544 B.C.

BC 544
O Logos
"The Word."

The Invasion of Corinth

In spring, the Spartan 1st Mora marched north from the conquered polis of Argos, heading straight for the city of Corinth. Making clear through the straight nature of their advanced that they intended to attack the city itself, the Spartans put the Corinthian defenders in something of a bind. The city of Corinth itself has a set of very fine walls, but its defenders have always relied on the presence of the massive fortress of the Acrocorinth. The Acrocorinth, a massive set of fortifications with three overlapping walls situated upon an already impressive rocky crag with an independent well tapping a spring underneath the crag itself, has long been regarded as the final and most impressive line of defense for the Peloponnese. That the city might be attacked from within the Peloponnese itself was not something its original designers had truly contemplated as a grave threat.

Still, the 1st Mora numbered around 35,000 compared to the Corinthian army of over 25,000, many of them veterans of the campaign in the Isthmus against Athens. The advantage was not as overwhelmingly in favor of the Spartans as many had feared. And while the Acrocorinth could certainly be bypassed, it was impossible to ignore and allowed the Corinthians an excellent place to anchor their defense. The Spartans were also behaving strangely, reportedly gathering wood as they traveled and making an undisguised approached towards the southwestern side of the city, moving to come between the city of Corinth and the Acrocorinth itself. The Corinthians could hope to do battle in a relatively confined place with the Spartans, thus helping to neutralize their numerical advantage.

As the two armies mustered and maneuvered towards one another, the Corinthians feinting west to draw the Spartans closer to the Acrocorinth while the Spartans attempted to cut down in between the army and their massive fortress, further action was happening at sea. In what appeared to be a coincidental move, the Athenians had dispatched five Athenians triremes down the coast. Coming upon two Corinthian triremes, patrolling off the coast of the Peloponnese, the Athenians made quick work of them, sinking one and causing the other to flee.

This, however, was where the Athenian plan went wrong. Vastly underestimating the size of the Corinthian fleet, the Athenian triremes were astonished to find themselves facing a dozen more Corinthians triremes as the fleet mustered to face them. The Corinthians immediately made full sail for the Athenian fleet, managing to catch one of the Athenian triremes in a bad position and sinking her. The rest of the Athenian fleet, however, took full advantage of the superior design of their ships and the faster speed their sails and rowing crews boasted, and made haste back up the coast. The Corinthians gave chase for the better part of a day, but were reluctantly forced to concede that the men of Attika would be able to reach their berths safely.

Unfortunately for the Corinthians, the Athenian fleet had not been acting alone. From the Isthmus, Strategos Drakko of Attika had mustered his forces and laid in his supplies and, for the first time in close to four years, the Attikan army marched forth.

The first warning the Corinthians had of this, strangely enough, was from the Spartans. The 1st Mora had paused briefly and placed all of the wood they had been gathering in a great bonfire. After wetting the wood, they set it alight, setting a tall and clearly visible column of smoke into the air. This signal had, apparently, been meant as a predetermined signal, for shortly after the fire was alight, the Corinthian scouts who had been watching the Isthmus for years scrambled back with all haste with word that the Athenians were moving.

Drakko had close to 60,000 men, along with a siege training containing both siege towers and battering rams. He was equipped to conquer the city itself, something which the smaller Spartan army had seemed ill suited to accomplish. The Corinthians were immediately set into a panic. Fighting either the Spartans or the Athenians was one thing. The Acrocorinth was laid out so that with the loss of Corinth the army and a significant portion of the population could hold, bottlenecking the invader and relying on their fellow Greeks to supply them against a common foe. But here were the two greatest rivals in all of Greece acting in concert. With over 90,000 men, the Spartans and Athenians clearly outmatched the Corinthian army and the Corinthians were, quite literally, in the process of joining battle with the Spartans when the word came from the Isthmus.

A hush fell over the battlefield. Greece is not a large place, like Babylon or Persia, so a marching army needs little time to travel from one place to the next. The Corinthians could not hope to battle the Spartans and achieve victory there and still hope to hold their city. Yet to retreat to the city would require fighting a desperate retreating battle with the Spartans and abandoning the Acrocorinth.

Just then, the Spartans broke the silence. With a mighty roar, the army burst out in song, the sounds of the mighty Paean echoing over the battlefield. To the Corinthian army, the Spartans seemed to grow in size, each Spartan’s shield burnished to a bright bronze and showing the symbol of the Lambda. Their city was in danger, and here were mighty men who had waded through who knew how many thousands of other Greek warriors. There was no Ocytus here to inspire or lead them, only creatures of the Corinthian Council. Their homes were in peril, and their homes rested behind stout walls.

The Corinthian army began to disintegrate, with approximately 17,000 of the men beginning a disorganized retreat towards Corinth. The remaining 8,000 men maintained better cohesion, rallying behind the commander of the hoplites, a Corinthian man by the name of Cyteus. He had little doubt as to the fate of the army no matter what course it choose, so he immediately turned his forces and pushed for the Acrocorinth. There, at least, he could hope to maintain his defenses for a few more months at least. Perhaps someone would come to his aid.

The Spartans did not let the Corinthians leave the field unmolested, and fell upon their opponents. Still, the Spartans did not have enough men to effectively assault two retreating armies at once, even if they were small ones. The Spartans inflected great casualties in the rout, but were unable to disrupt Cyteus’ retreat or halt the majority of the Corinthians from returning to Corinth proper.

Anaxandridas left a token force to keep an eye on the Acrocorinth, concluding that he had no siege capability and that the token force left in the Acrocorinth would run out of food soon enough. The majority of his army he took towards Corinth itself, completely a cordon around the city as the Athenians set up camp around the city walls to the east.

Inside the city, chaos reigned. The returning soldiers had weapons, but little order. Corinth was besieged and clearly out matched, cut off from the Acrocorinth and its army sundered into two pieces. Many hundreds of Corinthian dead already littered the ground behind the advancing Spartans, and Corinth’s soldiers had not forgotten their bloody defeat at the hands of the Attikans a few years ago. The situation seemed hopeless.

