This is really an almost complete TL. The only reason I post it here is because I can't put it in the Timlines & Scenarios area because of their new rules. To potential readers, this is a long TL- 48 pages on word (!). It is, however, a pet project of mine that I've been nursing for months now.
Cratos & Bia
The first Peloponnesian War began in 460 BC and ended in 454.
It was fought between the cities of Sparta and Thebes (with their respective allies and Leagues, the Peloponnesian and Boeotian) against Athens and her Delian League, which was swiftly becoming her own empire in the Aegean. Athens’s vibrant democracy had turned out some of the most gifted inventors, politicians, generals and philosophers of history. The figures of Pericles, Cimon and later Socrates would tower over the ancient world eclipsing even Leonidas and Themosticles who were consigned to the prologue of Greek history.
Sparta and Thebes had both declared war on Athens for its expansion into Attica, its dominance over the Delian League and its Long Walls, which protected it from assault, making it virtually un-siegeable without naval supremacy. The leaders of Athens, the statesman Pericles and the general Cimon proved a powerful team, and at first Athens fared well, scoring naval victories and also land victories- they occupied Boeotia except for the city of Thebes. In 457, Sparta and Athens came to an independent peace. An Athenian army had entered the Peloponnese and Argos had switched sides. The Spartans had marched against them and, shockingly, had been defeated, the great warriors danced under the whips of their Argive masters who enslaved the captives. The Spartans needed time to re-build their strength. Both sides vowed not to violate each other’s territory and that there would be peace between them for ten years.
With Sparta out of the war, Cimon focused his forces on Thebes. The second Boeotian campaign was brutal and resulted in a pyrrhic Theban victory- Athens was forced to yield control over Boeotia yet Thebes was so bloodied as that she could not press her advantage. In 455 a treaty was signed- Thebes had control over Boeotia and Athens would recognise her rights to that land but Thebes would recognise the League of Delia and Aegina’s incorporation into the League. Both Thebes and Sparta recognised Athens’s Long Walls as legitimate means of defence, although the city of Corinth aligned itself with Thebes, preferring the King of Thebes to Pericles. Sparta had seen its power curtailed and a rough status quo developed: Thebes, Boeotia and Corinth vs. Sparta and the Peloponnese (excluding Argos) vs. Athens, Argos & the Delian League.
The two real victors, however, were Pericles and Cimon. It had been Pericles who had negotiated the peace treaties between Athens and her enemies and Cimon who had led her victorious armies. The two of them, however, had very different political philosophies. Cimon was more conservative, believing that democracy should be restricted while Pericles believed that Athens’s political system should be open to all. At this time Pericles was the more popular- he had introduced free theatre tickets for the poor and had lowered taxes. Cimon, however, earned the people’s grudging respect due to his impressive role as a general. Athens’s political structure meant that these two rarely conducted business together. Cimon preferred the Courts where the more conservative Athenians generally met, those with some wealth and property. Pericles, however, preferred the Popular Assembly, where his grand speeches earned him great ovations from thousands of approving citizens.
In 453 BC Pericles introduced a motion to the Popular Assembly that would allow Archons- the executive branch of the Athenian government- to stand for office for the voting population in general, that is, instead of being picked by lot they would run for election. This was a bold move- up until then all posts had been filled by lot. Pericles’s argument was that elections would allow people to exercise true power instead of relying on chance. The movement was immensely popular and was passed into law. In 452 nine Archons were elected: Basileus Archon (Pericles), Polemarch Archon (Cimon), Eponymous Archon (Lysicrates) and six other citizens. Cimon, as Polemarch held control over the armed forces (the office had previously been rotated between the board of ten generals, now the post was independent although most Polemarchs were generals, including Cimon). These offices were held for one year only, when the holder would have to run for re-election. No term limits were put in place- Pericles was enormously popular and did not want to cap his own power.
In 452 Cimon announced that from then on the armed forces of the Delian League (Athens’s league of protectorates and effectual empire) would be under the command of the ten Athenian generals, with the Polemarch (i.e. himself) exercising the role of commander-in-chief. This produced protests from across the League yet there was little they could do. Their combined fleet of nearly 800 warships were docked at Athens in the port of Munichea at Piraeus. The League’s nature was fundamentally changed- the treasury was moved from Delia to Athens and all states were made to contribute to the treasury. Thus did Athens cement her rule, creating what was, in effect, an empire. Naxos was the first to rebel. Debate raged in the General Assembly over what to do with the rebellious islanders. The military wing, led by Cimon, was in favour of completely destroying the city- killing the men and enslaving the rest. The majority, however, were in favour of invading the island and replacing her government with a democracy. Pericles was reluctant to weigh in, yet finally did so in favour of Cimon. This was a great shift of opinion on his part, and was more likely due to political necessity than personal belief. A force of twenty triremes set out, led by Pelaemon, a young general who was looking for promotion. The ships arrived at Naxos and disembarked 1,000 hoplites with no trouble. Pelaemon easily brushed aside the defenders belated counter-attack and besieged the city of Naxos. The city was surrounded by land and sea- when Pelaemon offered terms they were accepted. The general sent word to the Athenians saying that their will had been accomplished- Naxos was subdued. At first opinion was negative- the decision had been to destroy Naxos. However, certain members of the General Assembly made the case against the Archons saying that the original will of the people had been reintegration of Naxos into the empire, and that Cimon and Pericles had misled them. Slowly public opinion changed so that by the time of Pelaemon’s return (September 451 BC) he was welcomed as a hero. Naxos’s government was overhauled, with a council of ten leading citizens as well as two Athenian delegates who were all-but governors of the island.
Pericles and Cimon had encountered their first political defeat in years. Cimon, already unpopular with the masses was cast in a yet more negative light; that of a scheming, cold-blooded general who would put any number of lives below his own ambition. Pericles was not reluctant to promote this image- he still mistrusted Cimon who was too conservative for his liking. Cimon, politically isolated, turned to his fellow generals. These men were generally more conservative than the rest of the government, for although elected were often considered on competence rather than popularity.
In October of 451 BC the election for the ten generals was held. Cimon barely held on to his office, scraping by with a handful of votes. Pelaemon, victor over Naxos, was elected and vowed in his first speech to the General Assembly to extend Athens’s power and the rule of the people. Pericles was also re-elected as Archon although Cimon was not. Cimon thus lost his executive power to Lysicaeum, one of the ten generals and some fifteen years younger than he. Lysicaeum and Pericles co-operated and got along well. In February of 450 however, Athens found itself once more at war.
Aegina, having been incorporated into the Athenian Empire after the first Peloponnesian War, rebelled against Athens and asked Thebes for aid. The King of Thebes obliged and occupied the city. Pericles, outraged, demanded the King to remove his soldiers. The King refused, and said that any compromise of Aegina’s independence would mean war. Pericles met with Pelaemon, Lysicaeum and Cimon to discuss this in private. The four of them reached the consensus that there must be war. Together they addressed the General Assembly, with Pericles making the point that the people of Aegina had fallen prey to Theban tyranny just as Corinth had. With the four great statesmen of that time agreeing, the General Assembly was easily swayed. War was declared and it was decided that Cimon should lead the offensive into Boeotia. Three forces set out from Athens- one would head north, around the Kithairon mountains to strike Thebes from the north. The second would go west to Plataea while the third would march on Corinth. This third one was the strongest and was led by Cimon, for although its target was the weakest Pelaemon, as the planner of the offensive, feared Spartan interference and therefore distributed his forces accordingly. The northern column would be led by Lysicaeum and the western one by Thucydides.
The Second Boeotian War proved decisive. Cimon surrounded Corinth and forced it surrender in early March 450 BC. There he received a delegation from Sparta, saying that they would not intervene in the conflict, so long as the sacred sites were not violated. This unusual non-intervention would most likely be caused by the Spartan defeat by Argos and the Spartans, still reeling, were in no position for another war with Athens. By so doing, they had doomed Thebes. Cimon switched north and met up with Thucydides at Plataea which they besieged with a combined force of 5,000 hoplites. Plataea capitulated in late April and the combined army marched on. The King of Thebes, alarmed, drew to him some 4,000 hoplites as well as cavalry from Thessaly. This force marched south and met the Athenians north of Plataea. The battle was hard-fought, the Athenian line advancing so that their right flank would engage before their left. By weighting their right, the Athenians rolled the Theban flank and forced them back. Meanwhile the Theban right, with the famous Sacred Band, was defeating the Athenians. As their left collapsed, however, they found themselves surrounded. The Sacred Band held out for nearly six hours before succumbing. Their grave marker can still be seen. With Theban military defeat, capitulation was inevitable. The King, who had escaped the battle, sued for peace. By the terms of the treaty Corinth, Plataea and Aegina were admitted into the Delian League. The Boeotian League was disbanded and replaced with the Delphic League, which excluded Thebes.
With the defeat of Thebes, Athenian hegemony was once more assured. Cimon, as leader of the victorious Athenian army, was well received and the next year was elected Polemarch Archon while Lysicaeum, as the leader of the far less successful northern attack, was demoted. Also praised was Pelaemon who, as the war’s overall strategist, had appeared at the General Assembly reading out notices of Athenian victories. He was elected Basileus Archon while Pericles was made Eponymous Archon. This trio, although very different, was to rule Athens for the next ten years. Athens, however, had earned many enemies. Persia, ruler of Asia, saw her toeholds in Ionia a grave threat and all the while coveting the Ionian cities that were so wealthy. Sparta, meanwhile, saw her dominance as a threat to stability. Even her own empire, Corinth, Plataea, Aegina and the other cities subdued by force of arms, sought independence. Their government was varied- some had kings, others oligarchies and yet more were democracies. There was no uniformity and it was this that worried the Athenian triumvirate, especially Pelaemon who sought to weld the Athenian empire into a single, strong entity. In November 450 Pericles delivered his famous Funeral Oration, given at the mass funeral of Athens’s war dead. It was unique as it was the only speech of his to be written down as he said it. In it he said that the people of Athens had a duty to preserve freedom and to liberate Greeks from the tyranny of foreign kings and oligarchs.
This message was carried throughout Athenian public policy for years, the idea of revolution inspired by Athens herself. First off, the empire was reformed. The oligarchies and kingdoms were toppled and replaced with democracies. These had the same structure as that of Athens, except there was no military branch of government. Also, three of the nine Archons were elected in Athens. In charge of the city’s military would be a junior Athenian general who would be appointed by the board of ten elected generals. Little could be done to stop this- those in government were all exiled, mostly to Macedon and Thrace although some fled to Persia. This process was ongoing for nearly a year, by 449 however it was complete.
The backlash was enormous. The King of Persia was aghast at the idea of democracies literally on his doorstep. He immediately amassed his armies preparing for an invasion of Ionia. He informed the Athenians that if they did not rescind their decision there would be war. Pericles refused, and so the Third Persian war began.
It began with the siege of Miletus. 10,000 Persians besieged the city with its garrison of 1,000 citizens and 200 Athenians. The city would hold out for nearly a year with naval resupply. Meanwhile, the Athenian navy fought the Persian one throughout the Mediterranean. Pelaemon led a force of 200 triremes in an attack on Cyprus. They met with 300 Persian ships at Salamis and defeated them, scattering them and sinking twenty. They landed on Cyprus and overthrew the Satrap, proclaiming a democracy. The Persian fleet regrouped and launched an attack on Crete which saw the island occupied for two years. In 448 the Persian king Artaxerxes petitioned Sparta to declare war on Athens. At first they were reluctant, yet when Artaxerxes promised gold and naval aid they agreed. Sparta declared war on Athens as did the Peloponnesian League. The city of Argos, frightened by its age-old enemy, aligned herself with Athens. A Spartan army led by King Pleistoanax marched north to Argos. The king had been recalled on the orders of the Delphic oracle despite evidence of treason, having accepted a ten talent bribe in the first Peloponnesian War from Pericles. His 5,000 hoplites reached Argos and met the Argives in battle. The result was a Spartan victory yet they could did not take Argos, instead marching on Corinth, which was well defended yet hostile to Athenian sovereignty.
In response, Lysicaeum left Athens with 4,000 hoplites. They stopped at Megara where 2,000 allies from Boeotia and Attica arrived. This force then moved south making for Corinth. They met the Spartans north of the city, which had opened its gates to them. The battle of Corinth saw the cataclysmic defeat of Athens. Lysicaeum lost 1,000 men and 1,500 were captured. He himself barely escaped with his life and was summarily ostracised. The Spartans marched north where Plataea opened its gates to them. Thebes sent 1,000 hoplites to help them and the Spartans advanced through Attica. Panic gripped Athens- Pericles once more attempted bribery, offering Pleistoanax fifty talents if he would turn back. The king refused, however, conscious of the fact that the ephors (Spartan magistrates) were watching him constantly. He reached Athens in April, 447. Cimon, who had not led an army for years, was called upon to command the defence. He ordered every able-bodied Athenian over the age of twenty five to present himself at the Agora, including slaves. Some 35,000 men presented themselves. Nearly a three thousand were dismissed when it became apparent they were younger than twenty five yet the remaining force was equipped as best as could be managed and given rudimentary training. The Spartans, meanwhile, set in for a siege. They planned to make an attack on the Long Walls, hoping to catch the Athenians off guard. They tied ropes together and made grappling-hooks. This failed, as the Athenians caught the hooks and threw them back. With assault an impossibility (siegecraft was still primitive) Pleistoanax settled in for a siege. He could not afford to wait, however. His supply lines were stretched and the Athenians had burned Attica before retreating behind the walls. Furthermore, Argos had recovered somewhat and was organising raids on Spartan lands. With no significant forces in the Peloponnese there was little they could do.
Pericles addressed the people, telling them not to despair but to strengthen their resolve and to fight all the harder for their freedom. Throughout the siege, ships from the empire re-supplied the city- there were no rebellions thankfully as Athenian garrisons retained control. Pelaemon informed the Assembly that he was returning with his men, yet instead they voted to order him to attack Sparta herself. They hoped this knockout blow would destroy Sparta’s capacity to fight and force a surrender. In January 446 Pelaemon disembarked 6,000 hoplites in Lacedaemon. They marched on Sparta, which was little prepared. A force of some 1,000 boys and helots faced them at Laconia yet these were brushed aside almost contemptuously. Sparta was defended by boys, slaves and old men. The battle was fierce yet defeat was inevitable. Sparta was burnt. A detachment was sent to Messinia which erupted in celebration. Their old masters were defeated- after centuries of slavery they were free. They jubilantly declared a democracy and entered the Delian League. Meanwhile, to the east, not two stones were left on top of each other in Sparta.
When word reached King Pleistoanax he flew into a rage. He ordered a general assault on Athens. His 7,000 soldiers stormed the walls, and managed to enter Piraeus. They were unable to seize the docks however, and fierce fighting erupted. The Athenians contested every street, gradually retreating down the Long Walls until they had their backs to Athens proper. Cimon led the defence personally, with Pericles taking up weapons as well although he delegated command to Cimon. All Athenians defended the city and finally the Spartans were halted. They fought all night, the Spartans for revenge, the Athenians for their very existence. In the early hours of the morning Pleistoanax called off the attack. Some 3,000 Spartans and Boeotians lay dead. Nearly 5,000 Athenians had been killed, yet the city survived. Pleistoanax realised his position was impossible, and sued for peace. He and two bodyguards entered the city and addressed the General Assembly. Pericles was still wearing his blood-stained armour and Cimon was nursing an arm wound. The Assembly was not feeling generous. Their offer was simple- the Spartan army would be spared so long as their swore never to take up arms against Athens or her allies, and that they would never set foot in Attica again. They also demanded that Pleistoanax renounce his title of King and that he never set foot in Athens, Sparta or Thebes ever again. He was in no place to object. He agreed, and returned to camp. It was there that less than an hour later he killed himself. When the Athenians came to collect the Spartans’ arms many refused. Several Athenians were killed and a second battle began. It was chaotic yet the Athenians managed to form ranks and surround the Spartans. The Boeotians surrendered yet the Spartans fought on. The battle raged for twelve hours during which thousands perished. Finally, the Spartans were wiped out.
The battle of Attica had seen massive losses on both sides- 8,000 Athenians and 6,000 Spartans/Boeotians. They were all cremated on one night in March where the skies were red for two solid days. They were all buried outside the Long Walls, Spartan, Boeotian and Attican alike. The war had pushed both sides to the limit, yet Athens’s greater manpower and navy had given her victory. When Pelaemon returned he was greeted as a hero, yet when he saw the thousands of burned houses he wept. In 445 he, Pericles and Cimon were voted in as Archons once more.
The war’s aftermath saw Athens triumphant on every front. She sent a detachment of 2,000 to Thebes which was all-but destroyed, as was Corinth. It was unanimously decided that neither of these cities should ever be trusted again. Corinth was rebuilt as a colony yet Thebes was left desolate. New Leagues were formed- the Peloponnesian (led by Argos) the Lacedaemon (led by Messinia) the Boeotian (led by Plataea) and the Delphic League which contained most of Athens’s allies including the city herself. The Delian League was greatly expanded and Crete was reconquered.
Persia, however, remained hostile. Her navy was still in the Aegean, and in June of 445 it defeated a force of fifty Athenians ships sailing to Miletus, which had fallen the previous year. The Athenian people sent the great diplomat Callias to Ephesus where King Artaxerxes was at that time. The terms they offered were generous- Miletus, Halaricanassus and Pergamum would be handed over to Persia and Cyprus returned so long as Crete was returned to Athens and Persia promised never to interfere in the affairs of Greeks again. Artaxerxes, fully aware that his empire was already overstretched, agreed and peace was made.
