The Eternal Flame Dies Out: Rome Loses The Siege of Veii
- Thread starter SlyDessertFox
- Start date
I plan to bring everything back around towards Itlay and the Western Mediterranean in a bit. Let's just say in a couple decades some distinguished royal who made a legend of himself heading east is going to find himself on a western annabasis. When I get to that point, I'll cover the previous decades of Italian/Western Mediterranean history from where we left off in the region.
Thanks for the patience. A timeline for when updates should come around should be something like this:
For now, since it's getting around the time when I should start researching my senior research paper, I might have a few sporadic updates until mid December. Then a 16 day winter break comes, and I should be back to regular updates then and continue on with hopefully regular updates once school starts up again.
Chapter IV: Look East For Your Freedom
Part V: The Hellenic Revolt
Part V: The Hellenic Revolt
The Hellenic revolt that would engulf Hellas in 419 [357 BCE] had its roots dating back to the creation of the League of Delphi following the Third Sacred War. It was in that treaty that Thebai was humiliated, and Sparta walked out on the negotiations, leaving themselves out of the league. Even Athenai had felt a snubbed in the treaty, and wondered if a time would come when they could regain their former pre-eminence lost such a short time ago.
The revolt was provoked by the Spartan King Kleomenes' campaign into Achaean League territory, buoyed by funds that had arrived from Persia prior to the empire's collapse in the west. Brief early Spartan successes encouraged the Thebans to expel Thessalian influence and enter open rebellion. A restless Byzantion soon followed. The rest of the Hellenic world watched to see how the opening stages of the revolt would pan out before declaring their allegiances.
Nowhere was this indecisiveness more prominent than in Athenai. The Athenians were torn between the pro-war faction of Demosthenes and the moder sensible moderates led by Phokion. While Demosthenes, sticking to his firebrand persona, used powerfully and fiery rhetoric to stir up the Athenians in a war frenzy, Phokion used frank and simple logic in pointing to the dangers of jumping into a war too hastily.
Athenian public opinion, fickle as always, swung like a pendulum. At first, they sided with Demosthenes, sending himself and Aeschines to Thebai to announce their support for the Thebans. In Demosthenes’ absence however, the Athenians began to wonder if their decision had been the correct one, and Phokion was all too eager to exploit this self doubt. The Athenians held firm to their position, however, until word reached them of a previously unthinkable turn of events.
For some time, simply the name of Sparta had inspired fear in many of the Hellenes. Even the Persians had come to at least respect their military prowess and Persia’s enemies, notably Aigyptos, were always keen on obtaining Spartan mercenaries. At no period was their military might more a reality than during their brief hegemony over Hellas following a victory in the titanic struggle that was the Peloponnesian War. That hegemony was short-lived however, when the Thebans shattered the Spartan forces and the fiction of their invincibility at the Battle of Nemea in 403 [373 BCE]. From that point on, Sparta entered a period of rapid decline practically into irrelevance until they were considered unimportant enough to be left completely alone by Jason after they refused to join his Delphic League.
Still, nobody in Hellas could foresee what was about to befall the city. The Spartan King Kleomenes had launched his campaign in the northern Peloponnese in conjunction with the Theban revolt, intending to use the coming distraction as a chance to wrestle hegemony over the Peloponnese from the Achaeans. The spring and summer of 419 was spent first in a failed attempt at taking Messene, and then another failed attempt at Megalopolis. An inconclusive battle was fought outside of Megalopolis in September, ending Sparta’s efforts for the year as Kleomenes tried to find mercenaries to replenish losses Sparta simply could not afford to take anymore.
Ancient Megalopolis
The following year would see the earth-shattering tragedy fall upon Sparta. In hindsight, it was a reckoning long in coming, but it cannot be stressed enough the shock-waves this would send across the Hellenic world. Jason’s regent in Makedonia, a trusted noble by the name of Philippos[1], had simply had enough with Sparta’s antics. He sent two of his sons, Antigonos and Demetrios with a picked contingent to sail over into the Peloponnese and assist the Achaeans in their war against Kleomenes. Perhaps if the Thessalian revolt that would break out later that year had broken out before the orders had been given, Philippos would have not sent the forces over, but the fate of peoples in the ancient world was not decided by “what ifs”, but by what happened. As it happened, Antigonos and Demetrios had a particularly brutal fate in store for Sparta.
Unaware of the Makedonian expeditionary force that would be coming his way the upcoming campaigning season, Kleomenes led his troops on a daring winter campaign to try and take Korinthos. The bold move was spurred on by intelligence that factions within the city wished to turn the city over to Sparta provided he give assistance. Always one to take the initiative rather than be reactive, Kleomenes jumped at the opportunity and led a small contingent of 500 picked troops to march to aid the coup.
