Scourge of the Sand (Himyar AAR) - [Update 16/11 - The Ephemeral Peace]

[Paladin94610]

Chapter 10 - Not too headless, but stubborn (Part - 2)

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The cold night passed beside us, as we rounded up around each campfire scattered across the bushes and the forest. We set up sentries to look across the terrain around us. On the small hills to the northwest, laid the Blemmyeic camp, with its own clusters of campfires. We all know the next day would decide whose fate the gods would favor for.
In the morning a red sunrise greeted us. We took position on the treeline of the other side of the woods. The stubborn Blemmyes steadily approached and then soon the ambience was filled with arrows and slingshots flying around with men screaming and falling.


This time the Blemmyes brought yet another device of warfare. Chariots! Driven by the most daring warriors, those deadily things plunged straight into our battlelines.




But deep in the vegetation, the chariots got stuck terribly and the entire battalion was eventually cut down by our infantry. Chariots were quickly followed by infantry which was mostly made up with mercenary leopard warriors.


Leopard hides and wicker shields clashed loudly as the two parties contasted for the battleground. Leopard warriors were brave and well trained. But thanks to our tight formations and strict discipline, we held our lines.


Meanwhile, we used our superior numbers to our best, we had them outflank and charge them from behind.


With all of their army engaged in melee combat, our Arab light cavalry led by captain Teritnide, was free to roam the field. They drove through battalions of Blemmyeic archers and slingers, rather unchallenged and unopposed, killing and trampling as they wished.


Then the moment arrived for the bulk of Blemmyeic army to be sent away to their doom, as Teritnide made a deadly rear charge into the backs of Blemmyeic formations. Amidst the chaos, their commander who took position at the center of their battleline was slain and Blemmyeic army routed soon after. At last the stubborn Blemmyeic offensive had been broken apart.

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[Alwyn]

Exciting action (I particularly like the way that you focus on significant units such as elephants and chariots) and amazing screenshots! When your next update is published, I wonder if you would like to enter the MAARC.

[Caillagh de Bodemloze]

I know I can always rely on you for chapters full of action, Paladin!

[Paladin94610]

Chapter 11 – Eudaemon Retaliates

In the aftermath of the battle, thousands of bodies laid in the field, with vultures having an endless feast upon the corpses. Blemmyeic nobility was no more than a handful of men at the court, with several royal family members killed or captured in action. However the battle at Qohaito not only destroyed the Blemmyeic army but was a major hit upon our numbers too. Unless for a steady influx of reinforcements from port town of Adulis, we would lose grip of Aksum for certain. All of us, including the king, agreed to take the fight to the Blemmyeic soil once we filled up our ranks again.
The Meroe hid behind her walls and her only raiding parties took west bank of the Nile to subdue her usurpers triggered by shameful defeat in the Ethiopia. And we guessed Blemmyes were suffering a shortage of leadership to stage another invasion. Yet we had our own problems though. Subjects in homeland both Bedouins and Himyarites alike were being reluctant to supply more troops. A king in a distant land for a long period of time is not a good situation anyway.
But two years was a long time though. By that time we had gathered enough manpower with a chance of retaliation. We departed in the fourth month of the year with men-at-arms of two thousands men in strength. We took the route as close as possible to the sea, to get fresh supplies from Adulis. Fortunately we trespassed Meroe without any resistance. Then in our path lay the seat of Blemmyeic king, Ptolemais Theron. Once a proud Diadochi port city, the Blemmyeic people took control over it since the last four decades ago, and needless to say they were proud of their ‘independent’ city. But death and desolation would soon befall upon them.

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Battle of Ptolemais Theron 239BC
Belligerents -


When we approached the city, the garrison fleet arrived at the shore to intercept us. We called up the archers to give several volleys at the disembarking troops. Then we charged at the surviving marines who instantly routed from the battle.




Blemmyeic forces led by their king stood in the city plaza, as our numerous troops began to crawl into every lane and street of the city.


It has to be noted however that, our Himyarite infantry had mostly been composed of regular soldiers funded by the state than self-financed militia. These state spearmen and state swordsmen held a better discipline and morale than our militia counterparts. Today their promising training would be tested against for the first time.


We screened our spearmen with a couple ranks of swordsmen to serve as a shock element. Then we staged the assault at the plaza. Thousands of men filled the plaza and neighboring streets and avenues. We attacked them at multiple fronts. The majority of forces attacked from the north.


Teritnide led a detachment of the assault, taking the main avenue to the west but they were also met with fierce resistance. They had to fight for every inch and every door of houses. The worse thing was that several battalions of well-protected skirmishers were hauling javelins into Teritnide’s ranks.


On our side the king and I struggled to get past the Blemmyeic spearmen to close in with the skirmishers.


Meanwhile the rest of our cavalry led by Abel rode down from the south. Blemmyeic king was cautious though as he had his own horses ready to engage them before making a deadly charge from behind their stubbornly defending brothers on foot. Ethiopian cavalrymen were agile and more skilled than most of our state cavalrymen, many of whome were cut down with a battalion entirely routed. Abel himself was almost got killed if not for the bravery of his cavalrymen protecting their captain.


After two hours of struggle, Ethiopian nobles and elite swordsmen held their ground at the east avenue, but their numbers were slowing worn down by our men.


After dealing with Ethipian cavalry who although more skilled were heavily outnumbered, Abel was free to charge at and trample the Blemmyeic javelinmen.

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Endless stabbing and slaugthering continued in the plaza till half a thousand men was all that was left of the Blemmyeic garrison, who eventually surrendered. Their king was sent to exile in Meroe. Outside the city however, Blemmyeic resistance continued well organized at the hands of tribal nobles who made it out before the battle. I guess it would still take a long time before the Blemmyes could be put down.

[Paladin94610]

Chapter 12 – An Unexpected Host


Throughout the years while we went away campaigning in Ethiopia, Lord Rabbel served as the governor of a far-fletched city of Gerrha. Although under a constant threat from exiled Gerrhean domains in Mesopotamia, the city continued to thrive under Himyarite rule. Trade with the Persians prospered as before and the fish markets that the king opened expanded in Maas-gat supplied Gerrha with a lot of garum (i.e., salted fish) annually which were being shipped across the Persian gulf earning fair amount of profits too. A year later we conquered Ptolemais Theron, the lookouts at the borders brought Lord Rabbel of some disturbing news. It was an Egyptian army led by general Xenocrates hastily arriving at our borders. Himyarites and Egyptians were in an imminence towards an outright war. I believed that was it. Our concerns were turning out to be right, because Xenocrates continued to move south along the coast despite our messengers warning him against marching into Himyarite territories. Lord Rabbel began to worry and he sought help from nearby towns, of which none could offer any help. It was unfortunate that the whole Himyarite army was in Ethiopia and was a shame not to even send a single battalion for help. On the sixth day of crisis, the Egyptians finally arrived at the city gates and as we had worried, they began to lay siege to the city. The war with Egyptians had began just now. We heard no more from Lord Rabbel or his son. Our only source was from a battalion lieutenant of the garrison. It was said that Rabbel’s son, Aritenyesbokhe led the defence because Rabbel was too old & weak to lead a battle.