The death of Cimon in 444 was much mourned; his body was carried through the streets on his shield by six pall-bearers, his fellow Archons and a sixth Athenian drawn by lot from the general populace. He was cremated and his ashes buried outside the Long Walls with a bronze plaque listing his achievements. His funeral served as a funeral for all those killed in the Peloponnesian war. Pericles delivered a grand speech in which he praised all those who loved freedom and were willing to lay down their lives for others. A new temple to Nike was built on the Acropolis alongside the Parthenon. It was not as large yet was adorned with the names of all those killed in the war. A great statue of the Goddess stood next to her sister Cratos (strength) and Bia (force). These three would be the greatest symbols of the Athenian democracy.
By 444 BC a rough status quo had developed. There was Athens, leader of the Hellenic world, and then Persia, Queen of Asia. To the west were the cities of Magna Graecia and Sicily. These had a proud tradition of independence and formed their own leagues and alliances. The city of Syracuse, having thrown off its tyrants in 465 BC was aligned with Athens, accepting a garrison but not going so far as to join the Delian League. This alarmed other cities who formed the Sicilian League. This League included most of Greek Sicily and southern Italy. These alliances were short-lived and circumstantial yet they were almost all defensive alliances against Athens.
In Athens herself, debate raged as to whether they should make an attempt to take these cities. It was eventually decided that they should not, and that instead Athens should cultivate good relations with them. When, however, it became apparent that few cities were receptive of diplomacy, it was decided to seek allies elsewhere. The Republic of Carthage seemed a likely candidate, and the diplomat Callias was sent to Carthage to negotiate terms. In it, an alliance was proclaimed between Carthage, Athens and their allies. The Carthaginians, seeing Athens’s great power, sought to profit from this by opening the Aegean to their trade. Soon trade between Carthage and Athens was booming. However, also included in the treaty was the provision for the division of Sicily. The Athenians had been unwilling to devote resources to any military expedition to the west yet when the Carthaginians insisted they gave in and agreed to the terms.
In March 442 BC the Athenian general Thucydides landed in Syracuse with 6,000 men and a fleet of 100 ships. He made a speech to the city Assembly, where he informed them that if Syracuse did not join the Delian League he would be forced to impose martial law. The Assembly voted themselves out of existence and Thucydides was made governor-general for the duration of the campaign. The capitulation of Syracuse sent shockwaves through Sicily and Magna Graecia. The Athenian army split in two, with Thucydides taking 3,000 men west and his subordinate taking 3,000 north. Meanwhile, the Carthaginians moved along the north coast and the southern coast. After two months the two forces met in the centre of the island. The two generals signed a treaty that recognised each others gains and they erected a monument announcing the treaty and the peace it created. The two armies then returned to their respective spheres of influence. The seizure of Sicily was met with little trouble in Greece proper but in Italy the storm that ensued would see the cities there one by one fall to tyrants as democracies were subverted and oligarchies fell from power. One; Tarentum, created the Sacred League that united most of southern Italy. They had their treasury in Neapoli and a sizeable navy was maintained. This counter-balance to Athens was to last nearly one hundred years.
Seeking allies in the north Athens sent out feelers to the Kingdom of Macedon under King Perdiccas II who consolidated his rule over the outlying Macedonian tribes with Athenian help. His kingdom had been wracked by a succession crises and independent warlords and chieftains had set themselves up in the north- in 443 the king controlled little more than Pella and its surroundings. With Athenian gold he hired Thracian mercenaries and reformed his army. He adopted the phalanx yet used great 18 ft. pikes and bucklers instead of the shorter Greek spears and hoplon shield. He also kept a heavy cavalry force and using a combined arms strategy he extended his rule through Macedon once more and then enlarged the kingdom to the north and the east, raiding north into Thrace and smashing any lasting Persian influence there that had lingered on since the campaigns of Darius the Great. A string of subordinate tribes and kingdoms were set up north and west into Illyria making Macedon the most powerful kingdom in the area. In return, Perdiccas promised to supply soldiers to Athens, and his heavy cavalry would come particularly in handy. He also paid a small tribute in gold which was mined in the mountains north of Pella.
In 442 BC Pericles announced that he would not run for Archon the following year. The public was filled with grief yet they allowed the 53 year old to leave with dignity. He retired to his property north of the city where he built his new home on a hill that overlooked the city. From here he wrote and made announcements advising the people and government, although he often protested his retirement when pressed. Of the original triumvirate only Pelaemon remained. He formed a political alliance with Thucydides, who was elected Polemarch in 441 (Pelaemon was elected Eponymous Archon). These two were generals both, yet they commanded enormous respect from all Athenians. Pelaemon, aged 37 (b. 479 BC) had created the Athenian empire as it was then and had defeated the Spartans in battle. Thucydides had conquered Sicily and been a general in the Boeotian War.
By 440 BC Messinia, newly liberated from Spartan tyranny, had become more and more anti-Athenian. One man, Teneus, an orator and writer delivered grand speeches to the General Assembly lambasting Athenian imperialism, stating that Athens would take Sparta’s place, and that they cared not for the freedom of Greeks but only their own gain. To this the Athenian delegates responded that the General Assembly of Athens held the liberty of all Greeks to be of utmost import and that Messinia was all the better for Athenian intervention.
One of them, Demostacras, raised a piece of rubble, saying that it was Athenian metal that had burned Sparta and that the Athenian people supported Messina in her pursuit of freedom. The people were not convinced- they saw the annual contribution to the Delian League a new form of servitude and demanded that they leave the Delian League. A vote was held and the overwhelming majority voted to leave Athens. They declared independence and the Lacedaemon League was welded together as an alliance of twelve city-states that opposed Athens. The Athenians, alarmed, voted in favour of war with the League.
Thucydides led 6,000 hoplites south through the Peloponnese where he demonstrated Athens’s power to all who may have considered wavering. Meanwhile, a force of 500 Athenian ships sailed around Greece, not for any military purpose but to demonstrate Athens's might. When the army reached Lacedaemon they ravaged the country, burning the unharvested crops in the fields. They then marched on Messinia in Spring 439 BC. They met the Lacedaemons in battle, 6,000 Athenians, Boeotians and Argives against 4,000 Lacedaemons. The battle lasted all day, the Lacedaemons fighting with tragic desperation. Finally the Athenians broke through and routed the Lacedaemons. The League surrendered, except for Messinia. She held out and was besieged. She had re-built her walls and was thus hard to take, yet the Athenians had time. Resupplied by her fleet the army stayed in the field through winter until the city finally surrendered. In a twist of irony, her populace was sold into slavery, mostly to Ionia and Egypt. The city was left a ruin as a reminder to Lacedaemons that all who opposed Athens were destroyed. It seemed that with the fall of Messinia and Sparta Athens had destroyed all Lacedaemon.
In Athens herself politics was changing. For twenty years the city had been under the thumb of various politicians and alliances. These men, through the oversight of the people and the Assembly, were generally very competent and it seemed that this political compromise between all-out democracy and Republicanism was working. There was, however, still the fear that the Archons may grow too powerful, that they may some day desire to take control of Athens entirely. No one dared to call Pericles an oligarch or a tyrant, he was far too respected, yet Pelaemon had the whiff of authoritarianism about him. Sure, he was competent and popular, yet he was a soldier, and had always campaigned for the harshest treatment of their enemies. People feared he may become another Cimon who, although respected, was by no means popular. In 439 BC therefore the office of Auditor was created. This was in truth a board of five Auditors who would oversee the Archons, and were picked by lot from the general populace. These in turn were supervised by the Council of 500 (the legislative branch of the Athenian government, picked by lot from a pool of volunteers over the age of 30). The Auditors had the power to veto the Archons yet the Council of 500 could veto any decision by the Auditors.
By 438 the reconstruction of Athens was underway. With an influx of population from Attica the city had swelled to an enormous size of 60,000 (inc. slaves etc.) of whom 45,000 were citizens (rather than resident aliens, who could only gain citizenship by act of the Popular Tribunal). All these had to be provided with houses and infrastructure. Seven new roads were built which emanated in every direction and converged on the Acropolis. The Agora was enlarged and the General Assembly was enlarged and refurbished so that it could fit the 6000 Assembly members and 2,000 observers as well as the Council of 500 and the Archons, generals etc. who would also be present. Piraeus was rebuilt along a gridiron pattern and it extended seawards as well as towards Athens along the corridor provided by the Long Walls. Athens too grew towards the sea and the old wall to Phalerum was strengthened to protect the outgrowth that had spilled outside the city walls.
The Persian Empire, meanwhile, was in dire straits. King Artaxerxes was ageing and cracks were beginning to show in the Royal edifice. Armed conflicts raged in Ionia, with armed uprisings, and in Egypt, where pretender Pharaohs cropped up almost annually. In the east, meanwhile, Bactria and Indus grew yet more restless as the empire contracted its hold on them and tribute flowed less often, drying up in some cases. In 434 BC the west coast of Anatolia rose up. The cities of Miletus, Ephesus, Sardis and Halaricarnassus all rose up almost simultaneously while the local satrap, a hellenised Persian Parnasses claimed the title of king and declared independence. Battle raged across Asia as Persian royal armies marched west to meet the Satrap’s forces, who were also engaged in the secessionist Greeks. Athens seized the initiative and occupied Pergamum, Miletus and Ephesus as well as several other coastal cities, admitting them into the Delian League in a matter of weeks. Athens then sent financial aid to Parnasses, hoping that his rebellion would destroy Persian influence in Asia Minor. In August 433 BC a junior general called Telesius proposed to the General Assembly a naval attack on Egypt. This drew great support, as he provided the evidence of the repeated uprisings against Persia as well as the fact that Persian garrisons had been depleted as forces were shifted north. Thucydides, who was Polemarch Archon for that year, made a counter-argument saying that if there should be a military expedition against Persia it should be against the shipyards of Sidon and Tyre. He claimed that destroying these sites would cripple Persia’s navy and, especially in the case of Tyre, give Athens a toehold in the levant.
The debate raged for three weeks until Pelaemon proposed that while the main bulk of Athenian forces attack Egypt a small diversionary force attack Sidon and Tyre. This was agreed on, with a massive majority vote. In September the fleet set off from Piraeus before splitting and heading to its two targets. The attack on Egypt consumed 500 ships and 15,000 men, the largest force yet fielded by the Athenian democracy. It was comprised of Athenians, Atticans, Ionians and Argives with a few Cretans and Rhodesians. The ships were all Athenians, more than half the total fleet. This force was further subdivided- three wings, the centre carried the main force of the army while the two others flanked it. they were headed for the Egyptian Delta around Naukratis, the old Greek colony. They arrived there after a weeks sailing and disembarked without trouble. They then proceeded south at breakneck speed, reaching Memphis after two weeks. Word had reached the satrap of the Greek advance and he had laid up supplies for his garrison of 8,000.
The Athenians surrounded the city and dug trenches and built walls to contain the defenders. It was here that general Telesius displayed his genius, for he dug trenches at angels to the walls so that the Persians never got a clear shot at the Greeks inside. Soon in this fashion they reached the walls and here they began chipping away at the wall with picks and spades. This proved ineffective, so they withdrew and tried again, this time using battering rams. These were somewhat more effective, destroying the stone facing and damaging the wall structure beneath yet the walls withstood. Growing worried at his lack of progress, Telesius then opted for an all-out assault. Ladders were prepared and grappling hooks made. The Greeks attacked at night and during a storm where the northerly winds brought in a chill wind that forced the sentries to huddle around their fires. They gave little warning and soon were on the walls in force. Desperate fighting broke out and for three hours things appeared to be in the balance. Finally, however, the Persians used their light spears and slings to pick the Greeks off one by one and forced them back under a rain of missiles. Several hundred were killed on both sides yet the Persian fared the worse. Telesius then lay in for a siege, and it was then that word reached him of the attack on Sidon and Tyre. Both citys’ docks had been burned and most of the Persian fleet sunk. Sidon had been damaged extensively and Tyre was occupied by a force commanded by Thucydides and 3,000 Athenians. The Persian satrap was attempting to lay siege yet his attempts were being thwarted.
Gaining heart from this, he resolved himself once more to an attack and in the small hours of the morning a second assault was waged. This time the Greeks burst through, scattering the Persians and forcing them back through the narrow streets. Many Greeks were killed in narrow streets yet they forced the Persian back before forcing them out of the city or to surrender. Memphis had been taken in a month.
The Persian empire, shocked by these assaults, was sent reeling. Artaxerxes, nearing sixty, sent letters to Pericles begging him to make peace. He had messaged Pericles because he was the only Athenian politician he respected. Pericles drew himself out of retirement once more and addressed the General assembly. His speech was listened to by all, for the people had missed his orations. He urged them to make peace and keep their gains. The people heeded this respected man and authorise Callias to go to Susa to bargain for peace. The two parties did not meet in Susa, however, but in Jerusalem where the client king of Judea entertained the Athenians who was impressed by the large temple yet somewhat disappointed by its lack of decoration. The peace talks proceeded for three weeks after which terms were agreed. Athens would sell Tyre back to Persia for 4,000 talents and in return Athens would be granted the right to settle Naukratis and the Egyptian coastline. Egypt was also set up as an independent kingdom, a client of Athens but paying tribute to Persia. In return for all this, Athens agreed to withdraw all support for Parnasses, whose rebellion floundered two months later leading to the Satrap’s capture and execution. Persia and Athens also signed a treaty of non-aggression effective for thirty years. On negotiating these terms Callias was proclaimed a hero and he, Thucydides and Pelaemon were elected Archons for 430 BC.
On 23rd March 428 BC a vote was held among the general citizen populace of Athens. Once all votes were counted, the result was overwhelming. Three days later the Hellenistic Democracy was announced. All the cities contained in the Delian, Boeotian, Delphic, Lacedaemon and Peloponnesian Leagues were admitted without reference. The plan was to have a pan-hellen democracy that would meet at Corinth. Each city would sent three delegates who would then elect generals and magistrates. Each city would remain autonomous yet all military decisions would be made by the Assembly. Each city was given three seats, except for Athens who spoke for all her empire and thereby gained 33 seats. The cities had little choice, Athens had complete hegemony over them. There was some belated resistance yet it was crushed. In 424 BC the first Panhellenic Assembly was held in a newly built auditorium. The delegates voted to have as their Archons: Pericles of Athens, Lysimachus of Rhodes, Poleamon of Syracuse and Telos of Corfu plus the six revolving Archons, of whom at least three were Athenian at any one time. This Athenian-controlled state extended her empire across the entire Greek world, from the Crimea to the Nile, from Syracuse to Byzantium.
Pericles’s triumphant return to politics in 424 would see the fulfilment of a lifetime’s work. Now in his early seventies however his talents were failing him. His voice became weak and the burdens of state weighed down on him. after only three months he begged the Assembly to grant him leave of absence. This request was rejected and he was ordered to serve out the rest of his term. In August 423 he collapsed in his Athenian home. He was carried to one of the numerous hospitals that bore his name (part of the massive extension of healthcare in Athens undertaken in the 440s). He made a partial recovery yet his speech was slurred and he was given to mood swings. Once more he begged that he leave his post. He was once again turned down- the Archons of Athens were afraid that without Pericles, a figurehead that all of Greece respected, the Panhellenic League would collapse. From then on he conducted all business from his coach. He was occasionally carried out to address the Assembly in his weak, shaky voice yet he rarely finished and often had to have an aide finish his sentences.
On one particularly chill day he was left by an inattentive slave too far from the fire and he took a chill. He was taken to his bed and there his case deteriorated. He was visited by Pelaemon and Thucydides as well as the other Archons of Athens and several Panhellenic dignitaries. It was there that he confided to them all that Cimon was the only political rival he ever truly respected. He then said his now famous last words: “I hear posterity calling me.” and died. He was buried outside the Long Walls in a grand mausoleum and the funeral way was lined with thousands of grieving Greeks. The event was attended by almost every leader of the Greek world and the pallbearers were the Archons of the Panhellenic League. The funeral orations were delivered by Pelaemon and Lysimachus, Basileus Archon of Athens and the Eponymous Archon of the Panhellenic League respectively.
The death of Pericles saw Greece once more thrown into political turmoil. It had seemed that so long as the old statesman lived there would be no political crises, for he could always sort it out through his force of personality. Now Pelaemon found himself alone, his mentor gone. The Panhellenic League began to deteriorate. Factions formed between the pro-Athenian and anti-Athenian parties. Most worryingly for Athens, several members of the Delian League found themselves in the latter camp. In 422 the split was definite- finally on the first day of the new session, after the elections of December 422 March 3rd) several members refused to take their seats. Eighteen representatives mostly from the Peloponnese and Macedon abstained from the proceedings. No action was taken against them and soon others joined them. Soon the total number of sitting Representatives was reduced from 300 to 196. The rest convened on the ruins of Megara, the city burnt by Athens decades earlier. Here they announced the formation of the Sacred League. The Sicilian cities (including Syracuse) the Thracian, Macedonian, Thessalian, Boeotian and Peloponnesian cities predominated, although Argos and Corinth remained Athenian. Their secession spelled the end of the Panhellenic League- Pelaemon dissolved it later that year and instead simply extended the fashion of colonial government that administered the Athenian Empire. War had begun.
