[Diadochi] The Marakanda Campaign

**Xion** · May 10, 2016, 01:36 PM

In the weeks after the death of Phillipos, the appointed Satrap of Marakanda, the realm he once administered had descended into chaos with rumors that his former lieutenants were fighting over the position, a native rebellion had occurred, or the steppe tribes had come south in a raid and killed him, along with other theories spreading through word of mouth on the trade routes of the empire.

With the permission of the regent, the Baktrian army has marched into the region to attempt to restore order, starting with the province of Merv.

**Barry Goldwater** · May 11, 2016, 08:19 PM

Upon arriving at Merv, Seilenus' Bactrian army is met with barred gates and rows of spearmen on the town walls, standing beneath banners that his brother recognizes as those of Theoclymenos: once an infantry captain in Alexander's army, he was later assigned to support Philip in controlling Marakanda. Of course, with Philip dead, it appears that Theoclymenos has taken matters into his own hands and is now struggling to impose his own control on Merv through less than pleasant methods, as exhibited by the dozens if not hundreds of men - evidently rich and powerful natives with a mind for rebellion, judging from what little finery hasn't been looted from their bodies - that he left swaying from the trees on the road to Merv.

Nearly half an hour passes with Theoclymenos' men staring at the Bactrians from the walls in silence, but not making any overtly hostile moves either, before the man himself appears atop the gatehouse. When he speaks, his voice is harsh and his tone very direct. "Who comes? As you can tell I am quite busy trying to suppress the native rabble here, so unless you have come to offer me aid or battle, begone and cease wasting my time!"

**Xion** · May 11, 2016, 08:41 PM

"Battle."Aretes replies, before riding away to his forces.

Aretes (Infantry Specialist, Old Captain)
2,000 Asabaran-i Hauravatish
5,000 Pantodapoi Phalangitai
2,000 Pantodapoi Toxotai

**Barry Goldwater** · May 11, 2016, 09:07 PM

Theoclymenos spits from the walls, then begins barking orders at his men. Or rather, at his translators and Greek-speaking native officers, who then relay those orders to his soldiers.

Merv is defended by two walls, a square-shaped set of outer walls and a round inner wall, but it doesn't seem as though Theoclymenos has enough soldiers to defend them effectively...

Map

Opposing forces:
Theoclymenos (Infantry Specialist)
3x Pandotapoi Phalangitai
2x Pantodapoi Toxotai

**Xion** · May 11, 2016, 10:20 PM

ooc : I'm presuming don't have siege equipment.

Aretes orders his men to begin construction of a battering ram and several sets of ladders to prepare for an assault on Merv.

Orders

**Barry Goldwater** · May 12, 2016, 11:02 PM

It soon became clear that Aretes had chosen to assault the city - not a bad idea, as Theoclymenos clearly had barely enough troops to keep the population under control, much less defend his two walls effectively. His archers traded volleys with the Bactrians' and also fired at the Bactrian troops bearing ladders, but were not sufficient in number to end the battle before the enemy reached the town walls, and left to flee back to the inner walls just as the Bactrians began raising their ladders up. While a fight for the walls between the two sides' native phalangites erupted, the fifth unit of phalangites brought a ram up to the town gates and eventually succeeded in smashing it, allowing Aretes' light cavalry to rush in...straight into the third unit of phalangites, who had already formed a phalanx behind the gate in preparation for this situation and make short work of the light cavalrymen, inflicting dreadful losses on them & driving them into rout even after Aretes' own phalangites (the men who had formerly been handling the battering ram) came in after them. As the two phalanxes were roughly matched in skill and equipment, their fight quickly turned into a bloody stalemate at the gateway.

Still, a complete disaster was averted when the rest of Aretes' infantry managed to overcome the resistance on the walls: Theoclymenos' two other regiments of phalangites were too thinly stretched to hold for long against two times their number there, and his archers had already left. As the walls' defenders fled back to the inner walls, Theoclymenos was forced to order his phalangites at the gate (by far the most successful of his forces, as they had stymied Aretes' own phalangites at the gateway) to fall back as well. In that they were successful, retaining enough discipline to not simply collapse into a rout and later enjoying arrow cover from their archers on the inner walls. Still, when Theoclymenos offered them a chance to stand down before assaulting the inner walls, Theoclymenos decided to accept, ending the battle.

