-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Chapter Two: Wars West & North (303 BC to 302 BC)
A sling armed skirmisher - one of the most common kinds of soldiers used in Sicily.
Chapter Two: Wars West & North (303 BC to 302 BC)
On 23 January 303 BC the Syracusan army met the Akragans in combat on the far bank of the River Hymera. Overwhelming the odds in numbers favoured the Syracusans. It is possible given the fact that the Akragans were armed only with bows, slings and javelins that they had hoped to catch Agathocles in ambush in the hills. If so they were outmaneuvered by the shrewd old Syracusan monarch who forced a field battle on Alkimachos the enemy strategos.
A surviving account of the clash details the desperate close of the struggle:
...Seeing the Syracusans hold their shields steady against the arrows and stones Alkimachos ordered the salphinx [a long bronze trumpet] to be blown and gathering those men least wounded hurled the fill weight of his survivors at the greenest troops in the Syracusan line, hoping to break through these freshly bearded youths so new to war and escape to fair Akragas. The young hypasists of Katanae at first trembled at this attack till their officer, an ancient named Nikephoros who had lost an eye to a Libyan spear in Africa thundered at them that at least one man of Katanae would not dishonour his forefathers or the gods... seeing Nikephoros fight on alone the line held firm and known of the sons of Akragas escaped...
The Battle of Akragas saw thousands of Akragans fall either as corpses or as captives. Alkimachos himself was taken prisoner and brought in chains before the King who chastised him for his foolishness in defying the might of Syracuse. Nevertheless when Agathocles sent envoys to the city the Akragans shut their gates and fortified the acropolis. The war was far from over.
The one advantage Akragas retained were her superb fortifications. The city lay on a plateau by two rivers and with a steep ridge to her north. To take her by storm would have cost thousands of soldiers and Agathocles had no intention of doing that. The King was ever mindful of the next war and he knew that despite her wealth the resources and manpower of Syracuse were not infinite. To gain even so rich a city as Akragas at the cost of his strong right arm was no victory. The soldiers of Syracuse settled down for a long siege, to be joined in time by soldiers from Locri and Rhegion honouring their alliance with Agathocles. The Locrians would prove useful in retaking Akrai, which had briefly fallen under the sway of a small band of Akragans cut off from their city by the war.
Months passed and the food and water in Akragas dwindled while the soldiers of Agathocles and his allies stayed hale and hearty, easily ignoring the taunts from the city walls. Eventually scanning the empty horizon for aid and listening to the rumble of hollow stomachs was too much. On 20 November 303 BC Akragas surrendered.
The inhabitants might have expected a sack and mass executions but Agathocles was as gentle as he had once been cruel. The homes of the leaders were taken and the prominent citizens put in chains but the common people and the wealth of the temples were left untouched.
The Sack of Akragas, 20 November 303 BC.
Still, after the city surrendered Agathocles did go directly to temple of Athena and dedicate a milk white bull to the goddess asking for her aid in protecting what was now his city.
Many of the noblest sons of Akragas were allowed to keep their lives, if not their homes or belongings. For others however... the mercy of Agathocles had certain limits. The envoy who had so boldy insulted Agathocles before the war had his arms and legs broken before being thrown from the cliffs near Syracuse into Poseidon's realm. History does not record whether he fulfilled his own prophecy.
The fate of the enemy elite.
The native Siculians held sway over most of central Sicily. Though they were barbarians they were not the blood drinking, wild bearded, painted savages such a label suggests. A tribal people they had been much influenced by Greek and Carthaginian feeling and in some cities across the island the Siculians and other nationalities mixed. In their own homeland the Italic traditions held stronger and the locals held their ancient freedoms in strong hill towns. Sooner or later anyone who sought control of all Sicily would have to deal with them either as foe or friend.
Agathocles, though recognizing that a clash with the Siculian tribes was inevitable was not out to conquer a collection of rude hill villages. At least not yet.