As it happened, the plot was uncovered and the ringleaders rounded up. Rather than execute them however, the Korinthians had other plans in mind. They provided them with a choice: continue acting as if the plot was still a go, and lead the Spartans into the city, or face execution. Most accepted the opportunity. They would travel to and fro from the Spartan marching camp, encouraging them with news of the plot’s progress and readiness to be sprung into action when they arrived. Clueless as to the actual situation within the city, Kleomenes and his men were unaware of what actually awaited them inside the city gates.
It was the night of January 16th when Kleomenes arrived at the gates of Korinthos. The Spartans were informed the main south gate would be opened for them to flood in and seize the city before its inhabitants knew what was happening. Instead, the Korinthians were well aware and well prepared for the Spartan arrival. Some men packed inside the towers, others on top of the rooftops and inside the buildings nearest to the gate. Even more hid in narrow alleyways and narrow streets. A safe distance away from the city was a picked contingent ready to descend on the Spartan forces from behind if the plan went south early on. The Spartans and their king were being led right into a trap.
As the gates opened, it must have seemed like the plan was working smoothly. The Spartans were greeted by a silent and seemingly empty city as they filed in. As the last Spartans entered the city, that fiction soon changed dramatically. As the historian Demetrios would describe it (one of the few fragments of his massive history that still survives), it started with torches flying from the walls onto the rear of the Spartan column, followed by them being swarmed from all sides by Korinthians. A brick thrown from one of the rooftops landed on the head of Kleomenes, knocking him out and leaving him to be trampled by his own men. Never ones to panic the Spartans kept their calm and steadily fought their way out, dragging the body of their king along with them. 300 would eventually make it out and hightail it towards Sparta, but the losses, most importantly of one of their two kings, would prove irreplaceable.
Spartans Defending Sparta
Fresh off their victory, the Korinthians joined the Achaeans and Makedonian expeditionary force in Achaea for a follow up campaign to take the fight home to Sparta. By May Antigonos and Demetrios were on the march. The Spartan King Archidamos III prepared an earnest defense of the city. He was unprepared however for the lightning speed of the march, and the hastily built walls being constructed around the city (for the first time in its history) were uncompleted. An opening in the wall was exploited, and Antigonos and Demetrios’ forces poured in. Demetrios lost an eye in the assault, giving him the eponym “Monophtalmos” (the one eyed)[2]. Accounts differ on the reasoning for what happened next, but the author believes the theory that the loss of his eye enraged Demetrios and led him to order the complete sack and razing of the city that would occur (other accounts say that this was the plan all along, with pro-Antigonid historians looking instead to deflect the blame from Antigonos instead onto a heat of the moment decision by his brother. The author does not find the evidence for this account convincing). Whatever it was that led to the destruction of Sparta that would occur on that day, May 20th, Sparta was completely razed to the ground, its citizens massacred or taken prisoner. The shockwaves this would send across the Hellenic world were massive-not even what had once been considered the mightiest military power in Hellas could withstand annihilation. In its place, a new city would be founded, its name forever reminding people of what occurred on that day. It would be called Spartaniki; “Victory In Sparta”.
[1] Not Phillip II, but the father of OTL’s Antigonos The One-Eyed
[2] Couldn’t help myself with that bit of parallelism.
Donald Reaver
Donor
Worth the wait, I enjoyed that update. I never cared for Sparta much, but that was a rough end.
Thanks. As someone not a fan of Sparta myself, I'm actually surprised by the lack of love for Sparta on this site. Usually I encounter a lot of heavily devoted pro-Spartans a lot on other forums. I was hoping to cause more controversy.
Indeed.
I figuredat least one city was going to end up razed at some point a la Thebes, and it was a toss up between Thebes and Sparta. It's also kind of convenient since now I have a clean slate to build up a whole new city-state in Spartaniki to affect Peloponnesian politics.
Thanks.
Chapter IV: Look East For Your Freedom
Part VI: The Collapse of The Revolt
Before the news of the destruction of Sparta could spread through the rest of Hellas, a revolt in Thessalia against Jason’s regent there, Andronikos, caused the latter to flee to Philippos’ court in Pella. Unsurprisingly, the spontaneous uprising was a result of Theban meddling with the still present aristocratic agitation at being sidelined by Jason. Despite this however, the rebels would discover much to their chagrin that the Thebans had lost all stomach for the fight.
Seeing the proverbial writing on the wall, public opinion in Thebai turned sharply against continuing the war. After witnessing the destruction of Sparta, the Thebans began to worry about the fate that would befall them should they lose. With the potential of two armies converging on them up from the Peloponnese and down Makedonia and little hope now of Athenian intervention, that outcome suddenly seemed very real. So when the Thessalian revolt broke out, rather than support it, Thebai used the opening of another front as a bargaining chip.
