Hi all, long time AAR reader for many strategy games; this is my first AAR attempt! Comments welcome!
Part I - Independence and Expansion
Armenia - 280 B.C.
Following the collapse of the Achaemenids and in the resulting chaos of the wars of the Diadochi, a then-inconsequential mountainous satrapy declared its independence under their first King, Mithranes I. While the Seleucids resented this, as they considered Armenia to be nominally part of their empire, they left the issue alone for the time being, having more dangerous concerns with the other Greek successor states.
However, Armenia suffered from a lack of resources and allies, and Mithranes felt it had to expand if he wanted to pass an independent kingdom on to his son and heir. Thus, in 279 B.C., with the Seleucids busy fighting Ptolemaic Egypt, a minor dispute involving the death of an Armenian nobleman erupted into war with the Kingdom of Iberia.
Mithranes himself led 9000 men into the heart of Iberia while Chosroes Akrid led a contingent in an invasion of Meskheti in the west. Mithranes swept aside the poorly equipped Iberian army and after barely two months, Iberia surrendered, ceding Meskheti and accepting tributary protection from Armenia. It was a huge success for Mithranes and Akrid, and the latter was given governorship of a new province of Iberia for his service.
Encouraged by this success, Mithranes quickly reorganized and assembled his armies to resolve a similar dispute with the King of the Colchis. The king at Phasis claimed an Armenian noble had attempted to assassinate him, and had the offender put to death. Mithranes refuted the conviction, and declared war on 21 April 278 B.C.
Again the King divided his forces, himself personally leading a force into eastern Soani while the general Gotarzes Savacid led the assault on the Colchian capital. Outside the walls of Phasis, Gotarzes brutally beat the Colchian army and cut off their retreat to the north, forcing them to the east where Mithranes waited unbeknownst to them. The King's forces annihilated the fleeing army, and again after a few months Colchis capitulated, ceding Soani and accepting a tributary status to the Crown of Armenia. However, Colchis' Rhoxolanian allies refused to accept peace, and until 276 B.C. continued to sporadically raid Armenian Soani from their hideouts in the Caucasus.
In 277, the Seleucids reasserted their control over Pergamon which convinced Mithranes of the need to move forward with his final expansion goal: access to the sea. His Councillors agreed, and suggested the King should conquer Trapezus from the Pontians. Pontus had been badly humiliated in 279, losing all the lands west of Pontus proper to the Bithynians in a badly-fought war. Mithranes assumed he could convince the Pontians to give up Trapezus easily in a third lightning war. Again Mithranes took advantage of a conspiracy dispute to declare war on Pontus on the fouth of July 275 B.C.
Gotarzes Savacid, the hero of Phasis, took lead command and marched on Pontus with 15000 men, including 5000 foreign archers and cavalry. Mithranes himself marched towards Trapezus with 7000 men. However, the Pontian army surprised the Armenians by abandoning Pontus in favor of engaging Mithranes' smaller force at Trapezus. The King of Armenia was narrowly defeated and retreated to Armenia proper while the Pontians sieged Meskheti. Meanwhile, the Bosporan allies of Pontus sent a small expeditionary force through the Caucasus which outflanked the Armenians and laid siege to Soani. Mithranes hired more mercenaries and recuperated his army while the siege at Pontus slowly dragged on. After the fall of Meskheti, the Pontian army moved to Soani to aid the Bosporans and Soani fell soon afterwards. As soon as Mithranes' army was ready, Pontus fell. In a two-pronged assault Gotarzes marched on Trapezus while Mithranes chased the allies out of Armenia. However, the allies' retreat into the Caucasus turned into a march around Iberia and they invaded Armenia from the east. Trapezus fell, and Gotarzes raced a united Armenian army of over 20,000 men towards the capital. The allies tried to flee, but the Armenians caught the Bosporans and routed their entire army. With their country occupied and allies out of the war, the Pontians finally conceded defeat in November of 274 B.C.
Gotarzes was given a hero's welcome in Artashat and rewarded with a government position, but the war had bruised Armenia. The war had lasted over a year and a half; not the third quick victory Mithranes had hoped for. After five years of sporadic warfare, thousands of young Armenian men had died bringing the new kingdom great wealth. Thus Armenia was now reliant on foreign mercenaries, whom made up roughly two-thirds of the army. King Mithranes proclaimed his victories had ensured a long period of peace for Armenia.
Part I - Appendix
Mithranes was very forward-thinking for an upstart ancient king in a backwater province. He was particularly acute in international politics, and recognized the role of his nation on the world stage. We can see an example of this in a translated excerpt from one of his official letters regarding the First Greek Triumvirate, recovered in 1988 from the ruins of the royal archives:
"...and this new confederation of Greeks, having withstood the attack from the barbarous men of Roma with the aid of Pyrrhus, have now consolidated their position in the world of the Greeks by entering alliance with Ptolemy of Macedon along with Pyrrhus. This new arrangement, which together comprises nearly the entirety of Greece and southern Italia, may hopefully prove an obstacle to our mutual enemies the Seleucids, along with the Ptolemies of Egypt..."
