The Complete History of Terra, Part 1: The Ancient World

[HistoryDude]

Our planet has a rich and expansive history. Others have covered it in many texts, but it is rare to find a history of not one region, or one time period, but of the world. The few texts that do cover all or most of world history attempt to find connections. They then focus on these connections, to the exclusion of all other details.

This tale will cover our planet’s history in all of its detail. We will also cover what people thought of their histories. Truth is important, yes, but so is perspective. This text will begin with the conquests of Alexander III of Macedon, and it will cover the planet’s history from then. Interspersed throughout the text will be various first- and second-hand accounts of events as they happened. It will not cover merely political history, but also military history, the history of science, the history of religion, and the history of philosophy. It will cover those that, according to the “Great Man” theory of history, are the “movers and shakers” of history, but it will also cover other figures - including ordinary people and how events affected their lives.



I have an overabundance of free time. I've also always been interested in the Ancient World... so here we are. This AAR will be history book, with the some narratives mixed in...

 

[Nikolai]

Ah, a mega MEGA campaign in the works, eh? Good, good.

 

[HistoryDude]

Ah, a mega MEGA campaign in the works, eh? Good, good.

Yes. I'm planning to convert my save to the Extended Timeline mod for EU4 once I'm done with the I:R portion...

 

[stnylan]

Will try to follow

 

[HistoryDude]

Alexander III of Macedon, better known as Alexander “the Great”, was born in July 397 AUC - or Lōios -34 years Hellenistic Era, otherwise rendered as the sixth day of Hekatombaion by the Athenians, who didn’t count years.

Alexander was born to Philip II of Macedon and Olympias, daughter of the Epirote king. Philip had managed to gain hegemony of much of Greece by this time. Alexander was tutored by the famous philosopher Aristotle, whose price was that his hometown was rebuilt. Alexander made friends at this time, many of whom would go on to become his generals. Alexander would also come to appreciate the works of Homer, particularly the Iliad.

Many legends speak of how the gods allegedly were present at Alexander’s birth. Some say that he was born to Zeus, which may or may not have been spread by his mother. When Alexander was 10, he allegedly tamed an until-then untameable horse. In response to ths, Philip II is said to have said that Alexander would need to find a kingdom big enough, as Macedon was too small for him.

During his father’s reign, Alexander would repel numerous invasions of Macedon. He would also ensure that Greece remained subdued, and under Macedonian hegemony. His father would marry a Macedonian, whose uncle allegedly prayed for a fully legitimate heir to be born. Alexander was unhappy with this, and he was especially unhappy when his father didn’t take his side. He is said to have told his father, “this is the man who wishes to pass from Europe to Asia, but he cannot even pass from one couch to another”.

Philip died in the summer of 417 AUC (-14 years Hellenistic Era). Alexander was proclaimed King of Macedon by the Macedonian troops on the spot. He began his reign by killing off his potential rivals for the throne. When news of Philip’s death reached many Greek city-states, they revolted against Macedonian domination. In 428 AUC (-12 Hellenistic Era, rendered as HE), Alexander began to crush Macedon’s northern tribal neighbors. He re-subjugated Thrace and Illyria. While he was campaigning in the North, Athens and Thebes revolted. Athens ultimately reconsidered, but Thebes fought on. To set an example to the other Greek cities, Alexander razed Thebes to the ground.

Alexander left Antipater as his regent while he took his army east to begin his Persian campaign. In 419 AUC (-11 HE), Alexander crossed the Hellespont. He would defeat the local Persian forces at the Battle of the Granicus River soon after. He soon captured most Anatolian cities and cut the “unsolvable” Gordian Knot, thereby “solving” it. In spring 420 AUC (-10 HE), Alexander defeated the Darius’s Persian forces at Issus.The following year, he would take Tyre, which was one of Phoenicia’s principal cities and aided by a Carthaginian fleet (Tyre was Carthage’s mother city).

Soon after, Alexander marched into Egypt. Here, he was greeted as a liberator. The Egyptians believed him the son of Ammon, and he founded the city of Egyptian Alexandria, which Ptolemy would use as a base. In 422 AUC (-8 HE), Alexander would win one final victory against Darius at Gaugamela. Alexander would march into Persia, where he would face a Persian army defending their capital of Persepolis. He would defeat this army, and a fire broke out in Xerxes I’s eastern palace. Causes for this fire vary, but some say it was deliberate revenge by the Greeks for the Greco-Persian wars.