Overstretched and unable to receive reinforcements from Jason (who required all his forces be available in the east), Philippos was eager to eliminate one of these threats. A more or less status quo peace was hastily patched together with the result of Byzantion and the Thessalians feeling left out to dry by those who led them into revolt in the first place. Byzantion, blockaded by land and sea, soon capitulated afterwards, though on much harsher terms; they were required to host a permanent Makedonian garrison and a hefty tribute was levied. The only group still holding out was in Thessalia, where the nobles knew they could expect little mercy after getting off relatively easily twice before. Andronikos burst into the country at the head of a large force, setting up a lengthy siege of Larissa, the heart of the rebellion, that would last into the following year,. The siege would see the city in ruins, a shell of its former self and no longer a bulwark of anti-Jasonian sentiment.
As all this played out, in Athenai, uncertainty of a different sort reigned. Those at the head of the anti-Jasonian faction were put on mass trial, the fickle nature of Athenian politics rearing its ugly head once more when news of Sparta’s destruction arrived in the city. Demosthenes took center stage as the scapegoat, receiving blame for nearly setting Athenai on a path that could have led them down the same road as Sparta. Despite a spirited defense, it was likely only the last minute intervention of Phokion, who was loathe to see a divided Athenai tear itself apart at a moment when he felt it desperately needed unity, that saved him and his followers from exile.
As the year drew to a close, an uneasy peace was set across Hellas, as attention once more turned eastwards towards the titanic struggle for empire unfolding in Asia.
Author’s note: I figured I might give an explanation for why the Hellenic revolt is a bit anti-climactic. For starters, there is no Persian money and forces pouring into the region as there was during Alexander’s campaign in Asia (kind of hard to do given Persia is on the ropes right now). I used the attempts at revolt prior to that as a benchmark: The results of those were a quick and decisive defeat of Greek forces at Chaeronea, and after Philipp’s death, of the complete destruction of Thebes as the city was caught completely off guard by Alexander’s rapid march to the walls of the city. I feel this is about as generous as I can be with how long the revolt could feasibly survive on its own without going outside the realm of plausibility. Cheers.
Part VI: The Collapse of The Revolt
Before the news of the destruction of Sparta could spread through the rest of Hellas, a revolt in Thessalia against Jason’s regent there, Andronikos, caused the latter to flee to Philippos’ court in Pella. Unsurprisingly, the spontaneous uprising was a result of Theban meddling with the still present aristocratic agitation at being sidelined by Jason. Despite this however, the rebels would discover much to their chagrin that the Thebans had lost all stomach for the fight.
Seeing the proverbial writing on the wall, public opinion in Thebai turned sharply against continuing the war. After witnessing the destruction of Sparta, the Thebans began to worry about the fate that would befall them should they lose. With the potential of two armies converging on them up from the Peloponnese and down Makedonia and little hope now of Athenian intervention, that outcome suddenly seemed very real. So when the Thessalian revolt broke out, rather than support it, Thebai used the opening of another front as a bargaining chip.
Overstretched and unable to receive reinforcements from Jason (who required all his forces be available in the east), Philippos was eager to eliminate one of these threats. A more or less status quo peace was hastily patched together with the result of Byzantion and the Thessalians feeling left out to dry by those who led them into revolt in the first place. Byzantion, blockaded by land and sea, soon capitulated afterwards, though on much harsher terms; they were required to host a permanent Makedonian garrison and a hefty tribute was levied. The only group still holding out was in Thessalia, where the nobles knew they could expect little mercy after getting off relatively easily twice before. Andronikos burst into the country at the head of a large force, setting up a lengthy siege of Larissa, the heart of the rebellion, that would last into the following year,. The siege would see the city in ruins, a shell of its former self and no longer a bulwark of anti-Jasonian sentiment.
As all this played out, in Athenai, uncertainty of a different sort reigned. Those at the head of the anti-Jasonian faction were put on mass trial, the fickle nature of Athenian politics rearing its ugly head once more when news of Sparta’s destruction arrived in the city. Demosthenes took center stage as the scapegoat, receiving blame for nearly setting Athenai on a path that could have led them down the same road as Sparta. Despite a spirited defense, it was likely only the last minute intervention of Phokion, who was loathe to see a divided Athenai tear itself apart at a moment when he felt it desperately needed unity, that saved him and his followers from exile.
As the year drew to a close, an uneasy peace was set across Hellas, as attention once more turned eastwards towards the titanic struggle for empire unfolding in Asia.