Strategos Drakko, concluding that he had more than enough battering rams for his purposes, redirected one around the side of the city to join up with the Spartans to assault the western gate. Anaxandridas graciously accepted the offer and soon both armies were making preparations for an assault.

The two armies began their assaults upon the gates on both sides of the city almost in unison, and the Corinthian defense was far too fragmented to have much hope of stalling them. The Athenians broke through the eastern gates first and advanced into the city almost completely unopposed. Entering in force with 24,000 hoplites, the Athenian army was well suited to such displays of force, and they ran the retreating Corinthian defenders before them throughout the city. The Spartans quickly broke down their own gate and, examining the tactical situation, Anaxandridas ordered his own men to fall back in a semi-circle around the gate.

The Corinthian soldiers, being channeled through the city were forced back up against the western gate. Realizing they had no other choice, they made a desperate push out the gate into the arms of the waiting Spartan army. The fighting was brutal and quick, with the disorganized mob of Corinthians coming up against Anaxandridas and his elite Spartiates. The warrior dyas of Iatrokles and Idotychides led the charge against the Corinthians and broke the back of the army remnants.

In this manner, Corinth itself was spared most of the damage that a battle on the streets would have caused, and the Attikan army resolutely refused to plunder or sack the once great city. Instead, Drakko took control of the city itself as quietly and efficiently as possible.

His armor still covered in the grime and blood of the vanquished, Anaxandridas and his honor guard entered Corinth itself while the rest of the Spartan army waited outside. Notable at Anaxandridas’ side was Leonidas of Sparta, who rumor had said been responsible for urging the Spartan King to seek alliance with the Athenians. The group traveled quickly towards the center of Corinth, until they met up with Strategos Drakko, his own armor far more immaculate than their own, but still looking hard used. The groups paused some distance from one another and then slowly approached until finally Anaxandridas and Drakko were face to face. The two greeted each other warmly, as is the custom of Greeks, despite the obvious underlying tension within both groups. Slowly, as the two talked and conferred this feeling seemed to vanish and on both sides hands unconsciously drifted further away from sword hilt.

As the Attikan army took control of Corinth itself, Anaxandridas returned to his army. By agreement, the Spartans were seizing control of the two Corinthian ports of Lechaion and Kenchreai and would further gain control of the Acrocorinth itself. While Sparta would retain control of the environs of Corinth, Athens would hold the city itself. Only one real obstacle remained: Cyteus and his men at the Acrocorinth.

The fortifications of the Acrocorinth were far too imposing to consider assaulting with the Athenian siege weaponry, even if Anaxandridas had wanted to lower himself to asking for help. The Corinthians had food enough to last them well into the next year, and enough water to sustain them for much longer than that, but Anaxandridas was willing to wait. He called out to Cyteus up on the walls, honoring the man for his commitment and telling all that had transpired in Corinth. Resistance was clearly useless. The Corinthian polis had fallen.

Cyteus appeared on the walls, a wide grin on his face and addressed Anaxandridas in similar tone with all the proper respect due to one of the kings of the Spartans. He humbly insisted, however, in waiting out the siege, wryly asking Anaxandridas if he would do differently if their positions were reversed. Anaxandridas, clearly pleased by this interchange, laughed loudly and replied truthfully that he could not blame Cyteus for his choice. In good spirits, the Spartans encamped outside the Acrocorinth to wait.

At sea, the dozen remaining ships of the Corinthian navy were left bereft of a home. Determining that their best chance lay in seeking refuge in another Greek city-state, the fleet set out east, skirting Salamis to the south via way of the Saronic Gulf. The Athenian fleet remained in Athens, perhaps in a sign of respect for the warriors of Corinth or perhaps simply because they did not wish to challenge ships three times their number. Regardless, the Corinthian fleet passed between Attika and the Isle of Ceos, heading up the coast past Euboea. Six of the vessels made berth at Delium in Boeotia under the command of Hypaneos of Corinth, while the remaining six, under the command of the more scholarly Leneus, sailed further up the coast towards Thessaly.

Prince Huergon Auclina of Veii, Savior of Rome and Liberator of Smyrna, Returns to Rome

To a decided lack of popular rejoicing, which did not seem to bother the Prince of Veii one bit, Huergon Auclina left Crete and returned to Rome to rejoin his army. His expeditionary force stayed behind, disbanding and selling off their equipment while seeking out new homes on Crete. There was some notable resistance to this plan amongst those hoplites with families at home—although more men than expected seemed strangely content to leave their wives behind—but as Auclina had also sold the transport ships which had brought them to Smyrna, they were left with few other options. The ships themselves were reportedly sold to Egypt for an undisclosed sum, swelling the God-Queen’s already large fleet. A small handful of the better off Tyrrhenian hoplite militia purchased passage home on private merchant vessels, but the majority of them stayed behind on Crete, fading into the general population.

Mysians Patrol Western Empire

In Smyrna and Lycia, Mysian soldiers were prominent in policing the region and performing patrols and other duties. The presence of these soldiers, doing tasks normally assigned to local militia, was comforting to many of the peasants who feared the return of the Egyptians or the presence of a marauding army from the Western Empire itself coming to punish them for “supporting” rebels. The presence of these soldiers, combined with a distinct and welcomed lack of violence throughout the Western Empire itself, helped swell the popularity of the Mysians even further throughout Anatolia. It may be too much to hope that the recent peace treaties will hold, but the men and women of Anatolia, experiencing the first year of true peace in quite some time, are breathing a collective sigh of relief regardless. For their sake, it can only be hoped that this state of affairs will continue.

