History of New Macedonia - Vae Victis AAR

[Aekar]

Hammer and Anvil


Diplomatic Defeat

Macedonia had always ruled with two strong fists : first with its military strength, with outstanding victories and superior strategic skills more than actual tactical efficiency. Secondly its trade power, with its hold on rich provinces to the east, and its supremacy on all eastern trade.

It soon discovered that those were not enough.

Using diplomatic skill, the Seleucids pushed Pontus forward into declaring war to the Macedonians. the Macedonians had been ready for that, and engaged their armies deep inside Pontus.

Exactly at this time, the Seleucids, though bound to Macedonia by many trade routes, struck eastern Macedonia with all its might.


One month after this, the Romans - and their Massilian allies - took advantage of the situation to declare war on Macedonia.


Macedonia immediately called the Athenians to help ; and the Athenians accepted, but never commited any troop into the fight.



Thus began the Black Years.




The Black Years



In the first two years, Macedonia defended its eastern front with all his might, and only tried to gain time in the west.

The Romans gave military command to a political figure, who actually managed to loose battle after battle to proud Macedonian spears.

It is after two years that things began to worsen. Macedonia was beaten in every battle in the east, and was being invaded by the west and the east.

There began the bloodiest retreat of all times. Immense armies were retreating to Thracia. Courageous generals issued a plan to hold Bithynia and the Black Sea Pass. They defended Bithynia to their last drop of blood. Then, after loosing all eastern lands to the Seleucids, the Macedonian cohorts retreated, protected by their immense navy.

To break this manoeuver, the Seleucids gathered 620 ships (62 trireme units), which was one third more than what the Macedonian strong navy could field. They engaged a fierce navy battle.

Macedonia lost this naval battle, only managing to buy enough time for the retreat of the troops.

More than 300 ships had been sunk, with the Seleucids only suffering very minor losses.


This major naval defeat was not the first, however. The Seleucids pushed inland and conquered Macedonia itself.

After four years, Perdiccas was only 8 year old when he declared "Enough!" to his generals.

Macedonia surrendered to the Seleucids. Suffering from internal disorder, the Seleucids sealed a peace treaty that actually broke Macedonian economic strength. Bithynia and Pontus was lost to them.

Macedonia then came with all its remaining strength against the Romans. For some reason, the romans had not completely recovered from their last defeat, and year after year, the romans had to cede territories.


In 562 AVC, Macedonia was victorious against Rome, and took three more provinces from it.

But the Black Years were not to end at this time. For in 568 AVC, Pontus was again pushed into a war with Macedonia, and the Romans followed, thus renewing a new war against East and West.



Macedonia, 568 AVC, Perdiccas matured

The Immense Seleucid Empire, 568 AVC, with its firm hold on Alexandria, Pontus and Bithynia

The Roman Senate and the Cathaginian Empire, 568 AVC

 

[Aekar]

Hammer and Anvil


End of Black Years

When Perdiccas Theronid eventually came to true adulthood, he was ruling an immense empire.

Thanks to its victory against Rome, Macedonia had stripped the Romans of some of their eastern assets. Its objective was to end Massilia once and for all, and remove a common ally Rome had with Athenes. With the Massilians out of the roman wars, Athenes could be called for support, and help Macedonia in its battles.

For Macedonia had lost too many in all those fights, and was looking for its allies to shed some blood and honor their word.

 

[comagoosie]

Ah it seems the Black Years was only one sided, as it seems you took plenty from Rome

 

[Aekar]

@comagoosie: indeed! Romans suffered much from their military defeats. It took years to defeat them in this second great war, but in the end, they suffered a major defeat.

They were vastly superior in numbers during the first years of the two-sided war, but they didn't manage to use this superiority. They besieged the province of Lucania, assaulted its castle, then were ambushed by one of my greatest Strategos and its low-sized army, and were forced to retreat.

After this, the Strategos often went in hiding southward or eastward to plunder roman provinces, while the roman consular army was recovering. The romans came back, besieging Lucania again, then were again forced to retreat.