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Battle of Gerrha, 238BC


~ Belligerents


The town bells rang endlessly as we prepared for battle. Every battalion ran towards armory and collected their arms and shields. I could see small groups of dozens running towards northern side of the walls. I went to the stables to take my ride. My squire waited me there. He was trembling out of panic. “Don’t be afraid lad. We will survive this! Com’on get on your horse, and tell our men to meet me at the gates.”

I left my poor squire and rode along the main avenue to the north gate. And I climbed upstairs to see how bad our situation was. By the time I got there, the parapets had been filled with our troops. We observed that the Egyptians built many siege ladders beforehand. And they had some siege ballistae with them. In three hours of deployment, they began to hurl flaming shots at our walls. Perhaps Xenocrates was never intending lay a protracted siege after all. He was going to assault the walls outright! May gods help us all and make us out of this fateful day. But they could not possibly tear down every section of the wall and therefore we could still have an advantageous position on the walls to even our odds. “There is still a chance to win!” I encouraged myself.


The flaming shots were aimed at a single section of the wall. Dozens of shots were hurled across and took a toll upon the wall’s integrity. And after an hour of relentless bombardment the wall gave in. The platform cracked and the front side of the wall revealed battered holes, making terrible sounds as it began to collapse. The wall took to the ground some dozens of men with it.


Xenocrates sent a reconnaissance force in front of the gates which made an attempt at burning down the gates. But they were all slaughtered by our javelinmen. This time the ballistae moved their eyes at the north gate. Countless flaming shots were delivered to both the gatehouse and the iron-reinforced doors. But they seemed to be running shot of their ammunition. Soon after half an hour of relentless battery, the attack ceased.




Then we could hear the sound war horns signifying the advance of ladders and the battering ram which began to approach the walls. My squire arrived behind me. “Good timing! Are you ready for this?”
“Yes my lord” he replied. I could see how he mustered that little courage he had to face this. We have our backs to each other. Remember what I taught! Don’t hold the sword too firm or you won’t be able to use it, & too loose you will lose it. And don’t hack overarm, slash from underarm in between front and back cuirass. And the blade be horizontal between ribs” I reminded him of those little tricks to survive.


Egyptian battering ram slowly rolled towards the gate. The battalion pushing it, was suffering under constant volleys of javelins which our men on the wall were hurling.


Meanwhile Egyptian infantry scaled the walls with siege ladders. Our walls are undermanned. Most troops were javelinmen with two battalions of noble swordsmen.Their first wave of assault included three Egyptian sword infantry battalions and a Greek phalangites armed with swords. Phalangites could not form their formidable phalanx on the walls and were forced to fight with swords, which obviously evened with our similar equipment. My squire and I fought close to each other, but giving up foot by foot and withdrawing towards the gatehouse as we fought.


For the Egyptians the gatehouse was one of their important targets as they ruthlessly seized control so that their battering ram team could do the job at ease. Over half of our javelin battalion was slashed and hacked. But our archers from the adjacent wall section responded quickly with arrowheads.


It did not take more than eight blows of ram to break the gates as it had already been weakened by ballistae’s flaming shots and explosive bags their daring reconnaissance battalion put on.


At that moment, Xenocrates sent the second wave of his reserves to finally storm the streets.
“Look Xenocrates strikes with all he’s got. It’s time! Let’s get back to our horses!” I called up my squire and we raced downstairs to join with our battalion.


The first to enter the gates were Egyptian light infantry and Nubian spearmen. They were greeted by a couple of hails of javelins. We had plenty of javelinmen with a fair amount of ammunition which our captain Aritenyesbokhe would put at good use.


Our skillful archers on the walls sniped at the intruders at their backs. Hundreds of Egyptian soldiers were killed by javelins and arrowheads alone.


Through the collapsed section of the wall, Xenocrates himself rode into the street accompanied by a battalion of Nubian spearmen and another of Greek phalangites. Xenocrates cavalry ran down two of our unfortunate javelin battalions. Our fate grew dimmer over time. Defeat was imminent!


Those Nubian spearmen who sneaked pass our gate defenses now attacked our javelinmen at the gates, who were giving huge support at the overflowing Egyptian intrusion through the gates.


The weight of Egyptian advance was augmented when their cavalry squadrons rode right through our defending formations at the gate. We responded with what we could, using lots of arrows and javelins. The leading squadron was of a royal heavy cavalry unit.


Then came a light cavalry squadron and a camel squadron.




I thought my men could not hold for long. I told the squire to gather a dozen men and to follow me into the fray. In a small moving orb of sword and shield, we fought as hard as we could and holding them back so that our javelinmen and archers could do their work. Then at that miserable moment, a spearhead plunged right through my squire’s throat. Blood spilled everywhere as his agonious eyes looked at the sky with hands holding his neck, he fell to the ground.
“Ah, No No…!!” I yelled. I’ve lost one of my close comrade. It was not only him, my men were falling down beside me in every direction. Our orb formation was literally being overrun by Egyptian cavalry. Then I was knocked down by a blunt blow, possibly a collision with a horse. This is what I experienced of the battle and no more. My apologies my lord. But survivors retold the rest of the story.
Our valiant efforts were not fruitless however. All three of Egyptian cavalry squadrons was eventually killed by our resilient ground troops and skilled archers on the walls.


On the other side of battle, Xenocrates and his accompanying Nubian infantry continued to wreak havoc amongst our rear ranks, but our captain sent a spear militia battalion to deal with them. Although unskilled, they could better perform than javelin armed light infantry.


They bought us some valuable time to deploy more javelinmen, who found a vulnerable target, a slowly advancing Greek phalangite unit, which was rapidly withered away by hails of javelins. Losing too many men and trapped in the streets, Xenocrates was forced to withdraw nowhere but to the city plaza, where we followed and slew them including Xenocrates himself.




Meanwhile, on the walls, captain Aritenyesbokhe and his men had finally repelled the assaulting troops. He led his men downstairs and threw themselves to the thick melee on the ground where Egyptians were already failing at. At the sight of our captain and his unforgiving warriors, the Egyptians lost morale and were routed en masse.


If it was not for a fresh battalion of levy thureos spear battalion which was held as a reserve in front of the gate, we could run them down outside the city. But we had to content with many hails of arrows over the walls as they organized their retreat.

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In the aftermath of the battle I was found knocked out and buried under a dead horse as we cleaned the bodies in front of the gate. We emerged from an unlikely victory thanks to the skills of our captain. With their commanding general being dead and his army almost shattered, the storm that Gerrha facing with, was over at last.

[Alwyn]

War with Egypt sounds like a dangerous threat for the Himyarites. This is an exciting battle, especially when the gate is breached and Himyarites fight desperately to hold the line against the invaders. In my experience, getting good screenshots to show the key moments of a battle is not easy - the screenshots which you use are consistently impressive. I wonder what will happen next - will Egyptians or Himyarites strike the next blow in this war?