'The prize is fair Kephaloidion to the north,' Agathocles told his trusted courtier Hephastion. 'A Greek city long under foreign rule, and with her in our hands the Carthaginians and the tribes would be cut off from one another.'
However much to the King's surprise it would be Hephastion himself who would delay this war for Syracuse.
The Strait of Messana, dividing Sicily from Italy proper was a very narrow band of sea. In ancient times it was said that these very waters had been home to dread Scylla and Charybdis. In modern times the threat was far more mortal, but no less dangerous A fleet of pirates under one Abreas had taken to raiding any ships unfortunate enough to pass through the strait. Abreas, a member of the far flung Zoctid family was an ex-mercenary and unsavory individual even by the standards of his former and current profession. Weak willed, selfish and miserly his one virtue was a certain originality of thought that made him a clever strategist on the waves.
The presence of pirates in Sicilian waters was an irritation but Agathocles was prepared to put up with it until the land war was won. Most of the great nobles of Syracuse agreed with the King. Hephaistion did not and he made his feelings clear both in private and in front of the Court:
'My King we must not spend another drachma on spears and shields while our fleet lies idle and Abreas that whelp of a Croton prostitute is master of the straits. Give me the money and the ships and I shall chase him from our waters... not only for our own safety but for loyal Rhegion and Locri who look to our city for protection.'
Hephaistion expresses his concerns to the King, April 302 BC.
Agathocles detested being publicly criticised and many in the palace assumed Hephaistion's time as a favourite would be measured in heartbeats. It was therefore to great surprise that the King swallowed his anger and agreed with Hephaistion. It was true that Hephaistion was of a very noble family (the Therid clan) and it was true that his claims were hard to refute; Rhegion and Locri did depend on Syracuse. Yet perhaps there was something more to the agreement, an acknowledge of friendship. To be Tyrant of Syracuse and King of Sicily were lonely heights and even a man like Agathocles had time for friendship.
Hephaistion expresses his concerns to the King, April 302 BC.
Building and crewing more ships meant fewer men for the army and less money to fight a campaign but Agathocles was still determined to go to war before the year was out. A war continuing during the second half of 302 BC risked lean times when it came to food but the King reasoned that this would hurt the tribal Siculians far more than it would the slave owning Syracusans. If he could strike hard enough and fast enough the tribes would crack. Besides the longer he delayed the fight the greater the risk was that the Carthaginians would return their gaze to Sicily.
The war against the Siculians, October 302 BC. Note the remnants of Abreas's pirate fleet, driven from Sicilian waters by Hephaistion.
The Siculians had a large army but the Syracusans when combined with their allies still had a strong advantage in numbers. Pallus Ulpius and his forces, unwilling to meet the Greeks in the field and trusting the strong stone walls of his capital slipped away to the north-east. From there he gathered his reserves and marched on the Greek city of Messana to lay siege to the port. He was perhaps hoping that he could force the Greeks to abandon their own siege and relieve Messana.
Agathocles's initial reaction was cool. Messana was strategically significant and a wealthy city but ultimately it could be sacrificed if it came to a choice between taking the Siculian capital or rescuing the Messanans. Besides Messana was fortified and there was every chance she could outlast Murgantia. Though he used silver words when speaking with the nobles of Messana in the officer ranks he was more frank with his own son on how war demanded a certain level of cool bloodedness.
The defeat of the pirates by Hephaistion in June followed by a second naval victory a week later changed matters. Though the Siculians remained in position around Messana's long walls the harbour of the city saw an immediate influx of shipping. Not just merchants from the nearby Greek cities but from much beyond including Egypt and even Phoenicians from distant Tyre and Byblos. The money and food they brought did not end the danger Messana was under - one needed more than cargos of dates and purple dye to sustain a hungry population - but they improved morale and did much to end the nervous mutterings that the King would not lift a finger to save the second most important city in his realm.