This lasted until they eventually gave military command to someone much greater, who easily won this battle. But at this time, Macedonia was already switching its main army from the east to the west, and sending reinforcments.


The romans also sent an army to the north, to invade Macedonia, and this army did conquer Dalmatian lands, but in the end they failed to make something concrete of this advantage.


After surrendering to the Seleucids and giving much lands to Pontus and them (losing Bythinia also meant losing the 5 percent special national tax bonus for holding both Thracia and Bythinia, and Pontus was one of the richest lands of Macedonia), Perdiccas had still great generals and vast amounts of gold in income, that he spent thoroughly in recruiting mercenaries.

The northerners were many, and in the end, it wasn't the heart of the country that saved the war, but the northerners themselves.

Macedonia actually had 80 percent of its troops being mercenaries at this time. For some reasons, the romans had to quell revolts in the north, which compromised their own recruiting effectiveness.

Once victory was achieved, however, the romans had a great military Consul leading their troops, and Macedonia was facing a much bitter war. But the romans were lacking information about true macedonian power ; before they realized they could have won this war in the end, enough roman lands were conquered to settle a very interesting peace treaty.

Tarentum and Etruria were very interesting additions to the southern macedonians holdings in Italy, thus restoring a great part of Magna Graecia, and the roman Massilian were stripped of Emporion.

This was a great victory indeed ; and one could say that the defeat against the Seleucids had only limited impact. However, with their hold on Alexandria and Bithynia and Pontus severed from Macedonia, the Seleucids were earning three times more income and eight times more research than Macedonia itself. They also had achieved complete naval and land superiority.

Though Roman ambitions seemed now quelled back and more moderately sized, the ambitions of the Seleucid Empire could know no end.

 

[Aekar]

Hammer and Anvil


Second Two-Sided War

For some, the Black Years actually ended in 570 AVC.

Perdiccas was accounted for the first defeat against the Seleucids, for he surrendered to them, and his Strategos were acclaimed, not him, for his victories against Rome.

Though this led to inevitable unpopularity and civil turmoil, Perdiccas still managed to confirm his hold on the Macedonian throne. With only mercenaries at their command, his Strategos lacked loyal troops, and Macedonia quickly fielded enough armies to quell regular disorder.

The same could not be said about the Seleucids, who had a vast empire to protect and no naval route to quickly send loyal troops. Seleucids faced rebellion during those six years, and was slowly recovering its mainland from rebels and usurper hands.

Perdiccas used the six years of peace to field vast amount of mercenary soldiers in Thracia and the east, preparing for a new war against the Seleucids. He also rebuilt Macedonian navy, but not for the purpose some could expect, for he no longer hoped for naval supremacy over the Seleucids, but only for strategic mobility against the Romans. And, last but not least, he prepared for a two-sided war.

When the Seleucids again used their Pontus decoy, they went into this war much less prepared than Macedonia itself. Macedonia also had learnt from its defeat, and behaved much differently at sea and on land than in the First Seleucid War.

They left the sea to Seleucid control, avoiding any naval war that they would have surely lost. The Seleucids still managed to destroy small sized fleets, but never got their hand on the main fleet.

Macedonia committed much of its force against the Seleucids, whereas the Seleucid Empire only sent one fourth of its troops. They had been facing a civil war one year before, that wasn't ended yet, and it sounded as if Pontus declared this war before the Seleucids could prevent it.

Its first victories allowed Macedonia to go deeper and deeper inside Seleucid lands. The people of Macedonia were now actually hoping for a victory that would end the Seleucid Empire supremacy once and for all.



On the western front, there are conflictual mentions about who started the Third Roman War. Disguised as a diplomat, a roman assassin murdered one of Macedonia best Strategos, though somehow a potential rival for Perdiccas. Swift execution of the assassin angered Rome, which behaved as if this man had been a diplomat only. Those are the known facts.

For some people, it was the Romans who declared war after this, for their political figures had been pressured into declaring such a war. For some others, closer to Perdiccas, it was Perdiccas who took advantage of this situation to declare war. Although his center army wasn't completely ready for this war, Perdiccas had placed enough troops to the west to end Massilia once and for all.

