New "Ancient Empires" PBEM created

[Steve Clark]

Just a quick rundown in the Land of Zeus:

Discovered Alphabet (no more drawing picture of nekkid Artemis)

Got a scroll through a hut which gave me Writing (which is probably a good thing to do with the alphabet)

Greek Swordmen defeated a barbarian village.

Horsemen made its way to the north off of the Grecian peninsula, now will head to the fable lands of the East.

[germanos]

Re: Book Advertisment

Originally posted by Stefan Härtel

Currency Converter:

1 Babylonian Shekel=2 Assyrian Shekels

EXTRA EXTRA, READ TNE NEWS !!

INFLATION CAUSES RIOTS

Assyrian Finance Minister sacked

rabarberrabarberrabarber

[yop73]

2 Mycenean Drachms=1 Minoan Drachm

Woohoo Greeks, we rule. !!

Pottery discovered, a barbarian village discovered. Skirmishers will soon start the attack.

New land in sight.

[tanelorn]

Originally posted by yop73
Woohoo Greeks, we rule. !!
New land in sight.

Ahem. Cough -cough...

(Actually, I am Cretan= Minoan also. This is confusing.)

[Civfan]

Re: Book Advertisment

Originally posted by Stefan Härtel
A Persian's Tale
Or: The Art Of Being Great
By Darev, the son of Bardiya, son of Frada of Behistun
Mithra Publications, Ecbatana, 3360 BC
251 Stone Tablets with many illustrations:
345 Darics
150 Rolls of parchment with many coloured illustration:
500 Darics
Oral tradition (sung by the best of Sattagydian slaves):
1,000 Darics

Currency Converter:
1 Persian Daric=5 Median Darics
1 Persian Daric=90 Parthian Darics
100 Persian Darics=1 Hittite Talent in Silver
1 Hittite Talent in Silver=500,000 Babylonian Shekels
1 Babylonian Shekel=2 Assyrian Shekels
1 Assyrian Shekel=40 Mycenean Drachms
2 Mycenean Drachms=1 Minoan Drachm
1,000,000 Minoan Drachms=1 Egyptian Talent in Silver

!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!Your Advertisment Could Be Here!!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

AAA (Atar Advertisment Association)
1 Ahura Mazda Plaza, 32421 Ecbatana
Mail by horse, camel, dromedary, elephant, pigeon and donkey accepted
Slaves will be kept (please no ink on shaved heads!)
Fire Signs only from 7.30 PM to 4.30 AM
Opened 24 hours a day, 5 days a week!

Ok, I'll take 150 Rolls of parchment with many coloured illustrations for 500 Darics.

Heres 2,500,000 Babylonian Shekels.
Wheres my change?????

[germanos]

Originally posted by tanelorn


Ahem. Cough -cough...

(Actually, I am Cretan= Minoan also. This is confusing.)

Great.
We got a Hatte here with a multi-personality problem.

Watch your backs Greeks and Minoans. Before you know it you got a trojan horse in your ranks.

Go, Tanelorn, Go

[tanelorn]

Hittite Turn

Here I go then:

A new artisans quarter is being constructed in Hatussas! The crowds rejoice, however some in the Pankus, especially the priestly order view this decision with scepticism. Let's not forget, the King is the High Priest as well...

New Armenian settlements have been spotted- could a new raid aggravate the Mittani?

On the Cilician front, a band of fierce warriors have been identified. They are fortified atop a mountain-range, guarding a precious silver mine, heaps and heaps of talents of gleaming metal. Should our proud men attack though, and risk being slain for plain greed and avarice?

Copying on the Frygian designs encountered during the recent clash with the Frygians, our wise men have started experimenting with the first hittite armor, made from ox-hide.

Rumors of a large & growing Kingdom come from the south.

[Civfan]

soldiers continue spreading the word of the babylon people.

borders defined with the Assryians.

[germanos]

Sargon's grandson, overseeing the past decade's of his reigh, was happy, yet very tired. The empire had expanded, following the wise lessons his father and grandfather had tought him. Many groups of scouts had been send out to discover the far and fabled lands, and many lonely Huts, Villages and Tribes had been discovered. The rewards had been overwhelming, although the price had sometimes been high. Hostile bands of Barbarians had emerged from their huts, and deadly battles had to be fought with them, as well as with the Villagers. Many soldiers had fallen, but many slaves captured, bringing money to the Royal Coffers.

His predesessors could not prepare him though for the difficult task that lay before him, now that new and far greater neighbours appeared to be bordering the fringes of the Assyrian Empire. While most of the Hutdwellers had not been more than peasants, the Villagers raw barbaric bands, and the Tribes encountered peacefull and obedient followers; the unions of cities that borderd the Assyrians to the South and East were of a completely different nature.

