Dathi THorfinnsson said:
70 men with shields can be handled on a wall easily, but not shot out of a catapult! Your Wrath, as stated, is quite ASB.
Ok. Since the wrath is just a minor thing in the TL, I take it out, no problem. Even though, I'll keep the "eye" for city defense.
250-226 b.C., version 2.0
250 b.C.: Brinzakeis, after a talk with Archimedes, makes the
Law of the Protection of Science and Philosophy, which would create the Great Academy of Athens, where, for the next 500 years, most of the greatest scientists of the world would come from. The greatest scientists and philosophers of Macedon are called into Athens to show their ideas, with Archimedes as the first Rector.
A man from Samos, Aristarchus, is one of the scientists that are called. He, contradicting Aristotle and Ptolemy, shows his idea of Heliocentrism. The Aristarchic Model, as it is called, is well accepted by the Academy.
OTL, his model would be disconsidered in favor of the Ptolemaic.
The rebellion of Andragoras in Partahia (Parthia),
that OTL resulted in nothing, TTL seceeds Parthia from the central government of the antiochids. Antiochus, showing his anger, sends an army of 42.000 to Partahia. The efforts are useless, mostly thanks to the form of armies that the Parthians used, cavalry archers (similar to the sarmatians that lived north). It would accelerate the division of the Antiochid Empire, and
the first leader of the new Parthian Empire took the name of Arsaces I.
247 b.C.: Hannibal of Carthage is born. General Kefiros starts the Dacian Campaign, an idea of the Basileus himself. Since Dacia has a very bad terrain, an army of 40.000 soldiers was used, and Alypios the Spartan lead a 2nd army, composed of 14.000 spartans, and another 20.000 soldiers from all the other cities. This campaign would be the first of the new trained spartans. The son of Alypios, Alypios the Younger, would be one of them.
247-243 b.C.: General Kefiros starts
the Dacian Campaign, an idea of the Basileus himself.
Brinzakeis, disagreeing with his generals over the use of phalanx in the Dacian terrain, calls for the return of the mixed armies of Phillip and Alexander, and it would be used in Dacia as an experiment to see if it actually works.
The “Alexandrinean” armies would be used far after Dacia.
The mixed army, lead by Kefiros and composed of 40.000 soldiers, was used directly in the mountains and it had archers as most used unit.
The 2nd army, lead by Alypios, was composed of 5.000 spartans, and another 28.000 soldiers from all the other cities, together with 4.000 cretan archers,. This campaign would be the first of the new trained spartans. The son of Alypios, Alypios the Younger, would be one of them.
246 b.C.: Ptolemy I
Philadelphus of Khanaan
dies and is succeeded by his son, Ptolemy II
Euergetes. A majority of the area of Dacia is taken without troubles, but the villages in the mountains would take much time. The barbarians, used to the place, have much less casualties than the armies, but the Macedonians push them north, eventually leaving the area of Dacia.
Those barbarians that escape would live in southern Poland much like in Dacia, for more 30 years.
Brinzakeis go to Dacia toghether with 1.000 spartan guards, to see the progress of the conquests. In there, he sees that a town, Pelendava, was resisting to the armies of Kefiros.
Not too much time after the arrival of Brinzakeis, the town would surrender. Kefiros would capture himself the chief of the town, Dromihete. Kefiros, in his eternal anger, trial the old chief to die for his insolence against the empire. Brinzakeis saves him, and then, he marries a daughter of Dromihete, called Shana.
OTL, this year Antiochus Theos is murdered.
246-243 b.C.: More and more dacians, following the previous ones, would flee northward. Many, even though, would stay in the area, submiting to Macedon.
245 b.C.: Antiochus II, trying to make the persians happier, converts to Zoroastrianism. The greek religion is still practiced in Bactria and in the Tigris.
The greek exodus inside the Antiochid Empire to Bactria continues, this time quicker. The Parthians conquer the areas north of them. Bactria is left untouched, due to the money paid by the local Satrap.
Brinzakeis Athínatos (the Weak, as he would be known), son of the Basileus, is born in Athens, in the spring. There, an ex-soldier and companion of Brinzakeis in the army when young, now a philosopher, would educate the baby. The philosopher, called “Charon” by many of his enemies, was a greed and crazy man, a thing that the Basileus didn’t know.
244 b.C.: Antiochus Callinocus (
OTL Seleucus Callinicus) try to poison his father. Antiochus II discovers the plot and tries to execute his son.
Antiochus, the son, escapes together with a group of greeks to Bactria. His father thinks Callinocus to be dead, so, no problem at all.