Massilia had been completely unable to restore its power after losing Emporion, and sounded like an easy conquest. Rome, on the other side, would again lose much time trying to conquer Magna Graecia, and Macedonia was perfectly ready to use this advantage again.

If this plan could be achieved, this would mean that the Achaeans allies could be called into this war, which was meaning more than 50 000 more men and a strong fleet as well.


The following maps show the actual victories of Macedonia two years after those wars started, in 570 AVC.

For some, this marked the end of the Black Years ; for many, however, the Black Years of Macedonia didn't end at this time.


Hoping to restore some popularity on his side, Perdiccas took command of the Macedonian main army. Engaging his force further south inside Seleucid territory, he actually faced the main Seleucid counterattack, and lost battle after battle. He was forced to retreat to Bythinia, then Thracia, ane eventually resigned his military command.


In 569 AVC, the Seleucid Empire seemed to fall into pieces, but it still was a force to be reckoned with. The Seleucid Emperor and the Usurper both sent troops to end Macedonian invasion.

This was an odd war: the Seleucid Rebels were fighting Macedonians, then fighting Seleucid loyal troops, and Macedonia was always trying to take advantage of this situation.

But after some time, there just were too many Seleucid soldiers to fight, too skilled generals leading them, and too many casualties on the Macedonian side. Perdiccas spent all the treasury he could into recruiting more and more mercenary troops, but without naval supremacy he couldn't reinforce the main front, and soon even his income sounded feeble compared to what would have been required to maintain victory.

Six major defeats in a row forced Macedonia to cancel its hope of ending Seleucid dominion once and for all. Macedonia called their allies for support. When the Achaeans were called, they actually refused to commit into the war, and cancelled an alliance that had lasted for more than 100 years.

Perdiccas always knew when to end a war ; he immediately signed a peace treaty with the Seleucids. He had to forget getting Pontus back, but managed to regain control of Bythinia. This was a very small feat, with all the Seleucid lands that were still in Macedonian control at this time, but was also the best that could be achieved, with the incredible land superiority the Seleucids managed to achieve in the end.

With another year, Macedonia would have lost this war, in 570 AVC it was still to much to their advantage that the Macedonians ended this bloody conflict.


In the west, meanwhile, mercenary and loyal troops forced the King of Massilia to resign its crown and opened a western front against Rome. With military Control of Liguria, and Bononnia, the romans were split in two. They were heavily recruiting in Gallia, but their recruits from the north were ambushed over and over, and the romans were unable to send reinforcements troops to their main army.

This tactical and strategic victory was again accounted to the Macedonian Strategos, whereas it was one of Perdiccas main ideas. Perdiccas knew how much the Romans would depend on their northern recruits, and had prepared this feat for a long time.


This eventually led to a major victory in the Third Roman War. This war nearly destroyed Rome once and for all.

They had to surrender Etruria, Bononia, Liguria and Syracuse to Macedonian control. Massilia was also annexed.



The Fall of Perdiccas


Perdiccas failed to claim this victory for his own. In the minds of people, he was ruling a proud nation of conquerors, but never had the skills of Alexander the Great.


Perdiccas was the first to call these lands "Macedonia Western Empire" and to prepare people for imperial reform. At this time Macedonia was but a Kingdom, though a very large one.

Perdiccas still lacked popular support, and many were seeing what he envisioned - him becoming Emperor - as a bad thing. Perdiccas was seen as weak, and as a tyran. His Strategos were seeing him as a coward, and a bad military leader. He was seen as someone unfit for Imperial Reign.

Rebellion was already on its way.

Hearing rumor about this, Perdiccas again took command of an army, this time in the west. Emporion was facing a barbarian invasion and the local defenders had been vanquished.

Perdiccas was hoping to capture a few barbarian chiefs and restore some popularity by displaying their severed heads, or even, a live captured barbarian.