Alexander then chased Darius across the remnants of the Persian state. Ultimately, Bessus, one of Darius’s relatives and governor of Bactria would kill Darius. Alexander was incensed by this, and he killed Bessus, as he could not kill Darius. Sogdiana would revolt in 424 AUC (-6 HE), while Alexander was dealing with a Scythian invasion, and Alexander would crush the revolt and the invasion. It was after this that Alexander would marry an Eastern woman, Roxana.

He then launched incursions into India. In 427 AUC (-3 HE), he would defeat King Porus and his war elephants at the Battle of the Hydaspes. At the Hyphasis River, Alexander’s army mutinied as they wished to return home. Alexander would march south along the Indus, capturing some more Indian territory, but he would ultimately retreat to Babylon.

In June 430 AUC (Panēmos 0 HE), Alexander died. According to legend, he told his generals that he bequeathed his empire “to the strongest”. Alexander IV (Alexander’s son with Roxana) became Alexander’s successor, along with Alexander’s half-brother, Philip III. Perdiccas, regent for Alexander IV, divided the empire into satrapies at the Partition of Babylon soon after Alexander’s death. However, these satrapies quickly became power bases, and many years of war for the empire would follow. Many Greek city-states, and tribes around Macedon, would take this opportunity to re-establish their independence. Philip III died in 466 AUC (6 HE), and Alexander IV was murdered in 473 AUC (13 HE). Eventually, generals with bases in Phrygia (Antigonus), Persia (Seleucus), Macedon (Cassander), and Egypt (Ptolemy) would emerge as the pre-eminent victors of the Wars of the Diadochi.





Notes (OOC): the mentioned Macedonian and Athenian months are accurate. Hellenistic Era is a calendar system that doesn't exist in real life, but I feel like it makes sense here. It's considered to have started with Alexander's death in this alternate timeline, and it is the calendar system I'll be using for years when I'm covering Greece or the Diadochi, at least at first. Also, sorry for no pictures, but gameplay starts next update, so you'll get pictures then.

 

[stnylan]

The age of war begins. Not that hte time before was particularly peaceful, but even so.

 

[HistoryDude]

The Myth of the Dethroned Kings is a myth that justified the reunification of Crete. It is attested to by numerous sources. It is theorized to have been invented by the Xenonid Dynasty to justify their invasions of other cretan states, as there are no references at all to it before 449 AUC (19 HE). This is a date that is generally agreed on for when Gortyna began to plan their reunification of Crete.

The tale goes that the Xenonids are actually descended from the mythical King Minos of Crete, who was the son of Zeus and Europa. They are descended from Menos’s descendant Idomeneus, who was exiled from Crete for sacrificing his own son to the gods. The myth proceeds to claim that he gave birth to the ancestor of the Xenonids in Apulia on the southern coast of Italy. The Xenonids claim that this son was named Xenon.

The tale continues that, for several generations, Xenon and his descendants ruled over a city in Apulia, that they named Xenonopolis. The myth proceeds to claim that the native inhabitants of Apulia invaded Xenonopolis. The tale goes that the ruler of the city gathered as many of his people as he could and evacuated all of them in a great fleet. The Apulians then proceeded to burn Xenonopolis to the ground.

Allegedly, this fleet arrived on Crete soon after. The Kingdom of Crete had collapsed by this point, and numerous different city-states were fighting for control of the island. According to this legend, the fleet took control of the city of Gortyna. In order to please the people who they now ruled, however, the Xenonids instituted a democratic republic at Gortyna and subjugated much of its surrounding area. The Xenonids claimed that some of the inhabitants of this area were descended from former Cretan noble houses. These would become Gortyna’s new noble houses. The Xenonids would gradually conquer more and more land. In addition, they would vassalize the city-state of Tarrha, who now obeyed commands from Gortyna.



So, yeah, I switched to Gortyna and chose Origin Myth as a National Idea. This is that fictional origin myth... Ok, I should actually have pictures (maps!) in the next update...

 

[stnylan]

Seems perfectly plausible

 

[guillec87]

subbed

 

[Nikolai]

So from now on you are playing as Gortyna? Or will you switch around?

 

[HistoryDude]

So from now on you are playing as Gortyna? Or will you switch around?

Switch around. I'll have another update sometime today (or tomorrow, depending on your timezone) dealing with Gortyna, and then I'm switching to Etrusca, because I feel that Italian politics will be very interesting, and I'll still get information on the Diadochi (which'll get their own update eventually). I'll still keep tabs on Crete, probably.

 

[HistoryDude]

In November 452 AUC (22 HE), the Xenonids of Gortyna passed reforms to their country’s social structure. These reforms were the adoption of reinforced steel, which was subsequently used to build a wall around the capital city. They also adopted other innovations alongside that, but reinforced steel was the most important.