243 b.C.: The last dacian town, Arcobadara, is taken by the armies of Kefiros. Dacia, much more empty than before the war, is now greek.
The “Theory of the Adaptable Army”, wrotten by Brinzakeis, is exposed in the Areopagus. It says the following:
“The phalanx isn’t the perfect army, and changes would be proven necessary. For example, the barbarians of the north. Their passion in war is something unexplainable. It would be very useful in our army, if civilized;
“About the horsemen of Scythia: we doesn’t need all those horses, but some changes would be proven good and it would make our army better.
[...]
“Other changes, beyond those ones, are still necessary.”
And then, some crimean horsemen started to appear in the greek army, together with the thracian falxmen and the traditional phalangites.
A true mixed army would only appear some years after the death of Brinzakeis.
241 b.C.: OTL, the First Punic War would end.
The
Council of Kings is created by the Basileus as another Areopagus, this time with the own Satraps of the Empire. The name Council of Kings comes from the idea of Brinzakeis to put a sub-king in control of every province, idea that would be fully applied a few years later. The first kings are: Antigonus of Epirus, Magas of Cyrene, Agron of Ilyria, Allia of Dacia and Hiero of Sicily.
The head of the greek academy founded by Plato, a philosopher called Arcesilaus, dies. The academy is joined with the Great Greek Academy of Archimedes.
241-240 b.C.: The Campaign of Istria, a small campaign lead by Alypios the Younger. With 20.000 men, he conquers Istria in one year, and then, he goes further; His armies march over the northeast part of Italy, going until the border of the Roman Republic. The senate of Rome gets angry but does nothing, because their legions are no match for the superior macedonian army.
240 b.C.: The island of Chyrse sinks about this time in an earthquake. The Halley comet is for the first time observed by an astronomer, Aratus, months before his death. The comet is baptized Aratus Comet in its next approximation to earth.
239 b.C.: After a large rebellion, Antiochus Callinocus is crowned as Archon of Bactria, protected by the Mauryan Empire.
By this time, the persians are actually hating the greek rule.
Antiochus II of the Antiochid Empire is murdered while sleeping. The Antiochid Empire is dissolved and the Persian Empire is created over it, with Cyrus of Ecbatana as Shahanshah Cyrus III. Even though, Parthia and Bactria takes some parts of Persia. Bactria gains access to the sea.
A merchant ship of Macedon arrives at Lilybaeum, Carthaginian Sicily. After a small discussion, the merchants are captured and sacrificed to Baal.
Brinzakeis has a crisis and orders that Kefiros go to take the city. Hamilcar Barca of Carthage declares war over Macedon.
Poet Flavius (
OTL Ennius)
is born in Salento. He, besides being poet, would be the first great historian in the Macedonian Empire. Having a roman father, he would be known as “Flavius the Roman”.
239-230 b.C.: The Western War. It is divided in two parts: The 1st Punic War and the 2nd Roman War.
Initially, the war was small. 20.000 men, being only 5.000 greeks and 15.000 sicilian mercenaries, all lead by Kefiros, took very quickly the western Sicily.
Not too much time after it, the war starts to get hot.
In June, three fleets are made in Crete, the biggest lead by the Tyrant of Sicily, Hiero, composed of 500 quinquiremes, beyond the usual biremes and triremes. The other two fleets were smaller and were used mainly in moving of troops.
In december of 239 b.C., while Hiero is moving his fleet to the west mediterranean, he faces the superior navy of Carthage, in the large
Battle of Malta. There, the 400 ships of Hamilcar destroys all the smaller ships and 440 of the 500 triremes of Hiero of Sicily, making sure that every single greek he can capture is killed. Hiero, as quickly as he can, run to the caves of the island of Malta, and there he stays ‘till he is found. The other 60 ships, 40 of Admiral Icarus from Neapolis, holds the carthaginians in the area between Gozo and Malta. Then, the 20 ships remaining flee directly to Syracuse. In the
Siege of Syracuse, that followed immediatly the Battle of Malta, the city wouldn’t be conquered by Hamilcar thanks to the “Eye of the Gods” of Archimedes.
After the Siege of Syracuse, Brinzakeis orders that every coastal city shall have, at least, one Eye. In one of the strangest sieges of history, the
Siege of Lilybaeum, the Eye is used against the elephants of Capitain Hanno, coming from the southwest. The Carthaginians are put off of Sicily, for a time.
238 b.C.: The chiefs of the Aipoikiai of Massalia, Agathe and Antipolis ask for Macedonian help against the monthly carthaginian raids and pillages.
