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Another Ptolemy Plotemy who actually likes to fight, even if Hycranus is better. Everyone know good cooking needs spices. Just you wait til 40,000 barbarians come out of Libya baying for Greek/Egyptian blood. I notice the strategically located unsettled province bewteen Carthage and the most powerful kingdom in the world. Someone doubt his own propaganda?

You got to fight the Getics after all. I thought you'd have taken something off the archaic League in land and annexed Aetolia. Nabatea ought to provide some local sport and territory as well as opportunity to pick up the Getic provinces in Asia Minor, using your feet to prevent of Getae getting in on the act. Do you intend to help Galatia before the Getae annex them or will you wait and bring them into Egypt by way of reward?

Well no border means less risk of unwanted wars. I do not doubt my proganda, really I don't :D

Galatia I allied mainly because they had no allies and I could. No intention of actually bringing them into any wars at the moment.

Seleucids have been quite effectively brought down... :eek:
What about a small expedition against Rome?

Well they seem to be recovering, but slowly. The fact that they lost Antioch is a terrible blow to them, that province contains a large part of their manpower. Will think about Rome, Macedonia is a more immediate goal, but after that it would be interesting to try to liberate Magna Graecia.
 
War was declared against Nabatea and as I expected the Getae went to war on their side. As I was ready for this, I march to Bithynia, while Hyrkanus leads one army into Paphlagonia. Xanthos leads an army against the Nabateans, going straight after Nabatean capital of Petra. However shortly afterwards I recieve words that Ariobarzanes of Pontus have declared war on the Getae and is supported in the war by Antiochos as well as Pairisades, the Bosporan king. I order Hyrkanus to march across the Hellespont and take Thrace, the Pontic king can be allowed to take Paphlagonia.

It does not take long until Bithynia is liberated, but Hyrkanus is driven away from Thrace. My great navy have no problem however to prevent the Getae from taking advantage of their victory. At that time Xanthos takes control of Petra, and young Nabatean king Shemida agress to surrender his claims on Damascus in exchange for peace. Attempts to cross over into Thrace fails, but as my army recovers a vast Pontic and Bosporan army succeeds in taking control of Thrace, and moves on to Kallatis. However they are soon driven back by the Getae and their Macedonian allies.

It proves difficult to take Thrace, while the Getae have no ability to prevent anyone from crossing the Hellespont, they wait with vast armies in the inland that responds with great force against those that cross. I hear that the Nabateans have been defeated by the Seleucids. King Antiochos seizes the towns of Dumatha and Bostra, and Shemid is forced to pay tribute. While still not strong enough to oppose me as his new territories are mostly unimportant desert inhabited by unruly barbarians, it is clear that the Seleucid king is still the most powerful of my eastern neighbours.

At this time I cross into Thracia once more, but the Getae move against me and I face them in battle, this time near Bizye. Vastly outnumbered by the barbarians my army stands strong, after much fighting both sides are greatly weakened, but once again my attempt to take Thracia ends in a retreat back to Bithynia.

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The next year sees another attempt to invade fail, but not until after my army has reached the Getae capital. Driven back to the cost, my men is rescued by the navy at Tomis, and the Getae soon retake the cities in the area. As my army recover I drive the Getae from Argolis, to which foul king Lydiadas had let them reach. It is clear that his support of the barbarians means that he must be removed, sooner or later.

Pontus and the Getae end their war with a white peace so my forces quickly take control of Paphlagonia. And I decide to lure the Getae to their doom. The navy leaves the Hellespont and the Getae foolishly cross into Bithynia. But Hyrkanus waits in ambush, and the Getae are crushed.

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As he pursues the few survivors and utterly defeats them in Paphlagonia I cross into Thrace and liberate it. The Getae can no longer stop me and the cities of the black sea coast are occupied. They see reason and agrees to peace. Thracia, Bithynia and Paphlagonia they cede to me.

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As I order the armies home, tragedy strikes as Hyrkanus dies near Tyras. It seems to be of natural causes. Oxyntas becomes the new commander of that army. As I plan on how to best defeat Lydiadas, the new Pontic king invades and conquers Crete. The next year civil war strikes Osroene, as Pausanias is opposed by Xenotimos. After nearly a year the civil war ends with Xenotimos victory. I need to decide how to deal with this new king of Osroene.