Author’s note: I figured I might give an explanation for why the Hellenic revolt is a bit anti-climactic. For starters, there is no Persian money and forces pouring into the region as there was during Alexander’s campaign in Asia (kind of hard to do given Persia is on the ropes right now). I used the attempts at revolt prior to that as a benchmark: The results of those were a quick and decisive defeat of Greek forces at Chaeronea, and after Philipp’s death, of the complete destruction of Thebes as the city was caught completely off guard by Alexander’s rapid march to the walls of the city. I feel this is about as generous as I can be with how long the revolt could feasibly survive on its own without going outside the realm of plausibility. Cheers.
Chapter IV: Look East For Your Freedom
Part VII: Annual Video Game Festival In Carthage
“Okay, so now we are going to show you one of the new historical battles available in Hegemonia: Hellas II”[1]. The battle you see now is the final stage of the Battle of the Euphrates River, where Jason decisively defeated a Persian army trying to prevent his crossing. As you can see, the AI is much improved from previous Hegemonia games. The Persian AI is reacting to the player’s crossing of the river by sending forces to contest the crossing. Notice though that they are not sending their whole force like they would in previous games; they are only sending over what they think is needed and are leaving the bulk of their force behind to guard the main crossing. You gotta give props to the AI team, as it seems they made the Persian AI smarter than the actual Persian army!
“Alright, so now the player appears to be moving forces to wade across the main crossing. You can see the AI is winning the battle at the other crossing, so he has to move quickly if he wants to save his trapped army. The battles are much tougher in this game; the AI will make you pay a price for every victory.
“Now we have a close-up of the great conqueror, Jason himself, leading his cavalry in the charge across the river, with the infantry lagging behind, as he did historically. You can see the graphics are beautifully detailed, and if you listen closely, you can even hear Jason yelling encouragements to his men as they brace for impact. We want to make the player feel like each soldier is an individual rather than just some expendable unit. You’ll often hear individual soldiers either yelling encouragement or taunting the other side, or even yelling out for help as they get overpowered, in our attempt to really up the immersion factor in this game.
“By the looks of things, it appears the AI has made a terrible miscalculation, leaving its cavalry along the banks of the river rather than the infantry, so Jason has gotten the upper hand. Now his infantry is finally arriving at the other side, so the battle looks to be swinging in his favor. At the other crossing though, his army is in serious danger. He has to hurry, or the Persian forces will finish them off and wheel back to help their beleaguered forces.
“The new dynamics of battles are on full display here. Although you get penalties for crossing the river of course, no more can a cavalry unit stationed at a standstill successfully repel a charge across a river like they could in previous titles. The best way to stop river crossing’s is obviously to station infantry at the end of the crossing and stop them as soon as they arrive on the other end. We’re truly committed this time around to giving you guys as realistic an experience as possible, while still factoring in playability.
“Back to the battle, the Persian forces at the main crossing appear to be in full retreat. The player has made the smart choice and is attempting to wheel around and save his forces at the other crossing. You can see they are slow to respond however, and that is a new feature we implemented in Hegemonia: Hellas. When in pursuit, units will take a moment to respond to orders, in our attempt to represent the difficulty of reorganizing and rallying troops caught up in the moment when pursuing down fleeing enemies. No more are units going to be able to stop on a dime and turn in a completely different direction on command. Now it will take a few seconds.
“Still, it seems the player has this battle wrapped up. Of course, historically by this point the rest of the Persian forces would be in full retreat seeing their doom, but here I guess they still think they’re chances taking on the entire Hellenic army aren’t that bad. Now the chain rout is starting however and…well, that’s the victory screen. Today history has repeated itself.
Okay, so that’s the last thing we have to show you for Hegemonia: Hellas. It was a pleasure showcasing our game here as always. We will see you on our big release day next month”.
[1] Kind of like Total War OTL; the name though was borrowed from the game “Hegemony: Wars of Ancient Greece”
Part VII: Annual Video Game Festival In Carthage
“Okay, so now we are going to show you one of the new historical battles available in Hegemonia: Hellas II”[1]. The battle you see now is the final stage of the Battle of the Euphrates River, where Jason decisively defeated a Persian army trying to prevent his crossing. As you can see, the AI is much improved from previous Hegemonia games. The Persian AI is reacting to the player’s crossing of the river by sending forces to contest the crossing. Notice though that they are not sending their whole force like they would in previous games; they are only sending over what they think is needed and are leaving the bulk of their force behind to guard the main crossing. You gotta give props to the AI team, as it seems they made the Persian AI smarter than the actual Persian army!
“Alright, so now the player appears to be moving forces to wade across the main crossing. You can see the AI is winning the battle at the other crossing, so he has to move quickly if he wants to save his trapped army. The battles are much tougher in this game; the AI will make you pay a price for every victory.