The Mediterranean at the end of 274 B.C. (480 AVC)
Chapter I - In the Shadows of the Seleucids
Part I - Independence and Expansion
Armenia - 280 B.C.
Following the collapse of the Achaemenids and in the resulting chaos of the wars of the Diadochi, a then-inconsequential mountainous satrapy declared its independence under their first King, Mithranes I. While the Seleucids resented this, as they considered Armenia to be nominally part of their empire, they left the issue alone for the time being, having more dangerous concerns with the other Greek successor states.
However, Armenia suffered from a lack of resources and allies, and Mithranes felt it had to expand if he wanted to pass an independent kingdom on to his son and heir. Thus, in 279 B.C., with the Seleucids busy fighting Ptolemaic Egypt, a minor dispute involving the death of an Armenian nobleman erupted into war with the Kingdom of Iberia.
Mithranes himself led 9000 men into the heart of Iberia while Chosroes Akrid led a contingent in an invasion of Meskheti in the west. Mithranes swept aside the poorly equipped Iberian army and after barely two months, Iberia surrendered, ceding Meskheti and accepting tributary protection from Armenia. It was a huge success for Mithranes and Akrid, and the latter was given governorship of a new province of Iberia for his service.
Encouraged by this success, Mithranes quickly reorganized and assembled his armies to resolve a similar dispute with the King of the Colchis. The king at Phasis claimed an Armenian noble had attempted to assassinate him, and had the offender put to death. Mithranes refuted the conviction, and declared war on 21 April 278 B.C.
Again the King divided his forces, himself personally leading a force into eastern Soani while the general Gotarzes Savacid led the assault on the Colchian capital. Outside the walls of Phasis, Gotarzes brutally beat the Colchian army and cut off their retreat to the north, forcing them to the east where Mithranes waited unbeknownst to them. The King's forces annihilated the fleeing army, and again after a few months Colchis capitulated, ceding Soani and accepting a tributary status to the Crown of Armenia. However, Colchis' Rhoxolanian allies refused to accept peace, and until 276 B.C. continued to sporadically raid Armenian Soani from their hideouts in the Caucasus.
In 277, the Seleucids reasserted their control over Pergamon which convinced Mithranes of the need to move forward with his final expansion goal: access to the sea. His Councillors agreed, and suggested the King should conquer Trapezus from the Pontians. Pontus had been badly humiliated in 279, losing all the lands west of Pontus proper to the Bithynians in a badly-fought war. Mithranes assumed he could convince the Pontians to give up Trapezus easily in a third lightning war. Again Mithranes took advantage of a conspiracy dispute to declare war on Pontus on the fouth of July 275 B.C.
Gotarzes Savacid, the hero of Phasis, took lead command and marched on Pontus with 15000 men, including 5000 foreign archers and cavalry. Mithranes himself marched towards Trapezus with 7000 men. However, the Pontian army surprised the Armenians by abandoning Pontus in favor of engaging Mithranes' smaller force at Trapezus. The King of Armenia was narrowly defeated and retreated to Armenia proper while the Pontians sieged Meskheti. Meanwhile, the Bosporan allies of Pontus sent a small expeditionary force through the Caucasus which outflanked the Armenians and laid siege to Soani. Mithranes hired more mercenaries and recuperated his army while the siege at Pontus slowly dragged on. After the fall of Meskheti, the Pontian army moved to Soani to aid the Bosporans and Soani fell soon afterwards. As soon as Mithranes' army was ready, Pontus fell. In a two-pronged assault Gotarzes marched on Trapezus while Mithranes chased the allies out of Armenia. However, the allies' retreat into the Caucasus turned into a march around Iberia and they invaded Armenia from the east. Trapezus fell, and Gotarzes raced a united Armenian army of over 20,000 men towards the capital. The allies tried to flee, but the Armenians caught the Bosporans and routed their entire army. With their country occupied and allies out of the war, the Pontians finally conceded defeat in November of 274 B.C.
Gotarzes was given a hero's welcome in Artashat and rewarded with a government position, but the war had bruised Armenia. The war had lasted over a year and a half; not the third quick victory Mithranes had hoped for. After five years of sporadic warfare, thousands of young Armenian men had died bringing the new kingdom great wealth. Thus Armenia was now reliant on foreign mercenaries, whom made up roughly two-thirds of the army. King Mithranes proclaimed his victories had ensured a long period of peace for Armenia.
Part I - Appendix
Mithranes was very forward-thinking for an upstart ancient king in a backwater province. He was particularly acute in international politics, and recognized the role of his nation on the world stage. We can see an example of this in a translated excerpt from one of his official letters regarding the First Greek Triumvirate, recovered in 1988 from the ruins of the royal archives:
"...and this new confederation of Greeks, having withstood the attack from the barbarous men of Roma with the aid of Pyrrhus, have now consolidated their position in the world of the Greeks by entering alliance with Ptolemy of Macedon along with Pyrrhus. This new arrangement, which together comprises nearly the entirety of Greece and southern Italia, may hopefully prove an obstacle to our mutual enemies the Seleucids, along with the Ptolemies of Egypt..."
The Mediterranean at the end of 274 B.C. (480 AVC)
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