The Massaliot league. A Hellenistic period Massalia Timeline

[Sersor]

255 BC

With money from the tribute of Carthage and part of the gold from the sanctuary in Tolosa, the architect Georgios, student of Sostratus(architect of pharos of Alexandria), is invited to Massalia to build, in modern day island of Ratonneau, a new great harbor and pharos( plus fortified warehouses and naval defenses) for the glory of Massalia. A new wall with fifty towers mounted with polybolos is also commissioned for the protection of Massalia. The walls of the city enclosed an area of at least five hundred hectares. The Famous Archimedes of Syracuse is also invited to Massalia as the new head of the Museum.(King Hiero II of Syracuse forced his kinsman Archimedes to take the position for some years, to strengthen his relationship with Massaliot League)

The great harbor-pharos of Massalia.

The cothon(an artificial, protected inner hardor) at Massalia(Ratonneau) was divided into a rectangular merchant harbor(this harbor was for the bigger trade ships mostly trading with Alexandria) followed by an inner protected harbor reserved for military use only. This inner harbor was circular and surrounded by an outer ring of structures divided into a series of docking bays for ship maintenance, along with an island structure at its centre that also housed navy ships. Each individual docking bay featured a raised slipway. Above the raised docking bays was a second level consisting of warehouses where oars and rigging were kept along with supplies such as wood and canvas. Archimedes designed block and tackle pulley systems, allowing sailors to use the principle of leverage to lift objects that would otherwise have been too heavy to move. On the “island” structure there existed a raised 'cabin' where the admiral in command could observe the whole harbor along with the surrounding sea. Altogether the inner docking complex could house up to 200 big warships. The entire harbor was protected by an outer wall with polybolos towers and the main entrance could be closed off with iron chains.
The lighthouse of Massalia followed a similar three-stage design to that of the lighthouse/Pharos of Alexandria and was one hundred metres tall. Constructed from large blocks of stone, the tower was made up of three stages: a lower square section with a central core, a middle octagonal section, and, at the top, a circular section. At its apex was positioned a mirror which reflected sunlight during the day; a fire was lit at night. A statue of Poseidon stood atop the lighthouse.

In the military

Strategos Alkaios, a dynatoi company member and Epicurean, impressed by the new invention of Georgios issued the 3rd Massaliot League military reforms.

The new tagma unit:

Three thousand heavy infantry,six hundred crossbow/eight hundred hundred archers,five hundred cavalry,five hundred mounted crossbow/bow archers and five hundred artillery support personal. The artillery is composed of forty torsion ballista,twenty small(suited for volley barrage tactics) lithobolos catapults ,forty polybolos ballista and three build on spot panoptes.

Another change with the third military reformation, is that from now own Massaliot League will have a professional standing army of four instead of two tagmata. One based in Massalia one in Tolosa one in Olbia(province/nomos of Sardinia&Corsica) and one in Lilybaeum(province/nomos of Sicily). In reserves if needed four extra tagmata could be summoned. Lands in Sardinia and Sicily given in the soldiers of the new tagmata.


In agriculture

With the new invention of Archimedes, the screw, a second wave of agriculture revolution started in Massaliot League.

Population

With the revolution in agriculture(water wheels) back in 271 BC, there was a big population boom. The population of Massaliot League is now seven hundred thousands (more than two hundred fifty thousands hellenised Gauls). Massalia is now a mega city of two hundred thousands people equal only to Alexandria and Seleucia.

• A small expedition under strategos Dimitrios conquered the lands south of Emporion by defeating some small iberian tribes.

• A temple of Gaul goddess Epona is build in Massalia

Epirus

• In a small expedition in Thrace, during a confused siege battle, in some narrow city streets, Pyrrhus was trapped. While he was fighting an Thracian soldier, the soldier's old mother, who was watching from a rooftop, threw a tile which knocked him from his horse and broke part of his spine, paralyzing him. A Thracian soldier though frightened by the look on the face of the unconscious king, hesitantly and ineptly beheaded his motionless body. His eldest son, Alexander II, had him cremated with all honours. The new king of Epirus Alexander II, burned the city to the ground.

 

[Historyman 14]

Poor Pyrrhus. After everything, that's how his end comes to him. Was it any city we know of, or down the line?

 

[Sersor]

After everything, that's how his end comes to him.

Yep... Well this is how he died in OTL also( Argos 272 BC)

Was it any city we know of, or down the line?

Down the line.

 

[Aishio]

Oh Pyrrhus, It should have been meeeeeee! Well, maybe Alexander is worthy of his father's legacy. I sure hope so, we need another Alexander the Great.

 

[Historyman 14]

Yep... Well this is how he died in OTL also( Argos 272 BC)



Down the line.

Oh, his son burn Argos? Well, it won't be one of the one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world now, unless someone rebuild at, but all that history...