The Panhellenic War was the most brutal war of the 4th century BC, pitting two massive forces against each other in a brutal death match for control over the Greek world. The Sacred League held its temporary capital at Delphi before moving it to Syracuse out of expedience. In April 423 troops were raised on both sides, but little action took place. Athens took on supplies for a siege and began repairing her walls. The fleet was also readied for an attack- some 600 ships were mustered; almost 350 had deserted. In May an Athenian army under the command of Thucydides marched into the Peloponnese. He had 4,000 hoplites and some cavalry. He was met with little resistance, the Peloponnesians burned everything in their path. Finally they besieged Pylos for three months before lifting the siege and moving on. The army then ravaged the countryside, despoiling the site of Sparta and the ruins of Messinia. They then quartered themselves in Argos which supplied 800 hoplites. With a presence in the Peloponesse they had split the Sacred League- any co-ordination had to be accomplished by sea. This troubled the leaders of the League who readied a fleet of 300 ships to try and give battle to the Athenians. They rounded Salamis and appeared on the horizon from the towers of the Long Walls. The fleet was readied and battle was given before a crowd of cheering Athenians. The Athenian admiral Lucainon split his forces, sending 50 ships around the island while his main force engaged the main League forces. The battle was fierce and the two combatants were evenly matched until the 50 ships arrived and chased away the League ships. Some 10 ships had been captured Athens, and the League had to tow a further 13 away. The Athenians had lost one ships and six more were damaged. The fleet received a warm welcome back to port as the cheering citizens showered their praises upon them.
With failure on sea it was decided in Syracuse to seek out alliances. Two embassies were sent- one to Susa and the other to Pella. Th embassy to Susa easily persuaded King Artaxerxes II to attack Athens. He promised to loan the League some 500 ships. Meanwhile he led an army into Egypt, defeating the puppet Thirty- First Dynasty and besieging Naukratis, a city of some 3,000 citizens and loyal to Athens. Meanwhile a second force of 40,000 attacked the Ionian cities. Samos was attacked and Pergamum was taken. Miletus was cut off and could only be reinforced by running the blockade. With numerical superiority the League split the Athenian Empire while re-uniting their own. The Aegean was cut in half along the middle with Persian aid. Meanwhile the Athenians were busy. Their fleet had, at the time of the Persian intervention, been split. Some 400 were in Athens while 200 were in Byzantium. Communication was hard and the smaller fleet was ordered to stay in position.
In Athens Lucainon refitted his ships and trained his crews. In February 422 they finally made their sortie. The League, under their admiral Telemon quickly took the bait and engaged the force of 400 with 600 ships both Persian and Greek. The battle looked dire for the Athenians and they were in danger of being flanked. However, they kept a tight formation and broke through the League forces, punching a hole through which the fleet could file. They docked in Miletus and refitted themselves as well as taking on reinforcements of 20 ships docked there. The defence was proving desperate, the Persians were persistent and the supplies brought by the ships was insufficient. It as decided to evacuate as many civilians as possible. 100 ships were reduced to a skeleton crew and some 3,000 civilians were evacuated. All males over 14 were drafted into the defence of the city while the rest were sent away. The rest of the fleet guarded the 100 and under the cover of night they snuck out, bypassing the League ships and safely arriving in Athens two days later. The civilians were put in camps and provisioned as well as possible.
The League, however, had tightened its grip around Athens’s throat and provisioning fleets became more and more scarce. Finally word got through to the 200 ships in Byzantium to go towards Athens. During this time the blockade intensified. Rationing had to be implemented yet it was difficult to enforce. The garrison received the largest rations and this caused a urge in recruitment. There was not enough, however. As a show of solidarity Pelaemon admitted himself only a bowl of porridge a day, a hunk of bread and some water. Public relations was not enough, and soon people went hungry. The population had been swelled to nearly 70,000 and the strains were showing. In May riots broke out and soon full-blown civil disorder began. This was met with force and pleas from the government. Action was needed.
Fortunately, in late May 422 BC the 200 ships arrived. The League fleet saw the force and moved to envelope them. They had almost surrounded the force when the main Athenian force emerged. The 400 ships attacked fiercely and the League ships were forced to retreat. The Athenians then relieved Miletus and sent ships to the Aegean islands to reassert Athenian control.
With the Athenian empire re-united once more they went on the offensive. There were two fronts: the Peloponnesian and the Boeotian. Boeotia had been quiet and a knock-out blow was sought there. If the cities there could be subjugated then the League would break down. General Caerex, only 26 led the force of 3,000 hoplites north. They marched on Plataea where they received reinforcements and then proceeded on Thebes and Delphi. Thebes had never recovered from their mauling yet their leaders were vocal critics of Athens. The Boeotian forces drew up around Thebes, numbering in total 4,000 men. The Athenians were outnumbered yet they formed their line. They advanced in good order yet as they neared the Boeotians the left flank fell behind the right, opening a chink. The Boeotians exploited this and almost drove the Athenians in two. Caerex, seeing that his line was broken, ordered a retreat and the Athenians regrouped at Plataea. That winter they ravaged the Boeotian countryside. The campaign had not been a disaster yet there was no knock-out blow.
Meanwhile, in Pella, a diplomatic war was being waged. The Sacred League petitioned King Phillip I of Macedon to attack Athens. They promised him all of Macedon, Thrace and Byzantium if only he would side with them. Athens, meanwhile, promised him financial support and advisors to help him build a fleet. They also reminded him of his father’s pledge to support Athens. They had forgotten, however, that Phillip hated his father. In 421 BC Phillip openly sided with the League and besieged Potidae. In response the Athenian envoys went to the king’s younger brother, Craterus, who also angled after the crown. They encouraged him to rebel and offered him some land in Thessaly. He agreed and with the support of many nobles rebelled against his brother. The civil war would rage for three years and neither side would play an effective part in the war.
In 420 Thucydides marched into the Peloponnese. He had only 2,000 men after many had been re-diverted to the north. Outside Megalopolis he met with the Peloponnesian general Socrates. They both arrayed their battle lines and fought. The battle was inconclusive and both armies put up trophies. For two years these generals would spar across the Peloponnese.
For two years the war waged without any clear winner. Athens suffered from a lack of unity as her territories could be easily divided. Miletus was relieved in the Summer of 418 and an expedition against Crete repulsed. Finally in July 417 the ten generals plus the Archons of Athens met to discuss the war. After much wrangling they decided to attack Syracuse. They readied 500 ships and 40,000 soldiers and they set off in March 416. They landed outside Syracuse, to the north. The Sicilians massed 10,000 men and, although greatly outnumbered, they fought fiercely. Meanwhile, Carthage entered the war on Athens’s side. She supplied grain and war goods as well as invading Sicily, although the territory she took would never be Athenian again. The Sicilian campaign proved the breakthrough looked for in Boeotia. The Sicilians were defeated and soon notices of surrender were being accepted from across Magna Graecia. Syracuse was taken but not burned.
With Sicily subdued and the capital of the League taken the war was effectively over. The League’s treasury was in Athenian hands and it arrived in Athens to cheering crowds along with the triumphant soldiers. These soldiers were sent to Boeotia where they eventually in 414 smashed the Boeotians. The Sacred League collapsed and the final invasion of the Peloponnese was a foregone conclusion. Socrates surrendered himself and his army to Thucydides near Sparta and the two of them surveyed the ruins together, wistfully recalling their encounters. There was no hostility between them and it was with tears in his eyes that Thucydides informed Socrates that the General Assembly had voted for his death. Socrates killed himself a few minutes later.
To the victors go the spoils of war. Greece was smashed and Athens could re-create her as she willed. Pelaemon, aged 63, announced to the Athenian people the creation of the Hellenic League. It was well received. It was hoped this League would not fracture like its predecessor. Peace was swiftly made with Persia, Athens allowing the reconquest of Egypt so long as her colonies remained independent. Macedon also resolved itself- Phillip bowed to Athens and his brother was quickly removed. The Macedonian line was restored therefore and with Athenian gold continued its process of hellenisation. Pella built its first academy and here thinkers could be seen discussing philosophy and mathematics in coarse Greek. At this time Socrates of Athens gained notoriety for his controversial views. He received a great following among the young, especially for his mild manner and simple, logical arguments and trains of thought. He had many disciples, one of whom was made a member of the General assembly in 412. The philosopher occasionally addressed crowds yet he far preferred smaller dialogues with his companions. Pelaemon himself sat in on one of these and swapped a few words with Socrates. After this Pelaemon held a soft-spot for the lisping old man and he was allowed to teach in peace for the rest of his days, during which he espoused non-violence, rationality and, above all, equality both in soul and in politics.
In 414 plague struck Athens. It was more virulent than any of its predecessors and in the crowded city, flooded still with refugees, it killed thousands. Mass graves on Salamis were filled faster than they could be dug. Fortunately the doctors of Athens realised the dangers of bad air coming from corpses and ordered them either buried on Salamis or burnt up entirely. Still, some 2,000 were killed including two Archons. Pelaemon died in 411 and his funeral was almost as grand as Pericles’s. If Pericles had been the architect of Athens’s golden age then Pelaemon was its Marshall, the one who wielded it and reforged it after the Hellene War.
The power of Athens was thus cemented over the Eastern Mediterranean. She held the Aegean in the palm of her hand and the rest of Greece quivered before her, paying tribute and signing any treaty waved in front of them. Italy was so cowed by Athens that they would not pose any resistance to Athens for two centuries. Sicily was meanwhile divided between Athens and Carthage- 2/3 Carthaginians with the south east Athenian. Thus the status quo was maintained for nearly 100 years. Governments rose and fell, in Athens and in Carthage. The Persian empire began its long period of decline as a succession of young and weak rulers set in. The great King Artaxerxes II died in 402 and his heirs were pygmies compared to him. Western Anatolia fell back into Athens’s sphere of influence and rebellions rocked Egypt. A new Greek colony was planted in Egypt. It was named Pericopolis after Pericles, who after many centuries became almost semi-divine. His statues were elevated to be equal to those of Herakles and Asclepius. He was always depicted wearing his helmet and bearing a message, often interpreted to be the message of the fall of Sparta, the expression of grim appreciation that of psychological victory. The new city grew swiftly as refugees from beleaguered Egypt crossed into Athenian territory to live in freedom in the thriving polis. Three great cities emerged: Naukratis, Pericopolis and Peluseum. These three were to be Athens’s bastions in Egypt.
To the north the kingdom of Macedon began its steady expansion north. King Amyntas III in 351 BC led a force into Thrace, crushing the tribesmen there. He planted colonies in the Greek style and filled them with veterans. His son Philip carried on this legacy, his military genius wielding the phalanx with skill, crushing the tribes with ease and extending his rule all the way to the Danube. Here he stopped, and looked north longingly. He asked his generals whether they should continue. Scared, they declined, and the Macedonians struck camp. The steady spread of Greek civilisation throughout Macedon brought civilisation to the barbarians, who abandoned their trousers for tunics and their beer for fine wine, their coarse bread for fine loaves. King Philip was a strong king, and quarrelled often with the Athenians. At one point he was so incensed that he ordered Athens burned. He rescinded this order later, of course, but he did march soldiers into Thessaly. This angered the Athenians, and a solution was met. The kingdom of Thessaly was created, with Prince Philip (the king’s younger son) of Macedon as its king. It was agreed that Alexander (the elder) would take Macedon and Philip (III) Thessaly. A second kingdom was also carved out, that of Epirus. A local warlord, Perdiccas, was elevated and enthroned. He was given Athenian aid and his armies grew considerably, and he carved out a niche in Dalmatia.
Philip campaigned ceaselessly, extending his rule to the Black Sea and to the Balkan mountains along the Danube. He set up strings of fortresses settled by veterans and civilised barbarians. In 446 BC he sent his son to be educated in Athens, where his tutor was the well-respected Aristotle. In 452 it had been decided to grant resident aliens Athenian citizenship so long as they paid a special tax. Aristotle accepted this and bore his citizenship with pride. Alexander and his three companions (Ptolemy, Hephaeston and Cassander) learned swiftly although they would always prefer horse riding and gambling to philosophy and the theatre.
Carthage, meanwhile, had expanded into Iberia and Sardinia, taking Corsica and planting colonies in the south of Gaul. The Barcid family distinguished itself as the foremost political dynasty, becoming virtual dictators in the 4th century.
In 345 BC Philip offered to purchase Byzantium from Athens for the sum of 1,000 talents. The lucrative trade passing through it would enrich Macedon, which had few large ports. Athens refused outright, and in retribution Philip ordered the construction of Galata across the Golden Horn. The Macedonian city received little trade and the Macedonians could only watch dumbfounded as the ships docked in Byzantium instead. They had much to learn of commerce. Financially however the kingdom was stable and in fact was thriving. The Balkan gold mines generated monetary wealth aplenty and the kings of Pella adorned themselves with gold and foreign luxuries. Philip began looking east to the Persian empire, a long decaying fossil that had become more and more unstable. In 338 BC the vizier Bagoas ordered the murder of King Artaxerxes III and replaced him with Darius III, who proved uncontrollable and had the vizier murdered. This new king proved a tough politician and swiftly cemented his own personal rule.
In the previous years Persian control had been eroded to such an extent that the satraps of Asia Minor were all but independent, aligned with either Athens of Macedon. It was against these warlords that Darius moved. He gathered an army of 40,000 men in a show of force and crossed into Anatolia. He marched west, receiving homage from Cappadocia and Galatia. The Satraps of Phrygia, Lydia, Caria and Ionia however sought Greek aid. Athens turned them down, although they offered them some financial support. They accepted this yet went to Philip of Macedon, asking him to invade the Persian empire and remove Darius from power. Philip consented, and gathered 20,000 men and marched them into Anatolia, renting a flotilla from Athens to cross the Hellespont. Darius, when he heard of this, sent a letter to Philip in which he declared his invasion illegal and amoral. Philip ignored Darius and continued south. Darius meanwhile had met the Satraps in battle, defeated them and retaken much of his former possessions. He sent a second letter to Philip, offering him Bithynia and Msyia. Philip accepted and thus Macedon got its first Asian holdings.
While the king had been away, Philip’s son Alexander had ruled in Macedon. Surrounded by his loyal friends he proved an able administrator and in the three months of Philip’s absence led an expedition across the Danube which collected tribute from the Dacians. He also sent an embassy to his weak-willed brother in Thessaly; they signed a treaty whereby in times of war they would each defend the other. This would prove useful to Alexander in the campaigns he was already planning. When his father returned Alexander presented him the booty taken in Dacia. Philip snorted, and displayed the wealth he had taken. Although in public he treated his son harshly and as an inferior, in private he was very affectionate and grew to respect his son, whom he recognised would be a very able ruler. In his years as crown prince Alexander would lead armies and expeditions north across the Danube, until in 332 BC he led an army of 10,000 across the Danube, crushing the Dacians and extending Macedonian rule to the Carpathians. Here he built a series of forts, and a city to the east on the shore of the Black Sea called Philipia. He received tribute from the local chieftains and warlords whom he made nobles and dispensed land to. The land of Dacia was rich and the mountains contained much gold which strengthened Macedon yet further.
Migration north also increased as Macedonians were offered lands in the north. One family of horsebreeders opened up a chain of stud farms that raised thousands of horses bred specially for the Macedonian army. These ranches cleared hundreds of miles of land and transformed the plains into great prairies. Yet more land was given over to grain cultivation which fed the burgeoning urban populations of Macedon and Greece. Athens by then had a population of nearly 100,000 as the 5th century refugees declined to go home and stayed in Athens, which once more began colonising. She founded colonies in Egypt, whose Greek population grew rapidly. Across the rest of Greece as well Syracuse, Corinth, Plataea, Miletus and Rhodes all had 20,000 inhabitants. Carthage had 40,000 inhabitants and the young city of Rome 8,000.
Pella itself was small, only 11,000, yet it was a grand Royal capital with a great Royal palace and hunting grounds. In 330 BC Aristotle was invited to Pella. He accepted and as son as he arrived requested a new academy. One was built in the Athenian fashion and soon thinkers from across Greece came to Pella to enjoy royal patronage. King Philip was especially partial to little toys and contraptions and one, such as a steam-driven wheel delighted him truly. None then realised such technology’s potential- the work done by such machines was minimal and amount of wood they consumed was enormous. Alexander especially enjoyed the steam-driven bow built by a Cypriot inventor- it could fire an arrow 500 yards without any help from a human.
In 329 BC Philip died, much mourned and much loved. A week later Alexander was recognised as king of Macedon. He immediately murdered all rival claimants, excluding his brother the King of Thessaly. The king was 27 when he ascended the throne and wished to make a name for himself. He had already conquered Dacia and led raids into Illyria. He wished to go east, however, and topple the ancient Persian empire. He sent envoys to Athens, asking them whether they would aid him in such an undertaking. The General Assembly voted him financial subsidy and said that if he could defeat the King of Persia in battle then they would send him 5,000 soldiers. They had assured themselves- if Alexander won then they could seize some coastal regions, whereas if he failed they could plausibly deny all responsibility. Alexander declared a Sacred War against Persia, citing the destruction of Athens’s temples in the Second Persian war.