So then, the armies of Alypios the Young advances into Galatea Hyperalpeia (Gaul beyond the alps). The local polis are joined with Macedon, as the locals wished.
236 b.C.: To Alypios the Older is given a large army, of 1.500 spartan hoplites, 17.000 phalangites, 10.000 peltastes, 3.000 archers, and 5 captured elephants. His army would conquer Malta and free Hiero. After it, he conquers Corsica and Sardinia.
235 b.C.: The
Consul Titus Torquatus was able to persuade the Senate, saying that with Carthage distracting the Macedonians, Rome could benefit greatly by declaring war.
Rome sends two large armies to greek territory: one in the north, to Istria, and another to Magna Graecia.
Philip I of the Seleucid Kingdom dies of diarrhea and his son Philip the Smart is crowned as Philip II.
234 b.C.: The army of Alypios the Older attacks rome from the south, and his son, by north. The Senate, now regretting its initial attack, tries to stop the greeks, but, due to the larger size of the macedonian army, Rome can’t do anything.
With the Macedonians worried in fighting with the romans,
Hamicar do his expedition to Hispania, 2 years late from OTL.
In China, the construction of the Great Wall begins. In India, the third buddhist council happens.
233 b.C.: King Mithridates of Euxina dies by a disease in Central Anatolia. Queen Eleusa, pregnant of him, stay as Queen alone.
Ashoka, ruler of the Mauryan Empire and protector of Bactria,
dies. Bactria rebels against
Dasaratha Maurya, new ruler, and gains the territory ‘till the Indus.
Now Bactria is alone, with no friend nations around.
Agron, sub-
king of Ilyria, dies and is succeeded by his wife, Teuta.
232 b.C.: In the middle of the winter, Rome is conquered by both armies, since it is in the place that both armies meets. In that day, the Roman Republic is dissolved.
230 b.C.: In 5/30/230 b.C., the
Great Battle of Carthage happens. Near to the coast of the city, the 720 ships (mostly triremes; some biremes and few quinquiremes) of Admiral Stelios battle against the largest fleet of the Carthaginians, of 100 quinqueremes, 500 biremes, 300 triremes, lead by Hamilcar Barca himself. Near there, 19.000 soldiers lead by Alypios the Older were disembarked to fight in the city; Another army, with 64.000 men, commanded by Brinzakeis himself, was in Lilybaeum waiting for the first results.
Six of the “Wrath of Zeus” ballistas would be used by the first time, and they would be proven more useful than expected.
The greeks disembarked directly in the city’s port, with
hard carthaginian resistance shown. Even though they conquered the port, with many costs, with 15.000 men dying. But the city couldn’t been conquered that night, because of the lack of true siege weapons.
It was the fatal night, the Night that Changed Everything, the
Night of the First of June.
In the sea, the battle has taken one day and a night, and, in the middle of the night of the day 1, the carthaginians has finally won. The remaining ships ran out to Lilybaeum, and the macedonian army is left alone in Africa.
Following it, the carthaginian fleet raids and recovers the port, in the dawn. Then they advance in direction of the city. Another army, coming from the city, covers all the sides of the greek army).
The macedonians located in the middle of it resist bravely, but all them perish, together with a large part of the carthaginian army (77.000 men in this battle, coming from both sides). General Alypios, in his last attack, kills Hamilcar, in the same moment that he’s hitten by a spear in his cheast, thrown by the Barcid.
Brinzakeis would never forgive himself for leaving his men and his friend alone there.
This victory, a Carthaginian Victory, as it would be known in the future, is considered more a defeat then a victory by itself (OOC:
OTL Pyrrhic Victory), since a large part of the army was destroyed. Peace would be made one month later between Macedon and Carthage.
In this peace agreement, Macedon would stay with the carthaginian islands already occupied, and Carthage would have free access to conquer Hispania entirely.
The Sieve of Erasthotenes is developed in the Great Academy.
227 b.C.: Alypios the Younger is crowned as Archon of the Army. Carthago Nova is founded.
226 b.C.: OTL Seleucus (Antiochus) Callinicus is murdered.
An earthquake destroys the city of Kameiros in Rhodes, together with the colossus. Even that the statue was made to celebrate the defeat of Antigonus I, Brinzakeis send some builders to reconstruct it.
Soon after it, Brinzakeis starts to feel ill, and he discovers that he has got an ilness in Sicily.
The Basileus dies, and is succeeded by Alypios the Younger. Dark times are to come now, the time of the incompetent emperors...