These people were as strong as the barbarians, as proud as the tribesmen, and as resourcefull as the hutdwellers, and those three combined made them fearsome enemies, skillfull opponents or valuable friends, depending on how well the Assyrians would be able to cooperate with them. It was clear that the vastness of the Empire, combined with the establishment of these first contacts, would require a completely different approach, and that the organisation of the Assyrian society would have to change drasticly. From now on there would had to be more then Scouts and Warriors alone. Sargon the Third was in desparate need for men that could take care of the Assyrian interests at the courts of the rulers of these city-unions. It required many moons, sometimes even many harvests before news would have traveled between the frontiers and the Capitol Nineveh, to reach Sargon's large and beautifull tents that comprimised his Palace. Allready news had arrived to late to be of any good, and recently a messenger arrived, only able to tell Sargon that barbarians had raided the party. His fellow travelers had given up their lives to let the messenger escape, so he could bring at least word of cooperation from the South, but that it was completely unknown what had been written in the sealed scrolls that the Lugal had trusted to his safekeeping.

Sargon frowned and was very worried that the Empire would fall in disarray if todays structure of society continued, with so little control of the Empire's roads and rivers, since it was noted by the newly appointed State Treasurer that many taxes never arrived in the Capitol. Undoubtedly some claims of the governors that the parties must have been raided on their trip to Nineveh were valid, but in his private chambers Sargon had also received discontented citizens from faraway cities that the city-governers were corrupt, or that taxmen had been seen traveling away from the Capitol to distant lands. Sargon vowed he would instruct his wisest men to bring him a solution for this problem, so that his newborn son, Tudiya, would not have to bother so much with these rougue governers. He doubted though that even his grandson to be, godwilling, would be releived of this burden.

In the meantime, despite Sargon's worries, the Empire thrived. The deal made with the Persians to the East had brought knowledge of new lands, and new knowledge on how the animals of the plains could be used for the benefit of mankind. In the South another Village was subdued, as well as in the West. In between them two huts were entered by Scouts. Both extended the knowledge of Assyria, although one of them would not be beneficial to the Empire, to say the least!
A raving band of Barbarians emerged from far away on the plains, fourlegged and twice as tall as the Assyrian Skirmishers! They advanced with speeds as fast as the feared sandstormes towards the Scouts, who could only watch with fear on the ever closing enemy, their feet stuck in the mud. A few of the men who were able to keep their wit, ran when they saw what was coming, and managed to flee to the Tell of Mardich and tell their tale. From their incoherent stories, it became clear that the hutdwellers had found yet another way to use the animals of the plains for their benefit, but here is was for battle. The men were riding on the backs of wild horses, who did seem to be subdued, but not yet meek! These men had found a way to use the fantastic speed of these animals to their advantage, and there would be no way to escape them. Even the Charioteers from Calah would not be able to match their progress! No doubt, the Scouts would be overrun by the mounted barbarians, and trampled under the legs of the horses. What a horrible way to die in battle, slain by an animal…

Assyrian commanders from Tell Mardich set forth on their trip to Nineveh, to urge their Lord to investigate the use of Horses for warfare, so they would be able to counter-attack these barbarians, and secure Assyria's frontiers.

[Kull]

Memphis: Solstice Celebration

It was quiet now. Not a perfect silence to be sure, but at this late evening hour the remaining noises were those of nature - the kind of normal background hum that Ramesses had known all his life and found perfect for contemplation. Ramesses. That would take some getting used to. As most men aged, the fires of discovery cooled in their breasts - but that truth, like many others, didn't apply to Merneptah! The old buzzard seemed to grow more inventive with each passing moon, and it hadn't taken long before he came up with an entirely new concept for Pictographs. As far as the Nomarch was concerned, the new "Hieroglyphs" still looked like pictures - but instead of one-for-one identifiers, they now represented distinct human voice portions, or "syllables" as Merneptah called them. Thus you could mix and match the hieroglyphs to obtain entire words, and that included concepts like time and distance as opposed to just a listing of items. There were plenty of advantages to this form of symbolism, not least the new ability for the Nomarch to communicate his thoughts entirely via writing to city governors and distant military commanders. The problem for the Nomarch was it took 5 hieroglyphs to spell out his old name, and so Merneptah had suggested slimming it to 2 by using this new pronunciation. Ramesses. Hmmmmph. The Nomarch enjoyed his rare moments of contemplation, but this one was making his head hurt.

