The Greeks of Bactria: An Alternate History of Greco-Bactria
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Nice! I've never seen a Greco-Bactria wank before, but I'd love to see how they interact with Asian powers like the steppe nomads and the rising Han dynasty.
6. Bloodshed Born From Chaos
VI. Bloodshed Born From Chaos
"A dream to be finally rid of the tyrant-land fighting us, as the small pebble grew into a boulder." - Pantaleon, King of Bactria
With the civil war occurring between Panaetolus and Zariadres, all bordering nations quickly readied for invasion. The first were the Armenians. Pontic troops returned to their realm to defend raids from the newly independent Anatolian tribes, so Armenia was alone on their attack. Hannibal would join Artaxias in his conquests, assimilating some of the northern lands of Zariadres. The Ptolmaic Empire was eager to be rid of the Seleucid remnants. The young Pharaoh was still under the regency of his mother, who had much influence in Egypt because of this. Tlepolemus, because of his actions during the recent war with the Seleucids, essentially became Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian army. On the turn of the year 191 BC, the Egyptian army would invade the lands of Zariadres."A dream to be finally rid of the tyrant-land fighting us, as the small pebble grew into a boulder." - Pantaleon, King of Bactria
Drawn location of Seleucia
Zariadres however, was working to the bone so he wouldn't be snuffed out by outside powers. He was able to seize some estates of his rivals in Heliod (Seleucia), and he would use wealth from the estates to pay for the former mercenaries of Heliodorus. With this, he rallied the remaining army of Heliodorus, as well as quickly conscript any men to the army. It was said that "No man, beggar or noble, could escape the grasp of Zariadres's army ranks." and it showed. Other than rally the few tribes within his realm, he convinced some of the Arabs to join him, claiming that the Egyptians were planning on subjugating them. With his forces rejuvenated by the determination, all it had to lead towards war victory to make it all worth it.
Tlepolemus leading Egyptian troops
Tlepolemus would march towards Heliod, thinking simply that he could take the former Seleucid capital without much conflict. He would be surprised to see a fairly-sized force getting in his way at the ancient city of Palmyra. On the Egyptian side, roughly 9,000 ground troops and 3,000 cavalry. On a personally journal of Zariadres, we know that his forces consisted of around 4,000 mercenaries, 7,000 levied soldiers, and 2,000 tribesmen. The forces of Zariadres were held up at the city and Tlepolemus knew if he tried to avoid him, his flank was exposed during the whole journey. So, he had to fight. Although having the numerical superiority, the only real equipped troops were the mercenaries. However, because it was a walled city, Tlepolemus had to siege it, making the cavalry of his force useless on horse. Then, the siege began.
At all corners, Tlepolemus had his men ready siege ladders. Fighting was intense and soon, some progress was made by the Egyptians, but the forces under Zariadres were steadfast in not letting more ground, and soon, the forces of Tlepolemus were forced to pull back. The Siege of Palmyra would not end though, as Tlepolemus would soon smuggle in some of his troops during the night, attempting to open the gates, but were caught and executed. On the next day, Tlepolemus would attempt another siege by ladders, but again, the army of Zariadres would not budge an inch. Soon, Tlepolemus was ordered to pull back to Egypt.
General-Satrap Eucratides of Gandhara
With his left border secure for the moment, Zariadres rallied his troops from Palmyra and went to the lands of Panaetolus and hopefully be rid of his enemy. Panaetolus had also worked tirelessly to build an army. Other than the men his allies gave him, Panaetolus also went on assimilating tribes not allied to him in raids, forcefully conscripting the surviving men. With the fair amount of wealth from these raids, he hired some Bactrian mercenaries. However, with the Bactrian mercenaries, King Pantaleon caught wind of this conflict and called for his two general-satraps, Eucratides & Apollodotus, to essentially take Iran once and for all. It proved an issue however, as Eucratides made plans for making his own Greco-Iranian Kingdom, and he would be eventually arrested by the Bactrian king and executed. With Eucratides dead, Pantaleon claimed Euthydemus II was the new satrap of Gandhara, even though he was still under the age of 10, essentially making Pantaleon rule the Bactrian core and Gandhara. With the death of the general, Apollodotus had to plan the endeavor of invading Iran on his own, which proved slow. After the Siege of Palmyra however, Apollodotus was done and began the campaign.