[Paladin94610]

Chapter 13 – Courting a War



When Xenocrates stormed Gerrha, Aritenyesbokhe stood alongside the garrison troops, both Gerrheans and Himyarites alike. Together they did something miraculous; a small and unprepared Arabian force repelled a well organized Diadochi army. Captain Aritenyesbokhe was treated as a hero and the savior of the city. He was very popular in the east of our country. It concerned us and the king because we were being helpless and stuck on the other side of Red Sea surrounded by enemies at times and at other ‘peaceful’ times, by complete foreigners. There were rumors of the father and the son visiting Lord Amenitenmemmide lately. Surely they might have got acquianted some time earlier. And it should not bring us more concerns than failing popularity of the royal family and loyalists like us in the homeland. Many months passed and we heard only worse news in the east. There had been local chiefs and even Himyarite nobles who spoke ill of the king. The royal family was accused of waging unnecessary wars and not protecting its loyal subjects made especially on the grounds that no aid came to the attack on Gerrha despite earlier attempts of seeking out help. And we heard about many nobles who were backed by temples of the old gods, being disillusioned for their shrinking role under a king who followed the Hebrew religion.

The stranger news which our informants delivered was that there had been shipments of hard wood and a lot of carpenter equipment from the capital to Maas-gat by the orders of Amenitenmemide. We were not very sure of what it meant. So we sent our little birds to the capital for further investigation.

Diverting away from court politics and if I’m forced to talk about our campaign’s present situation, it is easy to describe with one word, ‘boring’. You would not be surprised to find it boring when you were stuck in a foreign land for nearly six years straight! Here after taking the port Ptolemais Theron, basically we were doing a search and destroy of any Blemmyeic fugitives left to resist our occupation. A year ago there was a thousand of them, now we guess it’s only a few hundreds. But we kept cautious in case any uprising developed. We left a fairly strong garrison at Ptolemais Theron and returned to Aksum with the majority of our forces.

In the meantime, I received letters from my family. It was sad news that my father passed away, of old age I supposed and he was ill and crippled since last year. I requested the king for a temporary return which he granted generously. I arrived in time for the funeral. In Eudaemon, he was a prominent person among the Beduoin tribesmen, and his funeral was attended by many. After the funeral the Bedouin leaders summoned me, which took me surprised.

“For what purpose am I summoned?” I asked the tribe elders.
“It’s a council in the town. As you know, your father represented one of the nine elder chiefs of the south. And you are among the candidates for his position.”

I found the council to be a larger one than I expected, with nearly four hundred chiefs, both village chiefs and elder chiefs alike, and not only from Himyar but from Ma’in and Nabataea regions also. There were two other candidates, my cousin Kaditede and my brother-in-law, Micapsa. Kaditede had a reputation of his own, for he was the son of my uncle, Akhratan, who was such a hero when the Sabaeans invaded Himyar some forty years ago. Micapsa was a younger son of a powerful elder chief, wedded to my sister some ten years ago. He seemed trying to exert his tribe’s intimidating influence upon the votes. But it seemed your own achievements counts more when it came to a chief election rather than a family influence or a proud heritage. I won the position by votes, with so much edge over Kaditede but Micapsa could have won if some six unknown votes saved the day! It was a tough competition and I regarded my father’s position highly.

In the following weeks, I dedicated my time to improve our Bedouin countryside, visiting one oasis to another, arranging wells & caravan stations as I saw fit. I liked this new position in helping my tribesmen. However, I’m not my father, perhaps not even destined to lead my people. I hope I had that one chance to guide my tribesmen in my life, that one my father would be proud of. But under current circumstances I knew I could not linger in Himyar for long. In fact I was finding an excuse to depart. Then to my convenience, a messenger arrived. He delivered a message with a royal seal. It was from the king, summoning me back and acknowledging a dire situation in Aksum.

As I learned on the way, it was once again the Egyptians. This time they strike not in Arabia, but in Africa. Their first target was obviously our northernmost outpost, the port of Ptolemais Theron. This unfortunate port was besieged and taken by Blemmyes some decades ago. Taking it back from us served both purposes of regaining their lost town and also taking our one of our valuable assets in the war. There were indeed survivors of that battle who retold about that bloody day.

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Battle of Ptolemais Theron, 237BC

~ Belligerents


We were quite nervous when we heard the attack on Gerrha, because Ptolemais Theron was on the very doorstep to their realms. Our garrison was a strong force, comprising nearly 1,200 men which included a squadron of camelry. But when the Egyptians really strike, we knew we were not sure if this force could hold them. But this was all we could spare anyway. The anticipated attack came with a large force comprising an array of light troops, light swordsmen and thureos spearmen, supported by phalangites and cavalry. We dug out our defense at the city plaza.


The assault was heralded by impetuous battalions of light swordsmen, behind them were very long spears, three times a man’s height held by massed formations of phalangites. The Sarrisa, is the name that the Egyptians used to call this weapon. It was the first time I saw them in action. I could not think of how they wield these weapons properly even to defend themselves. But make no mistake in their capability in a formation though. A century ago, Macedon’s king Alexander conquered the known world with the Sarrisa. We greeted their impetus with many ruthless flights of javelins.


Our garrison had relatively fewer melee infantry. One spearmen battalion was deployed in a square formation at one front, which was quickly overrun by the attackers.


Phalangites were advancing under cover of lighter troops, but once the light troops became engaged in combat, the phalangites were exposed to missile fire. Keeping in formation made their advance slow, but they marched on unfaltered, with many bodies of their comrades falling around them.




While we could barely hold our positions in one front, the Egyptians opened up a second front with two battalions of Nubian spearmen and accompanied by a squadron of Greek light cavalry. This front was held by our garrison captain himself.




Behind the front lines, our archers and javelinmen poured as many missiles into the masses of enemy. Meanwhile the enemy light spearmen responded with their own javelins.


Then the seemingly gracious moment came, when our camelry on patrol arrived to relieve us, first running down the Egyptian archers.

 
Then the camelry pounded upon the second front, charging at the rear of Nubian spearmen, routing a battalion. But then the enemy became quite aware of the attack and began to defend themselves effectively. On the first front our lines were collapsing despite reinforced by a light infantry battalion.


Even the relief force failed to save the day. All hope was lost. The enemies punched through our lines and started fighting our archers and javelin men, so no more shoving missiles. We were all surrounded and trapped at the plaza, most of us were slaughtered like beasts, and a hundred of us were taken prisoner, which included me. I was sent back to deliver their message that Himyarite kingdom must become a vassal subject of the Egyptian Diadochi, or all of our cities will suffer the same fate as Ptolemais Theron’s garrison.