“Now we have a close-up of the great conqueror, Jason himself, leading his cavalry in the charge across the river, with the infantry lagging behind, as he did historically. You can see the graphics are beautifully detailed, and if you listen closely, you can even hear Jason yelling encouragements to his men as they brace for impact. We want to make the player feel like each soldier is an individual rather than just some expendable unit. You’ll often hear individual soldiers either yelling encouragement or taunting the other side, or even yelling out for help as they get overpowered, in our attempt to really up the immersion factor in this game.
“By the looks of things, it appears the AI has made a terrible miscalculation, leaving its cavalry along the banks of the river rather than the infantry, so Jason has gotten the upper hand. Now his infantry is finally arriving at the other side, so the battle looks to be swinging in his favor. At the other crossing though, his army is in serious danger. He has to hurry, or the Persian forces will finish them off and wheel back to help their beleaguered forces.
“The new dynamics of battles are on full display here. Although you get penalties for crossing the river of course, no more can a cavalry unit stationed at a standstill successfully repel a charge across a river like they could in previous titles. The best way to stop river crossing’s is obviously to station infantry at the end of the crossing and stop them as soon as they arrive on the other end. We’re truly committed this time around to giving you guys as realistic an experience as possible, while still factoring in playability.
“Back to the battle, the Persian forces at the main crossing appear to be in full retreat. The player has made the smart choice and is attempting to wheel around and save his forces at the other crossing. You can see they are slow to respond however, and that is a new feature we implemented in Hegemonia: Hellas. When in pursuit, units will take a moment to respond to orders, in our attempt to represent the difficulty of reorganizing and rallying troops caught up in the moment when pursuing down fleeing enemies. No more are units going to be able to stop on a dime and turn in a completely different direction on command. Now it will take a few seconds.
“Still, it seems the player has this battle wrapped up. Of course, historically by this point the rest of the Persian forces would be in full retreat seeing their doom, but here I guess they still think they’re chances taking on the entire Hellenic army aren’t that bad. Now the chain rout is starting however and…well, that’s the victory screen. Today history has repeated itself.
Okay, so that’s the last thing we have to show you for Hegemonia: Hellas. It was a pleasure showcasing our game here as always. We will see you on our big release day next month”.
[1] Kind of like Total War OTL; the name though was borrowed from the game “Hegemony: Wars of Ancient Greece”
That's mostly because I have no idea how the world's gonna end up either. I didn't put a date either for the same reasons. Though you also learned what update is coming next.
Chapter IV: Look East For Your Freedom
Part VIII: Crossing The Euphrates
Jason encountered minimal resistance in his invasion of Kilikia. The satrap Mazaeos, in an attempt to avoid being caught in a pincer, had already fled with most of his forces across the Euphrates to Babylon. There he linked up with the Babylonian satrap Tiridates and prepared to contest any crossing of the river. News of the revolt back at home did little to slow Jason down-he had trust in his men there to crush it. Instead he continued on faster than ever, securing Syria and racing towards the Euphrates.
He arrived there in mid August, to find Mazaeos and Tiridates waiting for his men on the other bank. Jason had hopes that Nikias would wrap up his campaign in Kappadokia quickly and sweep down alongside the Tigris, but with no word from his strategos, Jason instead opted to try to force his crossing. Crossing across such a large river right into the waiting arms of the Persians however was rightfully perceived as a suicide move. Jason's poor scouting had put him in a tight spot. Had he known ahead of time the Persians were to make their stand here, he could have done any number of feints to arrive at an unguarded crossing. Now however he was shadowed wherever he marched along the river bank. Any fjord was likely to be heavily guarded by the time Jason attempted a crossing.
Realizing this, Jason resigned himself to a night-time crossing. This afforded him the best chance of sneaking across unmolested, at least long enough to establish some kind of beachhead on the opposite bank. After moving forces around for a few nights to see what the Persian response would be, he discovered that itself would not be enough. Persian patrols followed his every move, and were prepared to summon their commanders if he attempted a crossing. To counter this, Jason allowed his forces to make lots of noise for several nights, keeping the Persians on edge every night. On the 8th night (according to Alketas(10th if Seleukos is to be believed) Jason split his army in half, leaving Kleitos Redbeard behind while he found another crossing. Kleitos had ordered to maintain enough fires to make it look like the whole army was present, and to only attack across the Euphrates if the Persians responded with all or most of their force to Jason's crossing.
Jason meanwhile quietly led his force to another fjord and began fording the river on rafts. The plan had nearly worked to perfection, with most of the force across before the Persians realized what was happening. Now believing the noise and fires across the river to be a ruse, Mazaeos and Tiridates gambled that the forces crossing the river represented most of Jason's army. Mazaeos remained behind with a small holding force while Tiridates led the vast majority of his men to counter the crossing. The chariots arrived on the scene first, but were bogged down in the poor terrain along the banks, and only served in slowing down the Persian charge, which inevitably had to go through the chariots. Jason wasted no time in counter charging with his cavalry, and a fierce battle raged along the banks of the Euphrates.