Phoenician Statue Site of Largest Orgy in Recorded History

King Hanniel of Tyre, a man of most humble disposition, decided this year that he desired to celebrate his birthday in a most decadent fashion. Deciding that the square surrounded the Grand Edifice of His Majesty as Melqart Personified had sufficient empty space for the plan he had in mind, Hanniel set about organizing matters to his satisfaction. After several months of preparation and the purchase of food for feasting and other supplies, King Hanniel announced his intention. The Phoenician city of Tyre would play host to the largest orgy the civilized world had ever known. Small copycat events began to be planned throughout Phoenicia as the notable men and women of the region began to lay in prodigious stores of wine and other supplies.

Come the day of King Hanniel’s birthday, the finest men of Phoenicia turned out in the square to do their King “honor”, while there were enough fine Phoenician ladies to make even the God-Queen quiver. The Phoenicians set about their decadent celebrations, unabashedly reveling in their excesses, with occasional breaks between the events for the ever-popular King Hanniel to circle amongst his subjects to tell humorous stories. The exact cost of all of these festivities is unknown, but the it is believed that King Hanniel paid handsomely for the privilege of having his kingdom dissolve into a mass of decadence and celebration. Clean up operations on and around the statue alone are believed to have cost the Phoenicians a veritable mountain of silver and gold.

Ionia Stabilizes

By all accounts, King Thrasyboulos seems to be regaining the confidence of his people. In a dramatic gesture and feat of financial legerdemain, the Ionians paid off a huge portion of their crippling debt (shortly after, the rumormongers say, the arrival of several cartloads of Lydian gold). This act was a great help in restoring confidence throughout the region and spurring commerce as worried merchants returned to their business enterprises. Simultaneously with this restoration, Thrasyboulos managed to find the funding to begin a wholesale reconstruction of Smyrna, sending out a call to all the finest architects and engineers in the region. The response has been somewhat muted, given Ionia’s recent reputation of instability, but normalcy appears to be slowly returning to Ionia. Thrasyboulos’ funding of happiness inducing programs remains low, but elite Ionian constabulary appears to be making up the difference. If a man can walk the streets of his city, he has little impetus to complain of such extraneous things as free bread or festivals.

Babylonians and Egyptians Prepare Defenses

In Judah and Syria, the Egyptian horde and Babylonian Army, respectively, spent the year preparing for an attack that did not come. Supplies were brought in, maneuvers conducted, and fortresses refurbished, but no attacking army came. This mutual nervousness belied what little hope the local farmers and merchants had that perhaps the peace treaty signed between the two powers was going to be a permanent one, as both the God-Queen and High King Nabonidus were apparently expecting betrayal. Still, the two armies remained separated by enough terrain that the more optimistic of men have begun to voice the hope that perhaps war can be avoided and peace return.

Still, the God-Queen managed to hold on to her recently conquered territory for another year, and the High King was left to fume over his significantly reduced Kingdom. Rumors of troops movements on both sides of the border were many, but both the Babylonians and Egyptians were extraordinarily careful to shield their movements from one another, meaning that tales, while plentiful, seldom had much to offer in specifics. Men spoke of thousands of Babylonian soldiers relocated across the Kingdom, while one rumor spoke of the entire Egyptian army packing up and heading back into Thebes. This was quickly disproved, of course, but it spawned abortive celebrations in Babylon itself nonetheless.

Boeotians Construct New Port at Naupactus

In an apparent reaction to the Spartan-funding construction of a massive new port in Aegium last year, the Theban dominated Boetian League funded the creation of an equally impressive new port in the newly acquired polis of Naupactus in western Lokris. The port, beyond inspiring great enthusiasm amongst the people of Naupactus, is strategically placed across the straits connecting the Corinthian Gulf to the greater ocean beyond. Placed so close to Aegium, and supplied with equally excellent facilities in every regard, the Boeotians put the finishing touches on their new construction. Announcing that the Boeotian League would be dispensing large gifts of free wine and subsidized services by the Priestesses of Aphrodite to traders who stopped in Naupactus, the Thebans succeeded in luring a substantial number of merchants away from Aegium. It appears that the Spartans, trying their hand at the mercantile machinations of the rest of Greece, have already become embroiled in a sort of conflict they had not been expecting.

Greeks Gearing Up for Olympics

Throughout Thessaly, Boeotia, Attika, and Sparta, enthusiasm is growing for the coming Olympics next year. Of the four dominant Greek city-states, Sparta is believed to have spent the most amount of treasure on preparations and recruitment. However, given the great concentration of men of merit and worth within the entire region belonging to so many different poleis, the funding gap appears to have only had a minor effect in terms of overall preparedness. Given an open field and a will to succeed, any man can prepare for the trials of the Olympiad. Still, the Spartans have undeniably been pushing harder and harder in an apparent attempt to erase the shame of Boeotia’s dominance of the last Olympics and their efforts have born some fruit. With this growing thrill of competition to come, athletes across Greece are preparing themselves for the day when the whole world will stand still to admire the spirit of competition as mortal men honor Zeus All Mighty.

Persians Continue Development

Persian engineers proudly announced the completion of the first stage of a series of new Imperial Roads that will greatly speed travel throughout the Empire. The new road system has been under construction for some time now, and the completion of this first, critical leg of the road was marked with pride across Persia. Plans for the next phase of construction have not yet been released, although the Persians are already well on their way to having the finest system of roads ever recorded in the annals of history.

The completion of the Imperial Road came close behind the formal and ritualized blessing of the last ceremonial block in the construction of the new Persian military academy. With the opening of the new academy, Cyrus is left with only the finalization of the Imperial Hall of Heroes before him, having completed all of the other great projects he envisioned.

Spartans Light Up Greece

The new Spartan garrisons being raised in the newly dominated Pelopponesian poleis have been witness to a strange new series of constructions, ranging across much of Greece. Arcadia, Argos, Achaea and Sparta were all linked by these new constructions, which consists of a series of small, fortified towers garrisoned by a number of loyal Spartan warriors. These large “torches”, when lit, are visible from the next tower several miles away and, in this manner, word can be sent back to Sparta immediately in the event of an attack or other significant problem. These novel constructions certainly lack the detail of a written message, but the simple speed is an amazing thing to behold. In a matter of hours, a beleaguered garrison can notify their kinsmen of an emergency, saving several valuable days as the army is able to mobilize immediately to respond to whatever the threat might be.

