[Multi AAR] History of men

[Seleucid king]

I'm hardly sober when I write stuff.
I already rewrote the passage.

But you are absolutley right. I accidently skipped that passage when I reviewed; and in general I could not concentrate so well because the updates get longer and longer and longer. I should spend more time reviewing what I write, but I always get so eager to release the update.

Techincally, though, the Roman Triarii DID fight in Phalanx(or something close to it) in real life.

[Julius Barca the Great]

Good update, once again! There were a few minor grammatical and spelling errors, but the primary mistake I noticed was that you switched tenses once or twice. OTher than that, a very interesting update. Hopefully the Romans can quickly recover from this loss of life, 'ere the Phoenicians can recruit more mercenaries to their cause. Continue with this tale, it is very interesting.

[Fixiwee]

Good update, once again! There were a few minor grammatical and spelling errors, but the primary mistake I noticed was that you switched tenses once or twice.

This is an interessting point you make and I agree with you. With all the updates I tried to be authentic and overlooked the tension. I'm gonna think about this point and try to improve it. Thanks for all the honest critics, keep em coming! This kind of feedback spurs me on to improve my AAR.

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Switching tenses and persons can be a tough one, especially when you're caught up in the idea of what you're writing. It always makes sense in your mind!

[Julius Barca the Great]

You may regret inviting criticism from me, especially regarding grammar...
On a more serious note: alright, I will be glad to point out the minor mistakes you make, since you are willing to accept the criticism. I'm glad to do so, as this is a very good AAR and the fewer errors, the more enjoyable it will be!

[Fixiwee]

I corrected a major mistake in calculating. The Romans had 23,500 casualties, not 13,500.

You may regret inviting criticism from me, especially regarding grammar...
On a more serious note: alright, I will be glad to point out the minor mistakes you make, since you are willing to accept the criticism. I'm glad to do so, as this is a very good AAR and the fewer errors, the more enjoyable it will be!

Accepting criticism is something I take serious. I want to improve my AARs and balance out my mistakes in areas I can't see for myself, which is why I'll never be sad if someone points out what I did wrong. I can only learn from my mistakes.

That's alright, I know the feeling. Many of my updates were rushed, then I had to make a u - turn in the plot of the next one to make sense of things

I guess it's an all to known feeling. You put hours of work into an update and you wanna see it released and get done with it, not wait a few hours and review it once again. Well well, guess I need to be more carefull.

[SonOfAlexander]

That's alright, I know the feeling. Many of my updates were rushed, then I had to make a u - turn in the plot of the next one to make sense of things

[SonOfAlexander]

Not dead ----> Good to hear it !!!!!

[Fixiwee]

RL stuff is holding me from posting the update. But don't worry, it'll be there very soon. Just a bit too busy with RL.

[sinner]

this is quite an interesting piece of history you are narrating here, looking forward to see how it unfolds.

[Fixiwee]

In politics, strangely enough, the best way to play your cards is to lay them face upwards on the table.
- H. G. Wells

Scipios Gamble

The Roman Empire, by Wolfgang Schreier, Bonn 2003


Lucius Cornelius Scipio

After the devastating Battle of Mazana the Romans were once more determined to turn the war to their odds in 251 BC. The people of Rome elected Lucius Cornelius Scipio as consul, a man who had had many dealings with Sicily already and therefore knew the land and people. Scipio tried to break the deadlock with a swift and decisive push against Lilibeo like Maximus before him. Hamalcar the Younger faced the consul in the Battle of Lilibeo 251 BC. Scipio was a talented military leader and unlike Maximus 3 years earlier, he used the flexibility of his troops to his advantage. He won a solid victory over Hamalcar without destroying his army though.


Heavy cavalry attacking the Roman line.


Carthage had high quality mercaneries from around the world, but Scipios military competence prevailed in the battle.


Scipio won the battle because he used his cavalry wisely despite the difficult terrain. Here Greek mercenaries get caught in between a Roman maneuver.

But fortune turned against Scipio when he started to lay siege against Lilibeo, in the hot summer days a devastating plague broke out among the Romans, Scipio had to break off the siege and retreat. Nevertheless the victory over Hamalcar added much prestige to the Scipio family.