Bactrian cataphracts
This kept Panaetolus against two armies, both wishing to do destruction towards Panaetolus's rule. He would face the Bactrian army mid-191 BC, being defeated horribly, and the army of Zariadres would soon be assimilating bordering Panaetolus-sided tribes under his rule. Seeing his changes of victory slim and his need to win futile, Panaetolus abandoned his ally tribes and left from the Mauryan Empire, but would be assassinated on the orders of Pantaleon. For the rest of 191 and some months of 190 BC, the Bactrians and Zariadres would take over the tribes of Iran, making Bactria ruling the majority of Iran through tributary tribes.
Zariadres, who crowned himself Zariadres I of the Zariadrid Kingdom, like his predecessor, renamed the city of Heliod, formerly Seleucia, to Zariad. However not was swell for the self-named king, as the Ptolmaic army had returned, with more numbers, and was ready to be rid of this new king. In addition, the Bactrian Empire was bloodthirsty and looked at the infant Zariadrid Kingdom like meat on the bone. Pantaleon would order King Zariadres to surrender Zariad, fully knowing he wouldn't agree, which was where he was right. Zariadres was confident in his numbers, but those numbers had shrunken considerably since the Siege of Palmyra. Tribesmen told they were fighting the Egyptians, largely left after the crumbling of the realm of Panaetolus. In addition, conscripted soldiers often deserted the army and would become bandits roaming the deserts surrounding the River Tigris and River Euphrates. So when his response was met by two armies on both sides of his realm, the city was livid. The commonfolk captured the King as he was escaping the city and would brutally execute him in public.
"Down with his eyes! Down with his arms! Down with all of him! He is no King of ours!" - Chant of the Commonfolk during the execution of Zariadres
Although their King was dead, there was no mercy for his people. The Ptolmaic Empire would make a bloody path towards Zariad and the Bactrians would enter Zariad, promising to just occupy it, only to sack the city in bloody pillaging. The Bactrians would not take the city however, making a deal with the Ptolmaic Empire that they would take it if Bactria was allowed to sack the city without retribution. So, new borders would be drawn and the remnents of the Seleucid Empire finally gone. At this point, the military expansion of Pantaleon ends and he settles with his gains. Bactra, the capital, flourishes thanks to the stewardship of Pantaleon. Euthydemus II would soon grow up, and go on observatory tasks for generals handling the nomadic raids north. Pantaleon would not attack the Mauryan Empire, however he would infringe trade taxes with them to such an extent, it decimated their economy.
Coinage of young King Euthydemus II
Outside of Bactria, change of the borders would happen as, after the death of Mithridates III at 190 BC, Pharnaces, his first-born son, was to be the next King of Pontus. However, his brother, Mithridates IV, would stake his claim for the throne, starting a civil war. This war would soon be revealed to Hannibal that Artaxias was to blamed for this, telling Mithridates IV that he would support the second-born's claim. Disgusted, it was said that Hannibal left the court of Artaxias and went east, east for Bactria, while Artaxias made Pontus his vassal state. Hannibal would be quickly accepted by the Bactrian king, and would be used to better the Bactrian army. He mentored Euthydemus II for some time and wound teach Bactrian commanders and train their troops. He would die on 181 BC after contracting fever. The Bactrian king would follow him, dying on 180 BC. With Pantaleon gone, honoring his word and following a path of celibacy, Euthydemus II wound become King of Bactria! Then he died months later on the same year.
***
1. Bactrian Empire (+Parni, Indian, & Iranian tribes)
2. Ptolmaic Empire (+Pergamon)
3. Kingdom of Armenia (+Pontus)
4. Mauryan Empire
1. Bactrian Empire (+Parni, Indian, & Iranian tribes)
2. Ptolmaic Empire (+Pergamon)
3. Kingdom of Armenia (+Pontus)
4. Mauryan Empire
Damn, having a young king trained by Hannibal himself only to have him die young. Bloody waste.
I just love how Seleucia gets renamed everytime. Wonder whether the Ptolemaic dynasty will try to rename it according to themlseves or just not care.
Albert.Nik
Banned
Wow! The size of the Bactrian Empire! So is this the same as the Graeco-Bactrian empire or just a Bactrian empire? I asked because there is also an ethnicity called Bactrians who spoke an Eastern Iranian language.