Western Empire Returns to the Sea

With the removal of the Egyptian-led blockade, the merchant ships of the Western Empire in Anatolia slowly returned to the sea. Hesitant and wary, at first only the bravest men sailed their ships out onto the open seas to ply their wares, but as the year stretched onwards without attack or interference, more and more ships took to the seas seeking their fortune on foreign shores. This was helped along by the gradually spreading and quickly confirmed rumors that the Western Empire was finally funding the creation of a new navy to supplement the battered Ionian ships anchored in Miletus. While the majority of Anatolian trade remained reliant on the newly developed land routes to the east and west, ship borne travel is still faster and grants access to more distant ports, particularly to the west. By the end of the year, the individual kingdoms of the Western Empire were once more doing a bustling, if much reduced, trade over the ocean with the many kingdoms surrounding the Mediterranean.

The Silver Shield Tour

King Nikomedes of Taras, also called Tarentum, spent a pleasant month traveling throughout Magna Graeca, visiting his neighbors in Sybaris and Lucania. With his personal bodyguard arrayed in their finery and a small fleet of ships at his back, King Nikomedes sailed to Sybaris, with silver shields hanging from the bows of his ships. Rowing into port, with the echoing drumbeats and shouts of greeting to the men of Sybaris waiting for them, the King and Council of Sybaris were dutifully impressed.

While this tour was beginning, other ships of Tarentum had been sailing up and down the coast under the direction of the famed Nereus of Taras, who was well known for his skill in coming to grips with an elusive enemy. This fleet made short work of the small groups of pirates who infest any coastline, providing a relief, albeit a relatively small one, to the merchantmen of Magna Graeca. Showing off his fleet, Nikomedes was buoyed by this excellent reputation and was heartily urged to deliver a speech to the waiting King, his Council, and the people of Sybaris.

Nikomedes willingly agreed and the entire crowd piled into a nearby hall, where the men of Sybaris had laid out a great supply of food and drink for the purpose of feasting and celebration. The King of Taras addressed the great crowd that had now assembled all around. Enthusiastic men were there, along with more sober individuals who seemed more pleased that at last someone was taking action to curtail the advance of the Tyrrhenians in the north. Others were simply there to be able to say they had been there. Addressing them all warmly, Nikomedes delivered his speech, which has been attached below.

Honored ruler of Sybaris and noble houses of Sybaris, I am Nikomedes, a visitor grateful for the hospitality of your city towards my men and myself. We are pleased to be among you, feasting and celebrating this day.

I am most grateful for the honor bestowed upon me by your people in welcoming me into your city. These are fine people, well cared for by their rulers and their counselors. As this city of Sybaris is favored by their rule, so I should seek to ally Taras to such a fine example of amicability and reason, and thus we together should be guided by the wisdom of the gods into a favored future.

I am this day rejoicing in the bounty of our little sea and the neighbors with whom we conduct commerce. Sybaris is well established among all cities of Magna Graecia. Sybaris is favored in its lands from which great bounty shall be forever forthcoming.

From your own eyes you have seen the concern I have for the safety of Sybaris. My trusted ally, Nereus, has led numerous fights against the pirates of our coasts. It is he that has brought to you the ships, gold and goods recaptured in his exploits. All this for our stalwart neighbor Sybaris!

This day again I ask the King of Sybaris to proclaim a treaty of alliance, a treaty of commerce between Sybaris and Taras. Shall I ask for that treaty? Shall I have that honor?

Wait! O good and noble people! Shall we not speak of greater purpose? I hear your minds ask ‘What might that greater purpose be?’… Indeed, what is there that I, Nikomedes, an honored guest of Sybaris, could offer that might be greater than all testimony heard today?

I offer as a gift to you citizens of Sybaris the friendship of Taras, my city, my heart. No! I offer more than commerce and friendship. Nikomedes of Taras offers his fleets and armies, the very strength of Taras itself pledged to the defense of Sybaris. All this, under the common confederation of our cities to the bounty forever coming!

O King, take upon your arm this shield offered by Taras! Take this token of our pledge to the defense of your kingdom and your people. Raise that shield in defense of Taras as we shall raise ours to protect you. Together we stand, one protecting the other against ill-fortune, bearing a shield shining with the face of Apollo against those who would do us ill.

What says the King of Sybaris? What say you to this grateful visitor? Will you take up this gift?

There arose a great murmur of support as King Nikomedes handed the King of Sybaris one of the silvered shields. The King hesitated for only a second before he boldly lifted the shield high into the air to the wild cheers of the assembled crowd. Tarentum had earned an ally and more in Sybaris, as the smaller polis agreed immediately to align itself with Taras, particularly in light of the rumors that the Tyrrhenian campaign in the Far East had drawn to a close. Now was a time for unity and alliance. Before the year was done, Sybaris had allied itself closely enough to Tarentum to be considered an equal partner in the city-state’s confederacy.

Mutual military exercises in the hills of Lucania conducted by the well known Orestes, originally a men of Lucania himself, helped earn Tarentum good will there. The people there greeted Nikomedes’ arrival in Lucania with similar enthusiasm, and his words of encouragement were greeted warmly by the worried men of Lucania. Still, the Lucanians are a somewhat prouder people than the men of Sybaris with more confidence in their ability to triumph against a foreign foe. They willfully agreed to the terms of a pact between the people of Tarentum and Lucania, but they entered into the agreement with much reserve than their neighbors in Sybaris. Still, by the end of the year, Tarentum had secured two close allies in Magna Graeca and seemed poised to continue its success in the following year. Nikomedes had begun to be referred to as “the King of the Silver Shield” and spoken of with hope by Magna Graecan and former Roman alike.