Meanwhile, Kleitos Redbeard, witnessing the majority of the Persian force depart to take on Jason, began a crossing of his own. Mazaeos was shocked to see the sheer number of forces making the crossing, and knew he could not prevent them from successfully making it across. After putting up brief resistance, he hastily sent a messenger to Tiridates to warn him of what awaited him before fleeing with his forces to Babylon. Rather than pursue his fleeing enemy, Kleitos swung his forces around and made a dash towards the brawl at the other crossing.
Tiridates, upon hearing the news, realized he needed to shatter the forces in front of him quickly if he had any hope of victory. He saw Jason right in the thick of things, and guessing he could throw his army into disarray by killing him, charged straight for the Hegemon of Hellas. Jason too sought him out, with much the same calculations in mind, and the two men went head to head. Jason had his helmet cracked in half by a powerful sword-thrust, but the recoil knocked the sword out of Tiridates hand. Datames, who was near Jason in the scuffle, took the initiative and skillfully dispatched Tiridates with his spear. Jason thanked him and began shouting that the satrap was dead to throw confusion into the ranks of the Persians and encourage his own men to press on. The effect was devastating, as the Persian forces soon shattered, attempting to escape before they could be pincered in. A contingent of Hellenic mercenaries fought a valiant rearguard retreat, falling back to a small hill. From there they petitioned Jason to allow them to live and join his army. Recognizing the power of clemency (and realizing they could make up for his losses suffered), Jason accepted their defection, saying famously, "I cannot, in good conscious needlessly slaughter my Hellenic brothers". How true this statement actually was is up for debate, since he reacted with approval when hearing of Sparta's destruction and was not beyond slaughter when it suited him. The message was well received though, and the soldiers joined his retinue.
Jason's victory was not complete however, as Mazaeos was still at large after regrouping in Babylon. He pressed onto the city and upon arriving at the gates initially declined to siege the city. Jason was well aware that the Babylonians had no stomach for a siege and were eager to finally have a chance to overthrow the Persian yoke. He wagered that Mazaeos recognized this fact as well, and so offered him a deal. In order to spare the beautiful city any damage, he pleaded that Mazaeos accept an offer to surrender and join him on his staff in an advisory capacity. He would have to give up the satrapy, but the alternative was no mercy and certain death, Jason warned him. Mazaeos declined to pass up such an opportunity to escape his current dire straits, and readily accepted. [1]
Jason was overawed as he entered the grand city of Babylon. Alketas captured the mood well, explaining his impression of the city;
"It was perhaps the most beautiful city I have ever lay eyes on. Here was a civilization far older and more illustrious than ours. It dated back far beyond the time of Hector and Acchiles, before ever Herakles went through his labors, back to a time when gods, not men, ruled the earth. All that was on full display in Babylon. They took great pride in their civilization and had no qualms about pointing it out to foreigners through their architecture"
Coming from a man who was normally contemptuous of everything not Hellenic, that was high praise indeed. Chaldean culture and history was the only one Alketas held above his own, and it is understandable after the wonders he saw in Babylon, why that was.
Jason passed through the Ishtar Gate and made his way down the Processional Way. Lining the path were walls covered with lions painted on to bricks, depicting gods and godesses related to Ishtar. The biographer Seleukos provides the most detailed description of the scene;
"A large number of the Babylonians had taken up a position on the walls, eager to have a view of their new king, but most went out to meet him, including the man in charge of the citadel and royal treasury, Berossos. Berossos understood the importance of flattering his new king, and had carpeted the whole road with flowers and garlands and set up at intervals on both sides silver altars heaped not just with frankincense but with all manner of perfumes. Following Jason were his gifts - herds of cattle and horses, and lions, too, and leopards, carried along in cages.
Next came the Magians chanting a song in their native fashion, and behind them were the Chaldaeans then the Babylonians, represented not only by priests but also by musicians equipped with their national instrument. (The role of the latter was to sing the praises of the Persian kings, that of the Chaldaeans to reveal astronomical movements and regular seasonal changes.) At the rear came the Babylonian cavalry, their equipment and that of the horses suggesting extravagance rather than majesty..."[2]
Jason proceeded to take a trip through the city in a boat along the Euphrates, awe inspired at its sheer scale and beauty. He would have little time to enjoy the luxuries of the city however. An unexpected guest made his way on horseback into the city two days following. He was a messenger from Nikias, and he had dire news. Autophradates had inflicted a crushing defeat on him in the Pontic hills, himself only barely escaping. He feared Autophradates could invade Anatolia and cut off Jason's supply lines, and urgently requested forces to regain control of the situation.