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[Paladin94610]

Chapter 14 – The Usurpers

While the troubles in the west went on and as our forces were cornered by the Egyptian and the Meroetic powers, disturbing news from the east arrived. There was an armed host of men pillaging the countryside as they marched west to Marib. To our surprise it was led by captain Aritenyesbokhe and seemingly backed by his father, Lord Rabbel and the powerful Lord Amanitenmemide. Now we could deduce why Maas-gat needed so much wood and carpenter equipments. They were building an army of their own, to topple king Syphax’s reign. The king, however, could not handle the news. He was devastated when he heard half of his nobles were involved in this, feeling he was too unpopular among the court and that he was not worthy to rule the kingdom anymore.
“You may grieve later my king, but let us plead you to take action immediately! Let us remind you that it involves your life and our own lives at stake. You must crush the rebels once and for all. After that you can do anything with your throne.”, the nobles reminded him rather harshly.
After relentlessly pleading for days, the old king overcame his grief and made up his mind finally. We had few ships at hand to return to Eudaemon on our own, and we had to rely on the grateful loyalists if we were to win this conflict. All he could do was sending a capable commander back to homeland.
“Pakheme, you have fought for years alongside me and brought me many victories. And you are a loyal and honorable man. Let me choose you as my commander in the homeland. You will destroy the rebels for all of us. Can you do that?”
“I will settle the matters when I am home, my lord” I had to give this polite and ambiguous answer, because I had no idea how the Bedouins would react to the situation and right now, they need their tribal leadership more than at any time. He bought my response anyway and I was sent home to defeat the usurpers.
Meanwhile in Saba, the host of the usurpers intruded the Sabaean territory, which was governed by Lord Naqyrinsan from its capital city of Marib. Lord Naqyrinsan immediately summoned an emergency force to defend himself. As with his impetuous wit, he went out on the field to meet the enemy some three hundred miles of caravan ride from Marib, near the town of Sanāw.

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Battle of Sanāw, 236BC

Belligerents –


Naqyrinsan seemed to have mustered the force hastily, but thanks to our new efficient draft system, he was able to pull out over one thousand of able-men across the country. Most of the infantry was equipped as state swordsmen and state spearmen with two battalions of state archers and one battalion of javelinmen. This main body of troops were flanked by two battalions of heavy lancers and state cavalry, two on each side.


Usurper army was headed by Lord Amenitanmemide and captain Aritenyesbokhe. They fielded a far bigger host of over two thousands men, nearly twice the size of Naqyrinsan’s. What they made up for numbers, they lacked in quality though. They had to recruit from regions which were yet to implement the new draft system. Usurper army was made up with levy spearmen and archers, but the usurpers certainly had a greater pool of usurping nobility; and thus several more noble swordsmen battalions were fielded. Their wings also included heavy lancers and ligher Arab cavalry but with spare javelins.
The first combat occurred as the Naqyrinsan’s right wing attacked and charged at usurpers’ left wing. Horses and lances clashed like a thunder.


Amenitenmemide deployed his light infantry at the front and tempted Naqyrinsan’s advancing left wing cavalry to charge at them.


In stead of their anticipated glorious charge, they were met by ruthless barrage of javelins and short spears, few men from that squadron survived the attack.






Lord Naqyrinsan did not do well with his wings, but he played out his last card; an all out attack with his state infantry upon the center of usurpers. As they charged head-on they were met by many flights of javelins as the light infantry Amenitenmemide screened the front. But large wicker shields and greater numbers pressed on the attack. As soon as light infantry was engaged, Amenitenmemide had his levy spearmen reinforced the first line.




Far back from a distance, Naqyrinsan’s state archers loosed many volleys of missiles overhead of their comrades. The arrows were quite effective on lightly armored usurpers’ spearmen.




Though the fight did not boiled down to a massive slaughter, instead developed as a flanking move, being outflanked by another as the skilled commanders deployed their reserves to keep in check of one another. The infantry battlelines gradually stretched and even reached where cavalry were fighting on themselves.


But that one single mistake, of the suicidal charge of Naqyrinsan’s left wingmen, eventually revealed how this skirmish was to develop. Usurpers’ right wing remained unchallenged and unengaged. These cavalry squadrons were free to roam the field and run down Naqyrinsan’s skirmishers and archers.


Meanwhile Naqyrinsan’s main body of infantry did quite a butcher of light troops that Amenitenmemide presented. Just as the levies were thinned out, Amenitenmemide ordered heavy swordsmen to advance and defeat the already exhausted loyalist infantry. As one noble swordsmen battalion was quie exposed, Naqyrinsan took the chance, wait…. all of you know his impetuous wit once he settled on a saddle! Yes… he did charge at them!
“Death to the traitors!”, Naqyrinsan shouted as he charged. The deadly charge alone killed half of the noble swordsmen.


However, usurper skirmshers behind the nobles quickly responded the situation, by throwing deadly javelins at point blank range. Usually heavily armored men could withstand such heavy attacks, but at point blank range, there was less trouble to aim at unarmored parts.


Noble infantry held on while Naqyrinsan’s lancers started to fall one after another. One javelin stroke Naqyrinsan, at his left chest. He tried to balance on his saddle but fell to his death.









In the center of loyalist force, the situation was the same. Their flanks were being targeted by usurper skirmshers. Morale was high when they could push and slaughter hundreds of levy battalions, but just as their advance was halted by noble infantry, it was to question how long this morale would hold on.


Instead, usurper cavalry that had finished running down loyalist skirmishers returned to the field to do a shorter work on bringing down loyalists’ morale.


Loyalist infantry battalions were shattered into smaller chunks which gave up the fight one by one and fled, who were ruthlessly cut down by usurper cavalry.


Naqyrinsan, the lord of Marib, remained where he fell. Spilling out blood and fighting for his breath, he stretched his arm at his fleeing men, who had no idea of where their commander was, let alone how they could even survive the day. Blood filled his chest eventually as he futilely rallied with one hand and slowly passed over.

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We suffered a dreaded defeat that day. Naqyrinsan may be rebellious, bull headed, and his obedience was questionable. But to his death, he honored his loyality. And with the lord of Marib killed and his host shattered, between Eudaemon and the usurpers, there was no one to stop them, only some stretches of miles of sand dunes and hot sun. Yet another desperate situation awaited me as I was coming home.

[Paladin94610]

Chapter 15 – Those Who Write History

Our defeat at Sanāw proved that the new Himyarite army was not as formidable as it seemed previously. The worse thing was that Lord Naqyrinsan did not left any successor to govern Marib in case he does not make it back.

Lord Naqyrinsan (Deceased ~ 287BC – 236BC)


The usurpers were planning to divide the kingdom on their own, with Lord Amanitenmemide taking Eudaemon and Marib while, Gerrha and Mass-gat would be ruled by Lord Rabbel and his son Aritenyesbokhe. We had lost contact with Gideon in the recent years and he might be following under Amenitenmemide’s command.

Meanwhile the city of Marib fell control to local Sabaean lords, which we heard with worrisome rumors that a Sabaean kingdom could be restored in our absence.Nevertheless the usurper army did not even bother with this rebellious city, for Lord Amanitenmemide decided to draw recruits from the Sabaean countryside, especially the Saba youth who were eager to take vengeance on the Himyarites. In the weeks that followed the battle, he recovered some of his casualties, but the equipment was the same, the overwhelmingly militia type troops.

When I landed at Eudaemon I found a panicked city. Lord Amanitenmemide was a Himyarite and he would not possibly order a sack on his home city, but his army contained the Sabaeans, the Mascats and the Gerrheans who might. And the citizens had their rights to panick, because there was no commander who was dare to lead any loyalist army against the usurpers; because Amanitenmemide’s skills, both martial and command, was well known throughout the kingdom. But we must see that the danger was inevitable and that we must prepare for it.