Carians On the Move

Leaving the Royal Army behind in Smyrna, King Mursili of Caria traveled back to his capital to oversee the assembly of a different army. After preparing his 50,000 men to his satisfaction, Mursili prepared to march. The tactical plan presented to him by his loyal aides called for an invasion of Pharisos and then, if there was time left in the campaigning season, a push into Cappadocia. Mursili, quickly realizing that the only Pharisos he could recall was a vaguely defined region split between Armenia and Northern Persia far to the east, decided against this course of action. Instead, he settled on the more logical route of traveling through Pamphylia and up through the rocky Anatolian interior to reach Cappadocia. He placed his trusted friend Telepinus in control of the army itself.

The Carians traveled through Pamphylia meeting little resistance, although the minor nobles there did command enough soldiers to field a somewhat respectable army of at least several thousand. The Carian’s reputation had spread before them, however, and the men of power in Pamphylia had little interest in going up against the most notorious strategist in recent history, even if his regular army was many hundreds of miles away. Instead, the Pamphylian militias melted away, refusing to do battle with the Carian army while the nobles paid token homage. Yet Pamphylia was not entirely quiet. Despite their small and relatively insignificant nature, the people of Pamphylia have something of an identity and resented the idea that it was being snatched away from them. Still, in the end, a farmer cares little unless his day to day activities are somehow disrupted, and the resentment failed to coalesce into any larger movement amongst the general population. Most of the population of Pamphylia seemed to be willing to give Mursili a chance, or at least did not care which particular rich man wore a crown while other rich men complained.

The campaigning season continued on as Telepinus managed the difficult trek into the interior of Anatolia. As you travel east, the terrain in Anatolia gets progressively worse, and there is little in the way of proper civilized roads. Finally, this ancient trail leads down from the rugged interior, through the Cicilian Gates and onto the plains of Issus in Syria. Mursili proposed to traverse a significant portion of this ancient road with a large army and with a supply line stretching through newly conquered territory of dubious loyalty.

Here Mursili received a boon. The Carian mounted infantry that had been dispatched to Cappadocia two years before, and spent their time policing the area and rounding up what few bandits the poor region boasted, had earned significant good will in Cappadocia. Furthermore, the people of Cappadocia were poor and widely dispersed, with few centers of population. All of this meant that the Cappadocians, unlike the Pamphylians, did not even have an army that they had to think about using. They had no real means to resist and no real cause to. Cappadocia was one of those places that men passed through on their way to more important places, not a place where warriors fought and died for a patch of earth.

As soon as Mursili managed the difficult ascent into Cappadocia, and it became apparent that he sought to annex the region outright, several prominent Cappadocian village leaders sent word through the Carian mounted infantry, returning to join the Carian camp, that they would offer their surrender. Still, while the Cappadocians were pliable enough, the Pamphylians could prove to be an aggravation in Mursili’s side. He would have to make a decision on how best to address the issue, whether it be through ingratiating diplomacy or a permanent garrison.

Crime on the Rise in Phoenicia?

King Hanniel of Tyre, the Soused Sovereign, was reportedly very confused by reports of rising crime throughout his kingdom, as his advisors simultaneously reported record levels of law and order spending. Nonetheless, armed gangs are seen to be gaining strength in Tyre and Sidon, flaunting the King’s authority and disrupting the free wheeling mercantile trade that has made the Phoenicians so famous. The specific nature of these gangs, and the exact extent of their influence, is largely unknown. This is largely thanks to the fact that the King, his retinue, and a great portion of both cities spent most of the year in a combination of preparation for King Hanniel’s birthday “celebration” and the subsequent clean up, which required several months of concentrated effort.

Babylonians Hire Greek Mercenaries

In a dramatic act, High King Nabonidus of Babylon has earmarked a truly remarkable sum of gold for a dramatic enterprise. Traveling over the meager roads recently secured by the Carians, the Army of Sardis, traveling all the way from Smyrna, spent the entire year traversing Anatolia. Numbering in the many tens of thousands, the Lydians, led by the now famous Hipponax and Kandaules, made their away across the vast swath of terrain, being forced to travel slowly in order to maintain the cohesion of their army. As they traveled through the recently secured Carian province of Cappadocia, the men began to grumble at traveling so far from their homes so soon after engaging in battle. They were assuaged by promises of great profit to be had, and these promises were soon upheld.

The Babylonians sent a shipment of treasure-laden carts west to meet the oncoming army, along with several representatives of the High King’s Court as well as the Babylonian Generals who would be taking command of the Lydian force. The High King had bought himself an entire army of mercenaries. In Lydia, King Croesus counted the generous High King’s bountiful gold and set about raising another, equally large and impressive army to defend Lydia’s borders. The Army of Sardis descended down through the Cicilian Gates into Syria in the fall and joined the Babylonian Army encamped there.

The Pirate Fleet Returns!

The mysterious pirates who so devastated Ionian shipping several years ago have returned. This time striking at Macedonia, sea travelers and merchants all agree that this fleet must be the same one, although there appears to be little hard evidence to support this theory. Still, the mannerisms of the pirates themselves seem similar, as they raid merchant shipping and burn the boats while allowing the sailors to escape and swim to shore, only to slip elusively away as an armed response is mobilized.

Thankfully for the recovering Western Empire and the city-states of Greece proper, the pirates focused almost exclusively on the Macedonians, cutting off that Kingdom from its seaborne trade but leaving its neighbors unmolested. The merchants throughout the region reacted efficiently enough, largely thanks to the widespread practice they’d had in recent years. As a result, the adverse effects of the raid were largely limited to Macedon, with only a slight drop in trading amongst the other kingdoms in the region.

The pirates liberated an unknown amount of wealth from the Macedonian ships, engaging in small and inconclusive skirmishes with the Macedonian navy. Always, however, the pirates managed to slip away. Finally, the pirate fleet seemed to vanish, until an enterprising Macedonian galley spotted a large group of ships heading east. The Macedonian fleet gathered to give hot spot, hoping to run down the heavily laden pirate ships and force them to do proper battle.

