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I am Zosimus, Pharaoh of Egypt and the most powerful man in the world. But ruling such a vast dominion requires much work, good thing I don't have to do all that myself. The court have some interesting ideas, one is allying with Rome, to protect it from being completely crushed by the Bituriges. Well while the Romans now seem receptive to the idea, they refuse and the Bituriges promptly declare war on them. Syracuse quickly supports Rome, and I decide to attack the Bituriges.

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Apulia was liberated, and after that the Romans accepted to enter an alliance. The rest of the war mostly involved fighting in Etruria, the army was led by one relative, Neferibre, who seem good at that whole military stuff but not much else, and later near Bononia at which point the Bituriges ceded Apulia. Before that however two notable things happened, the death of Omirus the Seleucid King leaving his son Athineos to become king of Asia, and the independence of Paphlagonia. Paphlagonian independence was guaranteed as soon as the oppurtunity arose.

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Shortly after the peace with the Bituriges war was declared on the Getae, who actually called in their allies the Nabateans and the Boii. The Getae proved unable to do much, but the Boii launched an invasion of Greece, when peace was finally signed, in which the Getae ceded Paeonia, they where besieging Aetolia.

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After a few years I heeded the wishes of my councillors, they know what they are doing I think, and declared war on the Seleucids. The kings of Pontus, Atropatene and Persia all joined the war on their side. Initially the war went well in Anatolia, but there were some setbacks in Syria. However soon a Seleucid army was destroyed in a battle somewhere near Damascus. The capture of the Pontic capital of Amasya resulted in them giving up their claims on Paphlagonia and Pergamon in exchange for peace, while a few months later the Seleucids signed peace as well, ceding Cilicia.

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The foul Getae went to war with the Paphlagonians. When Paphlagonia fell to the Getaes Biturigian allies I decided to act. To war I went with the intent to liberate Paphlagonia from the barbarian oppressors. Out of my allies Syracuse gladly joined the war but the arrogant Romans decided to not get involved. Those fools should not expect any protection if the Bituriges go after them!

The war went well, however a relative, Ptolemy, the satrap of Bithynia, dared to declare himself as the King of Bithynia. His reign did not last long, but he managed to escape justice and fled to Persia.

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After his revolt there was almost two years of successful war against the Bituriges and the Getae as well as the handful of Iberians that where on their side. Then the ungrateful Neferibre, leader of our forces in Megale Hellas decided to claim the title of Pharaoh himself!

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A peace was eventually signed with the Getae, but while the war against the pretender took the focus, the war with the Bituriges would not end as long as the barbarians clinged on to Paphlagonia. The pretender occupied all of Megale Hellas, but he was losing elsewhere, still some people still joined him such as Isocrates, the old Grand Vizier. As the foul ingrate would be able to defeat me, even with a sizeable army in Megale Hellas, the navy was loyal to me.

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In Cyrenaica one Kleandros managed to establish an independent realm, but he could be dealt with later. I retook Thebes from the pretenders forces, and he no longer held any provinces in Egypt, and in Anatolia the cities that had joined his side where all under siege. However while my victory was assured, Kushite raiders had to be dealt with in the south. They where swiftly defeated. As my army passed Memphis I had to travel quickly to Thebes, some slaves seemed to be causing some problems so I had to deal with this before it could go far enough to cause a real revolt.

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The mediterranean after the death of Pharaoh Zosimus II
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I just saw that I forgot to name Bituriges in the above map, but I hope everyone will be able to figure out who they are :p.
 
I cannot really believe that Seleucids still exist with you playing Egypt. :rolleyes:;)

Well, I plan to focus on them now (but who knows what distractions may arise), so they may yet face their end before the time runs out ;).

Poor Picts, all alone :(

Good update, eager to see what your moves are after the civil war ends . . .

Well they have been able to avoid disastrous wars :D (Although as their civilization is lower then what they have at start, they have suffered barbarian invasions).
 
I am the Great Pharaoh Isocrates. As my father was killed by rebellious slaves near Thebes I rose to the throne.

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The realm was torn apart in civil war, but the traitor Neferibre could only really call Megale Hellas his. The Asian cities that supported him where all on the verge of falling, and in Hellas my armies were victorious and liberated Aetolia, and only the Spartans remained defiant. The revolting slaves in Egypt were crushed, and I took control of the Royal Army in Thessaly and began marching against a Biturigian army that had reached Thrace.

As I entered Thrace, the Bituriges accepted peace, Paphlagonia became mine. I now marched to Epirus where I prepared to cross over to Megale Hellas and fight the usurper. I recieved news that Sparta had fallen and later that Perge, the last city in Anatolia to support Neferibre, had fallen. So when I landed at Taras the only thing that Neferibre held outside Megale Hellas was the island of Crete that his supporters had managed to seize.

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Taras was soon freed from the vile clutches of the rebels, and I marched into Lucania. There I faced Neferibre in battle, although he left half his army near Croton, he had called in additional soldiers from Campania, giving him the greater numbers. In a fierce battle I forced to acknowledge defeat and marched quickly to Taras. There Neferibre I once again met the rebels in battle, and while I managed to be victorious in the battle, it could very well have ended differently.

