The Triumph of the New City (A Victorious Carthage TL)

The Triumph of the New City: A Victorious Carthage TL

PoD/Stage Setting:


Prologue: The Second Sicilian War

It has been seventy long years since Himera shattered Carthaginian hopes for Sicilian hegemony. With the fall of the alliance, contemporary to that had bound the cities of the Greeks motherland to the east, Carthage had still not renewed her attempts to seize power, remaining content to send her tendrils across the Sahara, and down the African Coast, to outdo even the ancient Phoenicians who founded the city. Meanwhile the Greeks bickered across all their lands, as it seemed Greeks were wont to do.

The Peloponesian War twixt Athens and Sparta eventually dragged Carthage into war once more. When the Segestans, seemingly forgetting the great peril that Carthage had posed just seventy years before, attempted to summon help in their squabbles with the city of Selinus, they provoked Carthage to turn her eyes towards Sicily once more. Though they refused the request for assistance, another great power did... and in so, brought its undoing.

The Athenians sailed in their great fleets to Syracuse, the most powerful Sicilian city, and were defeated. Thousands of men died, hundreds of ships were destroyed, and some of the finest men Athens had to offer perished. To most observers, be they before the Council of Elders in Carthage, the Gerousia in Sparta, or the Satraps and the King himself of Persia, it appeared to be the end of Athens. However, the war was not yet over... it would take nine more years for the Athenians to fall.

However, it would take only two for Carthage to once more march in Sicily. Once more, Selinus and Segesta were at arms, and once more the Segestans groveled for aid. Or so it seemed to the Carthaginians. It was decided to send a small force, and after that contributed to the defeat of Selinus, Carthage elected to negotiate, all the while preparing greater armies. Carthage attempted to broker piece, through Syracuse as well as the disputing parties, and when that failed, new armies, greater armies, marched.

Cities fell before the Carthaginian boot, and great spoils of war returned to Carthage to be dedicated to the gods. From 406 to 367, the war raged, neither side able to make great advances, when Dionysus I, tyrant of Syracuse, died. For twenty two years, peace returned to Sicily, battleground of Carthage and the meddlesome Greeks.

In 345, the Carthaginians thought that once more, they could meddle in Greek affairs. Carthaginian forces, under Mago, entered Syracuse herself at the invitation of political factions, but were forced out. Mago returned to Africa, and killed himself in shame. Timoleon, the Corinthian, seized power in Syracuse, deposing Dionysus II, and beginning to reform the city, reforms that, had circumstances been different, could have tided the Syracusans further.

But fifty thousand Carthaginians were headed towards the city. Timoleon hurled himself towards the oncoming troops, gathering fifteen thousand mercenaries. He marched across the island, towards the River Crimissus, near the city of Segesta that had begun the conflict more than fifty years ago. Meanwhile, Hasdrubal, commander of these forces, headed, almost blindly, towards the east. Eastwards were the Syracusans. Eastwards, perhaps, he could find glory, honor, a greater place in politics... power. Hasdrubal cared little for the fripperies... they could be sorted out in time.

And while Timoleon plotted the battle, it almost seemed Hasdrubal was headed for a trap. Truly, however, Hasdrubal was headed towards a crossroads of fate. History would be decided that day, and the world would never be the same.

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A/N: Maybe now I can admit that For the Sons of Carthage! is truly dead, having resurrected it with a new title. This TL will use the same PoD, true, but I intend to write it differently, (better!) alter the events, and include more in depth character time.

With luck, I can post the revamped PoD chapter soon, and then continue on to post about some of the butterflies, include scenes with some Carthaginians, some scheming Greeks, some Persians, and, perhaps, some Egyptians.

This TL will use generally Romanized proper nouns, due to my inability to pronounce half of the un-bastardized words without damaging my uvula, and also because I'm a lazy sod. Sue me. :p

Part of the time I will be writing in a vaguely in-universe style (like in this prologue) and occasionally I will do a more meta official update post to give information concisely and without the need for so many stylistic flourishes.

Feel free to comment on my writing style, bizarre historical summary, or if you have any suggestions or desires. I try not to overly plan these things, so I'm open to audience participation (through suggestions, albeit.)
 
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Consider me subscribed, saw your earlier timelines and can't wait to see how a new version turns out.
 
Character Interlude: Cavalryman of Carthage

Hasdrubal was intently surveying the countryside. Must have been the first time, because only now was he noticing the smoke plumes off in the distance, ever so faint, but ever so noticeable when one is on the lookout for an enemy army.

“Salicar, what do those mean?”

Salicar looked at his commander. Hasdrubal had seemingly been too preoccupied with politics to notice beforehand what was growing readily apparent. There was something out there. An army. Not a massive one, not a third the size of this force, but a Greek army. Armored, prepared... likely lead by the Corinthian.

“Greeks, sire.” Salicar said simply. Simplicity was good, in Salicar’s eyes. Meant nobody would look at you overmuch, see too much in your words. For the son of the disgraced Mago, dead on the African shores to escape his shame, overlooking overmuch attention was a good thing.

“How can you tell?” Hasdrubal asked. The man wasn’t overmuch fond of soldiering. Sure, he liked its results, the glory that could come, craved them... but did he truly appreciate the thrill of roaring into battle, spear in hand?