And i would think that his death would avoided after all of this and the charges to the TL thus far.

 

[Aishio]

Oh, his son burn Argos? Well, it won't be one of the one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world now, unless someone rebuild at, but all that history...

His son didnt burn Argos because his son was at Epirus at the time and it was Antigonus II Gonatas that made his funeral with all the honors after reprimending his own son for the lack of respect shown to the dead king and crying his eyes out (not literally)

 

[Sersor]

Oh, his son burn Argos? Well, it won't be one of the one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world now, unless someone rebuild at, but all that history...

And i would think that his death would avoided after all of this and the charges to the TL thus far.

In OTL Pyrrhus died in Argos and Epirus lost the battle. So no burning of Argos happened. In my timeline Pyrrhus died in the same way but Epirus won the battle and burned to the ground the Thracian city.

 

[Historyman 14]

In OTL Pyrrhus died in Argos and Epirus lost the battle. So no burning of Argos happened. In my timeline Pyrrhus died in the same way but Epirus won the battle and burned to the ground the Thracian city.

I see. Well, at least Epirus won this time around, so that's good.

 

[Hecatee]

I'm not so sure in using crossbows on cavalry. They require more time to reload, are less easy to use from horseback than a bow, don't provide the same rate of fire and disruption... So I don't think they'd be used. Likewise for infantry I could see only a part of the force move to crossbows to provide direct fire support, but indirect fire would still be needed to rain arrows on the ennemy when front ranks are locked in combat. So I could see a ratio of 1 crossbow out of 5 archers, but not much more. Proto tercio is not a solution here because battlefield will not be open enough and because of the nature of potential counter fire, which will be mass area denial bow support rather than direct line of sight fight...

 

[Sersor]

I'm not so sure in using crossbows on cavalry. They require more time to reload, are less easy to use from horseback than a bow, don't provide the same rate of fire and disruption... So I don't think they'd be used.

Ok, but crossbow needs less time to learn how to use it and its more accurate/(steady?) than a bow when you ride a horse. Besides crossbow cavalry was used in OTL by lots of medieval armies. The rise of crossbows led to virtual disappearance of simple bows as war weapons in France and no hand bows are recorded in surviving castle inventories from 1230 to the mid 14th century.

ikewise for infantry I could see only a part of the force move to crossbows to provide direct fire support, but indirect fire would still be needed to rain arrows on the ennemy when front ranks are locked in combat. So I could see a ratio of 1 crossbow out of 5 archers, but not much more. Proto tercio is not a solution here because battlefield will not be open enough and because of the nature of potential counter fire, which will be mass area denial bow support rather than direct line of sight fight...

Valid points. But still the use of crossbow instead of slingers could do wonders. Nevertheless archers are still needed to rain arrows. Ill change the crossbow/archer ratio to 1/1. (Tagma composition: crossbow/pila of infantry/archers/artillery)

Ps: Do you thing crossbows in 3rd century BC can change the way of how battles are made?

 

[darthfanta]

Yep... Well this is how he died in OTL also( Argos 272 BC)



Down the line.

Byzantium?

 

[Hecatee]

I don't think those early crossbows are suitable for cavalry use due to the reloading process itself, as those crossbows don't have the reload mechanism of medieval crossbows (see wikipedia on crossbows : "The invention of pushlever and ratchet drawing mechanisms enabled the use of crossbows on horseback, leading to the development of new cavalry tactics. Knights and mercenaries deployed in triangular formations, with the most heavily armored knights at the front. Some of these riders would carry small, powerful all-metal crossbows of their own").

The main use of crossbows at present time would be twofold :

- long distance attack of heavy cavalry and defense against mounted archers, which would have a large impact on eastern battlefields and could help reduce the importance of the Persian and Armenian cataphract tradition as well as the Sarmatae cavalry tradition in the euxine region. It could also help the Greeks defeat plains tribes in the Black Sea area and further north
- long distance pilum against shield bearing infantry, much longer range than the roman style pilum that could make a lot of damages to front ranks. But they might need to be protected from light infantry (slingers and archers) by other light infantry in the initial skirmishing phase of every battle, and need to be well positionned as they will probably be of little use in ambushes that reduce range, time to prepare the weapons, number of effective shots to be taken, etc.

You could have bows evolve in two ways : short cavalry bows based on the eastern tradition and some kind of english longbow type of bow for the infantry, for long range cover. You'd probably still have slingers though, because their effectiveness is great, as is their manoeuvrability on the field and they are cheap. The crossbows would be in the mixed first rank of the heavy infantry, with the spearmen or swordsmen, the archers would be behind the main force, or at the heart of square shaped formations in some cases, and the slingers and/or light javelin throwers would act as squirmisher in front of the line.