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As little remained of my army I retreated to Epirus to recover. Neferibre laid siege to Taras but was unable to take the city. As I prepared a second invasion, I received the news that the Paphlagonians had managed to gain independence. I let them keep their independence. I then invaded. I brought the Royal Army to Apulia while I let my good friend and companion Therapon take another army to Lucania. As I retook Apulia I tried to lift the siege of Taras but failed. However after Therapon had taken Lucania I met up with the army of Therapon and moved to Taras.

The city had fallen to Neferibre, but was quickly liberated. I pursued Neferibre's army into Apulia and before he could reach Samnium forced him to battle. Together with Therapon I smashed the Rebel army.

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Neferibre brough the remains of his army into Samnium while I quickly marched to Croton and annihilated the Rebel army there and liberated the city. After this Neferibre had lost, with no remaining support he was quickly captured and executed and order was restored.

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As I went to Alexandria I put Therapon in charge of the military forces in Megale Hellas. Alliances were established with Cyrenaica and Rome and there were a few years of peace. However it did not last as the Getae went to war with Paphlagonia. I quickly ordered the Royal Army to Thrace and declared war on the Getae. The Getic armies proved poorly led and were easily swept away and the coastal cities were soon under my control. However I then met a Getic army with a competent commander in the province of Piephigi. I stood victorious, but the Getic army escaped fairly intact. I managed to force them once again to battle near Tylis but this time it was the Getic strategos Kotys the Seleucid that stood victorious.

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Over a hundred years ago, as the Getic hordes swept over Anatolia, one of the sons of the second Antiochos, a young man named Kotys, decided to join the Getae. His descendants became powerful and led the Getic armies in many campaigns and at times even ruled the barbarians, and this Kotys was the latest in that line. Still despite that victory, the Getae were not eager to continue the war, so they ceded Kallatis and surrendered their claims on Paphlagonia, which remained independent. Now it was getting time to deal with the Seleucid Empire. The Seleucid King Athineos had been strengthening his armies and prepared for war, and I did likewise.
 
Dealing with those Getic barbarianswould be the civilised thing to do. Isocrates will deal with the Seleucids, if the slaves don't get him first.

Interesting civil war. Hope you catch the Seleucids in one
 
Strange civil war battles. :p

You mean like the first battle of Tarentum? Well these things happen, not often but sometimes :p

Dealing with those Getic barbarianswould be the civilised thing to do. Isocrates will deal with the Seleucids, if the slaves don't get him first.

Interesting civil war. Hope you catch the Seleucids in one

The Seleucids have been very stable, as except the independence of Persia (and an attempt by their satrap of Arabia which was stopped by a CTD, only CTD until an error I have experienced now) they have not had any real internal troubles as far as I could see.

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Will note that in the end of the last year of this update I got an error when it was supposed to autosave, I replayed that year and the only important thing that happened, the peace with Seleucids, occured in the same way (except a few months earlier). However I suspect the reason for the problems are the fact that the savegame files have grown to a very large size, will continue as I should just need to turn off autosave to get past it, though.

What will this mean for the AAR? Hopefully nothing, for me playing it will mean I will not have to wait for the game to autosave every year, which is nice as things will go slightly faster but if I get a CTD, the risk of the AAR ending prematurely is greater, as while if I lost almost a year I can deal with it and replay the year, for more then that, well unless nothing noteworthy happened it is less likely.
 
As war was declared against the Seleucids I marched with the Royal Army towards Antioch, while Leonippus led another army from Lydia into Phrygia. Two main Seleucid armies opposed us, Archelaos led the Seleucid army in Phrygia into Bithynia, while Ehnon led the Seleucid army defending Antioch. I defeated Ehnon first when he tried to stop me from reaching Antioch, and later when he attempted to lift the siege. The Pontic king Ariobarzanes met Leonippus in Phrygia but lost.

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The Pontic army fled to Bithynia to join Archelaos, while Leonippus remained sieging the Phrygian cities. I took Antioch and while Archelaos took control of Bithynia, he was defeated when he tried to drive Leonippus from Phrygia. Meanwhile I pursued Ehnon across Cilicia and into Cappadocia were his army was crushed.

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However while the war progressed well there, Seleucid forces from Mesopotamia and Arabia invaded Syria. In order to deal with this threat I had to send for Therapon who arrived and took command of the Syrian army. Near Damascus he decisively defeated the main Seleucid army in the area.

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Phrygia fell and I took Samosata. The Seleucid armies in Anatolia were no longer an issue, not enough of them remained to be a threat anymore. Pontus saw that it would be foolish to continue the war and agreed to sign peace. I took Galatia and marched towards Pamphylia to take care of the pitiful remains of the Seleucid armies. After they had been swept away, the last remnant completely crushed near Sardes, I recieved word that the Getae had declared war and a number of other barbarians such as the Illyrians had joined them.

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I marched to Bithynia and crossed into Thrace. Near Kallatis I met a Getic army and defeated it. In Tylis another Getic army, this one led by Kotys the Seleucid, was defeated. However as I faced the Illyrians in Macedonia, I was defeated near Pydna and forced to retreat to Thessaly.