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The Osroene matter was quickly dealt with, Osroene remained allied and kept paying tribute. It was time to take care of Lydiadas. The grandson of Keraunos, he had aided the barbaric Getae in the most recent wars. He had let his army fight Pontus and the Seleucids in support of the Getae rather then fight the barbarians himself. He could no longer be allowed to rule. I led the army into Thessaly. There I met the Macedonian army, led by the skilled Phyleus, whose military prowess rivaled that of Alexander himself.

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I retreated to Euboa. While the army recovered, I heard that Phyleus had been assassinated. The one most likely behind that deed would be king Lydiadas who must have feared that Phyleus would turn against him and claim the throne for himself.

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While the Macedonians occupied the cities of mainland Greece, I marched to Thessaly, and seized the cities. There I faced Lydiadas Aetolian allies and crushed their army.

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I then moved south to defeat the Macedonian army, near Corinth they waited. My army took position, and battle was joined, as was my duty I bravely led the cavalry against them. This would be a victory, Lydiadas army would be crushed.

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The mediterranean world at the time of the death of Ptolemy IV
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...

I am Nesisti. You may call me Ptolemy anyway, it is always nice to keep the name going, my father for some reason didn't name me Ptolemy, but there is nothing that prevents me from ruling under that name. I may be young but I will become a great Pharaoh.

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Lydiadas wants to end the little war, and as I am not old enough to lead the army, yet, and as my council support such an action, I agree. Now to let time pass. Do royal stuff, and prepare to fight the Macedonians, as I'm not going to let them think they can get away with their insufferable behaviour. Well as I wait the ancient king Antiochos dies, he ruled for about seven decades. Imagine that, losing wars over and over again and still cling to the throne for that long. He must have done something right.

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Well it is time to take control of the army, and lead it to victory against the Macedonians and those foolish enough to support them. As I declare war it is then clear that the Aetolians and the Getae will support Lydiadas. I march into Aetolia, while the Aetolian army ran away before I could face them in battle, the Macedonians attack me. Of course I defeat them.

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As I siege the Aetolian cities, Lydiadas dies and leaves the throne to his son Phocas. That doesn't change anything and Aetolian independence is ended. The other Macedonian ally is also soon out of the war as general Oxyntas takes Kallatis, which is enough to get them to agree to peace. I march to liberate Argolis, and face the Macedonians in battle. It is a fierce battle, not everything goes as planned, and I bravely try to prevent defeat.

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The mediterranean world at the time of the death of Nesisti (Ptolemy V)
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You almost have the whole Eastern Med coast. Time to grab some more and take out Osroene and Crete?

It seems likely, while I do have trade with Pontus, I really don't like having them on Crete. As for Osroene, they do pay tribute, so I regard them as sort of part of my empire anyway, but it is tempting establishing more direct rule, maybe if they get another civil war, or I simply get bored with them.
 
You've now got a Regency fighting Macedonia. The general that is successful putting the Macedons in their place, will be popular enough to try yto seize the throne.

A Ptolemaic civil war might be more interesting AArwise, but it will be a right pain for Egyptian mastery over the Eastrern Med.
 
:eek:Greece seems to be the Ptolemaic graveyard!

Indeed. And both times it was the same enemy commander and it was also in the same province :D

You've now got a Regency fighting Macedonia. The general that is successful putting the Macedons in their place, will be popular enough to try yto seize the throne.

A Ptolemaic civil war might be more interesting AArwise, but it will be a right pain for Egyptian mastery over the Eastrern Med.

Well Ptolemy V (the Nesisti bloke) did not produce an heir, so one of his old relatives got the job. But as he as you will see have no military skill whatsoever (well technically he has 1) so he is not going to lead any army on his own. And he is sadly too good at keeping order for a civil war to be a real threat :(

But he is old and his heir is very similar to Nesisti (all military, no charisma, no finesse), so there is hope for troubles in a not too far future.

Selecids must be punished for their existence! ;)

Will keep that in mind.
 
I am Zosimus. When our young King died in battle all grieved. He left no son to succeed him, only a daughter. It was up to me to take care of the kingdom. My father was Oezalces who led the armies of Egypt on behalf of his brother the great Ptolemy (III) for many years. I did not expect to rule, but it was the will of the Gods. I had been the nomarch of Bithynia and Paphlagonia for many years, but when I heard the news I traveled to Alexandria and became the new Pharaoh as was my duty, the Gods be praised!

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War still raged with Macedonia. I ordered Oxyntas to ship over his army from Lydia to Macedonia proper. As I am not a warrior, I ordered Horemakhet son to Leonidas, one of many loyal courtiers, to take command of the Royal Army. Zopyrus led the Macedonian army north, in a vain attempt to prevent Pella from falling. Oxyntas defeated his army, and it was only thanks to his large number of cavalry that some parts of the Macedonian army managed to escape.