Jason was now caught between a rock and a hard place. He had no idea how far away Artaxerxes was, and so it was highly risky detaching any number of troops to shore up the situation in his rear. Jason decided on leading a picked force of 10,500 men himself into Pontos, sending messengers ahead instructing Nikias to raise troops among the locals. Accompanying him was Datames, who knew the region perhaps better than any commander on either side, and had proven himself to be a reliable ally for Jason.
Back in Babylon, Kleitos Redbeard was tasked with preparing for Artaxerxes should he arrive while Jason was gone. If Artaxerxes were to appear, Kleitos was expected to shut himself in Babylon and dare Artaxerxes to siege the city. In this way, Jason hoped he could hold out indefinitely, or at least long enough for his return.
[1] You might wonder why Jason didn't just besiege Babylon, considering part of the city was on his side of the Euphrates. My reasoning is Babylon is heavily fortified for starters. To top it off, he'd only be able to siege one part of the city, and pretty ineffectively at that since he can't get around on the other side to cut off supplies. So he needed to cross the Euphrates first.
[2] This description is taken almost word for word, with a few changes made to fit the circumstances, from Quintus Curtius Rufus' description of Alexander entering Babylon.
Part VIII: Crossing The Euphrates
Jason encountered minimal resistance in his invasion of Kilikia. The satrap Mazaeos, in an attempt to avoid being caught in a pincer, had already fled with most of his forces across the Euphrates to Babylon. There he linked up with the Babylonian satrap Tiridates and prepared to contest any crossing of the river. News of the revolt back at home did little to slow Jason down-he had trust in his men there to crush it. Instead he continued on faster than ever, securing Syria and racing towards the Euphrates.
He arrived there in mid August, to find Mazaeos and Tiridates waiting for his men on the other bank. Jason had hopes that Nikias would wrap up his campaign in Kappadokia quickly and sweep down alongside the Tigris, but with no word from his strategos, Jason instead opted to try to force his crossing. Crossing across such a large river right into the waiting arms of the Persians however was rightfully perceived as a suicide move. Jason's poor scouting had put him in a tight spot. Had he known ahead of time the Persians were to make their stand here, he could have done any number of feints to arrive at an unguarded crossing. Now however he was shadowed wherever he marched along the river bank. Any fjord was likely to be heavily guarded by the time Jason attempted a crossing.
Realizing this, Jason resigned himself to a night-time crossing. This afforded him the best chance of sneaking across unmolested, at least long enough to establish some kind of beachhead on the opposite bank. After moving forces around for a few nights to see what the Persian response would be, he discovered that itself would not be enough. Persian patrols followed his every move, and were prepared to summon their commanders if he attempted a crossing. To counter this, Jason allowed his forces to make lots of noise for several nights, keeping the Persians on edge every night. On the 8th night (according to Alketas(10th if Seleukos is to be believed) Jason split his army in half, leaving Kleitos Redbeard behind while he found another crossing. Kleitos had ordered to maintain enough fires to make it look like the whole army was present, and to only attack across the Euphrates if the Persians responded with all or most of their force to Jason's crossing.
Jason meanwhile quietly led his force to another fjord and began fording the river on rafts. The plan had nearly worked to perfection, with most of the force across before the Persians realized what was happening. Now believing the noise and fires across the river to be a ruse, Mazaeos and Tiridates gambled that the forces crossing the river represented most of Jason's army. Mazaeos remained behind with a small holding force while Tiridates led the vast majority of his men to counter the crossing. The chariots arrived on the scene first, but were bogged down in the poor terrain along the banks, and only served in slowing down the Persian charge, which inevitably had to go through the chariots. Jason wasted no time in counter charging with his cavalry, and a fierce battle raged along the banks of the Euphrates.
Meanwhile, Kleitos Redbeard, witnessing the majority of the Persian force depart to take on Jason, began a crossing of his own. Mazaeos was shocked to see the sheer number of forces making the crossing, and knew he could not prevent them from successfully making it across. After putting up brief resistance, he hastily sent a messenger to Tiridates to warn him of what awaited him before fleeing with his forces to Babylon. Rather than pursue his fleeing enemy, Kleitos swung his forces around and made a dash towards the brawl at the other crossing.