He led 50,000 men east, crossing the Hellespont and marching south. The new Satraps of West Asia all refused to surrender and he besieged their cities. Darius, thus alerted, sent 90,000 men to defeat the young king. Alexander forced the Satraps to surrender in June 327 BC and marched east to meet the coming army, led by Darius’s vizier. They met at Issus and the two armies lined up against each other. Alexander sent his phalanx ahead while he moved all his cavalry to the right. The Persians, seeking to exploit the gap between cavalry and infantry, poured into the Macedonian centre. Then the infantry and cavalry turned around and encircled them. Over the course of six hours nearly 50,000 Persians were massacred. Alexander lost some 500 men. Those Persians who escaped, some 10,000 returned home and never fought again. The thousands of captured were killed by the Greeks in an act of barbarity that would echo through history for eternity. The river Issus ran red with blood for a week.
The Persian disaster saw all of Asia Minor lost to Alexander who continued east. He carefully dodged Persian forces, seeking out Darius personally. Finally Darius met him at the Syrian Gates. The battle was fierce yet Alexander’s phalanx once more trapped the Persians while the cavalry annihilated them. Darius himself escaped with some 40,000 men. Of the 70,000 men engaged some 30,000 were killed. Darius withdrew to Susa where he sued for peace. Alexander, with his army intact, demanded to be made Prince of Persia. Darius refused and Alexander marched down the Fertile Crescent.
Meanwhile, the Greeks had instigated a revolt in Egypt, with the satrap declaring independence. The new state’s capital at Memphis was home to a Greek ambassador who all but determined policy. With the Nile effectively in Greek hands trade flowed south in ever growing quantities.
Meanwhile, in March 326 BC Alexander besieged Susa, taking it, but not Darius, who withdrew to his city Persopolis. Alexander made his way towards the city and was met in a narrow defile by 1,000 Persians. His first assault was repulsed yet after three days the Persians were killed to the last man. Alexander marched on Persopolis yet Darius had escaped. In April Darius as murdered, his head delivered to Alexander, who wept when he saw it.
Alexander drew the boundaries of his empire at the Zagros, the Euphrates, the Jordan and the Mediterranean. He made Memnon, a Greek who had lived in Persia for many years, and who had surrendered to Alexander, king of Media which lay east of the Macedonian empire. In 325 BC Alexander married Darius’s daughter Drypetis who bore him a son, Alexander IV. Alexander made his new capital the city of Alexandria, in Syria (OTL Antioch) although he spent much of his time in Babylon, which he restored and made his winter home.
The new Macedonian empire completely changed the balance of power. Athens found itself virtually surrounded by an enormous kingdom, and she looked nervously around, to her allies Carthage across the seas and her vassals Egypt and Epirus, neither of whom would provide much aid in times of war. She looked west where the Greek cities in Italy were resentful, if not openly hostile to her. Further north, however, the Roman Republic seemed a promising ally. An Athenian embassy secured a military alliance of mutual defence. Athens also funded Rome substantially and loaned her the use of 1,000 soldiers. These helped in the long war against the Samnites. This was had raged for years and with the new finances and military muscle was finally ended- Samnium was conquered and made a client state. The Romans extended their rule to all of central Italy. Athens also turned a blind eye to the Roman seizure of Neapoli and the Bay of Naples, which led to war between Rome and the Greek cities of Italy. After three years of warfare the Athenians negotiated a treaty that was in favour of Rome. Rome extended her rule to Paestum in the south to Cosa in the north and Ancona in the north east.
The Macedonian Empire was vast and unwieldy. Fortunately, Alexander had a circle of trusted lieutenants whom he appointed satraps. He appointed Craterus Satrap of Thrace, Lysimachus Satrap of Dacia, Seleucus Satrap of Assyria, Perdiccas Satrap of Bithynia and Galata and Ptolemy Satrap of Babylonia. These generals set up their local capitals and courts but always remained loyal to Alexander who retained personal control over Syria, Cilicia, Phoenicia, Cappadocia and Lycaonia. Judea was a autonomous client kingdom under the control of the Jewish line of Kings. Alexander still thirsted for conquest, and by 318 BC had grown restless, he did not want to spend the rest of his days hunting or administering his empire- he wished to lead his armies in a second spurt of conquest. He looked around and at first thought of expanding east. He was dissuaded by his generals, who warned him of the blistering heat, the hostile locals and the lack of plunder. Had Alexander been younger he may not have listened to them, yet he did and decided against going east. Instead he looked north, to Scythia and the northern steppe. He drew up plans and calculated that he would need 40,000 men and five years to conquer Scythia. In 315 BC he finally managed to gather the necessary troops- many had been tied down by foreign incursions, the Zagros mountains were proving far more permeable a barrier than had been hoped.
In late 315 Alexander and his army of 45,000 set out north. They passed through Armenia whose client king gave homage to Alexander, who had taken the title Emperor. The journey was slow and it was only in early 314 that they reached the Caucasus. By then winter had set in, and many of the passes were blocked. Alexander pressed on, yet lost many men and more animals to cold and the weather. When Spring finally came Alexander’s army found itself out on the open steppe. They marched onwards along the Black Sea shore for weeks, finding nothing. The horsemen who were natives to the land had shadowed the army for weeks and soon amassed a large force. They taunted the Greeks, displaying their enemy’s heads and keeping them awake with war dances and great bouts of crude song. Finally Alexander lost his patience. He led a force of 5,000 cavalrymen out to meet the Scythians. Separated from the rest of the army, the cavalry were sitting ducks. The battle began with a hail of Scythian arrows followed up by a feint at the Greek’s rear. This forced them into a dense formation which made them yet more vulnerable. Yet more arrows fell down on them and they decided to attack. They drove back towards the army, yet they were enveloped and in the heat of battle, Alexander was struck by an arrow in the eye. He was rushed back to camp, the Scythians on the Greek’s tails.
Alexander died that night in great pain. His generals stood around him, wondering what to do. Alexander’s son (Alexander IV b. 331 BC) was seventeen and had proved a weak-willed young man. They therefore decided to return to their provinces and reconvene at a later date, after the succession was decided. They all returned home, with few casualties apart from the Emperor himself whose body was towed along by a carriage through the Caucasus. They arrived in Alexandria in 313. Word had already reached Alexander who had declared himself Emperor. He demanded homage from all of the generals, who gave it. Alexander, however, ordered the execution of Perdiccas, whom he claimed had been plotting against him. Perdiccas was killed in the early hours of the morning, alone and without warning.
This infuriated the other generals, and Alexander was foolish to allow them to continue as satraps. Ptolemy took Babylonia and Assyria, Seleucus took Armenia, Cappadocia, Phrygia and Pontus, Craterus took Macedon and Galata, Lysimachus Thrace and Dacia. He himself retained control over Syria yet gave over Cilicia and much of his personal possessions in Asia Minor to client kings. Judea remained semi-autonomous.
Immediately, in 312 BC, plotting began. The generals decided that Alexander was not acting in their interests or in the interests of the state. It was therefore decided to replace him. But with whom? It was this question that divided them and it was this question that destroyed them. For within the conspirators, Craterus and Ptolemy formed a second deal. They would remove Alexander and the rest, and they would split the empire between them. This agreed, they then moved with the other conspirators against Alexander.
The young king, just 19, was in bed (some say with a prostitute) when he was killed. No one knows who struck the killing blow, yet many believe it was Seleucus himself, for it was he who hated the boy the most (Alexander had often derided him for his pock-marked face and his short stature). Following the assassination a Council was set up to run the empire. The generals ruled in the name of Philip III, the as-yet unborn child of Alexander IV. By his birth in May 311 BC however only three successors remained, Ptolemy, Craterus and Seleucus. The others had been murdered or killed (in battle as in the case of Lysimachus). Seleucus felt himself more and more isolated and so refused to attend meetings and cut himself off from the other two. He finally withdrew into a life of quiet paranoia, not lifting a finger lest it be the signal for his own throat to be cut (which indeed occurred in June 311). With the empire in the hands of Ptolemy and Craterus, things seemed to have reached a climax. The two survivors eyed each other cautiously before finally falling on each other.
The death of Philip III of Macedon in August 311 BC saw the throne vacated and with no clear heir, a struggle for succession began. Finally a settlement was reached. Ptolemy took the title King of Asia, and Craterus King of Macedon. Thus the Ptolemaic and Crateran Dynasties were born.
There was little outcry at this- Alexander IV had been despotic and the rest of the successors either brutal, incompetent, old or (in the case of Seleucus) slightly deranged (he had sustained a bad head wound at the battle of Issus causing mood swings and paranoia). The two survivors were, without doubt, the most competent. Craterus arrived in Pella a decorated war hero, and few were unhappy to see him king. Those who were were swiftly killed, their lands and wealth given to Craterus’s supporters. Ptolemy, meanwhile, was immensely popular among the people (whom he showered with prizes and games) and soldiers (whom he led well and conscientiously). These two dynasties would dominate the Hellenistic world for the next three centuries.
In Rome, changes were occurring. The Plebeians, learning from the example of Athens, took to the streets demanding reform. In 308 BC a law was passed that banned consuls from holding military commands during their tenure in office, instead all generals would be elected by the Senate and could not hold political office while commanding. There would be a board of ten generals who would be up for election every five years (they are elected by the Senate as well). from these ten, one would be chosen in times of war to lead the war effort. Meanwhile a second body to the Senate was formed: the Congress of the Tribunes, which would be a public forum where the six tribunes of the plebs would meet and discuss petitions put to them by the people. This would later be expanded as the city and the empire grew. This occurred gradually, as Rome brought more cities under her sway. By the end of the 4th century BC she controlled all of central Italy.
In Carthage, meanwhile, the Republic was falling. The Barcid family had grown to prominence through their holdings in Spain and Sicily. Soon they would run the maritime power as dictators, however for now they would be merely the veiled power behind the Republic.
Macedon meanwhile was going from strength to strength. Her Carpathian border proved easy to defend and Craterus, aged and wanting to secure his kingdom for his son, set about consolidating his gains. Forts were built along the border and regular trading relations founded with Athens and Greece. When he died in 301 BC he left his son Alexander (V) a strong, centralised state with a large standing army (20,000) that was loyal to him. Population growth was massive as yet more land was given over to agriculture and new farming practices began to be spread. Iron ploughshares were introduced and wheels were put on ploughs.
These and other innovations improved agricultural output greatly, and led to a population increase (in 290 BC Pella had an estimated 30,000 inhabitants, more than 4 times as large as in the time of Philip II) and grain was exported to Athens through Byzantium, both of which grew rapidly as well (Athens growing to over 100,000 in 290 and Byzantium to over 15,000). In 287 BC Alexander V annexed Thessaly; the King had little choice. Athens was at first outraged and threatened war, yet was placated by sacred vows of friendship and a military alliance (as well as a sizeable donation to the Athenian treasury).
Athens had changed politically. Taxes were levied directly rather than through colonies or leagues and Greece was (with the exception of Thessaly and Epirus etc.) a centralised state. Its bureaucracy was efficient, with administrators picked by civic councils who were elected by the citizen body. The new state was liberal and advanced- slavery was even abolished in 294 BC and citizenship was granted to any denizen of a city who had lived there for more than ten years. This greatly increased the citizen population of Greece and saw much more political involvement. Women were, however, still very much second class citizens, although new laws were brought in that protected unwanted children. They were often raised by the city in orphanages that were generally large, gloomy buildings outside the city. Many children who came from here were mentally scarred from poor treatment and more than a few would find themselves hanged for various crimes. By the early 3rd century however a primitive welfare state had evolved from the principle of democracy. Literacy increased as schooling was expanded and the government took a more active role in social welfare. Soon even the basest street urchin could write his own name and recite a little Homer.
In mathematics, Daidorus of Sicyon, resident of Athens, began collecting statistical data on the people, ranging from life expectancy to wealth. He eventually gained state funding for this and in 285 BC a city census was gathered. In it, the population (including women) was 110,528. Of these, 51,567 were eligible to vote. This breakthrough in demographics would be replicated throughout Greece so that by 270 BC censuses were a regular feature of civic administration. Data was generally collected at political events which were generally well attended, or at games or races. Finally, in 267 BC a mathematician from Lesbos calculated the total population of Greece (that is, Athenian Greece) to be 4,678,456 with a margin of error of about 100,000. This remarkably accurate number was used as a benchmark for all future censuses.
Egypt had, since the fall of Persia, been an Athenian vassal. A hellenised Egyptian sat on the Pharaoh’s throne in Memphis and accepted whatever the Athenians whispered in his ear. In 314 BC work began on a canal linking Pericopolis to the Nile Delta. The Nile itself was routinely dredged and widened so that barges could pass south. The cataracts were bypassed by canals and by 287 BC with the completion of the canals and waterways a regular trade between Ethiopia and Athens was begun. Gold, ivory, incense and other luxuries flowed north. In return, wine, olives and learning spread south. This was to influence African culture profoundly.
The Ptolemaic Empire was growing more powerful and sumptuous by the day. In 289 BC Ptolemy I died and his son Ptolemy II was an able ruler. He invaded Armenia and Cappadocia and restored them to Ptolemaic rule. Alexandria grew rapidly as well, becoming a centre of learning in the east to rival Pericopolis in Egypt. The Academy saw the combination of Eastern and Greek thought, as Zoroastrianism met the Olympian Gods. Peace reigned from the division of the Macedonian empire to the mid 3rd century BC and those times would see the spread of Greek culture throughout the Eastern world, with manuscripts of Homer being found as far away as India, where it was translated into Sanskrit.
In 276 BC the Roman Republic declared war on Tarentum, leader of the Greek cities of Southern Italy. The Romans marched 40,000 men south and swiftly defeated the Greeks. The Tarentines begged for help and although they received finance from Carthage there was no military aid. Finally a wandering general, Pyrrhus, offered to lend them his services. He led a Greek army of 30,000 armed in the Macedonian fashion against the Romans whom he defeated convincingly and he marched on Neapoli. The Romans raised a second army and this time defeated him. Pyrrhus then switched sides and in June joined the Romans. He and the Roman army swiftly defeated the Greeks. In return for his treason, the Romans beheaded him. All of Greek Italy was Roman. Athens sent official congratulations while the Romans discovered that the Greeks had paid Pyrrhus with Carthaginian gold. The Romans bore this grudge in their hearts, and did not forget, nor did they forgive.
Carthage had since moved on from Sicily to Iberia, which rapidly fell to their forces. Bribing local chieftains and warlords with offers of gold and power they secured the loyalty of much of the peninsula without struggle. They then seeded the coast with colonies and sent armies inland. These gradually made headway and by 260 BC most of the peninsula was Carthaginian. A young Hamilcar Barca witnessed the campaign from his father’s side as he accompanied him on one of the Barca family’s campaigns. The city of Barcalona was founded in 259 BC and later the southern coast of Gaul was colonised, with local chieftains swearing allegiance to Carthage. The Western Mediterranean was swiftly being divided between Rome and Carthage; they glared at each other across the Straits of Messina waiting for one false move.
The 260s saw the consolidation of these power blocs, and the 250s saw the conquest of N. Africa by Carthage and N. Italy by Rome, with everything south of the Alps falling to the legions. In the 240s Rome crossed into Dalmatia and conquered large parts of the coast, founding small colonies and taking tribute from chieftains. They reached an agreement with the Macedonians that split the Balkans, with Pannonia, Dalmatia and Epirus in Rome’s sphere of influence and the east under Macedonian rule.
The Ptolemaic Empire suffered from severe division during the reigns of Ptolemy III & Ptolemy IV. They delegated more and more jurisdiction to Satraps and governors who amassed more and more personal power. In 238 BC Ptolemy III faced rebellion from the Satrap of Lydia who led a powerful coalition of governors and minor rulers. These men forced Ptolemy into giving them extensive local autonomy and remittances of taxes. Ptolemy even had to pay tribute to them when they moved 10,000 men up to the border. Such rebellion would go unpunished, however, as Ptolemy died in 225 BC and his son, Ptolemy IV, was a weak-willed fat man who preferred eating and singing to governance. He gave senior posts to his wife (and cousin) Arsinoe who soon effectively ran the state. She kept numerous lovers including generals and bureaucrats. She even seduced the Satrap of Babylonia into resigning his post in favour of her brother, Pareus, who was strong-willed and efficient. He commanded the respect of the soldiers under his command and he led them well in raids across the Zagros. Suddenly, however, in May 223 BC Ptolemy found out about his sister’s affairs. He ordered her imprisoned and her lovers executed. Some seventy men were beheaded and the King then accused her of incest with her brother, who was quite innocent on all counts. Pareus was hauled before the King who had him imprisoned.
The duo’s fortunes looked up, however, in 220 BC when Ptolemy’s only son died, aged three. Although she wept at the loss of her son, Arsinoe knew that the King would look more favourably on her brother. She was proved correct, as he was released and made Satrap of Cappadocia, a demotion from Babylonia yet he used it to re-build the connections broken by two years in prison. He married his daughter Arsinoe Beta to the old Satrap of Lydia and Miletus and married his youngest son to the Satrap of Pontus’s sister. He began angling to be made the King’s heir, whose health was deteriorating. By 219 BC he was almost completely blind and was little more than a great, bloated, moribund corpse. Finally in December 219 BC he died, leaving no clear heir. Queen Arsinoe immediately made herself Queen and brought her brother to Alexandria where he was crowned King. She then acted as his Royal Advisor, whispering in the Regal ear.