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Argolis was retaken by the Royal army, and Pella fell. The Romans came and offered an alliance. But as those barbarians oppress the Greeks of Magna Graecia, and I, the Greatest of all Kings, who is beloved by the Gods, can't allow that. So I declined their offer. The war raged and Zopyrus again tried to defeat my army in Macedonia, and the result was the same as before.

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Thessaly was soon taken by my troops but king Phocas still refused peace. But as he was all but crushed, I ordered Oxyntas to march against the barbaric realm of Tylis. Eventually Phocas agreed to my demands, lest he lose more, and shortly thereafter Iamphorynna fell to my troops and the ruler of Tylis agreed to sign a peace as well, giving the province of Maedi to me.

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Then came the matter of Crete, my predecessors had not acted, but I did. War was declared, and Crete would no longer be a haven for pirates! The King of Pontus called in his allies, the Seleucid King and the King of the Bosporos. I asked the King of Osroene to send men to the war and he agreed. While I sent men to Crete, the generals Oxyntas, both brothers, met the foes on each front. In Syria the Seleucid army was defeated near Damascus and near Palmyra. In the north the Seleucids marched into Pamphylia and Cilicia while my army met and defeated the army of Pontus in Paphlagonia and Pontus and Bosporan Kingdom near the Pontic capital of Amasya which was put under siege.

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I called the Galatians to arms, but they refused, but I would deal with them later. Crete was taken and after a few months, the Pontic King rather then see his capital fall to my men agreed to give up his rule there. But the Seleucids and the Bosporans were still in the war. My army led and the army of Osroene led by Artabazus met the united army of the Bosporans and Seleucids in Cappadocia. The Gods was on my side, and the Seleucids and Bosporans fled.

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I could then deal with the potential risk posed by having two armies led by two brothers not of the Royal family. Oxyntas in Syria was replaced as commander by Manetho, while the other Oxyntas was allowed to continue to lead the Asian Army for the time being. The war soon ended, and the newly crowned Seleucid King Athineos signed peace, acknowledging my rule in Pisidia.

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A quick war was conducted against Galatia. They lasted not even a month. After that, peace. I thanked the Gods. A civil war erupted in Osroene, but this time the rebels were swiftly crushed. I looked to the west. The Romans fought foolish wars in the wild north over lands of little value. However they also did expand into Illyria, which was slightly worrying. And Carthage was fighting in Iberia and had taken almost the entire eastern coast. Time was coming to liberate the Greek cities in southern Italy, free them from the barbarian yoke. But the king of Pontus was causing trouble. And I pondered wether I would have to do something about them first.
 
Go after the Romans, now.Liberate the Greeks in Italy from the barbarian red blob!

Perhaps, Osroene will not honour your call to arms and can be chastised. The Pontic fool is not worth bothering about.
 
To unite the Greeks under Ptolemys' or conquer as much of the Empire of Alexander?

As for this pharaoh, the first, for those that come, will depend. May end up going for both at the same time. Could become quite interesting.

Go after the Romans, now.Liberate the Greeks in Italy from the barbarian red blob!

Perhaps, Osroene will not honour your call to arms and can be chastised. The Pontic fool is not worth bothering about.

To Rome I'm going. Pontus will have to wait until I catch anyone actually succeeding in their nefarious deeds.
 
I sent the Royal Army to Aetolia in preparation for the coming war with Rome. With the Gods on my side it was clear that this would end in victory, the cities would be liberated from the Roman oppressors. As war was declared the Royal Army quickly arrived at Taras.

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The Romans send their navy, and outside Taras a large naval battle is fought. It does not end well for the Romans, a few ships manage to get away, but most of it was sunk.

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The Roman garrison in Taras is soon forced to surrender and the army march into Lucania, where they face a Roman army. Unsurprisingly the barbarians are sent running, and Lucania hails us as liberators.

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I decide to send an army from Greece to besiege Croton, while the Royal army moves against the Romans in Apulia.

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The Gods were on our side and granted us victory. The remaining Romans are pursued into Samnium where they are destroyed. The road to Rome is open, and the army moves to besiege it. Evidently the Romans have few friends, while Massilia stands beside them, in the north the Boii and Sequani make a, sadly failed, attempt to drive out the Romans from their uncivilized northern provinces. While they in the end fail, most of the Roman armies are in the north, in fact the army destroyed in Samnium was the only Roman army defending Italy.