Unfortunately, this was not to be. For reasons unknown to moral men, the Gods saw fit to curse the skies with a mighty storm, as is wont to happen from time to time in the eastern seas. The Macedonian fleet hunkered down to wait out the storm, believing they could continue the chase after the bad weather had past. The pirates, however, in a daring display of recklessness, continued on regardless and were soon lost to sight completely. The remarkable navigation required in this amazing feat of seamanship has reportedly caused great consternation in the Macedonian court.

Egyptian Grain Shipments Increase

In a sign that, perhaps, Egypt is adjusting to the new dearth of trade brought on by the recent chaos in the region, private investment has started to rise. A wide variety of merchants have apparently decided that the only truly safe place that they can be sure the God-Queen will not attack is in Egypt itself. There has been a marked increase in grain exports over the past few months. The God-Queen was quick to point out that this rise in prosperity was yet another sign of her divine providence. A significant portion of this trade is being done through foreign merchants who have come to Egypt, many from Phoenicia, in order to purchase and then sell the grain, but as the God-Queen’s coffers are being filled by their activities, there has been little complaint.

Contest of Champions in Gaul

Greek traders in Gaul, north of the territory held by the Tyrrhenians, reported that interesting matters are afoot in the barbarous lands of the north. Several Gaulish tribes gathered together early in the year, beginning a series of grand festivities that would last several weeks. There, the brutish Gaul tribesmen began what, roughly translated, they called “a Contest of Champions”. This competition seemed somewhat alike to the Greek Olympics, only the categories included such tasks as quaffing and other feats of alcoholic daring and many of the more combative activities resulted in severe injury or death.

At the end of the month long gathering, the tribes dispersed back to their homes, with the warrior Segovesus declared the overall champion. He led his war band off east, his destination a mystery, with his ceremonial forged bronze and iron necklace the mark of his victory. The Greeks present passed along stories of the great size of the people of Gaul, and were particularly in awe of Segovesus himself, who is said to be a giant even amongst his own people. New stories about the barbarous men of Gaul have sprung up around Greece as a result, giving Segovesus the strange honor of being a primitive spoken up frequently in the halls of civilization. Whether he knows of this occurrence or not is anyone’s guess, although it seems doubtful that he would care.

Plundered Babylonian Gold Fuels Egyptian Horde

The God-Queen was apparently not satisfied with the performance of her armies last year, as she quickly ordered the raising of thousands of new troops and at least fifty more ships of war. The irony of all of this, of course, was that this was largely paid for by the gold and treasures plundered by the God-Queen in Judah. Meaning that if war does resume between the Babylonians and the Egyptians, High King Nabonidus’ own gold would have funded the army he strives against.

Other rumors, however, speak of rising tension in Egypt as hundreds of thousands of farmers and merchants have been called away from their lands for an extended period of time. They have left the lands barren and, in many cases, available to be seized by rich men who had stayed behind while their poorer brethren went off to serve in the God-Queen’s wars.

Budgetary Crisis in Taras

Even as Nikomedes worked diligently to expand the influence of Tarentum in Magna Graeca, a crisis was developing at home. Nikomedes, while ably funding his armies and presenting lavish gifts to his neighbors, neglected to spend more than a bare minimum of his gold on civil projects such as the hiring of a constabulary or bread and circuses in order to placate the masses. As a result, the city state of Taras nearly fell into chaos this year which was only staved off by an emergency loan purchased by a quick thinking aide. The priests of Apollo reportedly sent word to Nikomedes that their auguries determined that this incredibly close recovery was a “one time event” and the gods would not be so lenient in the future.

Darius Travels to Media

Bearing gifts of Imperial favor to General Xeramikses, Prince Darius of Persia traveled to Media this year to address the growing unrest in that province. Xeramikses, despite Darius’ arrival, retained full military control of the province. Darius, however, arrived with substantial funds earmarked from the Imperial treasury, and immediately set about in an effort to restore order to the province and placate those members of the nobility who had been growing dissatisfied with the rule of Cyrus the Great.

The most important members of the Mede nobility were granted estates in loyal provinces throughout Persia as a sign of good faith from the Emperor. The effort was helped along significantly by the exertions of the ever-popular Darius, who is widely respected throughout the Empire. Darius handled the affair with his usual aplomb, rallying significant support through Media through his personal attentions and the expensive gifts his generous subsidy allowed him to procure. While never mentioned directly, the fearsome specter of General Xeramikses—well known for the great destruction he wrought in Armenia—added additional weight to Darius’ words. This helped convinced several recalcitrant nobles that they were better off tying their fates to Persia proper through the acceptance of Cyrus’ gifted estates than in trying to incite a rebellion which almost certainly result in terrible bloodshed. By the end of the year, Darius reported back to Emperor Cyrus that order in Media had been largely restored and the danger of open revolt had been greatly reduced.

Egyptians Launch Nubian Expedition

Defying all the rumors of further moves against the Babylonians to the north, Akhu the Reborn, champion of the God-Queen Aneski, took over 125,000 men south. Traveling up the Nile, staying as close to water as possible, Akhu led his men into the ancient region called Kush, after the kingdom which had once, in fact, conquered and occupied Egypt herself hundreds of years ago. His goal was “Nubia”, which was a very general objective indeed, but Akhu was resolved to fulfill the God-Queen’s wishes. While there was a vast expanse of land that travelers called Nubia, the only lands of any real value at all appeared to be the Kingdoms of Napata and Meroe, which was further to the south and east.