250 BC - Scipio retreats back to Messana after the plague.


Small skirmish, Roman Hastati facing spanish mercenaries fighting for Carthage.

For the next years the Punic war turned into small battles and skirmishes once again. Scipio remained head of the army in 250 BC as proconsul, when a year later he was elected censor and had to return to Rome for political duties. Hamalcar realised his chance and sent an army under his general Giscon to push for Messana. Giscon was a close friend of Hamalcar and the second in command of the Sicilian troops. When reinforcements under consul Caius Valerius Mas landed to support the troops in Messana, Giscon was outnumbered and decided to retreat to a safer position. The Punic war was still far from being over.


249 BC - Giscon attacking Messana

In 247 BC the Romans had not yet achieved any significant progress in Sicily. Both sides were equally strong and each offensive against the enemy stronghold was blighted by the fortunes of war. It was clear that the Romans had to do something more drastical to break the deadlock. Some Senators, among them was Lucius C. Scipio, spoke out for a landing in Africa.
Africa! Attacking a distant continent was something new to the Romans, who had mostly fought their wars on the Italian peninsula. But the people voted in favour for Scipio, who was elected consul a second time the following year. But to deceive the ambitious plans, Scipio went to Sicily to pretend another major push on Lilibeo. Meanwhile the second consul, Caius Aurius Cotta, a relative unknown plebeian with little military experience was charged with leading the fleet and the troops to Africa in 246 BC. This was quite a gamble, but Cotta was an ambitious man nevertheless, who wanted to live up to his duties.


247 BC - Cotta landing in Africa to the suprise of Carthage.

The fortune now turned in favour to the Romans, the Carthaginians had most of their troops in Sicily, since they feared Scipios attack. So when Cotta landed in Africa very little Carthaginian troops were stationed there. He quickly secured a port to get additional supplies and hasted to attack Carthage. The city was not prepared for a siege, despite its huge walls and enormous size. The council agreed to surrender, despite the fact that they were not beaten on the field. To defend Carthage the council would have had to order the troops in Sicily back, which would have left Sicily open for the taking anyway - plus the attack on the city of Carthage was a symbolic and military humiliation.


Cotta laying siege to Carthage - What a humiliation for the might Carthaginian Empire!

Carthage had to pay a large amount of money and agreed to give Sicily and Corsica to the Romans. Over all the war was won by a tricky yet successful military move. Carthage had to pay large quantities of money, but the military might was far from broken.


Rome dictates a harsh peace

For the Romans a peaceful and prosper time began with new trade routes to Sicily and Corsica. But Carthage was saw this peace as vile and shame – more conflict was bound to happen.

[SonOfAlexander]

Great first update - kept the momentum going, really well balanced - be proud of yourself

[Fixiwee]

Great first update - kept the momentum going, really well balanced - be proud of yourself

Thanks. I guess you are somewhat the top reader of this AAR

Anyway, I hope the typos and grammar errors have improved, I took more effort to spellcheck the update this time.

[Julius Barca the Great]

Nice update, once again. Nice to see the invasion of Africa taking place.
You are using "cheats" to produce events, correct? Force Diplomacy and such? Just curious, really.

[Fixiwee]

Nice update, once again. Nice to see the invasion of Africa taking place.
You are using "cheats" to produce events, correct? Force Diplomacy and such? Just curious, really.

Yes I use Force Diplomacy and console comands - but very reasonably and even to my disadvantage in certain cases. I try to emulate authenticity above all.

I still have to think about how to deal with the EB yellow fever problem aka the ptolemaio overruning everything. So unrealistic.

good narrative, am interested is the siege on carthage during the first punic war, a true historical event, or did you just add it for gameplay reasons?

The siege of Carthage is not a historical event, at least not during the first punic war. The Romans landed in Africa, but they were actually beaten at the Battle of Tunis.
I often orientate my game on the real history, but I also let it flow in the direction. Carthage was unguarded, so why not take it?

[Fixiwee]

"Zeus most glorious and most great, Thundercloud, throned in the heavens! Let not the sun go down and the darkness come, until I cast down headlong the citadel of Priam in flames, and burn his gates with blazing fire, and tear to rags the shirt upon Hectors breast! May many of his men fall about him prone in the dust and bite the earth! "
-Homer - The Illiad



534 Ab Urbe Condita

Silanos – Historiai
(written about 130 BC)


Who is Silanos?