Almost immediately he faced rebellion in Assyria, where a pretender to the throne claimed to be Ptolemy’s dead son. He led an army east and crushed the pretender’s armies. The two found to be behind the plot; the pretender himself, a nine year old goat-herder and the governor of Assyria, were executed and their bodies displayed. Pareus made an unpopular king as his overbearing nature was more in show than his administrative capabilities. Within three years he was dead, stabbed to death in the baths. Arsinoe had been hacked do death by a jilted lover and their family massacred. Another pretender, the so-called Ptolemy V was King, supported by the Satrap of Babylonia and the Governor of Cyprus, who exercised their role of regents to purge their enemies and supporters of Pareus and Arsinoe. The Empire was stagnating and the King of Macedon, Philip IV, was eager to expand his borders. In 215 BC he led 40,000 men east and invaded Galatia. The Satrap of Babylonia led an army of 50,000 men to meet him. His cavalry was far inferior to the Macedonians’ they had not kept up Alexander’s programme of horse-breeding whereas the Macedonians had. The battle of Magnesia was a bloodbath; the Ptolemaic army was slaughtered and Philip accepted the surrender of the Satraps of Lydia, Bithynia, Pergamum and Ionia. He was officially congratulated by Athens, who seized a few cities in the chaos.
The gradual decay of the Ptolemaic empire thus began. Ptolemy V would rule from 216-168 BC, but would never hold any real power. In 202 BC the Kingdom of Persia invaded Mesopotamia and sacked Babylon. The Ptolemies could do nothing but sue for peace, they had neither the finances nor the ability to finance another war. They had had to disband large parts of their armies, the borders were garrisoned by only a skeleton force. The Tigris was abandoned and the Euphrates would mark the border between east and west for the next thirty years.
In 198 BC war was declared by Rome on the city-state of Amalfi. This Greek city had later aligned itself with Carthage and the Republic had promised to assure its independence. When it heard of the attack Carthage, under the control of decorated general Hannibal Barca, whose father Hamilcar had led a military coup in 224 BC that had proved immensely popular. When the old man died he had taken the reins of power. He mustered 30,000 soldiers and sailed for Italy. He placed his brother Hasdrabul in charge of the sate in his absence. He landed at Puteoli and marched north swiftly. He swatted aside several small Roman detachments and made straight for Amalfi. The Roman legion, under the command of general Scipio the Elder swung south to meet him. They squared off across a wide open plain. The battle would see Roman forces swiftly annihilated, Scipio killed and his son barely escape with his life. Hannibal then marched north, and was only fifty miles from Rome when he received a messenger, suing for peace. The terms were harsh: Rome gave up control of Calabria, Campania and Magna Graecia and Carthage was given exclusive trade rights over the ports there. Hannibal then returned home to Carthage where he displayed his conquests in the form of thousands of Roman captives and the gold paid in tribute.
Defeated but not destroyed, Rome seethed. In 196 BC conscription was instituted- all adults over the age of 19 and under the age of 60 had to be ready to serve and have themselves equipped. In the third Samnite War of 195 BC she raised some 40,000 men to crush the Samnites. Until the rematch with Carthage they expanded north, with Scipio the Younger leading two legions (10,000 men) into northern Italy, crossing the Po and defeating the Gallic tribes living there. New colonies were built along military lines; Segesta, Tarentum, Ravenna and Patavium were all built in the 190s. In 188 BC Scipio invaded Cisalpine Gaul, conquering up to the Alps and founding the city of Milan. He built a chain of forts to stop the incessant raids of the Helvetii and Gauls. The Romans also crossed Alps and conquered the Carthaginian-backed Gallic kingdoms of Transalpine Gaul. This angered Hannibal, who decided in his mind to make a second war on Rome, but not at that moment in time.
There were bigger things for Carthage to concern itself about, for in 189 BC she charted the fabled tin islands. These distant islands had been a source of rumours for centuries; many claimed the Phoenicians had discovered them in the 6th century yet it was only in the 2nd that they were truly ‘discovered’ (of course the locals and the Gauls had known of them for centuries). Carthage planted its first colony there in 185 BC, braving the storms and bad weather to found Nova Tyros (in latin). It was small, yet its large garrison swiftly defeated the local chieftains and enslaved many Celts. These slaves were set to work in the tin mines that were common in the area. Thus regular trade was founded between Britain and Carthage.
The Second Punic War of 179-174 BC proved a brutal clash of civilisations more dramatic and cataclysmic than its predecessor. It began with the Roman siege of Massila, a Carthaginian-aligned city in Gaul. Scipio took the city and burnt it, selling thousands into slavery. Carthage declared war on Rome and mounted an offensive on Italy. They were outmanoeuvred, however, as in July 179 BC a Roman legion landed at Messina in Carthaginian Sicily. They moved south and smashed the Carthaginian forces in the north. They were proceeding west along the north coast and were closing in on Palermo (founded in 224 BC by Punic colonists). Mago, Carthaginian commander in Sicily, gathered some 6,000 men and met the Romans in battle. His light troops were hemmed in and cut down- Rome’s maniples proved far more useful than Carthage’s mercenaries. The battle ended in a rout that saw northern Sicily fall to Rome. The fall of Palermo saw Mago and some 2,000 men escape by ship, yet forced to watch the sack of the city as they made their way back to Carthage.
Meanwhile, Scipio was on the offensive. He moved west through Gaul, bypassing Carthaginian colonies and offering Gallic warlords and chieftains land and gold if they joined with him. He swelled his ranks to some 16,000 men and crossed the Pyrenees. Before the Carthaginians knew what had happened, Barcalona was under siege and Saguntum had fallen. Barcalona fell in March 178 BC and Scipio moved south, besieging Nova Carthago in April. He besieged the city for three months and finally took it, capturing much Carthaginian material.
Hannibal, who was in Africa at the time, crossed into Iberia with a force of 2,000 men and raised an army of Iberians and Punic colonists. He drilled them through winter in the south before launching them in January north, into the Iberian interior. He encountered many hostile tribes yet managed to outflank Scipio in Nova Carthago. In February, Scipio found himself caught from the rear. Some 7,000 Carthaginians were in his rear. He was not too concerned, however, as he had more than twice their numbers. He arranged his soldiers in the north ready for battle. Hannibal faced him with his far inferior force, and with his light cavalry goaded Scipio into a battle. Scipio marched his infantry forward in their maniples, fearing an attack on his flanks. They advanced in good order yet were not ready for the Carthaginian barrage of missiles. Bombarded from nearly all sides, the Romans sustained heavy losses. Several lead maniples broke and caused chaos in the rear. It was then that Hannibal launched his elephants. He had only fifteen elephants yet his timing was perfect- the Romans were caught off guard and their light troops were routing. The elephants trampled the chaotic Roman lines, breaking morale and sending the front ranks fleeing into the rearguard. Hannibal then dedicated his heavy infantry, throwing them into the fray to kill as many Romans as possible before they regained their composure. Scipio rode forward to rally his troops and led a belated cavalry charge on the Carthaginian flank. This proved decisive, for the Carthaginians were prepared. Hannibal himself charged in with the Numidians, scattering the Roman cavalry. Scipio was forced to retreat, leaving thousands of dead.
The battle of Nova Carthago left some 6,000 Roman, and 8,000 Gallic and Iberian dead. Only 2,000 men survived and these men were forced with their general into the Iberian interior where they played little further part in the war. Hannibal took his army and crossed the Pyrenees re-invading Gaul. The Gallic kings surrendered to him and he redistributed power as he felt fit.
Meanwhile, in Sicily the war had turned into a stalemate. The Carthaginians kept a foothold in west Sicily where they could be easily reinforced. Throughout the bleak winter of 178 they had sent repeated pleas to Athens for aid. When word of the Roman defeat reached Athenian ears, she agreed to aid Carthage. She declared war on Rome in Summer 177 BC and marched 4,000 men north, striking into the Roman rear. This new front in Sicily (the first being in the west) caused Rome to crumple. Using the last of her naval strength (which had been sapped by Carthaginian engagements) she evacuated 7,000 men, leaving 3,000 dead.
With Rome once more on the defensive, Carthage was in no mood for generosity. Hannibal crossed the Alps in the Spring of 175 and invaded Cisalpine Gaul. Milan fell and his armies ravaged the Po Valley. Three legions were sent to counter him yet these were defeated in the battle of the Rubicon, which left some 9,000 Romans dead. Athens, meanwhile, had landed some 5,000 men in Magna Graecia and with Epirus had taken many cities from Rome. Two legions were sent south and defeated the Athenians, driving them back yet retaking little territory. With Hannibal in the north and Athens in the south, Rome looked for peace. However, hope returned as in Summer 175 BC Scipio returned with 2,000 men from Iberia. They had managed to avoid the Carthaginian fleets and had returned after months of wandering and fighting. He was voted the powers of Dictator for six months and he imposed conscription. The entire male population of Rome, some 30,000 men were mustered. If Rome lost this one battle then it would be tantamount to genocide. They met with Hannibal outside Tarentum. Hannibal had 18,000 men, mostly Gallic tribesmen and disgruntled Italians. The battle raged for two days and ended in a draw. Roman casualties were enormous yet sheer weight of numbers forced Hannibal back. Finally in the Winter of 175 BC negotiations began. Hannibal and Scipio met to discuss terms. In this agreement, two spheres of influence were carved out. Rome would have Italy, Gaul and the east, and Carthage Africa, Sicily, Iberia and Britannia. Athens later came to a separate peace with Rome that secured Athenian holdings in Sicily and gave them Corfu.
These two spheres of influence would define the military expansion of the two empires for the next hundred years. Rome would cross the Alps and march along the Rhine, whereas Carthaginian influence would permeate south into Africa and west to Britannia.
The death of Ptolemy V in 168 saw the final collapse of Ptolemaic power. His son, Ptolemy VI, was only four at his ascension and showed signs of mental instability- he refused to play with other children and had not yet learned to talk. The seven satraps of the empire formed a Regency council and her ruled the empire for two years (seven satraps: Lydia, Pontus, Armenia, Assyria, Cilicia, Syria, Phoenicia). In 166 BC Ptolemy VI died of an unknown ailment. Many suspected the interference of the satraps. His death however saw the collapse of the Ptolemaic empire. The last meeting of the Regency Council saw all parties agree to recognise each others claims to their own territories. The last of the Ptolemies went out not with a bang but with a shiver and a cough, as did his empire which was peaceably partitioned. The Kingdom of Lydia with its capital at Halicarnassus proved the wealthiest and allied with Athens. The other kingdoms varied in strength: Pontus was conquered by Armenia in 164 and Syria conquered Cilicia, Phoenicia and Assyria. The Kingdom of Israel proved powerful if unfriendly to Hellenistic culture. King David II ordered the reconstruction of Solomon’s Temple which took eleven years to build. He also conquered Gaza and signed treaties of friendship with Syria and Egypt.
A new status quo had thus been settled upon by 160 BC. To the south, however, there was an issue that would flare up once more. Egypt, under the 30th Dynasty, was an Athenian puppet. Pharaoh Mener was dominated by his Athenian Vizier who kept court in Pericopolis. From here the Nile Valley was administered under Athenian guidance and in accordance with the will of the Athenian people. The Kingdom of Israel, however, sought to extend itself south and so in 149 BC invaded Sinai with 4,000 men. King Yeshua led this force south where it met with the Athenian Vizier, who ordered him to turn back. Yeshua refused, however, and marched on the Nile. Meanwhile, a scrabble for armament was underway. The Egyptians hurriedly organised local militias around nomarchs or landowners- these were poorly equipped and hardly trained at all. When the Israelites moved into the Valley they swiftly crossed the river and marched on Memphis. A swift engagement was fought that led to the rout of Egyptian forces west. The capital city and the Pharaoh fell to the Israelites. King Yeshua killed Pharaoh Mener with his own hands and had his body thrown into the Nile. He planned for a puppet to be installed in Egypt while Israel took Canaan and Sinai.
Athens, meanwhile, was caught off guard. Her garrisons in Egypt were weak and it took three months for reinforcements to arrive in the strip of land they controlled. Until then, she could only diplomatically pressure the King of Israel, who knew he was walking a thin line. He finally came to an agreement with Athens- Egypt would be partitioned. Athens would be given the Delta and Memphis and Upper Egypt (the South) would be run by an Israeli puppet in Thebes. This agreement suited both parties, and on the 31st March 148 BC Pharaoh Pepi IV was crowned in Thebes. He was the son of an Egyptian nomarch and was by all means generally incompetent (in fact some modern historians believe he was mentally retarded). He was easily ruled by those around him, and for the first eight years of his reign those people would be Judean ambassadors.
Meanwhile, in the north, an Athenian governor took office in Pericopolis and the Delta was made a member of the Delian League, separate of Athens’s Egyptian colonies. The land was given over to intensive wheat cultivation, as well as cotton to a certain extent, and vast plantations spread out across the land, much of the produce was exported to Athens or the other Greek cities.
The ruin of the Three Great Inter-Hellenic Wars (IHWs) was healed by the 2nd century BC. Corinth, Plataea, Argos, Aegina, Messinia and Megalopolis were all large cities, with populations of over 40,000. Other cities were also growing rapidly due to long periods of peace and the strengthening of trade. All, however, were dwarfed by Athens, who in 146 BC was counted to have a population of 135,678 people, male and female. This vast population was contained within the Long Walls, which had been completely redesigned so that instead of running as a corridor to Piraeus they ran as a wedge encompassing everything between Piraeus and Phaleron. There had been attempts to organise these new developments, and successes had been mixed so that some areas kept to a regular gridiron whereas others were far less tame, and those areas were inevitably the places that suffered the highest crime. This explosion in the population led to the General Assembly voting to enlarge its numbers to 8,000 and to move east to a new site overlooking the city. This new site was swiftly prepared and the first session of the newly expanded Assembly was held in 145 BC. The General Assembly numbering 8,000 would last for 100 years.
The 2nd century BC followed on directly from the third when it came to the export of culture. Alexander had carried Greece towards the Zagros and north to the Carpathians. Now, however, various other states were spreading Greek and Mediterranean culture as well. Alexander’s empire is known as the First Sphere of Expansion, and is characterised by military colonies, extensive migration and, most importantly, military conquest, whether it be of Persia or Dacia. The so-called Second Sphere of Expansion, however, which occurred some hundred years later, was very different. It was characterised by the slow spreading of Mediterranean culture and ideas through trade, missionaries and ambassadors, and often occurred outside state control, often on the behalf of merchants or explorers.
There were three main areas where this spread occurred: Sudan/Nubia, Mauritania/Mali and Gaul. These emanated from Egypt, Carthage and Rome. The first of these, Egypt to Sudan, was slow, as the partition of Egypt virtually strangled all Athenian access to the south. However, when ties between Athens and Upper Egypt thawed it resumed once more. the dilapidated system of canals and locks that bypassed the Nile Cataracts were dredged and improved upon, and soon commerce flowed once more with the population centres of the Upper Nile. The Kingdom of Meroe was a power to the reckoned with at the time, and the meeting with Greek culture meant that massive profits were made for both sides. Previously, the Kushite Kingdom (of Meroe) had borrowed extensively from Egyptian culture, with the kings even styling themselves Pharaohs. Now, however, a new culture began to emerge, a kind of bastard hellenisation as merchants tried to swap stories and myths in broken Greek. Soon, grand temples with great colonnades were built and statues to bearded gods on thrones were set up. The King titled himself Basileus and remodelled his army after the Macedonian phalanx, using the forests around Meroe to forge iron weapons for his army. He instituted a permanent force of 2,000 men who would be constantly under arms at the capital. There was also a militia, modelled off of Greek hoplites, which numbered in the thousands and theoretically the entire male population of Kush was ready for war, however even in times of emergency only a few percent were called up. Most tellingly of all of the hellenisation of Kush was the ascension in 137 BC of Queen Berenike I, whose first proclamation was for the foundation of a city on the Red Sea coast. This city initially numbered only a few thousand, yet many Greeks settled there, most of them profit-seeking merchants. The colony was named Hermopolis and would eventually become equal to Pericopolis or Alexandria.
A second area of second sphere expansion was Mauritania, spurred on by Carthage. For hundreds, if not thousands of years, Carthage had been trading with sub-Saharan Africa. The 2nd century BC however saw a new class emerge: that of the professional explorer. These were generally the younger sons of merchants or businessmen who went out seeking profit and adventure. One of these, Yeshevar, led an expedition south across the Sahara until he arrived at the West Sudanese savannah belt that ran between the Sahara and the Guinean rainforest to the south. This had already seen the growth of agriculture and the creation of towns and a few cities, especially along the Niger river which facilitated trade along the strip of savannah east to west. Yeshevar began trading with these societies, swapping iron for gold and ivory. He returned having made a massive profit, and et off against the next year (recorded as having been 143 BC). His travels became an annual event, and the town he traded with eventually became wealthy, either selling on the goods he sold them, or using them for themselves (he mainly gave away iron tools and weapons as well as cedar wood and wine). His fourth expedition included a cartographer in its train, and he mapped the area around the Niger river to a surprising degree of accuracy. When he returned his findings to the Carthaginian oligarchy they launched a trade mission there. Included among them were diplomats, soldiers and craftsmen whom they hoped would secure allies for Carthage (there remained tensions with Rome).