It's core is the region of bactria, where the native bactrians live, but it is ruled by greeks
the region is majority greek at the time they have more greeks in otl bacteria empire then Greece in Europe had , in fact throughout most of history thy would alwasy have a fair amount of settlers coming in each year to settle the landIt's core is the region of bactria, where the native bactrians live, but it is ruled by greeks
Why is Persia proper vassalized and not directly controlled by the Greco-Bactrians? I mean you're loosing out on a massive tax and manpower base.
The Persians aren't any more likely to revolt from their clientele status any more than they would direct Governance, especially if you intermarry with the local nobility which I assume the Greco-Bactrians wouldn't be against and the Persian nobility at the time has also been inter-marrying with the Seleucids and become partly hellenized so no problem there.
There the also the rpoblem that they have a ton others areas to integrate and adding it on will only make it harder and sometimes it better to have a vassal state like that who has stuff you will never be able to replicate
Well, he did spend about a decade in Bactria and trained/reformed most of the upper ranks of the army.
Civil War: Part 1. Embers, Then Sparks
Civil War: Part 1. Embers, Then Sparks
Demetrius II of Bactria
King Euthydemus II laid in his bed. Aside him, one of his concubines. Goblets of half-drunken wine littered the floor. The only light was of the moon and a candle from a table afar from the bed. He was King of Bactria, an Empire built by the steel of his grandfather, Euthydemus I, fore-bearer of his name, and his father, Demetrius I, who had died before the crown came to him. His uncle, Pantaleon, shined the realm until it was like a mirror and took Euthydemus, without any sort of deceit and manipulation. Now, Euthydemus II ruled one of the greatest empires. Issues had spurred with the Iranian nobility, but it was quelled and is being worked on so full integration is possible. All would be fine. Then, a sting, a burn. Euthydemus could feel his neck burning up, as it became soaked. He touched his neck, only to look at his land and see in the dim moonlight, crimson. Panic filled the dying king's mind, but all thought drowned as consciousness slipped away.
Demetrius II of Bactria
The concubine got up, as a bloodied shiv stood shakily in her hand. She stepped out of the bedroom, waiting for her a guard. She simply nodded and he escorted her away. Silently taking footstep after footstep, until a loud scream boomed, as the concubine was being pulled into a cell, as she howled one word again and again. "Liars! Liars! Liars!"
Days later, vengeful cheers of satisfaction rang in the city of Bactra. As the bloodthirsty cheers soon died down, Apollodotus, conqueror of Iran, entered a small chamber. Demetrius II sat near a table, parchment in hand, as he mumbled and mouthed a planned speech. The general would soon try to leave, not wanting to disturb Demetrius, but the brother of the king ushered him in.
"Not wishing to see the pleasantries outside of our kind guest that visited the chopping block?" Apollodotus asked. "It would seem more legitimate if a claimant did the bloodthirsty yelling during the execution."
"I was never one to basque in the excitement of one death," Demetrius replied, as he skimmed his written words. "Besides, why waste a word on a soon-to-be nobody when you'll be speaking next to the dead king of Bactria!"
"You have a point there," Apollodotus stated. "We should get moving."
"Yes, yes, just let me get ready," Demetrius said, as he stood up in a slight flurry.
The claimant and General stepped outside of the chamber, and soon were guided by a number of personal guards. Neither spoke a word, and the two soon mounted their steeds and hurried to the readying procession to accompany the body. A silent jumble of orders and scampering feet came, until the procession finally began. The crowd wailed to see the young-faced Euthydemus dead in a carriage, to have lines of soldiers to stop any sort of interference. Demetrius stood at the head of the procession, giving a stoic face. Oh what a strong man Demetrius was, to keep it calm with his beloved brother a few paces away from him, dead. How all emotion was stuffed inside for the sake of the people.
"Oh gods give me mercy, how long is this procession?" Demetrius whispered under his breath. "It isn't a parade, can't we speed this up? This is my brother we're talking here, not Heracles."
As the procession finally reached to it's end. Demetrius dismounted, and stepped above the crowd of commoners to talk of his brothers. He soon bellowed the great acts of his brothers, saying how selfless he was, how generous and kind the king was. Overall, praising him, but when you take that all away...