He headed a strong army and faced them west of Emporion. Unfortunately, his mercenary archers and phalanxes were unable to sustain the barbarian enraged charges, and Perdiccas lost two consecutive battles. Wounded in battle, Perdiccas had to concede defeat and to retreat.

The barbarians managed to take lands from Emporion to Liguria, and secured a new Kingdom in Volcae.


Perdiccas called for reinforcements and tried again to achieve victory with his fresh cohorts.

He faced barbarians again in 572 AVC. This time, the barbarians outnumbered him. They decimated his troops, killing all his men, and Perdiccas had to flee the battlefield.

This was the last time Perdiccas tried to gain honor in the eyes of his people.


Macedonia faced civil war the following year. Though Perdiccas had been prepared for this, Macedonia was torn into several kingdoms, and it took several years to restore control and order.

For some reason, the Seleucids interfered into this civil war and took Liguria from the rebels. Macedonia was unable to force the Seleucids into restoring Liguria to their lands.


This map shows how large is the Macedonian Empire, and two last events that compromised Perdiccas rule: first the barbarians settled in Volcae, and secondly the Seleucid shameful annexion of Liguria.

For many people, it was as if Macedonia was ready to restore an Empire the size of the one Alexander the Great created, but that because of Perdiccas ruling them, such an empire could not be made.

The Seleucids were in a worse situation. Their Emperor had lost a war and was no longer respected as a ruler ; the following map show how civil war was costly to them.

Many of Macedonian Strategos wanted Perdiccas to take advantage of the situation and declare war on the Seleucids, but Perdiccas didn't send this order. Still in his medium years, Perdiccas didn't seem to have the ambitions his Strategos hoped for. Prevented from declaring himself Emperor, wounded, and humiliated in battle, Perdiccas was securing Macedonia and unable to prepare for a new war against such a giant.


If Macedonia was unable to submit the Volcae to their rule, and to defend its colonies against common savages, how could it hope for a victory against the Seleucids?


Though Perdiccas actually prepared for such a war, he wasn't ready.

Failure to meet Macedonian ambitions led Perdiccas to a ill fate. Perdiccas finally met his Hierophant, head of priests, and asked him for a secret ceremony. He drugged himself and went into a transe.


In 586 AVC, Perdiccas made a bargain with Hades. In exchange for his life, Hades promised immortality to his son, Xenophon Theronid.

Perdiccas committed suicide the next day.
Xenophon Teronid, aged 15, was proclaimed as the new King.

 

[Enewald]

I wonder if the suicide and deal with Hades worked out...

 

[comagoosie]

The selecuid empire is always in Civil War for some reason, nothing new. But I do find it interesting how you lost not one, but battles to barbarians. Were you really that low on manpower/army?

 

[unmerged(62478)]

Lol Alexander conquered whole Persia in a few years and you get 2 provinces from them lol.

 

[Aekar]

@Delex

If it were in this game, it sounds as if Alexander actually never had to besiege the provinces he conquered!



@comagoosie :

It sounds to me as if manpower level never left 0 from 480 to 600 AVC. Which must be wrong, for I managed to field quite a few loyal armies from time to time. Not from 553 AVC however, for at this time and for the 30 next years, I had to rely very heavily on mercenary armies.

Perdiccas had only 4 Martial skill, and the surprise was that he faced a cavalry barbarian army and a better leader. This pretty much ended him.

His suicide surprised me to no end, however.

 

[comagoosie]

His suicide surprised me to no end, however.

Suicides surprise everyone o

 

[unmerged(143117)]

very interesting. my very first campaign of the game was with macedonia, and i eventually conquered most of the eastern side while going head-to-head with rome constantly.

 

[KOS17]

I wonder what is going to happen now. Will the son of Perdiccas really become immortal, and so will conquer everything he can creating a new Macedonian Empire as Alexander did... or will this be just a trick from the Gods ?

It will be interesting to find out!

I don't know much of EU:Rome , but I've bought it yesterday (and following Vae Victis shortly) and I'm trying to get a hold on the game rules using Macedonia.