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However local troops and the army of Megale Hellas had marched into Illyria and taken some territory, including the Illyrian capital of Scodra, so the Illyrians signed peace ceding Taulanti. I continued to fight the Getae and their remaining allies, while Leonippus invaded into Mesopotamia, hoping to force the Seleucids to sign peace. As Seleucia was put under siege, one of the Seleucid allies were brought down by barbarians. A tribe called the Anariacae had taken Persepolis from king Phyles Savacid, so the Savacid realm had been reduced to just the city of Susa and its immediate environs.

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As I reached Mygdonia after the fall of Seleucia, I ordered Therapon to defend Mesopotamia and Syria from the last remaining Seleucid army that while small conducted raids from Arabia, and Leonippus was sent back towards Lydia to keep order there. It did not take long for the Seleucid king Athineos to finally agree to sign a peace. I took Phrygia and Antioch, as well as some territory in Mesopotamia.

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There was peace, but we both new it would not last. I established an alliance with Paphlagonia, while the Seleucids, when it was clear they would not be able to match my armies, greatly strengthened their city walls. As war was declared, Athineos managed to call in not only Pontus, Atropatene and Susa as the last war, but this time also Armenia and the Bosporan Kingdom. Leonippus won two great victories in Pisidia, first against the Seleucids led by Agelaos, then against the Pontic army. King Ariobarzanes died in the fighting leaving his son Nikon as the new Pontic king.

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I invaded Mesopotamia, and quickly took Babylon. After I took Seleucia, Therapon defeated the Pontic army near Antioch.

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I decided to let the Paphlagonians join the war, they invaded Pontus, and after few months had taken Amisus. Pontus agreed to sign peace and Amisus was ceded to Paphlagonia. Soon the Bosporans also left the war, they received a modest amount of gold, they had managed to sink one of my fleets, but not done much more then that. The war from then on mostly consisted of sieges and dragged on for almost half a decade, as despite not having any real armies, king Athinoes stubbornly refused peace, but eventually he could not refuse any longer, and ceded Cappadocia, Galatia and Pisidia.

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Well, had hoped to finish this AAR this year, but it doesn't seem very likely. Well it will probably end early next year. Well in a short while the new update will be posted.

Soon all of Anatolia will have the right colour. :p

What, yellow? Are you suggesting I lose to the Seleucids so they get it :p

I love this AAR, and since I'm playing your mod, it's fun to see how differences occur in AI nations.

I agree, it is fun to see the different ways the AI nations end up.
 
After a short period of peace war once again erupted against the Seleucids, this time regarding the province of Commagene. King Athineos called in his allies Pontus, Armenia, Bosporus, Atropatene and Savacid Persia. Pontus was quickly out of the war, but then the Vizier Zosimus tried to take the throne. Some people clearly cannot be trusted.

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He gathered an army in Memphis, hoping to take control of Egypt while no armies where there. A number of cities across the realm supported him, but they would soon regret their choice.

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Meanwhile the war against the Seleucids continued, and outside Babylon the Seleucid army attacked me, and sadly it was victorious after a fierce battle.

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However despite this setback, I was still winning the war, but had to return to Egypt as the rebels had taken Alexandria.

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Their success proved shortlived. It did not take long until Alexandria was retaken, and roughly one year later the rebels had been completely crushed.

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While this happened, king Athineos had died and the very young Omirus became the new Seleucid King. In Susa the Savacids lost power as the Matiani led by Bagayash took control. Seleucid attempts to halt my advance proved futile, out of their allies only Armenia and Atropatene remained in the war, and they found themselves force to agree to hand over Commagene as well as Sophene.

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Emboldened by this the Seleucid Satrap of Armenia, one Proctus declared himself independent.

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However he did not succeed and after a few months his realm was once again part of the Seleucid Empire. However, while his attempt failed, it should be clear that the Seleucids were weak, with a child on the throne and a small army, what threat could they pose? They are still large so it will take some time, but in the end they will fall, and I will restore the kingdom of the great Alexander. War was resumed with the Selucids and their allies. After a brilliant campaign I took Seleucia.

King Nikon of Pontus quickly decided to accept my generous offer and agreed to pay a monthly tribute as did Bagayash, the king in Susa. Most of the fighting in the war took place in Mesopotamia, but none of the Seleucid armies could pose any real threat. A minor setback took place when Oezalces, the satrap of Armenia declared independence in Sophene.

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However he was quickly crushed. Not long afterwards king Omirus had to accept the inevitable. Mygdonia and Adiabene became part of my kingdom and I now ruled northern Mesopotamia.

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But there are always people that will cause trouble just because they can. The foolish Philotheos declared himself king of Macedonia, but found himself in trouble as he was unable to gain the loyalty of the local army.

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The Thessalian cities quickly opened their gates and abandoned Philotheos' cause. It was clear to anyone that Philotheos would not be able to remain king for long.

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The Mediterranean at the time of the death of Pharaoh Isocrates
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