“Summon the town guard captain, I want to speak with him. Meet me at the palace.”, I told a garrison lieutenant.

In Eudaemon I had been granted full access and authority in the name of the king.
The grimmed captain arrived at the counsel hall.

“Captain, I’ve found that the people are scared of the rebels because there is no one to protect them. But if they do not stand for themselves there is no way. In any case, I need new recruits because Lord Naqyrinsan used up once at a time the opportunity to crush the rebellion and failed, the gods knows his courageous act though.”

“What would you plan to do my lord?”

“So the citizens….they need to be motivated. I’ve decided to make a public speech. Call up the citizens about noon tomorrow at the city plaza. And I want every smith in the town to make armor and weapons at once. There will be more ships arriving from Aksum, we cannot spare any man from Aksum, but we have plenty of weapons to supplement our arsenal.”

The next day, people truly came to my call, hundreds of them waiting at the plaza. I stood up on the stage and looked across the crowd, and saw in their eyes, their search for hope and safety.

“Citizens of Eudaemon, I’m general Pakheme, sent by our king to command the land armies of Himyar on his behalf.”

“Just a hundred leagues from here, there stands an army of tracherous rebels. They are led by formerly general Amanitenmemide. And they are marching straight towards us right now. He was a loyal servant of the kingdom, but lately he had grown too much greed to take it for himself. Most of the common people here has nothing to do with court politics, I know. This is a matter of conflict within the nobility. And the army that Amanitenmemide brings, is not of our own, but the tribesmen we have conquered. They are ready to take revenge on us given the chance.”

“But have no fear citizens. We must realize and face the grim reality before us. Dear citizens what were you doing when the Sabaeans were marching at Eudaemon some decades ago. We mustered our courage to fight back. Being a city, or being a town, or rather, being an empire does not matter when it comes to death and destruction. And it can come from both outside and from within. There is no reason that we should grow fat and cowardly as our borders expands. We fight for our kings, and for our growing kingdom, yes. But we are also fighting for our own freedom and our own lives, for our city. Do not forget that at any time.”

“So please do not search for any hope or salvation done on your behalf. You must seek it yourselves. You have known me for a decade. I’ve fought alongside our king in many battles, battles against the Sabaeans, the Gerrhaeans and the Ethiopians. I have faith in you as I have confidence in my command. I promise you not a victory, but safety of the city and her citizens. So please… please follow my command. I can draw recruits as many as I want. But it is the spirit that I want. You fight not because I tell you so, but always be reminded of your family and friends that you want to protect. Fight for them! For Eudaemon and for our king!”

At the end of the talk, I could see that many people were inspired. I knew they needed a motivation and I knew a loyality issue alone would not work. We all should have understood that, in the deserts of Arabia, at many times it is the people that we fight for, not a particular king or prince. We began the recruitment amongst the citizen population and from the hosts of people that arrived from the countryside seeking shelter in the city. The city became crowded than ever before. Ships continued to flow into the harbour over the days, supplying swords and spears for the new army, catching up with the masses of new recruits. Meanwhile, we trained the recruits to be disciplined. They were taught it is not skills or bravery that would save us, but discipline and morale. In a week, we mustered a force of nearly two thousands men ready to defend the city. Never before did any Arab state gather such a force in such a short period. I hoped it help save the kingdom!

“So this is it”, said the garrison captain. “Now that I bet the usurpers would not dare attack the city!”

I replied, “Yes, until they get help from the Egyptians. Do you think Amanitenmemide would sit back to watch his campaign fallen into pieces. He had been planning this for years. He might even be expecting this! He would definitely seek foreign assistance if it would win him a kingdom, a vassal state at least!”

“Then what do you suggest my lord?”

“Before he makes up his mind to make a deal with the Egyptians, let me propose that we bring the fight to them!”

“Pardon me my lord, but this is ridiculous! We are outnumbered and can you really trust these new recruits?”

“Did we trust our levied recruits when we were besieged by the Sabaeans?”
The captain remained silent.

“Tell your lieutenants to prepare for battle. We will meet them out in four days.”
Giving the orders for a field battle, my thoughts swept across the desert. I took a horse and rode out to the desert because I have yet, some errands to run. A day’s ride worthed the sight of an oasis village, with scattered tents amidst the desert. The council had already begun when I went inside the biggest tent. The most powerful and influential Bedouin leaders gathered around in there.

“What if the loyalists lose the war, and what would become of us?”

“But we should stand with Eudaemon as we have several times in the past. Amanitenmemide is no legacy but one man!”

“He might be. But right now he commands the only active army in Himyar! What do you suggest? Hmm?”

“Let us join the rebels and take their favor?”

There were multiple overlapping voices flying around the tent, throwing bitter arguments towards each other whether they should join the rebels or the king.

“Please let me speak!” I shouted. “My lords let me forgive me for my delay. I have been sent back to Eudaemon to make a stand against the usurpers. And I have already forged a new army to face this threat.”

“We are men of the desert. We live in tents and we move around the desert. But at times, we used to seek shelter in Eudaemon. And that alone is worth defending it. Forget about Himyar’s kings. Forget about the deals and bonds that we made. Think about the people of Eudaemon. They always hosted us with kindness and warmth, they protected our families when we were at war with other tribes or when our villages were raided. Please think about this! I plead all of you to fight for Eudaemon.”

The silence that followed did not last though, the arguments continued as I finished my message. I found my cousin and my brother-in-law favoring for the rebels too. I stayed at the council for the night and tried to convince many chiefs to my will, but I could not clear their confusion. In the morning though, I could not wait any longer since I had to return to Eudaemon. I realized I must rely on the Eudaemon citizens more than I anticipated, if we were to survive this.

Six days later, we marched out to battle as we met the usurpers’ army only twenty leagues from Eudaemon. The two hosts formed up their lines for battle.

---

Battle of Eudaemon 236BC

Belligerents –


I put the spear battalions on the front line. The better armored and the better trained were placed at the flanks, while the center was maintained by lighter levy style battalions, which I could not have time for suiting up or for training. This weak center was reinforced by swords battalion placed as the second battle line. On the left wing stood my lancer cavalry and a state cavalry squadron, while on the right was a light cavalry squadron.


Dust blew behind the hill as the usurper army approached towards us. Their front was screened with numerous light infantry as before. If I used my cavalry to charge at these light troops, I might not have any chance of maneuverability left when their numerically superior infantry force fall upon our lines. And I would not make this same mistake that Lord Naqyrinsan did. In battle, the haste has its use, but not now.


Our reluctance to charge had worth it, when Aritenyesbokhe decided to attack us with his right wing cavalry. I sent my armored lancers to intercept them. Their light cavalry was shattered by the powerful charge of our lancers.


Aritenyesbokhe’s own heavy cavalry lagged behind and they missed the chance to make a charge and were forced into a protracted melee combat on saddles. In the meantime, our state cavalry closely followed the retreating usurper light cavalry which was routed. Our state cavalry returned to the fight, and despite losing the majority of their men, we routed Aritenyesbokhe’s lancers. Aritenyesbokhe himself changed his mount with a lighter one and fled the field.