The trade mission was a success- Carthage received the submission of many settlements and her technology brought great advances to the Niger valley. More intensive agriculture began, and gradually the cities grew until eventually warfare engulfed the city-states. The Carthaginians backed various powers and finally, after years of righting reminiscent of the Inter-Hellenistic wars, two kingdoms emerged: Mali and Ghana, to the west and east respectively. These each controlled large amounts of territory and were both vassals of Carthage. Finally in 76 BC the two kingdoms were united by marriage and one great West African Empire was born.
The other sphere of second phase expansion recognised by modern historians is that of Gaul. This case is unique in two ways: first of all, it had two ‘inputting’ civilisations, and secondly because it was later annexed by its cultural mother. The south of Gaul was dominated by a series of Carthaginian-backed kings who gave tribute to the oligarchy in return for power. The second Punic War ended this, however, as per the agreement Carthage scaled back its involvement north of the Pyrenees. Rome was slow to fill that void and gradually Roman culture wafted north. There are three defining characteristics of Roman culture: wine, baths and latin. Everything else is transient. What divided the Greeks and Romans from the barbarians, they believed, was their consumption of wine, which was believed to have been made by Dionysus (or Bacchus depending on which side of the Adriatic you were on) and grown anywhere Hellenistic/Roman civilisation was found. Vineyards began to emerge in Transalpine Gaul and then further north around the 130s and continued to spread from there on in. the second feature, baths, or more specifically public baths, also began to appear around this time. Roman baths are almost unique in their design, they were the most civilised of places ,where a man could enjoy exercise, swimming and other leisure activities without fear of aggrievement. Public baths began to appear in the larger towns and cities of Gaul throughout the 2nd century BC along with the final component: latin. The language was spread by two things in Gaul: Homer and Caesar. Caesar we shall return to but Homer, although Greek, was translated into latin and then spread north along with the rest of Roman culture. The story appealed to the natives as it appealed to Romans and Greeks, and it became a sign of sophistication in Gaul, to quote an appropriate phrase of the Iliad or some other work of the great poet’s.
Throughout the 2nd century BC therefore, Mediterranean civilisation spread across two continents. This development was ongoing in Africa, yet in Gaul, as we shall see, Romanisation was to be accelerated by external factors.
Gaius Marius was, in 115 BC, a rising star in Roman politics. He was angling after a generalship after serving with distinction in the Balkans and in 114 BC obtained it. He asked the Senate if he could be given two legions in order to secure the Alpine passes. This was accepted, as raids had recently been carried out by Germanic tribes near Milan, and he set of north with a two year command. Marius, however, had no intention of patrolling the Alps. As soon as he reached Milan he wrote to the Senate informing them of hordes of hostile Gauls across the Alps and that he needed another legion to combat them. The Senate believed him, and gave him a legion and a five year command to pacify Gaul. In Spring 113 BC Marius crossed the Alps, and for the next fifteen years would pacify Gaul. Little unified resistance was offered, as many chieftains capitulated and were absorbed into the Roman state. Marius promised them their land and they built Roman-style villas and lived like Italian gentry.
Meanwhile, further north, Marius found himself in Central Gaul, hilly and hard to attack, it proved the better of him. He withdrew and raided Aquitaine before rushing north and raiding the Veneti, who were skilled boat-builders. These people swiftly took to the seas and, evacuating their people, settled for the large part either in Britain or in Normandy. Marius then turned, and marched along the right bank of the Seine and headed south to the Rhine. Having campaigned for fifteen years thus, much of Gaul was his. In 97 BC he was granted a triumph and two Roman governors were appointed: one for Transalpine Gaul, and one for Aquitania. Further north, the two kingdoms of the Aedui and the Arverni were made protectorates although they had their own vassals and were often at war with each other.
Marius had subdued the south of Gaul yet the rest was, if anything, more anti-Roman than before. To the north the various tribes began to coalesce into alliances set to offset the Roman menace. Five legions were stationed in Gaul (Roman) and they were resented by the Gauls to the north. Those in the south found life different, if not worse. Urbanisation, although already widespread, continued all the faster so that Marseille and Arles both had populations of over 3,000 by 90 BC.
Meanwhile, in the east, Marius’s former inferior, Sulla, was making progress in the Balkans. In 95 BC he led two legions in an invasion of Pannonia and Noricum in a three year campaign of subjugation. This was extended for another five years to conquer all of Dalmatia down to the Macedonian border (at Illyria). This was accomplished in a further six years and Sulla too was awarded a triumph. The Roman border was drawn at the Danube and a further treaty signed in 88 BC with Macedon of friendship and alliance.
The rivalry between Sulla and Marius had reached fever pitch. Marius had gained a consulship in 94 BC and used it to force though his military reform bill, which formed a professional Roman army. This was wielded by Sulla, who remained a general, as he preferred the more conservative Roman army, home of the optimates rather than the populares. Marius would go on to win seven consulships; Sulla would be made Commander of Horse (commander in chief in effect) five times and led campaigns in Pannonia (87 BC) Helvetica (85 BC) and Corsica (84 BC).
Roman politics was changing. Nepotism and corruption had entered the system and now strongmen and thugs ruled the streets. The Tribuneship of the plebs was the refuge of gangs who used the forum to press their agenda, and the courts were swimming in blood money. Unfortunately, it seemed that the Republic was collapsing under its own weight.
Two leaders of the Republic emerged: Marius and Sulla. Marius retired from military service, instead serving as consul for eight years straight. Sulla, on the other hand, kept campaigning so that his support among the soldiers grew enormously, as did his popularity with the landowners whom he granted lands in newly conquered areas in the east. The common people, however, had little love for him and continued to vote for Marius. In 83 BC Marius died, probably of a stroke. His death was mourned greatly by the people and even, publicly, by Sulla, who would follow him to the grave in three years time. During this point, however, Sulla used his military power and support to march on Rome. Roman defences collapsed around him and he entered the city in 82 BC. He was growing old, and so in the two years he ruled as Dictator his power was weak. His power was enforced by his lieutenant, Pompey, a young general who had shown promise in the march on Rome. Pompey took the title Master of Horse and he had Sulla kill all the other generals, whom he replaced with his stooges. This Pompey was groomed to succeed the Dictator yet when Sulla died in Winter of 80 BC a power struggle emerged in the Roman empire.
Pompey swiftly secured the support of the Italian legions, some 20,000 men yet his chief rival, Lucullus, led five legions in Pannonia and marched south, claiming the restoration of the normal Republic. Pompey declared a state of emergency and ordered the conscription of 30,000 Roman and allied men to bolster his numbers. His force of 45,000 men marched north and met Lucullus at Patavium. Lucullus’s numbers had also swollen as Republicans flocked to his banner. The two enormous forces met on November 23rd 80 BC.
It ended in an overwhelming victory on the behalf of Pompey. He was a far superior general to Lucullus who failed to exploit the greater number of veterans he commanded. Pompey used his enormous scratch legions to exhaust Lucullus’s men before committing his own veterans. Pompey then disbanded his scratch legions and bought the services of the defeated legions, who still numbered 13,000 and held little against Pompey himself. He forgave them and promised them land in Pannonia and a small cash benefit. He then marched north, securing the northern provinces before returning to Rome. Here he effectively destroyed the political system that had already sustained a severe battering. The Senate’s powers were curtailed and there was little they could do- generals were appointed by the Dictator (i.e. Pompey, who was ‘voted’ as Dictator for three years) and military tribunes were appointed by the generals. Tribunes of the plebs were still elected by the people, yet they were subject to the oversight of the Censor, an office whose powers Pompey increased massively, and gave to one of his friends. This new reordering was vehemently opposed by the traditionalists, Cato and Cicero were the two most vocal. Cato was respected as an old-fashioned, no-nonsense Republican and so Pompey decided that he would have to go- he was forced to commit suicide in 79 BC. Cicero, on the other hand, was easier to manage. His rhetorical skills, which earned him the favour of the people, evaporated the minute soldiers were present at the courts. He retired to Samnium in 77 BC to live the life of a country gentleman, waiting for an opportunity to return.
Pompey was, therefore, was Dictator of Rome. He kept to the formalities, however, and sought re-election every three years when his term as Dictator ran out. This post he held for seven years when he disbanded it and returned power to the consuls (he was one of them, his partner was Crassus). 73 BC was a year of hope for the people of Rome. Pompey resigned the consulship after only three months, giving it to Cicero whom he allowed back into the city. Cicero reached an agreement with Pompey- Pompey would lay down his powers and become Commander of Horse and in return Cicero would grant him immunity. In his first speech to the Senate and People of Rome for three years, Cicero thanked Pompey for helping Rome through its period of emergency and compared him to Cincinnatus- taking up the burden of leadership in time of need and resigning it as soon as the emergency was gone. Pompey would plead this case whenever pressed, and from then on would be a general and nothing more. His sword, however, hung over the Senate until his death, a feared emblem of military intervention in Roman life.
In 71 BC Julius Caesar, nephew of Gaius Marius, was elected to the board of generals by the Senate. He had a good working relationship with Pompey whom he respected and admired, and indeed sought to emulate. Pompey, however, saw Caesar as a whelp, a chip off of the old block and hardly fit to fulfil his uncle’s legacy, whom even Sulla had afforded a great amount of respect. In 70 BC Pompey raised six legions and marched north east, crossing the Danube and marching into upper Pannonia. He marched north west, crushing the small kingdoms there and founding the colony of Opidorium (Vienna) wintering there before marching speedily north across the Bohemian plateau to the Vlatva River, which Pompey named the Pompeius River in his own honour. He founded yet another colony there, Cincinnati (Prague) echoing the comparison between himself and Cincinnatus. For three years he pacified the wild regions and opened up the land for Roman migrants, who flooded the place in search of land and relief from the increasingly turbulent Roman political system. The borders of the Roman empire were, therefore, the Bohemian plateau, the Alps and the Massif Centrale (the mountainous region of central Gaul.) In 65 BC a treaty between the Roman Republic and the Kingdom of Macedon was signed. They agreed to respect each others territory and fixed their boundaries at the west Transylvanian mountains- the plains ensconced by the Carpathians and these mountains (Dacia) were Macedonian whereas to the west the wide plains were Roman.
Macedon, in the 1st century BC was undergoing a radical change in politics. Until that point, the nobility had held the powers to raise armies and fight their own wars- it was these wars that had resulted in the expansion of the so-called Greek Marches in the north, around the Carpathians and into the northern plains. King Alexander VII, however, sought to restrict these rights, and ordered the nobles disband their own private armies. They refused, and civil war began in 62 BC. The northern Marcher Lords were the strongest, fielding large cavalry forces of both heavy Macedonian and light Scythian horsemen, as well as an array of pikemen and swordsmen from the barbaric north. The King, however, fielded his great phalanxes, which had changed little since the days of Alexander the Great. This mass was unwieldy yet deadly, yet Alexander VII reformed them. He shortened their pikes to 8 ft. and broke up the phalanx into units of 200 rather than massive blocks. These smaller units could turn and manoeuvre more easily, as well as come together to form a great phalanx reminiscent of Issus. This new force numbered 10,000 and added to this he had a large, well-equipped cavalry force as well as light skirmishers from Illyria. Faced with rebellion in the north, he also sought Athenian help. The Athenians had colonies in the Crimea and so lent him ships and supplies. The war was watched eagerly by the people of Athens, whose interest in the Black Sea was sparked. Alexander led 20,000 men north against an aggregate army of 30,000 led by at least six Marcher Lords.
They met on the north of the Danube. Alexander was cut off- there was no escape, only a watery scrabble south or drowning in heavy armour. He drew up his phalanxes in their units of 200 presenting a checkerboard formation, with cavalry on his flanks and skirmishers dispersed among the phalanxes, so that they were able to pelt the enemy and also run into the mass of heavy infantry for cover.
The Lords drew up their forces separately. The three greatest each fielded nearly 8,000 men, most of whom were levied Phalangites yet their cavalry was to prove crucial. The two infantry forces met and the Royal phalanx formed into a solid mass and threw back the rebels. Meanwhile, the Royal cavalry had been attacked and dispersed by the rebels, whose Scythians managed to get around the flanks of the Royal phalanx. Envelopment seemed imminent, when Alexander peeled off one man in ten to form a new unit on their flank of 1,000 men to withstand the scythians, who were dashed to pieces. Seeing their cavalry defeated, the Lords finally committed their barbarians swordsmen, who were driven back under heavy missile fire from the Macedonian slingers and the Illyrian peltasts. The rebels were forced back and Alexander marched north, where cities flung their gates open to the rightful king. He installed his own governors in these cities and in the northern provinces, and subdued the mighty lords. There were to be no more feudal lords in the Macedonian Balkans as the empire grew yet stronger. Alexander’s reign was characterised by utmost parsimony. He settled his soldiers in new military colonies north of the Carpathians, and cut new roads and lines of communication, yet there was no military expansion. He knitted his empire closer together, as the process of urbanisation and the spread of agriculture boomed. Alexander founded Royal monopolies on several commodities which angered the Athenians yet aided the treasury greatly, and by his death in 54 BC the coffers were overflowing, waiting for his son Craterus III to spend it all.
Throughout the 2nd and 1st centuries BC the city of Byzantium had grown in wealth and importance until in 60 BC it was the second wealthiest, second largest city in Greece, with a population bordering on 100,000 and trade extending form Pontus and the Black Sea to Egypt and Carthage. Much of its wealth, however, flowed into Athens, who sat hundreds of miles away resplendent in its continued glory. The Byzantines, however, were angered by this. Their representatives to the Hellenic League demanded that Byzantium’s taxes be spent domestically rather than by the Athenians. This notion was rebuffed- Byzantium was part of Greece, and had to support its fellow Greeks. This was not enough for the Byzantines, and in 56 BC a vote was held in the forum among the General Assembly of 4,000 whether to hold a referendum on Byzantine secession from the Hellenic League.
The result was overwhelmingly positive and the following month the referendum went ahead. Once tallied up, the noted mathematician Protagorus who used a tally out of one hundred to calculate the relative votes. It came out that seventy seven out of one hundred had voted for secession whereas only thirty three had voted against. This method was to gain popularity across the Mediterranean. The Byzantine secession was met with an explosion of outrage across Greece. The Hellenic League swiftly declared war on Byzantium and mustered 500 ships and 10,000 men to destroy the rebellion city. The Byzantines, however, had their own colonies in the Crimea and in Scythia which kept her supplies from the Black Sea. She blockaded the Bospherous and used her own large fleet, some 400 ships, to fight the Athenians at sea. Her armies were weak yet her defences were strong- walls had been erected in the 2nd century BC and these enclosed the massive city which readied itself for a siege. So long as the Bospherous remained open she could be resupplied from the Black Sea. Ambassadors were also sent to the King of Macedon asking for aid. Craterus III was eager to display his wealth and power and so accepted, and declared war on Athens. His armies began the siege of Athenian cities in Macedon and in Thrace while his fledgling navy joined with the Byzantines in the Bospherous, although the poorly built ships and ill-equipped crew added little.
The Athenians were caught by surprise by Macedonian aggression. They were also caught of guard by one more development: siegecraft. The Macedonians had fought Persians, Greeks and barbarians and knew how to build great siege engines. The siege of Potidae was ended when a tower some 200 ft. tall was wheeled up to the walls and forced the defences. Other cities fell to rams, mines and catapults. These advances had been taken to heart by Craterus III who loved such contraptions and kept their construction a closely guarded secret. He did, however, sell the designs of some smaller catapults and ballistae to the Byzantines who began to mount them on their walls and their larger ships. The Byzantine fleet met the Athenians off Tenedos and fought inconclusively for months. During this time, the Macedonians had also launched an invasion of Boeotia, which Athens countered with an invasion through Epirus of Macedon itself. She also used her navy to land forces near Pella leading to raids on the capital itself. This only angered Craterus yet further, and he ordered a Byzantine offensive. The Byzantines were reluctant, yet with the Athenians distracted they broke out of the Bospherous and scattered the Athenian fleet. they sailed south, clearing the Aegean yet returned after only nine months for fear of leaving the city undefended.
The Athenians began to rebuild. Although popular opinion was against the war a new navy was fitted and more sailors recruited. Not enough recruits were found, so conscription was introduced for the first time. The new fleet had over four hundred ships and coupled with the remnants of the old one, some two hundred, dwarfed the Byzantine fleet. this huge armada sailed to the Bospherous.
The Byzantines could not let them get into the Black Sea. If they got in then the trade disruption they would cause would cripple Byzantium. They therefore arranged their ships in a line and tethered them together so that they could not break rank. They then waited for the Athenians. The Athenians responded by burning a dozen of their weakest ships and floating them into the Byzantine fleet. The fires caught easily and the ships burnt. The Athenians sailed through, destroying nearly the entire Byzantine fleet. Her fleet destroyed, the Byzantines at first sought to surrender. They were persuaded, however, by Eurythius, their foremost statesman, to persevere. He said that they should see to their defences and hold out to the last. The city therefore readied itself for a siege.