Ever shrewd Agathocles gave public thanks to both the sailors of Syracuse and to god who watched over Messana, ordering festivals to be celebrated in his honour. After the end of the war of course.
Honouring swift footed Hermes, guardian of Messana.
Ultimately it would come down to whether Agathocles had judged his enemies right or wrong and in November his gamble proved a shrewd one. With Messana unlikely to fall before the depths of Winter and his people facing starvation Pallus Ulpius cracked. The Siculian chieftain begged for a peace with Syracuse, offering Henna and Kephaloidion. Agathocles accepted these offers with such an imperious air he made it seem as if he had spared the Siculians from outright conquest.
On 27 November the war ended and the end of the old year and the beginning of the new would see Agathocles visit Kephaloidion in triumph and reside in his newest city for two months. He could feel justly pleased. At a narrow cost in lives he had won two wars and made himself the greatest man in the Western Greek world. Across Sicily even those who were not loyal subjects spoke his name with fear and awe. Agathocles let them do so. Only he knew quite how much his success had depended on luck. In his private chambers when he was simply a man and not a monarch Agathocles directed his most passionate prayers not to heavenly Zeus or wise Athena or golden Apollo, or even Pluton whose wealth so enriched his state but increasingly to the goddess that touched some more than others: Tyche.
Sicily at the start of 301 BC.
Last edited:
Soon there will be a struggle with Carthage.Only the tribes stand in Agathocles’s way…
The Siculians are a Settled Tribe which is close too but not quite a fully civilised state. They are Hellenic (ie. Greco-Roman) in religion and belong to the Latin cultural group.
Next time I'll be taking a closer look at the personal and domestic life of Athagocles and his kin so we'll explore a bit about how characters work.
~~~~~~
stnylan: Absolutely! That can be an advantage... or not.
Specialist290: Thank you very much!
That is indeed the sort of style I was going for. It is a bit different from my usual style but I think it works.
HistoryDude: Well according to him - both in this AAR and in reality he already was King of Sicily, it was just some hadn't realised it yet!
Nikolai: Definitely!
darkhaze9: Glad to have you and I hope you enjoy this.
Bullfilter: No he does not and thank you. I'm having fun testing out the waters of a new (yet in some ways familiar) game.
volksmarschall: Well, Sicily first anyway!
Next time I'll be taking a closer look at the personal and domestic life of Athagocles and his kin so we'll explore a bit about how characters work.
~~~~~~
stnylan: Absolutely! That can be an advantage... or not.
Specialist290: Thank you very much!
That is indeed the sort of style I was going for. It is a bit different from my usual style but I think it works.HistoryDude: Well according to him - both in this AAR and in reality he already was King of Sicily, it was just some hadn't realised it yet!
Nikolai: Definitely!
darkhaze9: Glad to have you and I hope you enjoy this.
Bullfilter: No he does not and thank you. I'm having fun testing out the waters of a new (yet in some ways familiar) game.
volksmarschall: Well, Sicily first anyway!
Agathocles may do well to venerate Tyche, but he would be wise not to trust in her alone...
Timing a future conflict with Carthage will be interesting.
What is happening up wiht Rome?
What is happening up wiht Rome?
WE MUST BURN IT!
Lots of debate, for the Greeks had a lot of monsters in their mythology, more than most.
Bane of empires too, from Athens to Carthage and even Fascist Italy.
Debatably Carthage and Alexandria are also Hellenic in this period, and both are in the running for the greatest city in the western world at this time.
Somewhat alien to the Greeks, who used a citizen militia always, to the point that it created the idea of citizens, and democracy for that matter. These foreigners also broke the general rules of war, in that they used weapons and tactics unlike the phalanx, which ensured few deaths and little damage to either side. Any war with these armies would be far bloodier than similar Greek wars.
From such humble beginnings...
