Been playing through a Makedonia campaign, more or less following the route of conquest of Phillip/Alexander. Took Thrace, Asia Minor, Phoenicia, and now Egypt, destroying the Ptolemies.

All that time, I've had an eye on the west, thinking that the Romans would loom large as a threat. I'm not crazy either, they've launched a series of amphibious landings against cities on the Adriatic in the north, but without success. They've also had little real success in the south, the toe of Italy remaining in the hands of their legionary rebels.

I didn't really pay attention to Carthage until they arrived on my borders, taking Cyrenaica. It seems the Carthaginians have had far more success at fighting eleutheroi. They've taken the deep desert and have held them easily, they're turning their attention both east to Egypt and northwest to Spain now. They're also still allied to the Romans; a small Carthaginian army was bouncing around the Po Valley, helping the Romans attack cities (with little success).

This strikes me as a rather unusual state of affairs. Is this a common thing for everyone else? Why does Carthage get the benefit of a bunch of seemingly easily taken desert provinces while Rome gets bogged down?