"...and shame to the traitors that took away our great king! Our Euthydemus! My brother! Shame towards those plotters, shame to those who call towards Antimachus, my treacherous uncle! Shame on them, and down with them!"
***
Satrap Antimachus of Northern Parthia
Satrap Agathocles of Sogdiana
Antimachus sat with his commanders at a table, thinking and thinking, only for Antimachus to be filled with more rage. As his pretentious brother ruled a golden age without lifting a finger, he lived through raid after raid of the nomads, as he tried to build his army more stronger and stronger than ever, they may have never fell, but the land oh so ever did. Antimachus led one of the best trained troops, thanks to himself and great guidance of the legendary Hannibal for some time. However, this fact did not scare the little pup for trying to steal from the wolf. Demetrius II named Antimachus a traitor and practically claimed the throne. He knew both kings were dead, but the fact that Demetrius had the spite to make a power move this early.
Satrap Antimachus of Northern Parthia
Satrap Agathocles of Sogdiana
"That little snake!" Antimachus growled, as he slammed the table. "Dare make such claims days after his brothers death, does he have no respect to his family?!"
None dared to interrupt Antimachus as he rambled in rage, but as his anger began to settle, his son, Antimachus II, would follow up in speaking.
"Father, we cannot just wait here like blind birds, as snakes ready to sink their fangs in our necks."
"Oh boy, we aren't going to be blind birds. Our feather will be plucked, our legs chopped off, and we'll have fight to the drop of our sweat and blood to ward off swarms of blood-eyed snakes."
A messenger quietly entered the room, and he announced, "Agathocles, Satrap of Sogdiana, has arrived with a small band, unarmed, in hopes to speak to Antimachus and proclaim his loyalty towards him."
The satrap was silent, and like before his son spoke, "Well father, it seems one has joined our company of blind, legless, plucked birds." Antimachus II soon turned towards the messenger. "Please allow the Satrap of Sogdiana within our walls and tell him to meet us here."
In a few moments, the door creaked open to reveal the face of Agathocles, as well as a party of close companions. Agathocles would quickly approach Antimachus and kneel, exclaiming, "I relinquish my claim to the Bactrian throne and swear loy-!"
"What are you doing?" Antimachus grunted, as he pulled up Agathocles by the arm.
"I'm- I'm declaring my loyalty to-"
"The messenger already said you're on my side," Antimachus interrupted. "That's enough for me."
"A little improper Antimachus, I cannot lie," Agathocles voiced, as he winced a bit.
"This is a backwater plot of land constantly met by the raging steeds of nomads. Tell me about improper while you hide behind you're walls."
"I apologize Antimachus," the satrap said. "But I hope you understand why I am here. With you an enemy of Bactria, Demetrius is tying any loose ends in the dynasty."
"He wants to make a new genesis of our dynasty, and he wants to start it all," a companion of Agathocles stated.
In moments, Antimachus bursted out in laughter, nearly crying. It soon dragged no less than a minute and finally, he slowed down in his laughs and simply answered why he did so in a few words.
"I'm just wondering who's the mad one, you or Demetrius!"
***
Meanwhile, in India...
The Mauryan Empire had long been on it's last knees, and was still existing thanks to the mercy of Pantaleon. Their economic downfalls were very hurtful, but they were able to supply an army to defend from growing Indian powers south. Emperor Brihadratha had been ruling for seven struggling years. King Euthydemus II had made plans to invade India, but his early death saved the Mauryan Empire from that. To celebrate this luck, the Emperor planned a parade of his army at the capital, Pataliputra. Leading the parade was his general, Pushyamitra Shunga, ruler of the city Vidisha under the Mauryan Empire. However, the army soon turned off course from it's designated path to the royal palace. Soon, the troops flooded to the throne room.
"What's the meaning of this?!" Emperor Brihadratha demanded, as he stood from his throne. Nobody would answer. In the midst of the men, Pushyamitra would appear with a dagger. The Emperor would try to run, but guards would catch him and hold him down. "Oh please Pushyamitra! Mercy! I beg of you! Please! Please! Plea-!" In seconds, screams of pain followed the Emperors wails of begging, as the dagger struck again, and again, and again. Until all there was, was a dead man and a new empire.
Pushyamitra Shunga, 1st Shunga Emperor