The movement of such a large body of men, combined with the frustratingly slow speed at which Akhu was forced to move due to the desert terrain, allowed the men of Napata plenty of time to react. King Nastesen, who styled himself ruler of Nubia and had at least marginal control of the wild lands surrounding the lands of Napata and Meroe, gathered his men to him and took stock of the situation. The people of Nubia, originally from deeper south in desert, had lost contact with their distant kindred and ruled over the river lands to the south of Egypt. They had not, however, forgotten their traditions, and Nastesen hastily composed a plan. The Nubian army was outnumbered, but their opponent was moving through brutal terrain in the middle of summer while their supply lines stretched far to the north.

The Nubian deserts were not kind to Akhu and his men. They advanced steadily, advancing the lands of the God-Queen further south along the Nile with every passing day, but their opponents remained out of reach and out of sight. The Nubians were not particularly known for maintaining cavalry or groups of camels numerous enough to outfit large troops of warriors, but they still outnumbered the 1,000 cavalrymen that Akhu had at his disposal. As a result, Akhu could gain little intelligence regarding his enemy’s whereabouts and had to be content with moving down the river in the hope of sweeping his enemies before him. Desertion was a constant problem, although Akhu’s fierce reputation kept most of his men in line and focused on the task before them.

As the Nile wound further south, approaching the place where it hooked east and headed for Napata, Nastesen struck. Keeping his main army in place, he relied primarily on the tribesmen he had been able to recruit as well as mercenaries he had acquired with Nubia’s famous gold. Nastesen resolved that these men, who could not be counted on to fight more than or two battles anyway, would serve little use in any prolonged fighting and sent them instead to attack the Egyptian rear. Catching Akhu’s rearguard by surprise, the Nubian tribesmen and their mercenary allies sowed confusion in the Egyptian supply train with their cavalry, which was easily able to overwhelm the token Egyptian force, and, as the main infantry descended out of the sands, would then steal entire cart loads of supplies. The Nubians were more than happy to obey orders that provided them with the opportunity to liberate Egyptian wealth and then return to their homes. Akhu had sufficient men to thwart these attacks, but in doing so he had to slow his advance even further. If he moved more of his supply train onto the river barges that he had made good use of, the Nubian villagers would sail their fishing craft out into the river at night and ambush his men to steal their valuable cargo. In the end, Akhu was forced to dispatch an inordinate amount of men to protect his supply train and slow his advance even further.

All the while, the Egyptians were encountering more and more problems. While they were certainly used to life in Egypt, this afforded them less comfort than they had thought. This land was dry, far more so than their homes, and supplies were hard to come by. Akhu’s will alone kept them moving. The raids were becoming more frequent now, as the Nubian raiders fought hard to defend the villages lying in the path of the Egyptian advance. Akhu always found that his men could overcome these challenges, sweeping aside the resistance once they actually reached one of the villages, but he could do little to secure so long as he was advancing short of burning them to the ground. In several instances he was forced to do so, as the “conquered” villagers set about ambushing his supply trains for their own material benefit. This show of force cowed the Nubians near to the army, but as soon as the Egyptians had passed a day or two beyond the town, the disruptive actions would pick up in intensity again.

As the year war on, and Akhu found himself making smaller and smaller advances every passing day, the Egyptians found themselves at something of an impasse. They had superior numbers. They were outmatched in cavalry, but even that was a relatively minor affair. They controlled the land from Egypt south up the Nile until it began its loop east to wealthy Napata. They had defeated every force that stood to face them. Yet Akhu honestly doubted whether he could take the city and hope to achieve anything more than the complete destruction of his army and a costly retreat back down the Nile with his captured wealth. And even if he did take Napata, and burn it as he thought he would have to do, there was still Meroe further to the south and east. Akhu could see no easy way out of the situation, beginning to comprehend why the Kushites had retreated from Egypt even after conquering the Upper Nile in its entirety. This was no land to march an army through.

Akhu called a halt to his tired troops at a sizeable village approximately 100 miles west of Napata. The Nubian army, massed to a total troop strength of some 20,000-25,000 men was sitting comfortably outside of their own city. Akhu’s own forces had been steadily reduced to approximately 85,000 men, although he had yet to do a proper head count. He immediately set about fortifying the village and dispatching patrols back down the length of the Nile towards Egypt. As his army gradually strengthened their control of the region, the raids dropped off in intensity and some sense of control returned to Akhu. The Nubians could hardly hope to march forth and dislodge him, but Akhu was at a complete loss in how the Egyptians could hope to campaign successfully in this climate, separated from their homes by such hospitable terrain and uncivilized barbarity. Still, the Egyptian control of the length of the Nile had increased by approximately half, a sure sign of the continued glory of the God-Queen.

Thessaly Continues to Thrive

Even as much of the world remains embroiled in violence, King Demetrius of Thessaly has maintained his course. The improvements throughout Larissa have continued, including new gardens and a Royal Sanitarium amply staffed by a steadily growing number of physicians. The crown jewel of these latest constructions, however, was the new Baths of Aphrodite. Laid out in topaz and lapis lazuli mosaic, with the finest newly mined Magnesian marble and an entryway that consists of a hall of statuary, the baths are a truly stunning sight architecturally alone. The many statues exalt the human body, both male and female, in all its forms. The building itself is divided into four quadrants, with hot and cold baths, along with steam rooms and a natural spring. Happy scholars from around the city can be seen relaxing in the new structure at all hours of the day, with one happy cartographer remarking to all who would listen, “Finally I can conduct my research as well as clean myself in the same city!” He went on to complain good-naturedly that King Demetrius’ Great Library did not permit him to bring scrolls into the bath to read.

All of these developments almost drowned out the news coming out of Magnesia, where a series of Thessalonian investments, along with the skillful negotiation skills of King Demetrius himself, has led to the gradual and subtle incorporation of Magnesia and its component poleis into the fold of the Thessalonian confederacy. This “union” remains tenuous at best, but with the two lands acting in such close union in all things, it seems as if the point has already become moot. Whether the eagerness of the Magnesians to embrace a partnership with Thessaly was a result of the newly expansionist tendencies of Macedonia to the north and the Boeotian League to the south is an issue that has been studiously avoided by all the men of power involved in the arrangement.