Tiridates, upon hearing the news, realized he needed to shatter the forces in front of him quickly if he had any hope of victory. He saw Jason right in the thick of things, and guessing he could throw his army into disarray by killing him, charged straight for the Hegemon of Hellas. Jason too sought him out, with much the same calculations in mind, and the two men went head to head. Jason had his helmet cracked in half by a powerful sword-thrust, but the recoil knocked the sword out of Tiridates hand. Datames, who was near Jason in the scuffle, took the initiative and skillfully dispatched Tiridates with his spear. Jason thanked him and began shouting that the satrap was dead to throw confusion into the ranks of the Persians and encourage his own men to press on. The effect was devastating, as the Persian forces soon shattered, attempting to escape before they could be pincered in. A contingent of Hellenic mercenaries fought a valiant rearguard retreat, falling back to a small hill. From there they petitioned Jason to allow them to live and join his army. Recognizing the power of clemency (and realizing they could make up for his losses suffered), Jason accepted their defection, saying famously, "I cannot, in good conscious needlessly slaughter my Hellenic brothers". How true this statement actually was is up for debate, since he reacted with approval when hearing of Sparta's destruction and was not beyond slaughter when it suited him. The message was well received though, and the soldiers joined his retinue.
Jason's victory was not complete however, as Mazaeos was still at large after regrouping in Babylon. He pressed onto the city and upon arriving at the gates initially declined to siege the city. Jason was well aware that the Babylonians had no stomach for a siege and were eager to finally have a chance to overthrow the Persian yoke. He wagered that Mazaeos recognized this fact as well, and so offered him a deal. In order to spare the beautiful city any damage, he pleaded that Mazaeos accept an offer to surrender and join him on his staff in an advisory capacity. He would have to give up the satrapy, but the alternative was no mercy and certain death, Jason warned him. Mazaeos declined to pass up such an opportunity to escape his current dire straits, and readily accepted. [1]
Jason was overawed as he entered the grand city of Babylon. Alketas captured the mood well, explaining his impression of the city;
"It was perhaps the most beautiful city I have ever lay eyes on. Here was a civilization far older and more illustrious than ours. It dated back far beyond the time of Hector and Acchiles, before ever Herakles went through his labors, back to a time when gods, not men, ruled the earth. All that was on full display in Babylon. They took great pride in their civilization and had no qualms about pointing it out to foreigners through their architecture"
Coming from a man who was normally contemptuous of everything not Hellenic, that was high praise indeed. Chaldean culture and history was the only one Alketas held above his own, and it is understandable after the wonders he saw in Babylon, why that was.
Jason passed through the Ishtar Gate and made his way down the Processional Way. Lining the path were walls covered with lions painted on to bricks, depicting gods and godesses related to Ishtar. The biographer Seleukos provides the most detailed description of the scene;
"A large number of the Babylonians had taken up a position on the walls, eager to have a view of their new king, but most went out to meet him, including the man in charge of the citadel and royal treasury, Berossos. Berossos understood the importance of flattering his new king, and had carpeted the whole road with flowers and garlands and set up at intervals on both sides silver altars heaped not just with frankincense but with all manner of perfumes. Following Jason were his gifts - herds of cattle and horses, and lions, too, and leopards, carried along in cages.
Next came the Magians chanting a song in their native fashion, and behind them were the Chaldaeans then the Babylonians, represented not only by priests but also by musicians equipped with their national instrument. (The role of the latter was to sing the praises of the Persian kings, that of the Chaldaeans to reveal astronomical movements and regular seasonal changes.) At the rear came the Babylonian cavalry, their equipment and that of the horses suggesting extravagance rather than majesty..."[2]
Jason proceeded to take a trip through the city in a boat along the Euphrates, awe inspired at its sheer scale and beauty. He would have little time to enjoy the luxuries of the city however. An unexpected guest made his way on horseback into the city two days following. He was a messenger from Nikias, and he had dire news. Autophradates had inflicted a crushing defeat on him in the Pontic hills, himself only barely escaping. He feared Autophradates could invade Anatolia and cut off Jason's supply lines, and urgently requested forces to regain control of the situation.
Jason was now caught between a rock and a hard place. He had no idea how far away Artaxerxes was, and so it was highly risky detaching any number of troops to shore up the situation in his rear. Jason decided on leading a picked force of 10,500 men himself into Pontos, sending messengers ahead instructing Nikias to raise troops among the locals. Accompanying him was Datames, who knew the region perhaps better than any commander on either side, and had proven himself to be a reliable ally for Jason.
Back in Babylon, Kleitos Redbeard was tasked with preparing for Artaxerxes should he arrive while Jason was gone. If Artaxerxes were to appear, Kleitos was expected to shut himself in Babylon and dare Artaxerxes to siege the city. In this way, Jason hoped he could hold out indefinitely, or at least long enough for his return.
[1] You might wonder why Jason didn't just besiege Babylon, considering part of the city was on his side of the Euphrates. My reasoning is Babylon is heavily fortified for starters. To top it off, he'd only be able to siege one part of the city, and pretty ineffectively at that since he can't get around on the other side to cut off supplies. So he needed to cross the Euphrates first.
[2] This description is taken almost word for word, with a few changes made to fit the circumstances, from Quintus Curtius Rufus' description of Alexander entering Babylon.