Usurper light infantry quickly followed and charged into our front line of spearmen with a hail of javelins. Light infantry battalions were sandwiched between several columns of light cavalrymen who added mere shock effect for the infantry. Certainly this is an innovative tactic used by Amanitenmemide. Their javelins meant devastating kills upon our lightly armored spearmen especially at the center. But the spearmen were useful to repel the horsemen.




The center became very weakened when the momentum of the charge settled. So I decided to put use of all my reserves to hold the battleline. Just as we invested heavy infantry into the fray, Amanitenmemide could afford even more numerous heavy infantry as he had many battalions of noble swordsmen. If this situation did not go corrected, we would not hold the line for so long.


“Aim! Loose!” I heard the lieutenant’s orders at the archers behind. They had worrisome eyes as their comrades were being slaughtered right in front of their eyes, and they were forced to drop arrows at targets very close to their friends. At worst, if the fight goes wrong, they would have no where to run.
While our center was barely holding, I realized Amanitenmemide’s plan to break our line in an instance went south clearly. At this moment, I felt safe to move my own right wing of horsemen to do a flanking charge at usurper left flank. But even the charge did not rout any of usurper units. Noble warriors were deep among the ranks and their morale remained high despite our relentless attacks.


I wished I had javelinmen as an alternative to my cavalry but I had none, which forced me to sit and watch as the battle went on, with odds clearly against us. I prayed to the gods that I made noble choices for our kingdom and our tribes, to find me a better place. I was ready to die fighting alongside my men. I drew the sword and ordered my bodyguards to fight with me. The brutal fight went on for another hour, my armor was soaked with blood as I stood at the front in a shieldwall, cutting down nobles and commoners alike, but I knew a dozen handful of elite fighters would mean nothing in a grand scale.
“My lord! Look!”, one of my bodyguards told me to look at the edge of sand dunes to our east. There was dust flying and clearly another host of troops had arrived. I had already been pessimistic about the outcome since the battlelines clashed.
“Ah! It might be reinforcements Amanitenmemide brought! Perhaps it’s the troops he recruited in Saba. I think he is going to make the final push! So be ready for this! We shall have plenty more kills today before we die!”
“But my lord, look carefully, they are not foot soldiers. Humps and saddles mean camelry. Please look again.”
As the unknown force approached rather faster for infantry, it became clear that it was camelry. I stood back from the shieldwall, as my men took my place so that I could behold them at a leisure. I realized at the head of the camel warriors was an old man, Sargon, my uncle-in-law, and an elder chief and father of Micapsa. The Bedouins truly answered my call!


It was the first time in half a millennium that such a force of Bedouins gathered to fight against a common enemy. Their camels were trained to fight on humpback and were familiar with blood and screams during raids and single combats between warriors. The warriors themselves, some wore helmets while some only turbans. All of them were armed with long thrusting spears while resorting protection with small rounded or sometimes cresent shaped wicker shields. The relief force descended downhill from the sand dune towards the miserable battlefield which had been protracted for almost two hours.


The Bedouin warriors offered a devastating charge from behind felling many enemy infantrymen this time and making several more kills upon lighter foot soldiers. But the usurper nobles fought hard and managed to push back our camelry. Even the relief force had a difficult time to sustain a melee fight. And the Bedouins themselves suffered heavy casualties afterwards. Bedouins pulled off from combat. And doom fell upon us when Sargon was killed as he got separated during the withdrawal. When his father was slain in front of him, the outraged and devastated poor Micapsa could do nothing as his camel was dragged to safety by other chiefs.




Elsewhere in the battlefield, other camel squadrons and the remaining men from my right wing cavalry drove off skirmishers. Amanitenmemide tried to intercept us with his lancers, but we were too versatile and too fast to catch. Micapsa and my cousin Kaditede regrouped the surviving camel warriors for a second attempt at breaking enemy morale. And they charged again with the same impetus as the first.


The giant beasts surged through enemy ranks while the riders thrusted their spears from a higher position than any horseman could have. The hardy usurpers would hold an ordered charge for once or twice, but clearly not several times.


One battalion after another withdrew from the fight, especially led by the usurper nobles themselves. The retreats usually turned into routs and the battlefield evolved into a one-sided slaughter. Hundreds of usurper troops were killed and several others surrendered and bet their lives on the conquerors.
In this confusion, Amanitenmemide and his cavalry were engaged by one of our spearmen battalion, while charged from the flank by my heavy lancers. He gave a tough fight for a number of heavy cavalrymen, but was eventually brought down.

Lord Amanitenmemide (Deceased ~ 295BC – 236BC)


The rest of his men were captured. And I found Gideon among them. I had him kneel before me.


“How did you end up like this my friend. Tell me why?” I shouted in frustration.
“We all fight for wealth and power Pakheme, you never seemed to understand this. For commoners they are just tools of war for richer and more powerful people to play. I want to become a powerful man and this is why I followed Lord Amanitenmemide. He was ambitious, keen and powerful. I modeled my life around him. He was like a mentor to me.”
“This time we have our differences not just in faith and kinship mate. Sadly we have different principles with which we live. I feel sad when you make me do this. But there is no way or help I can do. But despite a traitor, I won't kill you Gideon. It’s probably that I can’t. While I have full authority over the troops, I will dispatch you to a distant land, may be Persia, where you could live your days in peace. But our friendship… it ends here.”
“Guards! Take him away!”

I turned back to look at him, as he was dragged by two stout guards towards the camp. Greed and ambition could sometimes distract us and make us lose our path. If it was another commander instead me, he would probably be dead by then. And Gideon was an example to the fate of such fallible men there were.

I met Micapsa and Kaditedes afterwards.
“Thank you for the much needed help you brought to us. Now you owe me my life, brothers.”
“And I’m truly sorry for your loss. I’ve lost my father, and I can sympathize yours too.”
“No you won’t. You don’t understand how desperate it was to watch your father killed in front of you. And those mad people dragged me away from my chance to prove my worth. Damn it, I’m gonna kill them all!” He was still outraged and sad with red eyes and tears on the face.
“Don’t worry, brother. He will go through this. I’ll make sure he will”, said Kaditede.
“Then make it quick, brother. Time will not wait for us, especially when dealing with yet another witful usurper alive at the other end of the desert.”

---

Lord Amanitenmemide was dead, but as you know, Aritenyesbokhe escaped. And at this very moment, he might be fleeing east, to grip control of the usurping cities and make a second army to oppose us. There was still much fight left to do in the kingdom, and yet more in Africa. But one reason I could keep up my efforts was that I had hands for help since my Bedouin kinsmen had taken sides with us. There was a saying that the winners would write the history, and certainly we wished that we would write those pages ourselves.

[Alwyn]

These are very enjoyable chapters! The two threats of the Egyptians and the usurpers create an exciting situation, as general Pekheme seeks to inspire his men to fight bravely and as he faces the battle which follows. Your images are impressive, I like the way that you show the movement of the armies on the campaign map as well as the line-up of units on the battle-field (in your battlefield map in the latest chapter, I particularly like your use of images of some of the units in the smaller boxes). The arrival of the Bedouins, and their contribution to the battle, is a great moment.