Eh. Hades did get mixed up with and then mixed in with the wealth gods to form Pluto in the Latin Pantheon, but it's debatable when that drift began to happen. He was however indeed very powerful and well regarded by the Greeks. Saying that, what with Sicily attempting to become the new world power, it can tell everyone whatever it wants about its specific form of underworld god, I suppose.
Yeah, it turns out that having a very small citizenry dedicated to fighting and then a massive slave population making sure everything else ran smoothly wasn't a great source of stability. Literally one bad battle would ruin Sparta, which eventually happened. Athens wold boom and bust again and again, but Sparta only had one day in the sun.
Hmm...maybe drop the spear and pick up the short sword? Add some medium to heavy armour and you've got proto-legionaries.
Huh. Yeah, that should work. Carthage is already using the same format. So are some Italian cities who will remain nameless...
Interestingly, this is early enough that the climate is still changing in North Africa and the Mediterranean. It's getting much, much hotter compared to the greenery of past millennia. Carthage should be alright now, it's on the coast already. But they're going to be relying more and more on Sicily to feed them compared to North Africa.
Building a kingdom, not destroying one. Good show.
Quite agree with the below, but I also noticed a few Homeric epithets like "Bright eyed Athena" slipped in there. Really like the writing RossN, quality as always.
These little anecdotal asides are a very nice touch. They have the flavor of something that might actually have been written by a classical historian like Plutarch, Thucydides, or Livy, which increases my enjoyment of this tale immensely
Chapter Three: Intrigue, Despair & Opportunity (304 BC to 299 BC)
A banquet scene from a Macedonian tomb fresco of the late 4th Century BC.
Chapter Three: Intrigue, Despair & Opportunity (304 BC to 299 BC)
At the time he declared himself Basileus Agathocles had two surviving adult children, a son Archaganthus and a daughter Lanassa. Archaganthus was thirty five and a strange character, at once unattractive and intriguing. Like his father he was capable of great cruelty, a quality to which he added a personal streak of harshness - it was an unfortunate slave indeed in the service of Prince Archaganthus. Few lasted long intact in body or mind. Stories, whispered of course, spread about various acts of corruption he was suspected or known to have committed. Even his appearance which was short and stocky and already run to baldness left much to be desired. In short he was not an heir to the throne that inspired immediate love.
Still, there was something more to Archaganthus than a mindless thug. If he lacked great military skill even his critics would admit his craftiness. The Prince was not a man inclined to think in straight lines if he could help it and much of his advice to his father was based on the overheard gossip of merchants, nobles and ambassadors. For all his faults he had zeal. In 304 BC he had become the court Philosophsos - the leading religious authority in Syracuse. If there was a flicker of nepotism involved here it didn't disguise Archaganthus's genuine piety. Though he honoured all the gods and Zeus as king as was appropriate Archaganthus was most devout in his oaths to Hermes. The absolutely respectable divine patron of merchants, travelers and messengers... and assorted scoundrels.
In contrast the twenty five year old Lanassa was less of a strong personality. If she lacked what was so difficult in her brother (and father) she was also without their and but for her high station she would perhaps have been as anonymous as any poor potter's daughter or fisherman's bride. Two qualities she shared with her sibling; a strong religious zeal and a desire to be married. Only in time would a streak of kindliness quite foreign to her family emerge.
Syracuse and her subject poleis like Messana or Gelas were full of noble families. Though Agathocles had established a strong personal leadership that forbade any attempt to unseat him and had even won a measure of popularity among the teeming poor of Syracuse he still had to show favour to the great. An advantageous marriage was an obvious way to tie a prestigious family to his own and by fate Agathocles was in a position to arrange three such marriages - for Archaganthus, for Lanassa and for himself.
The details were struck at a symposium not long after Agathocles had taken the diadem. Members of the Proctid, Aratid and Therid families were in attendance [1].
