotiations, Seleukos had to seize the initiative or face destruction. To that effect, he singled out the weakest link among his three major rivals; Perdikkas. Dealing with internal and external pressure in Greece, Perdikkas was struggling to rebound from his earlier defeat. While the mighty fleet of Attalos shielded him from imminent danger from Asia, launching his own offensive had been out of the question. With the isolation of Seleukos however, the time to strike back had come, and he began preparing for his own invasion, despite his troubles in Greece.
It was this, more than anything else, that spurred Seleukos to act with all haste. If war with Perdikkas was to come, it must come on his terms and on Perdikkas's soil. Always more comfortable on the offensive, Seleukos would better be able to dictate events, rather than react to Perdikkas's moves. Seleukid agents silently slipped into Greek cities, seeking out and disaffection among the inhabitants. His task was further aided by the passing of Olympias, one of the few figures to die of natural causes in this period, in the first days of 305, at the age of 70. Despite his marriage to Kleopatra, this dealt a small blow to Perdikkas's legitimacy in Makedonia, which had been buoyed by his association with the revered mother of Megos Alexandros.
This paled in comparison however to the good news Seleukos received from Lysimachos in Thrakia. Having finally wrapped up his war with the Odrysian King Seuthes III and forcing his submission, Lysimachos was, for the first time, able to focus his attention outward and participate fully in the ongoing diadochi wars. Wary of Perdikkas and perhaps eyeing Makedon and Greece for himself, he was more than happy to ally with Seleukos and endorse his ambitious endeavor. The pact was sealed with a marriage of Lysimachos to Seleukos's daughter Apama.
News of this alliance forced Perdikkas to hastily change plans. No longer considering an immediate invasion of Asia, he instead directed his efforts towards Thrakia. Amassing his forces in Makedonia, Perdikkas reached out to Seuthes III for an alliance, hoping the Odryrsian King would re-ignite hostilities with Lysimachus. For his part, Seuthes had never intended for his armistice with Lysimachus to be permanent. Having suffered several setbacks, he needed to bide his time and lick his wounds before he could return to the fight at a more opportune time. Perdikkas seemed to present him with such an opportunity, yet still Seuthes remained cautious. Understanding the rapidly shifting political situation in among the diadochi, he declined to initiate hostilities on his own accord; the Odrysian King would assist Perdikkas once he invaded, but would remain quiescent until then. The implications of this seemed benign at the time, for Perdikkas had every intention of invading. Events in the Molossian Kingdom however would soon derail Perdikkas's plans and see him redirecting his forces west to Epeiros.
The rule of Aeakides in Epeiros was never altogether popular, and it was only through lack of external support for his opponents that he had been able to survive dissatisfaction with his intervention in favor of his cousin Olympias. Having been cajoled into providing similar assistance to Perdikkas's forces, Aeakides was in a rare moment of military weakness at home, something that did not slip past Seleukos's agents. They encouraged King Glaukias of Taulanti, the famed Illyrian King that had faced off with the Makedonians at the Battle of Pellion in 335, to invade Makedonia in support of the claim of Alketas II to the Molossian throne. Glaukias was likely more motivated by having an ally in Epeiros against the ambitions of Makedonian kings than the empty promises of Seuleukos, and invaded Epeiros in 305, overthrowing Aeakides and forcing him to flee to Perdikkas in Makedon.
A frustrated Perdikkas once more called off his invasion plans to deal with internal troubles. Sending an army under Demetrios to restore Aeakides to the throne, Perdikkas put off his invasion until the affair in Epeiros was dealt with. Fully confident that Attalos's fleet would prevent Seleukos from crossing, Perdikkas did not feel the need to rush his campaign without sufficient forces.
Seleukos, of course, had other plans. Although his navy could not hope to challenge Attalos in an open naval battle, all that was necessary was he buy enough time to transport his army across. Supplies would be obtained from Lysimachos, who's own forces would bolster the limited numbers he could get across. Two crossing routes remained open to him, the obvious route across the Hellespont to the Chersonesse, where Lysimachos's new capital Lysimacheia was being built, and the Bosporus strait. Expecting the crossing to occur at the Hellespont, the Perdikkan fleet concentrated there. Yet Seleukos had used his time in Asia Minor well, and had made nice with the autonomous ruler of Bithynia, Zipoetes. Allowing him free passage through Bithynia, Seleukos now only had to deal with Byzantion, which, under pressure from Lysimachos, agreed to assist in his transport across the straits. So it was that later in the Spring of 305, with his navy running diversions in the Hellespont, Seleukos slipped across the Bosporus straits, leaving his 18 year old son Antiochos to maintain his position in Asia Minor.
The Invasion of Greece, 305-304
Perdikkas was understandably incensed at the new developments. Now facing anywhere between 25-45,000 troops at his doorstep (estimates vary, though the most likely estimated, extrapolated from Eumenes's account, ranges around 12,000 Seleukid soldiers, including 2,000 cavalry, and 15-20,000 Lysimachid soldiers, with about 4,000 cavalry) and an unresolved campaign in Epeiros, his position in Greece was under threat. His attempt to get Seuthes to take up arms fell on deaf ears for the moment; the Odrysian was not inclined to cross a man with upwards of 40,000 soldiers in his backyard. Perdikkas briefly considered abandoning Greece altogether; it was not that he did not expect to win, it was whether he deemed the costs worth the gain. Ultimately he decided against this course of action, and instead immediately recalled Demetrios (the historians don't record the chagrin Aeakides must have been feeling) and dispatched urgent appeals for reinforcements to Eumenes.