[Paladin94610]

Our hero is having a hard time fighting war on two fronts. Let's see how he fares against these odds. In the mean time, I believe the Bedouin tribes as a whole, are eventually coming up to the stage of world politics.

@Alwyn
Thank you again for the compliments.

[Paladin94610]

Chapter 16 – A Troubling Fleet

It was a one fine day when a fleet of Egyptian ships approached the town of Makhwān which stood beside the Red Sea, soldiers disembarked on the shores, bearing torches and swords. They marched into the streets with little resistance. Ensued with screams and smoke, the fleet left the terrified town after hours of thoroughly ravaging the population. It then moved again to another town and to the next, coming in the south along the beach. Absence of a Himyarite fleet brought them a huge advantage to strike at anytime and anywhere.

The pleads arrived as soon as three days afterwards. I had to hastily order assembling a fleet of our own to stop this threat. Delegating authority to Eudaemon’s harbormaster, Gotarzes, the fleet consisted of three firepot direres, two hemiola and two trieres which revolved around a bigger trieres. Gotarzes intercepted the Egyptian fleet a few leagues south of Eudaemon. The Egyptian fleet was a smaller one, with one penteres and four light hemiola type light ships. And they turned back as soon as we were spotted. Our oarsmen rowed hard all day & night in pursuit. If not for their heavier penteres they could outrun us. A trick of wind and tide brought the unfortunate Egyptian fleet to somewhere they should not be in. And at the end of the second day they were finally trapped at the bay of Zeila on the mouth of Red Sea into the ocean. It was very dark to begin a fight anyway. The Egyptians anchored near the beach for the night. Over the night we had watchful guards who kept eyes on all five of their vessels.

---

Battle of Zeila Bay, 236BC

Belligerents -


In the morning, the two fleets took position for battle and began to row the oars towards each other.


Gotarzes’ flagship has numerous archers who were put to good use, since they were the only long ranged unit in the battle. Egyptian troops suffered huge casualties even before they were approaching.




As we close in with each other, we exchanged each other with flaming javelins and darts.


Egyptian hemiola were fast and very maneuverable. And our helmsman were too inexperienced to dodge their ramming attacks, but Himyarite shipbuilding has pride on its own too. Our ship hulls held most of the attacks. But we had the numbers on our side. Hundreds of javelins were hurled overboard, while many were wasted in the sea and many planted into the shields by the deck. Yet many more made it to hit the men.




Their flagship was a boarding penteres, full of marines and we did not give them a chance to board. Despite huge losses, Gozartes directed the firepot dieres to make a swarm at the Egyptian flagship. The firepots which were hanged at the bow hit on the side of the Egyptian ship, incurring flames and panic. Dieres’ ramming attacks themselves were soft but they managed to pin down the giant Egyptian vessel.




The Egyptians did not sit tight of course. They responded with many javelins on the ramming crew.


Elsewhere in the battle, Egyptian hemiola were either routed or annihilated. Our own trieres and hemiola came to the mass onslaught of Egyptian flagship. Together with Gozartes’ archers, they made several mixed volleys of javelins and arrows from all directions. The Egyptian vessel was surrounded and disabled completely, while its crew was quickly shot down. We saw a lifeless deck when we boarded the already sinking ship.

---

[Paladin94610]

Chapter 17 – The Ephemeral Peace

While I was struggling against the usurpers and a troubling Egyptian fleet at my back, on Ethiopian soil, King Syphax brought his only son, Prince Naravas, who had came of age in the recent years, to the relentless campaign. . This time, the Meroe posed a new threat. Since we had wrestled Aksum from Meroe, they were fearful of a full-fledged Himyarite invasion into Kush. But a decade later, they seemed to regain some courage perhaps they were being backed by the Egyptians’ reconquest of Ptolemaic Theron. And the king decided to break this host. It took a year to assemble all the forces we had in Ethiopia. After the rally, the king brought a formidable force of over 4,000 men. The Meroitic forces were smaller, but possessed eighteen war elephants to rampage our lines. The two forces met in the southern plains of Kush.

---

Battle of Kush 235BC

Belligerents -


Syphax brought an array of combined arms, several hundreds of spearmen supported by heavy infantry and numerous archers and javelinmen, which were flanked by hundreds of horsemen.


The young prince Naravas rode with Teritnide in the heavy lancers squad on the left wing, accompanied by Arab state cavalry and light cavalry squads.


The right wing was composed of several cavalry units, with thundering hooves as they took position on the endless plain in between the sand dunes.


We had met with elephant charges before at Himyarite army was lined up for an elephant charge. Syphax had screening lines of light infantry to cover losses from an elephant charge. He had levy spearmen lined up at the front. The second line is made up of light infantry armed with swords and several javelins. Behind them was the main line infantry of state spearmen, state swordsmen and noble swordsmen. In the rear, Syphax deployed two battalions of skirmishers and several units of state archers.


The king was well prepared for the battle which was revealed in that he possessed an exotic company of javelin cavalrymen, who were trained by the notorious Numidian renagade captains exiled from Carthage in the west. He sent these men to harass Meroitic cavalry, who followed our skirmish. Soon the enemy began to move their whole army against us. Syphax’s plan to draw the enemy was a success. Now that the carefully placed formation would conviniently deal with the elephants. We could only hope that.


Once javelin cavalry came back, our right wing cavalry set out to engage them. Let us introduce to a new cavalry unit, the caravan guards, which was basically a Bedouin cavalry unit, who were more richly armed than Arab light cavalry. They were not very skilled horsemen but they could provide equipment for a heavy cavalry status. This force was a pride of Bedouin tribe in Himyar recently. However they were met by Meroitic noble cavalry, who were excellent fighters. Over half of our caravan guards were killed in the ensuing melee after the initial charge.


Eighteen elephants screened the enemy line, trumpling and shaking the ground as they approached. Behind them, two thousands men shouted and drove the beast towards us, hope to shatter us in the face of the monsters. It had been five years we had not faced an elephant charge. Many new recruits were scared and discussed about running away. But many of our old veterans never forgot how powerful they were and how they could be killed. They held their position and encouraged the troops beside them. If we ever break formation, we would certainly lose the battle.


King Syphax ordered the 500 state archers to loose several flights of arrows at the elephants.


Over 16 hundreds of arrows flew in the sky in every minute. Several hundres of them hit the ground, while several others hit the elephants. Arrows did not kill the elephants but disabled them out of pain and bleeding. And only a few elephants were actually brought down by arrows.


When several mahouts were killed, the elephants suddenly became unmanned. Four of them turned their backs and run back towards their own ranks, trumpling over fellow Egytian infantry.




Most elephant managed to approach the levy spearmen, who were in a throwing range of light javelins. Both light infantry and javelinmen threw their missiles at the beasts. The elephants broke through the levy spearmen but they were stopped by dauntless light infantrymen.


Despite elephants running amok and invoking chaos, Egyptian infantry continued to march on and soon clashed with our infantry. King Syphax himself led the battalions at the center to hold the line. We had numerous cavalry and we had to put it in good use if we were to win a decisive battle.