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Silanos was a greek historian who lived from 200BC to 120 BC. He came to Rome [under reasons that have not happend yet - this will be edited]. His account on the Roman history are of high value since he followed the pragmatic histiography like Demosthnes of Ancyle.

Book VI
[…] So it came that the year 534 ab urbe Condita [220 BC] saw the start of a series of conflicts. But before the reader is able to understand what lead to the second Epirus war and the second Punic war as well, the reader has to look at the political situation that preceded the war. To the west of Rome Carthage was expanding in Spain to compensate the losses of Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. Carthage was a trading nation and the coast of Spain offered new possibilities for trade.
To the east the kingdom of Epirus was waging war against Macedon. In 536 AUC [222 BC] the Romans signed a formal treaty with the Macedon king Antigonus III Amynous to send money and supplies to the Macedon cause. A year later the Macedons lost another battle so that Antigonus III had abandoned most of the Macedon home land.
The Romans felt a moral obligation to aid their allies against the king of Epirus Polyanthes Aiakides and without much hesitation and trouble they sailed a full legion to the coast of Epirus in the year 534 AUC [220 BC]. At that time the king of Epirus, Polyanthes Aiakides, was residing in the capital Ambrakia with only his royal guard to his protection. His army was campaigning against Macedon out of his reach. When the Romans realized that Polyanthes was in the capital without any troops they quickly started laying siege against the city, closing every road in and out of Ambrakia. It is said that Polyanthes screamed “Bring me the man who taught those primitive Romans how to use a boat!” when he became aware that he was trapped.
Despite being a proud and brilliant military leader and king Polyanthes agreed, heading his advisors to negotiate with his enemy. The Roman consul Quintus Atilius Scaevola received the proud king in his army tent, greeting him with all military honours. There the consul made clear that the Roman people had no interest in killing Epirotes and plundering Polyanthes lands. What both man talked that day is not written down, so I cannot retell the story about it, but in the end the king of Epirus agreed to stop making war against the Macedons and restore their land to the status quo while the Romans would return to their land and make peace with Polyanthes. So in the autumn 534 AUC [220BC] the conflict seemed to be over already.
In the winter of the same year a group of Carthaginian ships landed in the port of Emporion, a Greek city-state situated in Spain and allied with Rome. The Carthaginian ships destroyed a few Greek ships and plundered some minor goods. It was by all means clear to the Carthaginians that this action against an ally of Rome was a direct threat to Rome itself. But it has puzzled many historians as well as myself as of why the Carthaginians were eager to battle the Romans again. Yet this small incident was the beginning of a long and bloody conflict in Spain. At the same time Polyanthes was already planning his next step against the Macedons and the Romans.
In this sense, the year 534 AUC [220 BC] marks a new step in the history of Rome, as it was more and more drawn into the affairs of the Greeks.

[sinner]

good narrative, am interested is the siege on carthage during the first punic war, a true historical event, or did you just add it for gameplay reasons?

[Julius Barca the Great]

Yes I use Force Diplomacy and console comands - but very reasonably and even to my disadvantage in certain cases. I try to emulate authenticity above all.

I still have to think about how to deal with the EB yellow fever problem aka the ptolemaio overruning everything. So unrealistic.

Yes, that's what I had assumed. I highly doubted you were using them to give yourself loads of cash and cities so you didn't have to play the campaign.
With FD, it should be relatively easy to control the Ptolemies, right? Give yourself money, FD a bribe, gift the city to the proper faction. It is a bit tedious, though.

[Fixiwee]

Yes, that's what I had assumed. I highly doubted you were using them to give yourself loads of cash and cities so you didn't have to play the campaign.
With FD, it should be relatively easy to control the Ptolemies, right? Give yourself money, FD a bribe, gift the city to the proper faction. It is a bit tedious, though.

I thought of something like that. Something like the Ptolemaio won a campaign and as a reward get the Levant and AS remains as a strong force. Well there is some possebilities and I'll take my chances with console comands.
Yellow EB fever up my ...

[SonOfAlexander]

I hate that when one faction conquers all and you just end up with a super slow war between you, whilst each of you control half of the world (though you havent got that far on this EB campaign yet )