Defending Greece from a land attack from the north presented Perdikkas with several key advantages, chiefly the bottlenecks of Tempe and Thermopylai, and his complete control of the seas. The same was less true for defending Makedon however, which found itself to the north of these bottlenecks and inviting to northern incursions. Due to Seleukid intrigue, Perdikkas was also forced to dispatch subordinates to put out fires across Greece; a Boeotian League Revolt, trouble in Pherai, and the re-entry into the war of the Aitolian League. In these times Demetrios signaled himself out as Perdikkas's most effective general, his dashing speed and impressive generalship distinguishing himself as Perdikkas's most reliable man on the peninsula.
With his ability to go on the offensive handicapped, Perdikkas focused his defense in three central locations. Called "the fetters" of Greece and Makedon (these would later change over time), these three fortresses were Sisygambia in the Chalkidian Peninsula, Larissa in Thessalia, and Korinthos in the Peloponnese. It was out of Larissa that Demetrios operated against the Aitolian, and out of Sisygambia that Perdikkas would direct his campaign against Seleukos and Lysmimachos.
Pushing south, the Seleukos and Lysimachos forced Perdikkas to abandon most of the interior of Makedonia, as he huddled the coastal fortresses along the Chalkidian Peninsula, where his navy could best assist him. Preventing any sort of breakthrough by the Seleukid navy was critical to maintaining his position until he could strike back. He could afford to cede much of his northern territory, as long as he retained control of the strategic centers.
This plan was nearly blown to pieces however when Athens erupted in revolt. In a well coordinated uprising, the Athenians managed to force the Akropolis garrison to surrender, and came within a hairs breadth of successfully storming Piraeus. Unable to take it and equally unable to starve them out, the Athenians had not managed to completely rid themselves of Perdikkan forces, but still caused him innumerable headaches. With fires erupting faster than he could put them out, Perdikkas found himself rushing from crisis point to crisis point while he was forced to cede much of the interior--including cities such as Pella and Larissa--to his adversaries. The young king Amyntas V fell into the hands of Seleukos, who promptly placed him under strict house arrest. Then came the defection of the garrison of Korinthos, followed by a joint Epeirote-Aitolian invasion from the west that Demetrios was virtually powerless to stop.
Only the advent of winter provided Perdikkas with a respite. The arrival of relief sent by Eumenes allowed him to kick off a flurry of winter activity. The 18 year old Alexander IV nominally led the relief force--his first official military command--though actual operations were mostly delegated to the du-umvirate of Dokimos and Prepelaos. Eumenes was loathe to send Alexander away, for his authority over Makedonians derived from his presence, but he understood the presence of Alexander in the northern Aegean would lend much needed legitimacy to Perdikkas's cause. His arrival prompted a successful effort to relieve and retake Athens followed by a botched assault on Korinthos.
Perdikkas's operations were mostly confined to recovering his position and solidifying his control along the coast. Lacking the ability to confront his foes directly, he contented himself with preserving what he still had. Despite defections from Athenian and Korinthian elements of his navy, he still retained naval superiority and thus an impenetrable grip on the coastal enclaves.
A stalemate ensued throughout 304, with Perdikkas settling in for a siege of Korinthos and Seleukos consolidating his control over the interior. A timely revolt launched by Seuthes as soon as the snow melted forced Lysimachos to withdraw most of his forces back to Thrakia, leaving only small garrisons behind to cement his control over northern Makedonia. Yet the immense pressure Perdikkas was under was taking its tole. Greek cities chafed under his garrisons, and a strong thrust on the twin cities of Sysigambia and Parysatia allowed by Seleukos's enlarged navy forced him to evacuate the Chalkidian Peninsula entirely, a militarily minor, but politically significant, setback.
Further setbacks ensued. A discontented Demetrios, yearning for adventure and the ability to make a name of himself, sought opportunity for glory elsewhere. That opportunity soon presented itself in the form of Etruscan envoys. Having just ended a long and protracted war with the Romans, lumped together in history as part of the Second Samnite War (326-304 BCE), several Etruscan city states looked abroad for a commander who could revitalize their armies to face the Roman threat. Looking towards the saturation of talent in the east, their envoys traveled to Greece, where they met one Demetrios very eager to accept their request. Without informing Perdikkas of his plans, Demetrios silently procured several ships and slipped away with 2,000 men west to Italy.
This was the final outrage for Perdikkas, who now found his presence in Greece to be of little value. Without completely abandoning the peninsula to Seleukos, he left most of his garrisons in place under the joint command of Attalos and Dokimos he departed Greece for Egypt, leaving behind a tenuous position and returning to Egypt in a much weaker position than he had left it.
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Thanks! I agree, Bactria (and by extension, Greco-India),is quite fascinating. Greco-Bactria is one of my favorites as well. I do have a lot of plans for the region later (especially cultural), but they are more long term, and slow moving. And fortunately, this timeline is very much alive.
Hmm, I did not know that. Thanks for the information! Associating Zeus with Ba'al Hammon seems to make the most sense, since they were both the dominant deities in each culture.
Several developments have passed thus far, and Selucus has one of the kings
overall, nice update.
Though, one little nitpick:
overall, nice update.
Though, one little nitpick:
shouldn't this be any?