Some 10,000 Athenians were disembarked outside the city walls in Spring 52 BC and dug in for a siege. They employed mines and rams yet the walls were too thick and counter-mines proved effective. For three long years the siege dragged on. The people of Byzantium were reduced to starvation with only the garrison fed remotely enough. A counter-attack of sorts was made, with twelve ships breaking through the Athenian blockade and unloading supplies from the Black Sea. They also took with them some one thousand of the frailest citizens- old women and young children. These were packed onto crowded ships and waved their families farewell as they ran the blockade once more. One ships was sunk yet the others escaped. The survivors, some 1700 people, were disembarked at Olbia. This city was fiercely loyal to Byzantium, who had colonised it heavily. They arranged with the other Greeks of the Black Sea, a relief force of 5,000 men and 200 ships. These broke through the Athenian blockade sustaining losses yet disembarked their men in 50 BC. They were greeted as warmly as they could be, and a further 10,000 civilians were evacuated. This time the Athenians were ready. They sank fifteen ships and captured nearly seventy. The 3500 civilians on board were all crucified along the Golden Horn. This prompted the Macedonian governor of Galata, who had previously been told not to interfere other than to preserve is own defence, to attack the Athenians. He received reinforcements of 5,000 men and with a combined force of 7,000 men, crossed the Golden Horn and took the Athenians from the flank. On the same day the Byzantines made a sortie and struck back a the Athenians. Caught between two fires, the Athenians were gradually forced back. They were finally isolated in a pocket by the Sea of Marmara. Here, some 6,000 soldiers surrendered.
Following their surrender, something unprecedented occurred. It was decided by the people of Byzantium to put each soldier on trial, justifying this act by pointing to the mass graves outside the walls, filled with the dead from plague, starvation or war. The Athenian fleet withdrew, yet were met by the 400 ships cobbled together from the remainder of Byzantium’s fleet and the new Black Sea fleet. they faced the Athenians and forced them to retreat, capturing a further 1,000 men including the admiral of the Athenian expedition. These were all put on trial outside the walls of Byzantium, some 7,000 men standing in the sun while a Grand Jury of 3,000 citizens surveyed the evidence. The case for the defence was presented by a soldier from Athens, chosen by his comrades. He made the argument that the vast majority were only following orders and that only the officers should stand trial. This went down well with the Byzantines who released some 6,400 men, disarming them and sending them back to Athens. The remainder were accused by Eurythius himself, who persuaded the Jury with his emotive speech, and in Winter 49 BC, 600 officers, including one of the Ten Generals and Athens’s Chief admiral were sentenced to death. Some five hundred were beheaded yet those judged most responsible were crucified.
The peace signed by Athens in Spring 48 BC saw her sign away her Macedonian and Black Sea possessions, including Byzantium herself, who began a long period of recovery. The disgruntled veterans flooded Athens and spread dissatisfaction. The General Assembly of 48 BC voted for the Ten Generals to be put on trial as were all of the Archons. Of these, three Archons and eight generals were found guilty and beheaded. A further 200 prominent officers and citizens were sent into permanent exile. Athens was by no means beaten, however. A rebellion in Boeotia was put down with the deaths of some 3,000 civilians. Macedon was also evicted from Boeotia and Epirus was annexed to the Hellenic League in 46 BC.
Meanwhile, in 56 BC, Gaius Julius Caesar took seven legions and invaded Gaul. Over six years he pacified the entire country and crossed the Rhine three times, defeating the Germans twice and forcing a final surrender the final time. After this series of astounding conquests Caesar had opened up all Gaul to Roman migration, with the Rhine as the empire’s boundary, for awhile. Pompey, suitably impressed, adopted Caesar as his heir and the two of them, plus Crassus, made the First Triumvirate. Crassus would later lead an expedition into Germania which would see him and some 3,000 Romans killed, yet this did not slow down expansion. Caesar re-crossed the Rhine and once more defeated the Germans, forcing them back to the Weser and founding a string of forts and colonies. It was a young Mark Antony who in 44 BC led a legion east, through Helvetica and through the great Black Forest founding forts and colonies, thereby linking the eastern and western halves of the empire. Rome had surrounded the Alps completely, and soon new roads were cut through them to facilitate trade.
The pacification of Gaul saw the existing tribal elites included into the Roman system- warlords and chieftains were given citizenship in return for obedience and some, such as King Vordius of the Aedui, became Senators. Gaul was split into four provinces: Transalpine, Aquitaine, Belgicia and Gallica (north west).
The process of Romanisation accelerated throughout the 1st century BC as better quality food and overall peace caused a population boom that led to massive urbanisation. Arles, Lugdunum, Massila and Campus Caesoris (Cologne) all grew to over 10,000 inhabitants by 30 BC and by 10 BC all had populations in the excess of 40,000. In Germany, forests were cleared and farmland was opened up, causing yet more population growth there. New cities such as Pompeius (Minden) and Jovis (Bremen) were built on the Weser and the city of Augusta was built on the Elba (Hamburg). By 1 AD it was estimated that the urban population of Germania (that is, people living in settlements with over 500 inhabitants) was four million, mostly in the Rhineland. Gaul’s was six million, mostly around the Rhone Valley in Transalpine Gaul and the Mediterranean coast. By 1 AD the Roman empire was the most populous land in Europe (lagging behind Han China by several tens of million).
During the Gallic Wars and constitutional crises of Rome, Carthage continued to expand. With the Empire of Mali under her thumb she expanded further north. Her lone colony in Britannia was expanded as new colonists arrived and local chieftains came under their sway. More colonists were planted on the Severn River and around the south western peninsula of the island. The British Isles were first circumnavigated in 32 BC by a modified Carthaginian warship built to withstand the rough oceans.
The kingdoms of Britain responded to this incursion by gathering together in a summit at the Stonehenge- an ancient monument that still held great significance to the people. There, the Druids persuaded the kings to put aside their differences and elect a High King of all the Britons to lead them against hostile incursions. The Veneti refugees told their tales of woe and this angered the Britons that no more land would be given. They elected King Dumnorix of the Regni as High King over the Regni, the Trinovantes, the Cantiaci, the Iceni, the Catuvellauni, the Atrebates, the Belgiae, the Dobunni and the Coritani. He organised a system of levies whereby the local kings would organise their own defence while aid could be mustered. Mutual defence and a joint foreign policy was adopted- they promised not to make war on any other or each other without permission of the Council of King which was set up to meet every year. A programme of defences was also put into action- villages and towns were surrounded by stockades and smaller communities were amalgamated into larger ones for the purpose of defence. Great hill forts spread out so that some, like the famous Maiden Castle which housed almost two thousand households.
It soon became apparent, however, that Carthage was stretched far enough- she could barely resupply her existing six colonies and so treaties were signed. The south west was signed away to the Carthaginians and trade began. Soon caravans of Punic merchants traversed the British countryside selling wine, weapons, cloth and ivory in exchange for gold and grain. Carthaginian horsebreeders taught the Celts how to breed larger horses which could pull larger, iron ploughs and carry an armed man on its back. The tribal elite soon adopted these horses, becoming cavalry and using light javelins they would harry enemy flanks before closing in for the kill with their long, iron swords.
The societal structure of Iron Age Britain was highly hierarchical. The ‘common’ people were generally farmers, craftsmen or merchants of some description. They generally lived in villages or small towns, and each village had a Chief. This chief swore allegiance to his King who in turn swore allegiance to the High King. The Druids were judges and priests and they decided who the next High King would be. The Chieftains would elect a new King to succeed a departed Lord, and they could theoretically choose anyone so long as the Druids consented, however they usually chose one of the dead King’s close family members. In the late 1st century AD taxes began to be paid in cash as a cash economy grew up with Punic trade. Farmers paid their tax in days labour yet craftsmen and merchants paid in gold, weapons, cloth or any other fine goods. A second tax was also levied, by the Druids who began to act more and more like a bureaucracy acting parallel to the Kings. The Druid hierarchy was strict as well- there were separate communities and these elected a leader who would then represent the community at Anglesey and these Druids would elect a Chief Druid who was equal to the High King and in fact crowned him with a crown of oak leaves The Kings e.g. of the Iceni were crowned by their local Head Druid, and in 1 AD there were seven large Druid communities roughly corresponding with the Allied Kingdoms.
The Druids also adopted one other system- writing. They had previously committed all to memory and would continue to do so for centuries yet they began to record history. They did so anonymously, and the accounts kept have been found to be in keeping with archaeological evidence (it was a Druidic account that pointed archaeologists to Sarum, which turned out to be the find of the century).
In 33 BC Carthage launched a full-scale invasion of Britain. Having pacified all of Iberia over the course of the 1st century BC they finally had the resources to invade the small island. An invasion force of 20,000 boarded 200 large boats drawn from across the empire- Africans, Spaniards, Gauls, Greeks and Carthaginians all landed at Tyros Nova (Portsmouth) in Spring 32 BC. Led by the legendary Hannibal’s grandson Hamilcar Barca they advanced rapidly, subduing the hostile tribes. They besieged the hill forts and gradually pacified the region. The High King Dumnorix gathered 15,000 men and led a counter-attack despite his age. His cavalry engaged the Numidians and came off the worse, with several prominent Chieftains killed. The infantry battle was, however, a slaughter. The strong warrior spirit had not been broken and the naked tribesmen were cut down by the Punic phalanx. Dumnorix ordered a retreat. He was advised to burn everything in his path yet he could not bring himself to do so. The Carthaginians crossed the Thames three months after their first landing and conquered the Iceni seven months after that. Carthaginian losses were heavy yet they drew their boundary at the Humber and the Severn. They founded several colonies and filled them with veterans yet tensions simmered. The Carthaginians were cruel and slaughtered any Druids they found, from Heads who once crowned Kings to novices just learning the great Sagas. The island of Anglesey however, was secure and this became a focal point of resistance. North of the Humber the Celts began to rebuild. Several tribes surrendered yet more fought on. Ambassadors were sent to the Picts asking for help. The Picts accepted so long as the Celts pay tribute and plans were made for a counter-offensive. High King Tuvenus was young and energetic and he ordered a campaign of guerrilla warfare to be waged. Carthaginians were killed and officers assassinated. The few remaining Druids were driven underground yet they remained focal parts of the community, stirring up resistance.
One such Druid, Iscatos, fomented rebellion differently. He promised the people that one day the Druids would return, and that the Old Ways would be restored. His particular flavour of religion had a tinge of the Semitic myths of a messiah carried from Tyre and Sidon to Carthage and then to this young man, who prophesied the creation of a New Kingdom, where the Gods judged all men equally and there were no more rulers, no more governors, no more taxes. He began his teachings in 26 BC and in 24 BC he was arrested. He was brought before Hamilcar himself, whom he debated and bowled over with his arguments. Hamilcar, humiliated at being defeated by this barbarian, ordered him crucified and so this young Druid was executed. Some say that the story ends there, yet others insist that he rose again and that it was he would lead the coming rebellion.
His prophecy of a revolution proved true, for in Winter 22 BC the Iceni revolted. Led by King Hanulos they massacred the Carthaginians who were camped in their territory. This was the sign for an all-out invasion- from the north came hordes of Picts and Celts who drove the Carthaginians backwards while from the west High King Tuvenus attacked with the old order, crossing the Severn in triumph and marching on the new Carthaginian colony of Barcelona (London). Hamilcar met the Britons in battle yet was defeated cataclysmally south of the Thames and forced back to his ships. It was then that the Veneti, who had hidden their ships, came out and sunk the Carthaginian vessels while they were still beached. Hamilcar, surrounded on all sides, sued for peace yet was refused. In Autumn 21 BC his army was annihilated and all Carthaginian colonies burned. Except for one. The city of Barcelona was so strategically placed that Tuvenus made it his capital. He gave it a new name, however, and it was the name his kingdom would take. On 21st December, the Winter Solstice, Tuvenus was crowned by the High Druid High King of Albion, Lord of the Britons and Defender of the Isles.
The Druidic religion was affected greatly by the Carthaginian occupation. Although it lasted only 11 years it spawned the greatest religious movement of the ancient world. The Cult of Iscatos would overrun the Druids and become the first of the so-called Messianic Religions. For some fifty years, however, it was incredibly small, with only a handful of followers. It would not be until the conversion of High King Calistus in 154 AD that it would grow significantly and it would be a further century after that until it became the dominant religion of Britain.
Carthage’s defeat in Britain led to her humiliation on the international stage. Rome chuckled gleefully, yet Caesar scrapped any and all plans to invade Britain. Pompey had died peacefully in 53 BC and Caesar, Mark Antony, Brutus and Octavian were the new powers in Rome. Caesar was killed in battle with the Batavians in 41 BC and the great and illustrious Cicero died of plague in Neapoli in 38 BC. In 19 BC Octavian was Commander of Horse, Mark Antony and Brutus were consuls. It was in this year that the Senate voted for war with Carthage. The Third Punic War had begun.
Octavian immediately marched four legions south into Iberia, taking Barcalona and then besieging Nova Carthago. Varus invaded Sicily with three legions while Agrippa, as Admiral, commanded the Roman navy of 400 ships to fight the war on sea. Things began well- over a two year campaign Octavian conquered most of Iberia and Varus forced the Carthaginians west in Sicily. Agrippa scored several naval victories over the Carthaginians and in 16 BC victory seemed imminent. Roman legions were poised to cross into Africa in Spain and Sicily was almost entirely Roman (apart for the Greek south east which remained neutral).
One thing the Romans did not foresee was Macedon. Alexander VIII had inherited a strong state from his father Craterus and was willing to flex his military muscle. He signed an alliance with Carthage in 16 BC and declared war on Rome in Spring 15 BC. His armies poured west into the Panononian plain and reached Opidorium seven months later, besieging it for three months before taking it and wintering in it. They then split in two- Alexander marched south intent on taking Italy and another half marched north to take Cincinnati. Both expeditions failed- the Italian campaign was halted in Venetia and the Bohemian campaign was stopped fifty miles south of Cincinnati. They failed to take their objectives, yet it forced Rome back to the negotiating table.
The Third Punic War ended with Carthage granting Rome the north eastern third of Sicily (this transfer was arbitered by the Athenians). Macedon took most of the Panononian plain drawing her border at the Danube. Opidorium was returned to Rome and a treaty was signed guaranteeing thirty years peace and the possibility of a renewal afterwards. Carthage gave up little by means of territory, although she gave trade concessions to Rome in Spanish and African ports. The war saw massive changes in Balkan frontiers yet the changes were even more radical in Rome herself. Already politically volatile, Rome erupted into full-scale civil war.
Octavian returned in triumph and blamed inept Mark Antony for the war’s failure. The eastern front had been neglected and he wanted answers. Mark Antony professed his innocence yet no one believed him. Varus and Octavian closed ranks and Mark Antony committed suicide in 13 BC. Octavian then turned his fury on Varus, claiming that his leadership in Sicily had wasted hundreds of lives. Varus had been inattentive and clumsy in his command, and his own veterans testified against him in the forum. Varus was banished to Corsica. Agrippa then married Octavian’s niece and they cemented their political alliance (Agrippa and Octavian had long been friends). In 11 BC Octavian was voted the title Principe by the Senate- first man, or chief. He created a new office for himself- that of Magister Maximus; Great Magister. He used this role plus his office of Censor to rule Rome with an iron fist for his remaining days. He took the power to appoint generals and priests and used this to make Agrippa Commander of Horse. He married Livia of the Claudian family and the Julio-Claudian dynasty would survive for eighty years.
A note on Britain.
The religion of the Kingdom of Albion was that of Druidism, a form of Celtic paganism that had, over the years, evolved a strict hierarchy and a complex set of rituals a beliefs. At the centre of the religion were three main Gods: Aluanus, the Sun God, Camulos, God of War and Damara, Goddess of Fertility. There were also hundreds of other deities yet it was these three that were invoked in the ritual of Coronation, where the Head Druid crowned the High King. They became over the course of the next half century more and more central, so much so that other Gods were subsumed into their personalities, so that other sun gods became identified with Aluanus etc. the three Gods were strange in that none of them were married or had relations with the other- they knew each other and mythology often had them meeting, yet their relationship was platonic. Nor did they seem to fall out, and later on they seemed to grow into one another into the God that the Romans called Sol Invictus- the Unbeatable Sun. The three Gods were ‘national’ Gods and there were thousands of other, local deities and it was these who suffered from the unification of Britain. With political unison, religion became far more formalised and Anglesey became the hub of a central Druidic faith. In the tenure of High Druid Athenus I, the local gods were systemically persecuted and replaced with the Trinity until by the turn of the millennium when the Three were almost completely dominant. This was done to bring uniformity to the Kingdoms and centralise power and weld the country into a single state which had never before been welded together.
After the Carthaginian occupation, a new Cult arose. The Cult of Iscatos grew rapidly in Kent, where many Druids gravitated towards his teachings. He taught that all living things had a link to the Gods, and that any who came between them and the divine were blasphemers and should be removed. This would appear to be in complete contradiction to the Druids, and indeed the 1st century BD saw massive persecutions of Iscatians until a senior Druid, trained on Anglesey and converted sometime in the 20s BC made his mark on the new community.
Beluscius did something revolutionary- he wrote his philosophisings down and then circulated copies of his work, painstakingly copied fro man original which he kept with him at all time. His work, which was nameless and anonymously written, changed the original Iscatian theology significantly. Firstly, it had the Druids assured a place in the hierarchy; as guardians of the God’s presenses on earth (that is, sacred pools, groves etc.) and also the Royalty, whom he made temporal guardian of the people. His second break was that he opened conversion to non-British. Since Iscatos’s martyrdom, any who wished to join his community had to be British. By changing this piece of theology, Beluscius opened the Roman and Greek worlds for conversion.