In addition, they codified a rumour that had been spreading amongst the soldiers of their republic for some time now. This rumour was that men should not die a shameful death because of what their afterlife would look like if they did. The Xenonids codified this, alongside their origin myth, in the Ways of the Cretan Gods. This inspired the troops serving Gortyna to fight much harder.

The following is an excerpted section from Ways of the Cretan Gods, dealing with the afterlife:

Upon death, there are multiple fates awaiting a man. The ruling citizens go to Erebus, where if they were just rulers, they will go to Elysium, but if they were unjust rulers, they were to be punished eternally. For warriors, however, they are to go to one of two afterlives. If they die gloriously in battle, they go to the Islands of Warriors where they get to fight for all eternity. If they die shamefully, however, they must go to the Fields of Asphodel, where they must do nothing for the rest of eternity. They will retain their memories so that they can retain their fond memories of battle, knowing that they will never experience that again....​

These declarations are most noted, however, for the Rights of Men. This is one of the earliest documents to acknowledge that men are born with certain rights. It even extends these rights to slaves, which was revolutionary for the time. However, a lot of this can be attributed to realpolitik, as if slaves were treated slightly better, they would be more content.

The following is an excerpt from Rights of Men, dealing with the rights humans are born with:

All human beings, upon their creation, are granted certain rights by their divine creators. These rights apply to those who serve other men of all kinds and to those who rule over other men. These rights are life, a way to voice their thoughts, and representation.​

The right of “a way to voice their thoughts” would lead to slaves being slightly more outspoken to their masters, but this did not truly change much. It did lead to slaves being treated better and, therefore, not revolting as much, though, which allowed the citizens of Gortyna to focus on other things, as there wasn’t a constant fear of slave revolts.


Short update, but the next updates will be on Etrusca! This means we get to deal with Italian politics, involving Romans! Yay!

 

[Nikolai]

Human rights, in ancient Greece? That is one helluva departure.

 

[HistoryDude]

Human rights, in ancient Greece? That is one helluva departure.

Yep. This is actually based on a few in-game choices, so…

 

[Garrus Vakarian]

ambitious! Will keep an eye on this

 

[HistoryDude]

Here's some news on my progress:
I'll try my absolute best to get another update out this week. I need to play a little bit more, but updates are coming soon!

 

[HistoryDude]

Sorry for the long wait between chapters. I'll try to avoid that in the future. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!



By 453 AUC, Elbio Vulturreno was the leader of the Etruscan League. The League, when Elbio was elected, was a rather loose confederation of city-states. This loose confederation existed primarily for mutual defense. It was led by a Consul, who served for a limited amount of time and was elected. The Consul was advised by a Senate, which was also elected by the cities that were part of the Etruscan League.

The Etruscan League, however, had very little authority. Elbio set out to change that, and he somewhat succeeded, although, ultimately, he was not completely successful. Elbio sought to sideline the Senate in the decision-making process for foreign affairs, hoping to relegate it to overseeing the mostly autonomous cities.

Elbio managed to get the Senate to approve a tariff on some foreign goods. He hoped that this would aid the economy, and, to some extent, it did. However, it also increased the power of the central Etruscan government.

In May 454 AUC, Elbio was given information about one of the Senators engaging in improper behavior by one of his relatives. Seeing this scandal as a way to increase his power, he had this senator flogged. This senator, Marce Spurinnii, was a political opponent of Elbio’s, so the scandal gave Elbio an excuse to get rid of a political opponent… and Elbio took it.

Elbio, however, did have a reason to be increasing his own authority. Elbio wished to gain land from his neighbors. Part of it was his own glory, as he did want to be remembered as a great conqueror, but he also believed that Etrusca could benefit from ruling more land. To further this end, he floated the possibility of expansionary wars before the Etruscan Senate many times, but they were often reluctant.

Sometime in 454 AUC, Elbio got tired of the Senate’s constant refusals to allow him to go to war. He negotiated with many senators, offering concessions so that they would support war. Occasionally, he bribed senators to be pro-war. This would allow him to embark on a series of campaigns to expand Etrusca, which would be the roots of the future Etruscan Empire...

The borders of Etrusca and its neighbors, with troop placement included, just before the Early Etruscan Conquests.

 

[Nikolai]

Etruscan Empire...it has a nice ring to it.

 

[stnylan]

Etruscan Empire...it has a nice ring to it.

I concur

 

[HistoryDude]

Etruscan Empire...it has a nice ring to it.

I concur

Yes... Etrusca shall rise!

New update will be soon (pessimistically, by Saturday, or, optimistically, by tomorrow).