“We’ve accounted for the Segestans.” Salicar said. “Other Greeks are the foes, right now. Timoleon probably, given what we know of him, elected to attack. Whoever that is, they’re an enemy, and they’re right across the river.”

Hasdrubal slowly pursed his lips. “Go with your cavalry the river. Do what you know to do, Salicar son of Mago.” It was an open coin-purse of an invitation, likely due to Hasdrubal’s inability to make anything of the situation... But it was also a slight dig. His father had shamed himself, but he had at least had the dignity to kill himself. Hasdrubal was stressing Salicar’s lineage to prove a point. Salicar grimaced; regardless of Hasdrubal’s taunt, it would be up to him to make sure that they all got home.

“Sire?” Salicar continued quietly. “Sending the infantry to cross the river would be... inadvisable, given the current intelligence situation.”

The general, fine in his armor, looked intently at Salicar, if wordlessly.

“We don’t want to be caught in the crossing.” Salicar swallowed the nervousness that was consuming him. Victory was more important to Hasdrubal than the insinuation that he didn’t know what he was doing- right? After all, the political benefit of the battle would be all on Hasdrubal’s shoulders. Salicar could renew glory aplenty, glory lost by his father’s shame in Syracuse, but he would not be the one to bring the trophies of war before the elders, and before the Suffet himself.

Hasdrubal slightly inclined his jaw. A dismissal. But also recognition. Salicar dashed off to his chariot, and whispered briefly to his driver. Around him, the chariots and the Numidian cavalrymen stirred into life, readying themselves, all waiting, watching Salicar.

“Across the river!” Salicar roared. “Numidians, chariots, cross the river!”

As the chariot jolted and bounced its way through the waters, Salicar could detect, far still, yet closing in, cavalrymen. Greeks. Salicar willed the uneasy trip across the river to be over. Battle called... it just didn’t call from at the bottom of a hill, in a river.

As the horses pulling the chariot clambered up onto the banks, Salicar let out a sigh of release, but spared himself no time to rest, as the charioteer, sensing Salicar’s thoughts, ordered the horses further. The Numidians, fiercely proud of their martial ability, and convinced of their superiority over such weak opponents as the Greeks, whooped and hollered past him. The chariots followed Salicar’s driver, as he arranged to have the chariots follow a parallel path to those of the Numidians, who already were expectantly hurling the occasional javelin towards the enemy.

The tide of emotion that came with battle was coursing through Salicar, as the Greek formation split, cavalrymen hurtling after whichever branch of the Carthaginian cavalry they felt appropriate. Salicar could see the hosts of Greeks marching a short distance away, and his scouts falling back to report to Hasdrubal.

“Forwards!” Salicar roared. Only a few of the chariots heard him, but that was enough to get the rest to stick to the general direction he was coming from. However, the Numidians continued to throw their javelins, as Salicar’s chariot drifted closer to the enemies.

With a sickening crunch, and an agonizing pain, a javelin caught him in the upper thigh. “Harass the enemies advanced.” Salicar roared once more, before the pain caught up with him. As Salicar struggled to snap the shaft of the javelin, a rising tide of pain consumed him, and he fell into darkness.

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A/N: To those who've read For the Sons of Carthage! this character will be familiar. Salicar, son of Mago, though in ftSoC, his heritage was unstated, and his role was not so great. Let's just say that Baal and Tanit must have something special planned for this young commander of cavalry. Think of him as the "Main Character" of the character interludes so far.
 
Can't remember if I commented on the previous incarnation of this TL. If I didn't, I was reading it, if a bit behind the curve (hence lack of comment). I liked what you were doing, and shall pay close attention to this new TL. :)
 
Sub'ed. I will be watching for updates with baited breath. :cool:
Finally Carthage is getting some well-needed love.
 
You might want to look at the time of the last update... one more month and its intruding on what would be a necro, I like this timeline but its dead and never coming back.

I do intend on working on this timeline at some point in the future. I have some updates saved on my computer, I just need to have the time to do the research at the moment.

EDIT: Of course I said that about the last two timelines I wrote, but I swear, I'm probably being accurate this time.
 
I do intend on working on this timeline at some point in the future. I have some updates saved on my computer, I just need to have the time to do the research at the moment.

EDIT: Of course I said that about the last two timelines I wrote, but I swear, I'm probably being accurate this time.
AWESOME!!! :D
 
I find myself with too many good timelines to read; nonetheless, I shall follow this as much as I am able, and will comment more on it when I do a bit of background reading so I know what is going on :p
 
I find myself with too many good timelines to read; nonetheless, I shall follow this as much as I am able, and will comment more on it when I do a bit of background reading so I know what is going on :p

What's going on in the minimal span of time in the TL thus far is: I summarized historical events in the first post in order to give context, and I made my PoD in the second. I'm the best timeline writer ever. :p
 
What's going on in the minimal span of time in the TL thus far is: I summarized historical events in the first post in order to give context, and I made my PoD in the second. I'm the best timeline writer ever. :p

At least you didn't write 3 pages of historical background before getting to the POD like I did. :p
 
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