Crossbowmen would probably wear chain armor and have a sword (and maybe a light shield), before possibly evolving toward pavois-type shields (or simply roman 1st century AD type scutum shield) to provide protected fixed defense while reloading, with the shield type generalizing to all of the main battle line infantry, causing the disparition of pike infantry (phalanx or hoplite type) to the benefit of a more roman 1st century AD type infantry. Such formations would be much more static than most of their adversaries, being essentially defensive in nature, but would act a a very good anvil while horse archers harass the flanks and heavy cavalry comes and hammer the ennemy.

It would be in essence a proto tercio without the pikes or the gunpowder and seems a good evolution of the massalian formations. One big issue would be to have this kind of formation cooperate with other armies not organized in the same way.

 

[Hecatee]

Another element would be the role of crossbows in naval combat. There it will be a game changer as crossbows did make a huge impact in ship defense in the middle ages and later. I could even imagine that the rowers on the external side of the rowing benches would have some to snipe at the counterparts when ships are close to each other (although it would have to be balanced against the problems it could cause to the rowing itself)

 

[darthfanta]

So the harbor and the lighthouse are just rip-offs of the ones from Carthage and Alexandria respectively?I don't think it would be seen as the eighth wonder in this case.

 

[Sersor]

Great suggestions/tips Hecatee! Thank you.

I don't think those early crossbows are suitable for cavalry use due to the reloading process itself, as those crossbows don't have the reload mechanism of medieval crossbows (see wikipedia on crossbows : "The invention of pushlever and ratchet drawing mechanisms enabled the use of crossbows on horseback, leading to the development of new cavalry tactics. Knights and mercenaries deployed in triangular formations, with the most heavily armored knights at the front. Some of these riders would carry small, powerful all-metal crossbows of their own").

I know what wiki says, but the crossbow of Massaliot League does have pushlever and ratchet drawing mechanisms. Massalia is a pioneer in these fields. They have Polybolos ballistas that use similar tech and i mentioned the use of ratchet chain in 271 BC. So the Massaliot League crossbow lead to the development of new cavalry tactics same as with OTL.

You could have bows evolve in two ways : short cavalry bows based on the eastern tradition and some kind of english longbow type of bow for the infantry, for long range cover. You'd probably still have slingers though, because their effectiveness is great, as is their manoeuvrability on the field and they are cheap.

Don’t adapt the crossbow to the tech and techniques of the era. The rest have to adapt with crossbow. Slingers for example i think are obsolete for the rich and high tech Massaliot League army.

The crossbows would be in the mixed first rank of the heavy infantry, with the spearmen or swordsmen, the archers would be behind the main force, or at the heart of square shaped formations in some cases, and the slingers and/or light javelin throwers would act as squirmisher in front of the line.

Thats what i think, more or less.

Crossbowmen would probably wear chain armor and have a sword (and maybe a light shield), before possibly evolving toward pavois-type shields (or simply roman 1st century AD type scutum shield) to provide protected fixed defense while reloading, with the shield type generalizing to all of the main battle line infantry, causing the disparition of pike infantry (phalanx or hoplite type) to the benefit of a more roman 1st century AD type infantry. Such formations would be much more static than most of their adversaries, being essentially defensive in nature, but would act a a very good anvil while horse archers harass the flanks and heavy cavalry comes and hammer the ennemy.

Thanks for the ideas! I think this is how Massaliot league army will evolve from now on.

It would be in essence a proto tercio without the pikes or the gunpowder and seems a good evolution of the massalian formations. One big issue would be to have this kind of formation cooperate with other armies not organized in the same way.

Yes a proto trecio evolution in 3rd century BC would be great. This new type of formation i think could do wonders against the armies of that time.

Another element would be the role of crossbows in naval combat. There it will be a game changer as crossbows did make a huge impact in ship defense in the middle ages and later. I could even imagine that the rowers on the external side of the rowing benches would have some to snipe at the counterparts when ships are close to each other (although it would have to be balanced against the problems it could cause to the rowing itself)

I forgot about the navy! I am sure it will be a game changer.

 

[Sersor]

So the harbor and the lighthouse are just rip-offs of the ones from Carthage and Alexandria respectively?I don't think it would be seen as the eighth wonder in this case.

Yes they are rip-offs more or less but: Cothons were generally found in the Phoenician world. Other examples include Motya, (Sicily) from the 6th century BC, Mahdia, (Tunisia) from the 7th century BC, and Kition in Cyprus. Pharos of Alexandria was the prototype for all lighthouses so they were heavily influenced by it. So what i want to say is that rip offs was a common thing. Was Temple of Artemis a rip off of other same type temples? Anyway even a rip off, a harbor/port of this size in Massalia would be amazing and probably a "wonder" in my perspective.