Agathocles entertained his guests lavishly with wine and music. For entertainment he had gathered several of the finest hetaerae in Syracuse to attend to the noblemen, wooing them with their wit, beauty and skill at the lyre and in dance. The King paid them well for their efforts and paid them better still for any careless talk from a Syracusan noble who had honoured Dionysus with excess devotion [2].
The result of all this would be marriages for all the members of the ruling dynasty. Agathocles himself wed Krateia Therid, a proud and stubborn yet trusting young woman four decades his junior. Archaganthus married Eurydike Aratid, a twenty one year whose energy and occasional selfishness hid a weak will. Finally Lanassa became the bride of Eisigones Proctid the tropheus [3]. Eisigones was a reasonably good match in many ways; at twenty six he was still young and vigorous and though not a great soldier he was aggressive on the battlefield and devout and wise off it. Unfortunately there were whispers that his adoration of Athena went so far as self-imposed chastity but the King was prepared to make do with such minor drawbacks for the sake of sound politics.
The Syracusan court during the next few years was an exciting, unnerving place to be. In practical terms Agathocles himself was often absent, away at war and during the war with the Siculians in 302 BC he would begin to grow more absent in other respects.
The King, here pictured being attended by his wife Krateia, suffered from depression as the years moved on.
At first the malaise that gripped the monarch was hidden from the Court. Despite her youth Krateia was a woman of vivid personality and at her urgings Agathocles could at least put on the act of being the grizzled old lion - or at least the grizzled old fox. However the truth could not be hidden long from Archaganthus and the prince began a shadowy campaign of palace intrigue to ensure his succession.
In June 301 BC the Olympic Games were due to be held in Olympia and Syracuse as a great and mighty polis would have to send at least one representative. The choice came down to Karsis, a nobleman of the Therid family and Amyntas of the Proctid dynasty.
Karsis is chosen to represent Syracuse at the Olympics.
The Olympic Games proved the key. Archaganthus, working through servants and sycophants eager to win favour from their future monarch, advanced the reputation of Karsis as a paragon of vitality. His greatest ally was, unwittingly, the Queen who naturally supported the case of her brother and in her naivete never thought to question the sudden rise of his popularity at court. Eventually she prevailed upon her husband to send Karsis to Olympia.
Archaganthus gambit contained the risk that Karsis would actually win glory at the games and return festooned in honour. The Prince knew his man though and suspected that the noble would falter in the competition and either be too ashamed to return or return home with his reputation much diminished. His supposition would prove a shrewd one and it would be a long time before Karsis dared show his face in Syracuse.
Agathocles was no fool. Even in the depths of his despair he knew his son and suspected the truth of Karsis's support. Still it was far better than having his brother-in-law suffer a knife between the ribs in the agora or a cup of poison laced wine.
The migration of the Siculian tribes, July 301 BC.
Not every domestic decision revolved around palace plots. Not long after Karsis took ship for Hellas representatives of some of the Siculian tribesmen appeared in Syracuse and begged an audience with the King. Many Siculians had become thoroughly Hellenised and lived in towns but in the hills the old ways often clung on. Some of the roughest of the clans saw no future in Syracusan lands and wished to depart.
Princess Lanassa, habitually kind interceded with her father on their behalf. Agathocles was in a rare good mood and agreed, though his motives were slightly different. The King was not moved by the heartfelt pleas of the Siculians but the fifty talents of gold they promised was much more enticing. It would prove most helpful during the coming years as the gaze of Syracuse shifted to the hereditary foe: Carthage.
The Carthaginian war for Sardinia, 301 BC.
Carthage. The great Phoenician city was always on the horizon, her threat cutting through Agathocles's despair and Archaganthus's intrigues. Everyone in Syracuse knew that sooner or later a clash would come and that it would be better for the Greeks to start the war at the moment when the Carthaginians were most distracted. That moment arrived in September 301 BC as the Carthaginians became ever more embroiled in a problem of their own making in Sardinia.
The island of Sardinia had never been as contested as Sicily. Far poorer and less populace her native population had no great cities, only rough hill forts and fishing villages. Nevertheless the Phoenicians had founded colonies in the distant past when the fleets of Tyre seemed to find a new home on every Mediterranean shore. In time this hegemony had passed from Tyre to Carthage and the island had become an important strategic and commercial outpost on the trade routes north to Latium, Etruria and even distant Massalia. The barbarous interior of the island had remained stubbornly independent but for decades that had been a policy the Carthaginians had been prepared to accept.
Around the same time as Agathocles went to war against Akragas a mood of conquest swept through the oligarchs of Carthage as the great families pushed for the total conquest of Sardinia. The raids had grown from irritating to dangerous in recent years and there was a strong feeling in the city that only by asserting control over the whole island could the Carthaginian position be secure. Another aspect, unique to Carthage was a desire to win over the hostile locals as useful future mercenaries in other wars.
No one in Syracuse cared for Sardinia itself. However the fact that the Carthaginians were mired in tribal warfare did mean that the western third of Sicily was scarcely defended. Even the great Phoenician state would struggle to fight two wars at once. Indeed by 301 BC it was clear that even one war was proving surprisingly hard for the Carthaginians as the Sardinian tribes managed to inflict serious losses on the mercenaries. For once a rare mood of unanimity surfaced in the court of Syracuse as all the noble families pressed Agathocles for war while the great foe was distracted.
Agathocles had planned for years of sweeping the Carthaginians into the sea but now, at the very moment of opportunity he lapsed into apathy. It was only with the pressure from all quarters that the King was persuaded to go to war and lead his armies in September 301 BC. In the field Agathocles would find something of himself again; even if it could not drive the demons of doubt away entirely the relentless work and goals of waging a war allowed the monarch to dwell on something tangible and immediate.
The war began well. Hippana, the capital of Sicania (Western Sicily) surrendered without a fight. A rich and cosmopolitan inland city Hippana was a polyglot place were Phoenician, Greek and Siculian mixed and by population she was second only to Syracuse herself in Sicily. Unfortunately for the Carthaginians Hippana had little fortification of her own and her proximity to the great fortress of Akragas left her all but indefensible. With Hippana in Greek hands the Syracusans turned south to meet the Carthaginians at the city of Herakleia Minoa.
The Battle of Herakleia Minoa, 23 October 301 BC.
Under the circumstances Abdmelqart generalled tolerably well but it was beyond his power to retrieve the situation and after his defeat at Herakleia Minoa the unfortunate Carthaginian would spend the next five months trying to keep his shrinking forces ahead of the enemy before they melted away for good at a second clash near the first. His was the only attempt to actively resist the Greeks in the field, with the rest of the Carthaginian resistance relying on defensing cities from siege.
Herakleia Minoa had surrendered the moment Abdmelqart retreated but the other Carthaginian settlements had to be taken by force. None of them had substantial walls - certainly nothing compared with Akragas - but there was always the hope that the Carthaginian navy could bring aid. This hope would prove cruelly misguided but at the time it must have seemed reasonable.
Finally there was another reason. Though Carthage was the hegemon of the Phoenician cities in the same manner that Syracuse was the cultural and political centre of Greek Sicily many of those Phoenician settlements had proud histories of their own. In a sense a place like Lilýbaion was not simply a Carthaginian outpost but a polis in the Greek sense. Indeed Lilýbaion, which would be the last Phoenician stronghold to fall had a folk memory of Syracuse. She had been founded a century before by the refugees of the city of Moyta when that town had been destroyed by Dionysous of Syracuse.
The capture of the Phoenician cities were not indiscriminate sackings but they were not gentle either. Slaves were taken, especially when the town was taken by the soldiers of Locri and Rhegion. This was not because the men of those cities were crueller, rather it was that unlike the Syracusans they would not be ruling over Sicilian territory so there was scant incentive not to plunder.
By September 300 BC after a year of war Phoenician Siciliy was conquered and Agathocles and his court awaited the Carthaginian reply. Word from passing merchants was that the struggle for Sardinia was far from over and that with thirty one thousand seasoned Greek soldiers in Sicily [4] Carthage would be hard pressed indeed to invade. It was merely a matter of the Carthaginian oligarchs admitting the truth.
In December the Carthaginian envoys arrived in Syracuse to discuss terms. After more than three centuries Carthage had been forced out of Sicily.
Sicily at the start of 299 BC.
Footnotes:
[1] A fourth major noble family, the Siculian descended but thoroughly Hellenized Marii would not join Syracusan society until after the conquest of Henna and Kephaloidion.
[2] A hetaera was a high class entertainer and courtesan in some respects similar to the professional mistresses of the 19th Century demi-monde. In contrast to the theoretical 'ideal' wife (whose presence would have been scandalous at a symposium) a hetaera was often well educated and expected to be a good conversationalist.
[3] Essentially the court tutor.
[4] Eleven thousand Syracusans and a roughly even mix of Rhegions and Locrians. Most are psiloi or hypasists.
Some interesting events during this entry. The Olympic Games event allows a player of a Hellenic civilisation to send someone to the Olympics and thus lose their services. Alternately the ruler can refuse and lose popularity. I selected Karsis because his ambition was to become Basileus instead of Archaganthus and this seemed a good way of getting rid of a potential troublemaker!
In Imperator:Rome there are five different levels of 'pops'. Citizens produce rearch, Freemen produce manpower, Slaves produce income and Tribesmen produce a little bit of income and a little bit of manpower but less than Slaves or Freemen respectively. Pops can be promoted with a promoted Slave or Tribesman becoming a Freeman and a promoted Freeman becoming a Citizen.
By agreeing to the migration I lost a few units of Sicuilian Tribesmen in exchange for immediate renummeration. I could have refused but they would have been unhappy and sincethey were already unhappy that could easily have led to further difficulties.
Also I mentioned Hippana's bloodless surrender. In this game having a fortress in a province next door to an enemy province without any fortifications will result in the enemy province coming under your control without the need to actually occupy it via an army. Had I not possesed Akragas I would have had to physically occupy Hippana at the cost of some population damage to the captured city.
~~~~~~
HistoryDude: I’d originally intended to go after Carthage later but their difficulties in Sardinia made the opportunity too tempting to pass. Of course this does mean that the tribes are still waiting!
Specialist290: Very true. ‘Tis a wise man who honours all the gods!
Stnylan: While this clash might have been quick I suspect this isn’t the last time Syracuse will fight Carthage!
Rome seems to be doing reasonably well – Syracuse has a trade deal with the Romans but otherwise little contact. When last I checked she was at war with the Samnites and winning.
Nikolai: If you mean invading Afirca then yes they were, but not even Carthage can be strong everywhere!
Jape: Well it is historically accurate. Carthage and Syracuse were great rivals.
Riotkiller: Thank you! Hope you like it!
guillec87: Thanks!
TheButterflyComposer: You raise a lot of great points. To some extent my choices are based around the game itself – ‘Blessings of Hades’ do raise taxes, presumably because of the link with Latin Pluto rather than the classic Greek Hades and I am restricted to archers and light infantry because I lack the trade goods to build more. Still I hope I can make them sound reasonably plausible and fortunately for me this Syracuse is becoming more mixed so I can introduce foreign elements. I think a more Italic style of arms and armour are very possible in the future but I have to admit I’m fond of my hypasists!
AvatarOfKhaine: Welcome and hope you enjoy this!
Viden: Welcome!
SirCliveWolfe: Thank you that is very appreciated! I'm trying to give at least some flavour of the period as I write. I'm very fond of Ancient Greece and Rome and I want to keep things in the right mood.
In Imperator:Rome there are five different levels of 'pops'. Citizens produce rearch, Freemen produce manpower, Slaves produce income and Tribesmen produce a little bit of income and a little bit of manpower but less than Slaves or Freemen respectively. Pops can be promoted with a promoted Slave or Tribesman becoming a Freeman and a promoted Freeman becoming a Citizen.
By agreeing to the migration I lost a few units of Sicuilian Tribesmen in exchange for immediate renummeration. I could have refused but they would have been unhappy and sincethey were already unhappy that could easily have led to further difficulties.
Also I mentioned Hippana's bloodless surrender. In this game having a fortress in a province next door to an enemy province without any fortifications will result in the enemy province coming under your control without the need to actually occupy it via an army. Had I not possesed Akragas I would have had to physically occupy Hippana at the cost of some population damage to the captured city.
~~~~~~
HistoryDude: I’d originally intended to go after Carthage later but their difficulties in Sardinia made the opportunity too tempting to pass. Of course this does mean that the tribes are still waiting!
Specialist290: Very true. ‘Tis a wise man who honours all the gods!
Stnylan: While this clash might have been quick I suspect this isn’t the last time Syracuse will fight Carthage!
Rome seems to be doing reasonably well – Syracuse has a trade deal with the Romans but otherwise little contact. When last I checked she was at war with the Samnites and winning.
Nikolai: If you mean invading Afirca then yes they were, but not even Carthage can be strong everywhere!
Jape: Well it is historically accurate.
Carthage and Syracuse were great rivals.Riotkiller: Thank you! Hope you like it!
guillec87: Thanks!
TheButterflyComposer: You raise a lot of great points.
To some extent my choices are based around the game itself – ‘Blessings of Hades’ do raise taxes, presumably because of the link with Latin Pluto rather than the classic Greek Hades and I am restricted to archers and light infantry because I lack the trade goods to build more. Still I hope I can make them sound reasonably plausible and fortunately for me this Syracuse is becoming more mixed so I can introduce foreign elements. I think a more Italic style of arms and armour are very possible in the future but I have to admit I’m fond of my hypasists!AvatarOfKhaine: Welcome and hope you enjoy this!
Viden: Welcome!
SirCliveWolfe: Thank you that is very appreciated!
I'm trying to give at least some flavour of the period as I write. I'm very fond of Ancient Greece and Rome and I want to keep things in the right mood.
Last edited:
Now this would be a great patron god of Sicily, out of the four main options short of inventing your own (not outside the realm of possibility). Hermes, Hades, Pallas Athane and Posiden. Of these, you can't really pick Pallas for obvious reasons, Poseidon is so fickle and cruel compared to ecen Zeus that most cities didn't worship him chiefly...so it's between Hades and Hermes. To be fair, Hades would be good for prestige and uniqueness. You'd probably get a cult of his setting up shop on the island and he fits well with Etna and trade and the order needed to keep the island prosperous. Plus you get to have one of the top three gods, and the reasonable one out of all of them.
Hermes would be a great god to export to any colonies you have though. In essence, Hades is the god of sicily. Hermes is the god of your empire.
Or something like that.
That was quick and decisive! Mind! The next part won't be so easy. Now you have to build a navy to match the greatest sea power in the Med if you want to war with them again.
Of course...there's always italy instead...but Sardinia would make that conquest far easier, or make trade domination easier. Whichever.
Do the greeks have to truce with each other for the run time of the Olympics, and take penalties if they don't? That would be a great mechanic not just for greeks but for outsiders planning to invade.
Mm. Must keep an eye on them.
Well it depends who you end up fighting and where you expand. If you stay in the greek world and your main enemy is carthage? Long spears and tight formations will still rule for a long time. But if you are going to expand into italy first, or end up fighting the romans a lot, then you are either going tk have to invest in really good cavalry or really good heavy infantry. And since Sicily doesn't have cavalry unless you conquer Carthage or somewhere in Anatolia/arabia...