The Roman navy makes another attempt to take control of the sea, but they fail utterly and are utterly defeated. Carthaginian pirates begin infesting the coasts of Italy, while Carthaginian armies are moving against Emporion. The Carthaginians may need to be dealt with later, but at the moment the Romans are my main concern.

Croton falls, and the provinces I hope to gain are all under my control. The stubborn Romans refuse to discuss peace however, even after the city of Rome falls, they still refuse. After Apulia is taken, the Roman armies appear in northern Italy and attack the Royal Army in Umbria.

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They are defeated, but more Roman armies arrive, and while my army is victorious in almost all engagements, the Romans refuse peace. For two years the provinces of Latium, Umbria, Picenum and Samnium as well as Campania sees several battles. The Romans refuse to surrender, but eventually their strength is up, they are no longer able to reinforce their armies, and lack the funds to raise new ones, they are practically beaten, but despite new attacks on Rome by northern tribes, they are not willing acknowledge the loss of Taras and other Greek cities and of Lucania. My son and heir Oezalces leads the Greek Army as it takes control of Samnium, and in a few battles, the Roman armies are utterly destroyed. I wonder if they will see reason now. But I don't think I will ever know.

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The mediterranean world after the death of pharaoh Zosimus I
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No-one rates the Roman navy. Had it been the Carthaginain fleet, nowthat would have been something.

Zosimos is clearly in the heavens for his take down of Rome. Egypt will just have to conquer all of the Republic and then take the land it wants and free other peoples.

Then it will be time to have revenge on Macedonia.
 
No popularity from sinking the entire Roman war-fleet? :eek::eek:

Well, what Chief Ragusa said :D.

The Romans (and the Getae) are rather technologically backwards, although all other major powers have good tech.

No-one rates the Roman navy. Had it been the Carthaginain fleet, nowthat would have been something.

Zosimos is clearly in the heavens for his take down of Rome. Egypt will just have to conquer all of the Republic and then take the land it wants and free other peoples.

Then it will be time to have revenge on Macedonia.

Macedonia will have to wait. They still pay tribute and have not (yet) given me a reason to take them out (apart from still existing obviously).
 
I am Oezalces, but know me as Ptolemy, Pharaoh of Egypt and King of Kings, Liberator of Megale Hellas and protector of all Greeks.

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When my father, the Great Pharaoh Zosimus, died, I was in Italia waging war on the Romans. I ordered my brother Polyperchon to take the Greek auxiliaries back to Greece, while I took personal command of the Royal Army. The Romans had been defeated, they simply had to recognize that fact. I marched to Picenum, took the cities and from there marched to Umbria. I fought the ragged remains of the last Roman army in Umbria and Latium and pursued them into Etruria where they where crushed.

I ravaged to provinces of Cisalpine Gaul, and after some time they finally accepted my extremely modest demands, and the cities of Megale Hellas was freed, as well as Lucania.

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But the Romans could not be trusted. However Campania, Samnium and Apulia all rose in revolt. As the Romans crushed the Samnites and Campanians, I once again went to war. Campania was quickly freed. I took the city of Rome, and freed Samnium. The Romans lost control of Italia as I took Picenum and Etruria. I marched into transalpine Gaul and in Vocontii I defeated the disorganized Roman army. I took the city of Massilia, but I simply let the Massiliotes get away with paying a modest sum. Rome surrendered, and Campania and Samnium had been freed.

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I established friendly relations with the Syracusans, who had thrown off the Roman yoke, and the mighty Bituriges, the rulers of Gaul. Aratos the ruler of Syracuse agreed to join in an alliance in order to protect against the Carthaginians, who remained the most powerful local power. I organized a local militia to keep order and sailed home to Egypt. I spent two years in my great capital city Alexandria. But then the Achaean League decided they would not pay any more tribute.

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This could not be allowed. War was declared, but the Achaeans only ally, Phocas of Macedonia, did not join the war, and was rewarded for his loyalty. Polyperchon led a Greek army into Achaea while I sailed with the Royal army. In three battles Polyperchon defeated the Achaeans before completely crushed their army near Sparta. However while the war was all but won, I received troubling news. The Seleucid King Athineos had sent one of his bastards, one Isocrates in an attempt to convince my brother to turn against me.

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Isocrates was quickly escorted to the dungeons, but after I took Sparta and sailed home, I heard that the Seleucids still tried. It was clear the Seleucids had to be dealt with. And that I would need to keep a close eye on my brother. I signed peace with the Achaeans, and they had to pay a greater tribute then earlier. They were unimportant. The important matter is the Seleucids.