Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: Ptolemaioi AAR

  1. #1

    Default Ptolemaioi AAR

    Campaign Overview

    Campaign Difficulty: Hard
    Battle Difficulty: Normal
    House Rules: Slow expansion, semi-realistic army compositions (no whole stacks of Agema Phalangitai)

    All feedback (positive or otherwise) is appreciated.

    Our Story Begins

    My name is Apollonios of Rhodios. I joined the royal court of the exalted Ptolemaios Philadelphos in the first year of the 127th Olympiad (272 BCE). Most know my name and associate it with my poem about Jason and the Argonauts in their search for the Golden Fleece, but my work has extended far beyond poetry and mythology. I have spent much of my life in service to the Ptolemaioi, serving as the steward of their Great Library in Alexandreia and chronicler of their august dynasty. This work herein gives an account of the accomplishments and deeds of the Ptolemaioi. Within these pages you will learn much about the Ptolemaioi and their struggles against their rival Diadochi, the Kushite peoples south of Aigyptoi, the Nabataeans, and more.

    Our chronicle begins in Syria, lands north of Canaan and Phoinike, during a time of great peril for the Ptolemaioi. The Antigonids, Seleukids, and Ptolemaioi were the greatest of the Diadochi - successors to Alexandros Megas - and were embroiled in a bitter conflict for dominion of the Hellenic world; the world forged by Alexandros when he vanquished the Persian barbaroi and marched his armies to the ends of the Known World. Ptolemaios Philadelphos was chiefly concerned with the lands of Syria, ruled by Basileus Antiochos Soter I, King of Asia and the Diadochi kingdom known to Hellenes as the Arche Seleukia. I was sent by Ptolemaios to accompany his son, Nios, who had departed by ship from the lands of Pamphylia in southern Anatolia. His course brought him to the lands known as Phoinike where he assembled a mighty host with the generals Alexandros Pelopos and Menelaos Ptolemaiou. To their surprise, Antiochos, a brazen, impetuous, and cunning man, marched his royal army south from Antiocheia and besieged Ptolemais-Akko, the chief settlement of Phoinike. Nios marched his army north to confront Antiochos outside the city walls. His army far exceeded Antiochos's in size, although Antiochos's army contained elephants from India. These animals inspired fear in men and their reputation as war beasts preceded them.

    Nios surrounded Antiochos and sent his army as the vanguard to confront the Seleukid Basileus. Alexandros Pelopos and Menelaos Ptolemaiou moved to the Seleukid rear and attacked from behind. Tlepolemos Lykou sallied forth with the city's garrison to lend whatever succor he could to Nios's efforts. Nios arrayed his army in a conventional style. His phalangitai formed in the center, flanked on the left by his hoplitai and on the right by his Karian and Kappadokian mercenaries. His akontistai screened the army's advance, while Kretan archers and slingers from Mesopotamia formed behind the phalanx. Nios took up position behind the archers and slingers while his cavalry formed on the right wing.

    The battle escalated in quick order. Antiochos, recognizing he was surrounded, commanded his army to advance swiftly against Nios in the vain hope of routing the Ptolemaioi Diadochi. His impetuous march proved to be a folly. Antiochos spearheaded a brazen charge on the Ptolemaioi right, his personal guard flung into battle against the Ptolemaioi's Hippeis and Kappadokian light cavalry. Sensing an opportunity to cut the head off the snake, Nios deftly ordered his hoplites to move between Antiochos and the trailing Seleukid forces, cutting the Basileus off from aid. Nios and his personal guard stormed off to join the fight against Antiochos. The dust left behind by the clattering hooves clouded my sight, but it did not dim the cheers and roars from Nios's cavalry when Antiochos Soter I, King of Asia, was captured. Dismayed by the loss of their king, and surrounded by an army four times its size, the remaining Seleukid forces retreated in quick haste. Wherever they went, however, Ptolemaioi swords and spears were there, skewering the enemy like animals on a hunt. Antiochos's entire army was destroyed, killed or captured by the Ptolemaioi.

    Nios sent a herald to Seleukia in Mespotamia to bargain for Antiochos. Antiochos's eldest son, Seleukos, refused to pay his father's ransom, despite the modest sum Nios demanded - an indemnity of 10,000 mnai. Upon receiving word of his son's refusal to pay the ransom, Antiochos said to Nios, "You may take my head with honor, young Ptolemaioi, for while it is your man swinging the sword, it is my son who has willed the stroke to fall." And so Antiochos Soter I, Basileus of the Arche Seleukia, died and passed into the annals of history. His treacherous son, Seleukos, who many believed coveted his father's throne and thus ensured Antiochos's demise to guarantee his own succession, ascended to the throne. He would become a reviled and hated king, despised by Hellenes and barbaroi alike for his avarice, cruelty, and impiety.

    Following the death of Antiochos, Nios marched his army to Damaskos and besieged the place. Alexandros Pelopos accompanied Nios to Damaskos, while Menelaos Ptolemaiou returned to Alexandreia at the request of his Basileus.

    Kleomenes of Sparta arrived in the Alexandreia the following season. Pyhrrus of Epeiros had conquered Sparta and displaced the king, appointing his own puppet to govern Lakonike. Ptolemaios took the exiled king in and gave him refuge in Alexandreia.

    In the summer of 271, Artapatos Lykou dedicated a shrine to Askleipos in Ephesos. Apollonios Aetou also dedicated a shrine to Askleipos in Pselkis.

    Magas, cousin of Ptolemaios, attacked and besieged Alexandreia. Magas had marched swiftly across Libye, hoping to catch the city unprotected whilst the Ptolemaioi armies were away fighting the Seleukids. Far-seeing Ptolemaios Philadelphos had foreseen his cousin's treachery and had already recalled Menelaos Ptolemaiou, whose army dispatched the Kyrenians with ease.

    In the second year of the 127th Olympiad (autumn 271 BCE), Nios conquered Damaskos. He commanded Alexandros Pelopos to garrison the city and departed for Aigyptoi to resupply and replenish his army.

    Kleomenes beseeched Ptolemaios to help restore him to his throne in Sparta. Ptolemaios assented.

  2. #2

    Default Re: Ptolemaioi AAR

    Very good storywriting! I'd love to hear the next chapter in your story.

  3. #3

    Default Re: Ptolemaioi AAR

    Excellent writing, the only thing I'd add is that some screenshots would liven it up.

  4. #4

    Default Re: Ptolemaioi AAR

    Thanks for the comments all. I will work on taking more screenshots and uploading those. Probably won't have two many for Part 2, but Part 3 (and probably the last section for the Ptolemaioi) will definitely have some.

  5. #5

    Default Re: Ptolemaioi AAR

    This reads more like a chronicles than a story which is still good as far as historical fiction goes. Having a picture screenshot would certainly lived up the stories though

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •