The Devil’s Horsemen:
A Beta ARR of Parthia
Game Settings: Normal
Start Date: 1 January 611 AUC
Parthia does not appear at the earliest start point, 474 AUC; she also appears somewhat earlier than the start date I have chosen. The reason I picked 611 as my beginning year is two-fold. First, Parthia’s position is somewhat stronger than earlier dates; a five province Parthia is a much harder game than I wanted to play this time around. Second, the politic situation is more interesting. The Romans have allies in the region, Armenia and Iberia are potential allies due to religious and cultural similarities, and the Seleucid Empire starts this year in the middle of a civil war. This means I can jump right into action. You can’t write an AAR about the devil’s horsemen if they sit around for two decades, now can you?
The Beginning:
Parthia is a post-Hellenic faction that extends from India to Babylon, covering much of contemporary Iran. She is a Federal Monarchy, ruled by King Mithradates, and her state religion is Zoroastrianism. However, upon starting the game at any date, no national idea slots are filled, giving the player the option to set things to their liking. Normally, to get the government bonus for Federal Monarchy, I would choose one Civic Idea, one Religious Idea, and one Economic Idea. Unfortunately, my government type doesn’t give me a bonus I need: what use do I have for +25% to tribute income? None at the moment, so I eschew tradition and take two Military Ideas and one Economic Idea: Martial Ethos (+0.25 to morale), Horse Lords (+ 10% discipline to cavalry) and Tax Farming (+10% to tax income). Martial Ethos is really just a temporary idea; I am three tech levels away from Cataphracts (+100% to cavalry offensive), so within a few decades, it will be time for double-barrel, cavalry boosting, national idea action!
As I said, the Selecuid Empire is in a civil war. To her north are a number of smaller factions, some of them allied to Rome, others are part of Armenia’s alliance. The Selecuid rebels occupy the southern portion of the kingdom, bordering Sinai. Now is the time to strike, except half my army is sitting near the Indus River. Furthermore, I could use some auxiliaries to boost my army, so I spend a year marching armies around in preparation for war. There are no roads this far east (yet!) so it takes awhile. Roads are at a somewhat higher tech level, but trust me, when they become available, I intend to pave everything from Jerusalem to the Straits of Hormuz. A land based faction like mine can’t afford to do otherwise.
On January 13th, 612, Parthia declares war on the Seleucid Empire without a casus belli. We lose two points of stability. Furthermore, the Seleucids retaliate and execute my envoy, Darius Savacid. Luckily, I suspected this might happen, so I sent someone I didn’t particularly care for.
Despite my preference, my armies are not composed of just cavalry. We have militia and elephants scattered around. This will change after the war, especially because militia are one step removed from worthless, but right now I need the warm bodies, so I have to use them. Mithradates assumes command of The King’s Companions and marches into battle. The first major engagement of the war is a loss. However, since he was out numbered, and since he inflicted as many casualties on them as he took himself, it’s not a big deal. In fact, Parthia has enough manpower to sustain such losses, but the Seleucids do not. They just finished the civil war, and their manpower is nowhere near mine.
Meanwhile, Upadarma Parocid strikes the Seleucids in Mesopotamia. His army is composed entirely of cavalry and horse archers. The cavalry fall automatically into the first rank. The horse archers, with their maneuver rating of three, fall either onto the flanks of the cavalry or into the second rank and provide support. It’s no contest, really, and he easily routes an army composed of mostly militia.
A Beta ARR of Parthia
Game Settings: Normal
Start Date: 1 January 611 AUC
Parthia does not appear at the earliest start point, 474 AUC; she also appears somewhat earlier than the start date I have chosen. The reason I picked 611 as my beginning year is two-fold. First, Parthia’s position is somewhat stronger than earlier dates; a five province Parthia is a much harder game than I wanted to play this time around. Second, the politic situation is more interesting. The Romans have allies in the region, Armenia and Iberia are potential allies due to religious and cultural similarities, and the Seleucid Empire starts this year in the middle of a civil war. This means I can jump right into action. You can’t write an AAR about the devil’s horsemen if they sit around for two decades, now can you?
The Beginning:
Parthia is a post-Hellenic faction that extends from India to Babylon, covering much of contemporary Iran. She is a Federal Monarchy, ruled by King Mithradates, and her state religion is Zoroastrianism. However, upon starting the game at any date, no national idea slots are filled, giving the player the option to set things to their liking. Normally, to get the government bonus for Federal Monarchy, I would choose one Civic Idea, one Religious Idea, and one Economic Idea. Unfortunately, my government type doesn’t give me a bonus I need: what use do I have for +25% to tribute income? None at the moment, so I eschew tradition and take two Military Ideas and one Economic Idea: Martial Ethos (+0.25 to morale), Horse Lords (+ 10% discipline to cavalry) and Tax Farming (+10% to tax income). Martial Ethos is really just a temporary idea; I am three tech levels away from Cataphracts (+100% to cavalry offensive), so within a few decades, it will be time for double-barrel, cavalry boosting, national idea action!
As I said, the Selecuid Empire is in a civil war. To her north are a number of smaller factions, some of them allied to Rome, others are part of Armenia’s alliance. The Selecuid rebels occupy the southern portion of the kingdom, bordering Sinai. Now is the time to strike, except half my army is sitting near the Indus River. Furthermore, I could use some auxiliaries to boost my army, so I spend a year marching armies around in preparation for war. There are no roads this far east (yet!) so it takes awhile. Roads are at a somewhat higher tech level, but trust me, when they become available, I intend to pave everything from Jerusalem to the Straits of Hormuz. A land based faction like mine can’t afford to do otherwise.
On January 13th, 612, Parthia declares war on the Seleucid Empire without a casus belli. We lose two points of stability. Furthermore, the Seleucids retaliate and execute my envoy, Darius Savacid. Luckily, I suspected this might happen, so I sent someone I didn’t particularly care for.
Despite my preference, my armies are not composed of just cavalry. We have militia and elephants scattered around. This will change after the war, especially because militia are one step removed from worthless, but right now I need the warm bodies, so I have to use them. Mithradates assumes command of The King’s Companions and marches into battle. The first major engagement of the war is a loss. However, since he was out numbered, and since he inflicted as many casualties on them as he took himself, it’s not a big deal. In fact, Parthia has enough manpower to sustain such losses, but the Seleucids do not. They just finished the civil war, and their manpower is nowhere near mine.
Meanwhile, Upadarma Parocid strikes the Seleucids in Mesopotamia. His army is composed entirely of cavalry and horse archers. The cavalry fall automatically into the first rank. The horse archers, with their maneuver rating of three, fall either onto the flanks of the cavalry or into the second rank and provide support. It’s no contest, really, and he easily routes an army composed of mostly militia.
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