Carthaginians Found Colony in Iberia

After signing a series of alliances and pacts with the series of Phoenician-descended trading posts all along the cost of Iberia, the Carthaginian fleet escorted a massive convoy of ships across the ocean from Carthage to Iberia. Number approximately 20,000 colonists, the Carthaginians came equipped with a large reserve of food stuffs from Sicily and other supplies along with building supplies. In addition, King Mago had kindly gifted them with subsidies sufficient to purchase local goods once they had actually landed in Iberia. Their landing sight was largely secured by friendly Phoenicians already in Iberia along with a handful of mercenaries from the surrounding region.

With the colonists came a veritable horde of architects and city planners, along with supplies and experts to establish self-sufficient farms and smithies immediately upon their landing. The new colony, imaginatively named “New Carthage,” immediately began to thrive, working with their fellow Phoenicians throughout the territory and making contact with a wide variety of trading partners throughout the region. Princess Saphanel of Carthage was appointed as Governess of the colony and was granted exclusive control over the colony’s treasury as well as the power to raise and command local militia and military forces and administer Carthaginian law.

Boeotian League Invades Aetolia

Moving through the recently conquered territories of Lokris, the Army of Boeotia, led by the famous warrior Polynikes the Olympian and his two close companions the brilliant Thorakides and the master horsemen Agrippa, made its way around the Oracle of Delphi and moved into Aetolia. With a battle hardened army of some 60,000 men, the Boeotians made their way through Aetolia with little resistance. Their goal was the city of Pleuron in the west, which acted as the only real population center in the region.

The Aetolians were a quiet, scattered people. Their army was a small one composed entirely of farmer militia, designed to be mobile enough to intercept any of the barbarians who would occasionally make it through the territory of Epirus. In the past year, the men of Aetolia had attempted some minor reforms in order to counter the worries about an expansionist Thebes to their south and east. Still, even the most optimistic of men did not believe that there was much they could do in the event of a real invasion.

The Boeotians came on in full splendor, the reputation of mighty Polynikes spreading before him and destroying the will of the men of Aetolia to even attempt a fight. The final nail in the coffin came when a wealthy Aetolian traveling near Delphi went to the Oracle to ask what hope his people might have. In a response that was quickly spread throughout the villages, camps, and drinking halls, the Oracle responded, “Flee to the ends of the earth.”

Still, some men resolved to attempt to resist the Boeotian advance. Positioning themselves between the mountain chain on which Pleuron itself is anchored and the river that separates Aetolia itself from western Lokris, these die hards made their preparations. Number some 5,000 men in number, composed of 2,000 hoplites 1,000 horse and 2,000 lighter infantry, they hoped the terrain would at least give them a fighting chance.

The Boeotians, however, had a force of 2,500 scouts alone and were well informed as to the whereabouts and number of their enemy. Thorakides, in command of the general planning for the expedition, decided on a strategy of encirclement in order to complete eliminate any hope of resistance quickly and efficiently and prevent as much bloodshed as possible at Pleuron itself.

Thorakides determined that it would be relatively easy to ford the river in any number of places, and immediately dispatched two different prongs of cavalry and lighter infantry to attempt a crossing to both the east and west of the Aetolian position simultaneously. The key was to cross the river far enough to the west to be unmolested but not make the Aetolians thing they were making a run for the city. Thorakides dispatched Agrippa with this western group in order to manage the approach, and the man handled his assignment with customary skill. He also dispatched his group of “lancers”, modeled after that employed by the men of Anatolia, to reinforce Agrippa’s position.

The crossings had been secured, with the Aetolians nervously watching all of this occur as they realized that they could not move out of their bottleneck without exposing themselves to the Boeotians’ vastly superior numbers. The Boeotian hoplites then completed their own crossing, holding their armor in oiled cloth bundles over their heads with the help of their squires. With some 30,000 men on each side of the Aetolians, Thorakides believed he was perfectly poised.

The advance came quickly after, with neither side offering much in the way of talk with the other. Thorakides purposefully kept the advance slow at first, angling to disrupt the Aetolian line with the sight of their own impending doom. He then dispatched the lancers along the side of the mountainous terrain to the north, forcing the Aetolians to face a third way in order to repel the attack. At this moment, Polynikes and his men let loose a mighty roar from their line to the east and charged bodily down upon the Aetolians.

The battle was over before it had really been fought. The Aetolians broke and ran, most discarding their weapons and fleeing into the river. Many made it across, others did not, a significant force was caught on the north side of the river and forced to give battle against the vastly superior Boeotian force. Those who escaped, for the most part unarmed, quietly circled around the victorious Boeotian army and made their way back to their farms, rejoining the Aetolian populace with little fanfare.

After the Battle of Pleuron, the Boeotians moved into the polis itself and formally established their dominion over yet another territory in northern Greece.

Tariff Report:

(state: target of tariff / amount)

Athens (Attika): Persia / 3.5%;
Babylon: Egypt / 5% Magna Graeca / 5%*;
Caria: Egypt / 2%;
Carthage: Magna Graeca / 5%* Tyrrhenia / 1% Persia / 1% Western Empire States / 1.3%*;
Egypt: Ionia / 5% Lydia / 5% Mysia / 5% Caria / 5% Croton / 5%;
Ionia: Egypt / 1.9%;
Lydia: Egypt / 3 %;
Mysia: Egypt / 1.89%;
Persia: Egypt / 4% Attika / 5% Sparta / 5% Macedon /5%;
Phoenicia: Macedon / 5% Persia / 2%;
Sparta (Lakedaemonia): Persia / 2.1%;
Tarentum: Phoenicia / 1.5% Tyrrhenia / 1.5%
Thebes (Boeotia): Lakedaemonia / 5% Tyrrhenia / 2.6%;
Thessaly: Magna Graeca / 2.62%*
Tyrrhenia: Babylon /4.3%

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