He had a second boon, and that was his close following of junior Druids. Many of these Druids had followed him to Kent as they saw him as a mentor, and now in the early years of the 1st century AD he sent them out across the world to preach. The vital changes in theology he had made helped him enormously, and the peoples of Gaul were willing to listen. The teachings of the Druids were incorporated into the Roman/Gallic mythology in a unique blend of theologies that saw Iscatos made a Divine Presence on Earth, in the same way a Sacred Grove or a Holy Pool was. This was to be crucial to the new faith in the next years.
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Byzantium, ever since its war of independence, had been growing rapidly. Economically, it monopolised the trade routes through the Bospherous and had close trading links with Macedon, which relied heavily on Byzantine finance to support itself. King Craterus III of Macedon had squandered his father’s savings building the new palace outside Pella where he held court and had his capital. He used Byzantine gold for all this, and Byzantium became a major finance centre, financing the kings of Armenia and Syria as well. It drew its capital from its four state-supervised public venture outfits. These were an innovative blend of the government and private investment. Merchants were encouraged to group together, and then sold charters which gave them exclusive access to either a region or a commodity for a fixed period of time. These merchants would receive state subsidies for founding colonies and were given the right to negotiate on the behalf of the state.
Byzantium’s growth was stoppered up by Athens, who instituted a loose blockade in 42 BC which put extortionate taxes on Byzantine vessels and goods and forced all Byzantine citizens to pay a special tax and forbade them from gaining Greek citizenship. Any commercial or territorial growth, therefore, would be north. The lands north of the Black Sea were cold and inhospitable, yet the Greek colonies along the Crimean peninsula grew rapidly and in the latter half of the 1st century BC a new pioneer spirit awoke in the colonists. Colonies were founded up the Don and Bug rivers, towns and cities grew rapidly as agriculture cleared the way for civilisation. Natives were either given gifts and made allies or destroyed and forced from their lands. The wide flats of the steppe were cultivated as guarded colonies of soldier-farmers advanced under the plough. Scythian horsemen attempted to fight back and succeeded in burning several towns, most notably the colony of Gerexon in 34 BC in which some 4,000 colonies were burnt to death. However, they could not stop the flow of colonists, and by 70 AD the Greek/Byzantine population of the so-called Byzantine Confederacy was some 4 million stretching as far as the river Volga and the Oka. This massive movement of people was not only Byzantine. Byzantine companies sold places on colonial barges to Romans, Macedonians, Syrians and Armenians thousands of whom moved in for a better life. The new frontier was seen as a place where anyone could make their fortune and earn a life they could never attain at home. The population of Byzantium herself, meanwhile, actually declined from 1.1 to 900,000 as whole families left north. The city of Tanais grew to 40,000 in 20 BC and the city of Sevapolis grew to 20,000.
The Byzantine Confederacy was formally created in 15 BC when an alliance was signed between all the Greek cities of Russia, the Black Sea and Byzantium. They all agreed to mutual defence and foreign policy and to permit freedom of trade and movement between member states. They also agreed to send three delegates each to Byzantium every year where they would meet for two months to discuss and decide on the future of the Confederacy.
Athens, meanwhile, was falling from grace. Having attained a pinnacle of humanitarianism with the abolition of slavery it now plummeted into purges and pogroms. The General Assembly repeatedly put generals, jurists, even Archons, on trial for treason and betrayal of democracy. Between 40 and 10 BC some 4,000 were accused of treason. Of these, 8,000 were exiled, 14,000 executed and other imprisoned, stripped of citizenship or, occasionally, acquitted. The venerable general Euryphalcus was forced to open his veins at the age of seventy and when he requested to do so at home with his sons he was refused, and so killed himself in front of the Generals Assembly. The Assembly itself was once chosen by lot, yet in 35 BC it was decided that the Assembly should be voted in by popular ballot. The ballot took place in the open, and candidates would jostle for support. The citizens of Athens, some 700,000 men in 35 BC all voted over a week long period. Corruption was inherent, and although it was brutally punished (one candidate caught rigging a ballot was burnt alive) it was rife in the democracy. The Assembly swiftly became filled with lawyers, aristocrats, followers of Plato and fanatical democrats, some of whom called for the dissemination of democracy among neighbouring, undemocratic, powers.
The Kingdom of Kush at the dawn of the new millennium was a kingdom emerging as a great power. In 22 BC a force of 5,000 men was sent into Yemen to subjugate the kingdom of Ma’rib which had united the Yemenis peoples. A system of client kings was created whereby the Yemenis kings ruled with the permission of the Kushite monarch, swearing allegiance every year and sending tribute in the form of gold, frankincense and myrrh. A string of colonies was also founded along the eastern Red Sea coast to facilitate trade between Israel and Kush. Kush, meanwhile, extended south along the Nile into Ethiopia as well as down the Blue Nile which it made another transport hub. The capital of Meroe was adorned with stele and pyramids to grand kings and magnificent victories. The phalanx dominated Africa at that time and all who came against the Kushites fell in battle or were enslaved; sold on to Egyptian and Carthaginian merchants in Pericopolis.
The new Kingdom of Albion was stable while the strong High King Tuvenus lived. He led armies west and north against the picts and the welsh. He made his border the Rivers Severn and Tyne. He also pursued south, where he set up the Kingdom of Cornwall, a constituent member of Albion. Carthaginian colonies remained in the British Isles; in Wales and Ireland yet two remained in Cornwall. It was one of these that hosted the peace talks between Carthage and Albion and it Was decided that they would be allowed to remain Carthaginian, so long as they were disarmed, had no walls and allowed British merchants free access to their ports. The city of Albion, meanwhile, also became an important port. The Kingdom cultivated close ties with Rome, which scrapped any attempts to invade the island and instead traded with the Kingdom. They also provided promises of military assistance: as the saying goes; an enemy of my enemy is my friend.
British society, meanwhile, was changing. The propertied classes, especially the so-called knights and Kings, had a certain independence from central government. They could raise their own taxes, raise their own battalions of men as they wished and even conduct their own campaigns so long as they were not inside the Kingdom’s borders. The wealthy, who rode on horseback, embraced two weapons. The first was the longsword. Copied from the Romans (who copied theirs from the Macedonians) the longsword was a four foot piece of folded steel, razor sharp and capable of hewing a man in two. It curved back slightly which gave it the slicing power of a scimitar yet the weight of a broadsword. This cruel weapon was lethal wielded by both infantry and cavalry, although the cavalry preferred it for its reach. It was never widely used by infantry as its long swing made it impossible to use in formation safely.
The second weapon was the lance. This was, at first, a light javelin which was wielded by the chariot-bound warriors of the past. They would hurl these before closing in with a sword or spear. In the 1st century AD, however, this turned from a javelin into a lance, far heavier and thicker, with a metal head that could punch through armour. These were used against other horsemen moreso than infantry, because of their weight they were prone to making the rider tip over if he dipped it too low. However, coupled with the sword it made the knights a powerful cavalry force. Supremely disciplined, they fought with grim determinism and a desire to be noted by the High King and their liege lord.
Albion expanded slowly, and in the form of private holdings, as marcher lords took land from outsiders and made it their own. These lands were not under the official Royal hierarchy and so could be used by lords to raise their own revenues which the High King had no control over. The High King himself had little power outside the kingdom, for he relied on his lords for support. Occasionally they would support the High King, yet often they would ignore him and pursue their own ends.
Carthage, meanwhile, was in a state of collapse. The Barcid family was weak and the leadership of the state was in open contest between various generals and politicians. Iberia, never fully tamed, even by 200 years of colonialism, erupted into violence once more. Carthaginian armies marched into Further Spain where they fought the Celtic peoples for decades. Their mercenary armies were professional and well-equipped, but their morale was low and their numbers small. Citizen militia were raised in many cities and these could number into the thousands yet their use was limited to urban defence, and whenever a general tried to use them on a campaign they invariably deserted hoping to return home.
In 11 AD the Spanish colonies of Barcalona, New Carthage and dozens of smaller ones, revolted against Carthaginian rule. Taking as their example the Byzantine revolution, they announced the creation of a Federated Republic. Each city sent four delegates to a conference held in New Carthage and here they elected a Chief Magistrate, who was in 11 AD Giso Meldaret. He was a seasoned general, having fought for thirteen years in the Iberian peninsula. He sent two envoys to Carthage demanding they acknowledge their secession. The Carthaginian Senate, to whom they presented themselves, refused outright, and Chief Magistrate Hastabul Barca led an army of 40,000 to Spain. North Africa remained largely loyal, as did Carthaginian Sicily. He amassed elephants, Libyan pikemen, slingers, hoplites, swordsmen, Numidian cavalry and others from across the empire, even Malian spearmen and skirmishers. This enormous army disembarked in the south of Spain and continued along the southern coast. In August 11 AD they met with the army of the Governor of Cadiz, who had amassed 25,000 men, many of whom were Celtic tribesmen who were promised their freedom and their own lands of they fought. The battle was fierce, and for awhile the Celtic swordsmen looked as if they would break through the ranks of hoplites. However, it was all in vain. For Barca swung his cavalry around into the Governor’s rear and surrounded his men. leaving an avenue for escape, 11,000 men routed and escaped. The rest stood their ground and were slaughtered.
The fall of Cadiz sent shockwaves through the Federation. With a secure base in Spain, Barca arranged for supplies to be sent to him. He also instituted a naval blockade of the rebellious colonies. Some 600 ships patrolled the coastline, captured any who tried to run the blockade. Many of these were Roman merchants, who carried food and arms to the rebels. The Head Magistrate of Rome, Marcellus, declared to the Senate his intentions; of striking such a blow to Carthage that she could never recover. This was met with wild applause, and he ordered six legions be sent to Sicily. He then summoned the navy, and some 500 ships, many of them huge quinquiremes built by Caesar, arrived at Ostia. He then sent envoys to Carthage demanding that Spain be given its freedom, and that Carthage cease its blatant hostility. Carthage refused, and war was declared. The legions poured into Sicily, taking Lilybaeum in two months. The Roman navy managed to blockade Sicily while the Carthaginian fleet was away, and so captured all of Carthage’s possessions there.
War with Rome proved too much for Carthage. Its fleet had been chronically underfunded for decades and was now beginning to show its weaknesses. 300 ships peeled off from the blockade of Spain to defeat the Roman fleet, yet they were defeated off Sardinia. Worst of all, Sardinia itself was taken in 14 AD. With its communications cut, Carthage was cut off from its army in Spain and its leader, who was advancing on New Carthage, and was subjected to heavy losses due to weather and guerrilla warfare.
Now, Carthage exploded in revolutionary spirit. Tired of three years of war and defeat, in 15 AD the people rose up, demanding the restoration of the Republic and the head of every Barcid. After three weeks of street fighting the Senate called an emergency session. Here, the 600 strong Senate, of whom only 200 were present, outlawed the Barcid family. Those who were in Carthage, like the Head Magistrate’s two sons and wife, were executed. Those who were not were told never to return to Carthage. The Senate then voted in a new Republic, whose emergency leader would be one of their own; Teucreus Talita, who was given emergency powers of levy and requisition. He arranged a citizen militia of 20,000 for a city of nearly a million people. He equipped these as best he could, and then sent emissaries to Numidia and the other cities of North Africa. The cities unanimously sided with Talita, yet the kingdom of Numidia did not, and the king invaded with 40,000 horsemen. They reached the outskirts of Carthage, yet could not penetrate the city’s walls and so ravaged the countryside. In the mean time, the Carthaginians were in negotiations with Rome. They agreed to give up Sicily and Sardinia in return for a Roman alliance against Barca, who had heard of the rebellion and was sailing home with 400 ships.
The Roman navy, in conjunction with the rebel Carthaginians, numbered 800 ships. They met the Barcid fleet off the North African coast. The result was a crushing Roman victory. The Barcids lost nearly one hundred ships and the rest were put to flight. Hastabul Barca himself was killed and the rest of his forces either surrendered or fled. Those who surrendered were spared, yet were banished from Carthage for twenty years. It was the end of the Carthaginian empire.
The three successor states to Carthage were: the Federated Colonies. In 18 AD some 26 colonies met in New Carthage and signed a constitution which would determine how the new state would be governed. Each colony would have open elections to elect three representatives to the Senate, which would then elect a Consul and a Chief Magistrate who was subordinate to the Consul. This state was aligned with Rome, with whom they signed a treaty with in 19 AD and also a treaty with Albion in 23 AD.
There was also the Second Republic of Carthage. This rump state included the North African coastline yet lost the Numidian interior. The kingdom of Numidia would be independent and out of the Republic’s reach. In the meanwhile, the Republic focused on rebuilding. Carthage was rebuilt after the riots and siege. A constitution similar to that of the Spanish colonies was signed in 25 AD after Talita resigned his command. The Republic was fiercely independent, yet also somewhat isolationist. It traded with all yet signed no formal alliances, and would not do so for decades to come.
Then there was the Kingdom of Ghana. After the collapse of the Carthaginian empire, the empire of Mali collapsed under its own weight. Foreign incursions further weakened the already fragile state, which was little more than a protectorate of Carthage. In 27 AD, after years of civil war, the kingdom of Ghana was created. With its capital on the Niger river it was a huge kingdom controlling vast swathes of Africa from the Sahara to the coast. In 35 AD the city of Lundaka was founded in the Niger delta. A series of new roads were built that connected the kingdom and the new capital, whose ships sailed north and south. The kingdom, whose population had been growing steadily throughout the 1st century BC, now began colonisation. Learning from the Greeks, they established colonies at river mouths, strategic spots, natural harbours or areas with valuable resources. Some 20 colonies were founded in the first half of the century and a further 40 in the second half. These colonies made treaties with the native kings, and bought slaves off of them for steel and gold. These slaves were taken to Ghana where they were marched north in huge caravans to Numidia, who then sold them on to Carthage. Such a route was dangerous and winding, with the Sahara and the Atlas mountains between Ghana and Carthage. Experiments were therefore made in buildings ships large enough to sail north through the Pillars of Herakles and to Spain directly. Such dreams, however, were far from fruition.
Hellenic civilisation had thus reached new pinnacles of refinement and artistic and philosophical discourse. In Rome, the Fidelians taught that it was each individual’s duty to devote himself to his polis, for without the polis he would be less than human, spurned by society. This was a continuation of Aristotle’s statement that man was a political animal, and without society man was just another beast. The Fidelians were particularly popular in the Roman Empire, with their emphasis on morality, honour and national service. elsewhere, they were derided as jingoistic buffoons who mistook simple love of their homeland for high philosophy.
Religion was still almost universally polytheistic. Each town and city had its own God or Gods who were particularly associated with it. There were several larger Cults, however, that extended across borders. The Cult of Prometheus was particularly popular, especially in Byzantium. The old myth was seen in a different light, as the natural inquisitiveness and altruism of Man being spurned by the powers that be. Prometheus was revered especially in the north. The Byzantine playwright Mascelon wrote the immensely popular Prometheus Unchained in which Prometheus is released by Herakles and becomes a leader of men, imparting on them wisdom and greatness before leading a rebellion against Heaven.
This followed a trend of anti-Olympianism across the Greek world. Egyptian deities became more popular; Isis and Horus became popular across the East. Carthaginian religion remained untouched and strange to outsiders. Their practice of sacrificing their first-born child was seen as strange, if not barbaric (the general consensus was that children were not imparted with a soul until the age of seven). This practice was limited, however, to times of distress, and almost every family could afford to have a replacement made, usually a pig or an ox.
The two anomalies were Judaism and Druidism. Judaism embraced a dour and faceless father God, while Druidism had evolved a Trinity that were expressed on Earth through Holy Sites as well as Holy People.
But first Judaism. This religion was almost universally confined to the Kingdom of Israel and was based around the Temple of Solomon, an ancient structure believed to date back to the 8th century BC. Its monotheism was seen as a strange anthropological anomaly by most Greeks, yet it fit mostly with the idea of regional deities. Israel was the promised land, and God was felt to dwell there. This was similar to the idea of patron Gods for different towns and poli.
Druidism, however, was very different. The Greeks believed that the Gods were the same race as Men, and that they could incarnate on Earth at any time they pleased, which was often to impregnate some hapless virgin. However, the Druids held that the Gods were on a different plane of existence, and that there were certain overlap points. These were usually Holy Mountains or pools. They believed that there had been at least one human overlap, the Prophet Iscatos, who was believed to have had a special connection to the Gods. The previous idea that the Gods were nature- that the mountain was a god, had been outdated for hundreds of years. This had changed into the Gods representing these places. Now, however, the general philosophic trend in Albion was that the Gods were formless, and that on their own plain of existence they were all one. They surely took this idea from Semitic Carthaginian influences yet over the years Druidism would gravitate more and more towards monotheism- the belief in one god, however that God was not necessarily expressed in the same way and did not necessarily have one will or intention (think OTL Hinduism).
Greek culture had spread to Arabia and the Sabean kingdoms of the south. These had grown up at the same time as the Kushite Kingdom, and were thoroughly hellenised. These had sent ships to India which too was beginning to feel the pinch of hellenisation. Vedism, Hinduism and Buddhism were all brought back to the Mediterranean where they were thoroughly discussed and their merits and short-falling measured up. Several of the sophists- the lovers of knowledge, embraced Buddhism and founded a new Museum outside Alexandria. Here they devoted themselves to intellectual pursuits as well as meditating on their own wisdom, hoping to attain enlightenment.