Meroitic infantry armed with swords quickly cut down our spearmen and light infantry. Even state infantry and noble swordsmen barely held the line. After half an hour of combat, the light infantry and the levies routed. The situation was taken even worse by their chariot riders making a timely charge at a weak spot. The chariots almost break through the line, if not stopped by our javelinmen who pinned them down as our line infantry slowly brought them down or disabled the chariots.


On the Himyarite right wing, Meroitic cavalry led by the noble cavalry stood firm and brave against the horde of Arabic horsemen. They were quickly reinforced by Meroitic light infantry. We sent one state swordsmen battalion and one state spearmen battalion to aid our horsemen. Soon the right wing became tangled with infantry and horsemen alike, killing each other in a massive confusion.


The battle went in our favor on our left wing though, thanks to the presence of heavy lancers and the mighty Teritnide. Prince Naravas found it hard to catch up in a fierce battle even when he was heavily guarded by ten experienced riders. But he did just well enough to survive the day. After shattering the Meroitic cavalry that was to offer in the left wing, Teritnide’s light forces rode down the skirmishers and archers.


Meanwhile he led his heavy lancers to strike at the back of enemy infantry. For the young prince, it was the first glorious charge he encountered in person. If he enjoy skewing a lance at an enemy’s back and riding them down under hooves, he would probably enjoy fighting as a lancer in the future. His father however used to stay on foot and fight in a traditional infantry formation.


It was a shame that the caravan guards routed, even more shameful for our Bedouin tribesmen. Yet the fight in the right wing slowly turned in our favor. State spearmen were a game changer, as the Meroitic cavalry wasted their men at fruitless attacks upon a firmly held infantry square. As soon as the right wing won the fight, they were free to reinforce their brothers in the center by outflanking the Meroitic battleline.


After another hour of a massive slaughter, the Meroitic battalions were falling apart as our repeated cavalry charges broke their morale and discipline over time. Meroitic troops turned their backs and routed away from the battlefield. We chased them over hundreds of bodies of men and beasts alike lying over the field for two miles long. It was a huge blow to the Meroitic military. King Syphax decided a quick defeat of Meroe before any Egyptian aid came for their demise.

---

[Alwyn]

These are very enjoyable chapters! I like the way that you show how the different sides relied on their strengths in the sea battle (ramming and marines, against archers and fire-pots). In the land battle, it is great to see the Himyar army having to face elephants from Egypt.

[Paladin94610]

Chapter 18 – Pressing on the Wound

It had been two years since the usurpers were defeated at battle of Sanāw. By this time, several banners of Bedouins rallied under the loyalist host. We regained regional support in Ma’rib and its Sabaean countryside over the recent months. With Saba’s support, came a new pool of youth for recruits. The king entrusted me with the army and I stood at the head of the loyalist army as before, leading the men to Mass-gat, the current base of campaigns Aritenyesbokhe and his father Lord Rabbel was conducting. I planned to stop the rebellion before getting any stronger and spreading elsewhere in the kingdom.

Dry sand in the form of dunes. It was everywhere. It reminded me of the days when I was a captain. Back then we were marching at the same town trespassing the same deadly desert. Standing side by side with my brothers-in-arms, we fought and drove off the ambushers and we crushed the garrison of Mass-gat. What broke the swirling dusty wind of the desert was the hooves. Over a sand dune, several Bedouin tribesmen riding camels stopped for a moment, looking across the terrain and as their leader signaled a messenger went back while the rest continued to ride forth. Where the messenger going was to the over 2000 men strong army of loyalists headed by myself. My army was screened by the Bedouin camelry who took the first ride over each sand dune overlooking the terrain miles ahead, looking for any ambush or trap which may lay await us.


On the fourth day of the march, we encountered another swirl of dust about three miles before us. The would-be battlefield was only some ten miles from the port Asich.

---

Battle of Asich 234BC

Belligerents -


Both sides were unprepared for such a sudden engagement. But we prepared for the battle as fast as we could. I ordered the cavalry to take position over the top of two sand dunes overlooking the valley below, while my foot soldiers made their safe and hurried advance. On the other side, Aritenyesbokhe’s army took a defensive position along the ridge like top of the sand dune. At their backs, they held the most secure supply line from Mascat and the young usurper commander seemed any hurry was not his first option. If we got to end the conflict, it would definitely begin with us.


I arranged the battalions in a standard attack formation, where spearmen were put at the front, and supported by swordsmen behind.


Aritenyesbokhe had the numerical advantage since he had nearly three thousands soldiers. But we had more cavalry and thanks to my relatives Kaditedes and Micapsa, the Bedouin tribesmen provided the vital component of camelry. This advantage must change the course of battle certainly. When my battalions closed in within javelin range, ursurper soldiers charged towards us with a hail of javelins and darts.


I took command of left wing cavalry myself. As I rode closely at enemy’s left flank. I found numerous Persian troops with wicker shields and spears. They were probably some support from a cunning Pesian satrapy or a mercenary band promised of a worthy reward.


Amongst enemy infantry Aritenyesbokhe’s lancers charged at one of my noble swordsmen battalion almost breaking through the line.


I wheeled around my left wing cavalry at enemy’s rear, outmaneuvering the Persian battalions and took my personal company of lancers to charge at the usurpers’ right flank.


I sent away the rest of my left wing cavalry to combine with the whole of my right wing cavalry to attack the swarms of skirmishers and cavalry battalions at the rear ranks of the enemy’s center.




The dust flew elsewhere as we were surrounding the enemy in all directions, and the fight got thicker and thicker. Though our light cavalry could fair best against usurper skirmishers, we were halted by their own cavalrymen and many melee infantry Aritenyesbokhe sent back to deal with the threat.




Yet I had several squadrons who were still not engaged with any enemy. They charged the main enemy battleline from behind at different points.




A few usurper battalions routed ensuing the cavalry charges. This freed some battalions of mine who came to aid pinning down the Persian battalions on our left flank. With my infantry keeping the Persians busy fighting, I repeatedly charged at the them until the Persian folk broke.


When the Persian battalions fell, the entirety of enemy right flank was on a disarray. I called up a Bedouin camel squadron to sweep across the rear of enemy center. Aritenyesbokhe hastily sent a battalion of spearmen but they could not manage to form a line and were run over by camels.


Only a few pockets of resistance led by lancers and noble swordsmen held out for another hour before their numbers thinned out and their escape rout vanished.

---

Aritenyesbokhe managed to escape the battle again. He gave up Maas-gat without a fight. He fled north to rebuild his power with his strongest support from the Gerrhaeans, the source of this whole rebellion. Gerrha together with its false lords must be taught a lesson of what happens to a city who turned backs to their master!

[Alwyn]

Great chapter! The Battle of Asich looks like an exciting confrontation, as Pakheme tries to use his cavalry and camelry to overcome his numerical disadvantage in infantry. It's great to see the Bedouin camel riders in action again, and the cavalry charges enabled you to show readers some exciting moments in the battle.

[Caillagh de Bodemloze]

You've posted loads since I was here last! Sorry about that.

Your chapters are as drama-filled as ever. I agree with Alwyn that the arrival of the Bedouins in the nick of time is a very effective moment. And some of your pictures are absolutely stunning!