Outcome: Bactrian victory

Losses:

Bactria:
600 Pantodapoi Phalangitai
350 Asabaran-i Hauravatish
50 Pantodapoi Toxotai

Theoclymenos:
1,100 Pantodapoi Phalangitai
200 Pantodapoi Toxotai

**Xion** · May 15, 2016, 11:58 PM

The Bactrian army arrives in Marakanda and awaits outside the walls of the city for a emissary from whoever is in charge to appear, or for their army to assemble for battle.

Forces

**Barry Goldwater** · May 16, 2016, 09:23 PM

Seilenus' army is met by closed gates and unfamiliar banners bearing native Sogdian designs flying on the walls of Marakanda, under which hang dozens of bodies in Macedonian armor - no doubt the most 'presentable' of the town's Hellenic garrison. Apparently the natives have taken over this place after the satrap's death, and indeed it is a native Sogdian garbed in fine silks and a gleaming iron cuirass that calls out to Seilenus from the gatehouse this time, not another rough-and-tumble Macedonian like Theoclymenos. "Gurak son of Turghar, new master of these lands, greets you! Have you come to my Marakanda to restore your foreign customs and overlordship, Yauna?" He dramatically gestured to the corpses hanging from the walls, as if to dissuade that notion.

OOC: As usual, you can try to negotiate or intimidate Gurak. If you choose to fight him, his forces are:
3x Pantodapoi Phalangitai
1x Pantodapoi Toxotai
2x Toxotai Tokharoi

And the map:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

**Xion** · May 16, 2016, 09:51 PM

Seilenus rides away from the walls with his escort of horsemen, then signals his brother to bring forward the siege equipment to assault the walls, a ram and several ladders. "All soldiers, form ranks." A warhorn blares as the Macedonian and Bactrian officers begin to assemble the forces for battle.

Orders

**Pyrrhus the Molossian** · May 18, 2016, 12:40 AM

The Assault of Markanda

Seilenus wholly ignores Gurak and prepares his men to take Markanda in a bloody assault. The satrap's archers move forward carefully spaced out to minimize casualties from missile fire as they move within bow range. Gurak's men fire first and inflict a number of casualties as arrows hit unarmored men, but the loose formation of the archers prevents them from taking too many casualties as they respond with a volley of their own that does some damage to Gurak's archers. Seilenus' native phalanx troops charge forward with ladders hoping to reach the walls unscathed while their archers keep their counterparts busy, but the Markandans take notice and several punishing volleys tear into the native phalangites as they mount their ladders and begin their ascent. During this time the remainder of the native pikemen in Macedonian employ had been trying to bust down the gates under the command of Aretes, but constant missile fire and particularly strongly reinforced gates manage to foil them. The Macedonian native phalanx on the walls was a different story. Angered by the very damaging missile fire they had taken, they furiously attack any who oppose them on the walls of the city. One of the enemy's units of Pantodapoi breaks and by this time Aretes has finally managed to bash down the gates of the city. Seilenus triumphantly leads his elite cavalry into city and any natives who do not immediately surrender are cut down by the heavily armed horsemen. The fighting on the walls quickly becomes a rout and Gurak receives a spear in the back as he flees to save his own life. With their leader dead and their fellow soldiers routing the entire garrison lays down its arms and surrenders to Seilenus.

Outcome: Bactrian victory

Losses:

Bactria:
1,400 Pantodapoi Phalangitai
300 Pantodapoi Toxotai
200 Toxotai Tokharoi

Gurak:
Gurak KIA
1,300 Pantodapoi Phalangitai
200 Pantodapoi Toxotai
600 Toxotai Tokhairoi

The rest missing or surrendered

**Xion** · May 20, 2016, 09:15 PM

As the Baktrian army approaches Cyropolis, the Satrap and his retinue of Macedonian and Bactrian officers with the occasional Persian and single Indian present stare at the city in the distance as they discuss plans for either a battle or siege of the city, with several of the Macedonians, like the Satrap, having fought at the siege of Cyropolis under Alexandros III.

Forces

**Barry Goldwater** · May 20, 2016, 11:22 PM

By the time the Bactrians arrive, Cyropolis appears to be under siege by Saka (Scythian) nomads from the northeast. Though there are thousands of Scythians here, this does not appear to be a true horde, merely a large and opportunistic raiding party. Ironically, the threat they posed appears to have forced the Hellenes and native Sogdians to work together, much to both sides' irritation: there are Hellenes and non-Hellenes manning different parts of the walls. Seilenus has an opportunity to consult with the Scythian war leaders before engaging them, if he so chooses.