 

[darthfanta]

Yes they are rip-offs more or less but: Cothons were generally found in the Phoenician world. Other examples include Motya, (Sicily) from the 6th century BC, Mahdia, (Tunisia) from the 7th century BC, and Kition in Cyprus. Pharos of Alexandria was the prototype for all lighthouses so they were heavily influenced by it. So what i want to say is that rip offs was a common thing. Was Temple of Artemis a rip off of other same type temples? Anyway even a rip off, a harbor/port of this size in Massalia would be amazing and probably a "wonder" in my perspective.

I don't think a rip-off would be seen as a wonder.This is why I suggested a magnificent citadel or a wall in the first place--so that you don't have a competition in this field.It's got to be something that's innovative in it's own right yet majestic and a sight to be amazed by.It's not a wonder if it's something similar has been done before.As for the temple of Artemis,I'm pretty sure that it's a wonder because it's something that distinguished it from it's predecessors in it's own right.If the Harbor and the light house isn't that much significantly better than things that have been done before nor as innovative,I highly doubt it would be considered as the eighth wonder.Uniqueness is what you are looking for.If it's a light house or a tower but significantly much more magnificent and innovative than the ones that are already built,it would be considered a wonder however(which is why Hagia Sophia is considered as a contender for the eighth wonder despite also being a temple).In your case,they are just straight-up rip-offs of things from Carthage and Alexandria.Your copies are still amazing,but definitely won't get people wondering because it's done before.

On the other hand,the light tower and the Cothon are definitely beneficial to Massalia.

 

[Sersor]

I don't think a rip-off would be seen as a wonder.This is why I suggested a magnificent citadel or a wall in the first place--so that you don't have a competition in this field.It's got to be something that's innovative in it's own right yet majestic and a sight to be amazed by.It's not a wonder if it's something similar has been done before.As for the temple of Artemis,I'm pretty sure that it's a wonder because it's something that distinguished it from it's predecessors in it's own right.If the Harbor and the light house isn't that much significantly better than things that have been done before nor as innovative,I highly doubt it would be considered as the eighth wonder.Uniqueness is what you are looking for.If it's a light house or a tower but significantly much more magnificent and innovative than the ones that are already built,it would be considered a wonder however(which is why Hagia Sophia is considered as a contender for the eighth wonder despite also being a temple.In your case,they are just straight-up rip-offs of things from Carthage and Alexandria.Your copies are still amazing,but definitely won't get people wondering because it's done before.

Ok maybe its is,maybe it is not a "wonder". I leave that judgement to the future historians of this ATL . Nevertheless as you also said there are still amazing.

On the other hand,the light tower and the Cothon are definitely beneficial to Massalia.

This.

Ps: Maybe a citadel is in the future plans.

 

[Sersor]

254 - 250BC

Massalia

• New lands conquered in North/East Iberia under strategos Alkaios. A new colony, Atalanti is build in the region

Epirus

• The new king Alexander II conquered all of Thrace and burned several cities to the ground

Carthage

The mercenary war in Carthage end in stalemate with the mercenaries making a new state/kingdom South of Carthage with Zama as capital/stronghold. After Carthage’s defeat in the Mercenary War there were two opposing factions: the reformist party was led by Hamilcar Barca while the other, more conservative, faction was represented by Honnibis and the old Carthaginian aristocracy. Hamilcar(Plus several Carthaginians from the reformist party/faction) ultimately left Carthage for the Iberian peninsula where he captured rich silver mines and subdued many tribes who fortified his army with levies of native troops. The Barcid kingdom was founded in 252 BC.

Ptolemaic empire

• A small expedition under strategos Diomides conquered Sinai peninsula and Arabic coast lines by defeating some small local tribes tribes.
• Ptolemy II encourages the jewish residents of Alexandria to have their bible translated into Greek. Because around seventy translators are used to achieve this, the translation is known as the Septuagint.

Sparta

• A expedition under king Cleomenes III conquered west Crete leaving the rest under the influence of Ptolemaic empire.

Seleucid

• The rest of the minor states(Cappadocia,Pontus) in modern day Turkey are under Seleucid control.

Greco-Bactrian Kingdom

• Diodotus I successful wars, massively expands his kingdom East to Parthia, west to Sogdiana and east to Pamir.

Rome

• An Gaul invasion is successfully repelled by the Romans.

Bosporus Kingdom

• Under king Pairisades II the Bosporus kingdom was massively expanded between 253 BC-250 BC.

 

[Historyman 14]

What's up with Alexander II burning so many cities to the ground? And can we have a list of which ones?

Carthage seem to be in the hole big time. I like this Barcid kingdom.

How is Rome been since the war?

Overall, i see before me the start of a very Hellenistic Europe. (With Egyptian due to the Ptolemaic Empire.)