Map

Forces:

Cyropolis' garrison

Saka

**Xion** · May 20, 2016, 11:54 PM

Orders

**Barry Goldwater** · May 22, 2016, 07:47 PM

The Battle of Cyropolis ensues

The Bactrians resolved to step forward to match the Saka in battle without negotiating, and the nomads were more than happy to meet them head-on. The northern Saka forces crossed the river with little opposition while Seilenus' archers loose several volleys in the direction of the Saka army, whose horse archers were outranged by the Bactrian and especially the Tocharian foot bowmen, and the Saka - being an oversized raiding party than a true army - lose what little discipline they had & charged almost immediately, right into the points of the Bactrian native phalanx. The Arachoti cavalry in Seilenus' service kept the Saka's own horse-archers from interfering with the melee (which was going badly for the Saka heavy horsemen) and occasionally flung their javelins into the melee maelstrom as well, while the Satrap of Bactria personally led his cataphracts into the engagement to seal the fate of the Saka heavy cavalry. The battle could have turned from a near-victory to a disaster for the Bactrians when the Saka warlord Koloksai defeated Seilenus in single combat, slashing him in the head hard enough to break his helm & killing his horse from underneath him, but though Seilenus received a large scar running from his skull's crown to his left ear & had both legs broken he managed to survive the experience and was dragged away to safety by a few of his native phalangites (duel roll: defeated but survived).

At this point, Cyropolis' defenders sallied forth from the town gates and attacked the Saka in the rear. Koloksai realized the battle was lost at this point and led a desperate retreat back north across the river, where more Saka died than in the actual battle, but he managed to get away along with his fastest riders. The Bactrians have prevailed this day, and the wounded but still living Seilenus must now deal with the question of what to do with Cyropolis.

Outcome: Bactrian-Cyropolitan victory

Casualties:

Bactrians & Cyropolitans

Saka

**Xion** · May 22, 2016, 09:44 PM

"Aretes, ride to the Cyropolitian leaders and inform them I would request their surrender and acceptance of Baktrian control of the region. In exchange for their peaceful acceptance, tell them you or Mylleas shall marry a Sogdian noblewoman and that.." Seilenus growls in pain as the men attending to his injuries adjust the position of one of legs. "..Baktria shall invest in the economy of the region (3 points, to raise the level from red to light green). As for our fellow Hellenes, they will be welcome to settle in the lands of Baktra or southern Marakanda, serve in our force, or remain here. If they refuse, allow them to return to the city and begin construction of siege equipment." Aretes nods to his brother and rides towards the Cyropolitian leaders to deliver the satrap's offer for them to surrender while the Baktrian army reforms and cares for the wounded and fallen soldiers of the army.

**Barry Goldwater** · May 23, 2016, 09:00 PM

Both the natives and the Hellenes of Cyropolis, still grateful after Seilenus saved them from having their town ransacked by the Saka, agree to his terms without complaint. The Hellenic soldiers under Agron's command (Phalangitai and Toxotai) also volunteer to join Seilenus' army, if he will have them.

**Xion** · May 23, 2016, 11:19 PM

Originally Posted by Barry Goldwater

Both the natives and the Hellenes of Cyropolis, still grateful after Seilenus saved them from having their town ransacked by the Saka, agree to his terms without complaint. The Hellenic soldiers under Agron's command (Phalangitai and Toxotai) also volunteer to join Seilenus' army, if he will have them.

The Hellenic soldiers are welcomed into the Bactrian army and Seilenus writes orders sent back to Baktria to send the required resources to begin upgrading the province. The process of arranging the marriage of Aretes to a Sogdian noblewoman began with several Macedonian and Bactrian officials meeting with potential candidates while the Baktrian army begins it's march towards the final pocket of resistance.

**Xion** · May 26, 2016, 10:37 PM

The Baktrian army enters the province of Derbent, and begins making their way towards the provincial capital.

Baktrian Army

**Barry Goldwater** · May 27, 2016, 08:57 PM

The man who had taken control of Derbent, a Macedonian captain by the name of Androsthenes, has by this point heard of Seilenus' success in bringing the rest of the region to heel, and dispatched riders announcing his willing surrender to the Bactrian Satrap days before he reached the town walls.

Outcome: Derbent surrenders immediately