Far more pleasant to think of today's celebrations. The solstice was an important event on the Egyptian Calendar. Throughout the year, Ra's journey through the heavens alternately grew longer and then shorter, and no one - even those idiotic chanting priests - really knew why. He hadn't shared this thought with anyone, but the Nomarch suspected it was all related to temperature. In the hot summer days, Ra was happy to be outdoors - hunting, hawking, and driving his chariot. Conversely, during the chilly winter the Sun God was undoubtedly in a hurry to get home for dinner and some warming bedtime bliss with his wives! Whatever the reason, it was a critical point in one of the most important annual cycles governing Egyptian life. The solstice festival celebrated the end of the year - marking the final harvests and the time when all looked forward to the next Nile flood - after which the cycle of planting, tending, and harvesting would continue as it had since the beginning of time. Ramesses grinned briefly at this thought. He'd done plenty of harvesting himself this year. New crops of cities, peoples, and armies had been added to the growing Memphis Nome - but sweetest of all were his children. There were now thirty-two of the little bees (what else to call them? They almost seemed to buzz as they swarmed through the palace each day!) with twelve more arriving this year alone! Children were the greatest Gift the Gods could send, and who knew, perhaps there could be twenty more in the year to come?

Looking up into the dark starry skies, savoring the rich night air, it was impossible not to smile as Ramesses contemplated all that was right with his world. It was good to be the Nomarch! And then his eyes closed and the smile spread all the way to his heart as a waft of sweet perfume added its fragrance to the cool breeze. Soft hands slid though his hair to stroke the scalp beneath, and then moved down to knead the muscles of the Nomarch's neck. He started to turn, but the hands instead became firm - pushing and guiding him to the nearby divan. Lying face down in the cushioned softness, Ramesses felt the clothes being tugged from his body, and then the hands returned - spreading the massage from his neck down to the shoulders, and then lower still. His eyes still shut, half in a dream, the Nomarch could feel himself caressed by other parts of her body - smoother, silkier, and wonderful in every way. Yes, today was a time to celebrate harvests - but tonight the cycle had moved on. His smile now spreading to the tips of every extremity, the Nomarch's contemplation turned once again - dwelling now on delicious thoughts of the sowing to come!

[Stefan Härtel]

A Persian's Tale II book 1 chapter 1 by Darev of Behistun

It was a cold, sunless winter morning. Snow had fallen hard on the mountains, and the road to Ecbatana seemed to have disappeared. It was a hard task for Vadfradad, the young recruit, to struggle himself to Ecbatana from the western frontier of the empire.
Not only because it was cold, dark and dangerous.
It was hard, because it was the day of Mithras. On this day, he would normally be celebrating with his family, in Behesht, or with his friends at the border. But neither of both was the case. He was carrying a letter of vital importance to Ecbatana, to the residence of the Great King.
Nobody exactly knew what the letter contained. Naturally, Vadfradad felt tempted to open the letter and read it. But he resisted. He tried to explain to himself, that he didn't do it because it wasn't his business. But that was not true. The letter carried three seals. Whose seals they were was anyone's fair guess. But most people were sure that they were the seals of the King of Assyria.
Vadfradad paused for a moment. He had been running since sunset. His horse had dropped dead halfway between his outpost in the mountains of Adharbaidjan and Ecbatana. It was now, he estimated, fifteen miles of Mede measure to Ecbatana. He needed a rest. Fifteen Mede miles on foot! Normally, there'd be a road here, but it was all covered with snow, and unrecognizable from the rest of the barren and plain landscape. He'd be safer from the weather if he'd walk along the slopes of the mountains far to the left and right of him, but he'd definately become prey to a wolf, a bear, or some abstracted kind of human being who vowed to celebrate Mithras' birthday with a meal of human flesh.
Vadfradad stared down at the letter. One of the seals showed a man wrestling two snakes, holding them at their heads in his both hands. Right and left of him were inscriptions, but Vadfradad couldn't read them, for they were definately not in Persian or Median.
As he stared on the seal, he knew his situation was ridiculous. If the letter bore good news, it'd be carved into stone and placed on any marketplace throughout the empire. Some fool would surely read the contents aloud for the masses. So it was of no difference if he broke the seals now and read the letter. However, if the letter was bad news, he'd be executed anyway, for being the poor hog who had to deliver the message. So it was of no difference either if he broke the seals.
Of course, breaking the seals was a crime fit for capital punishment. His head would roll as soon as the broken seals had been seen. And he wasn't worthy of reading a letter sent to the Great King himself. His eyes, so it had been told long ago, would be eaten by snakes and his fingers would be stinged by scorpions while his organs were eaten by the fiercest of wolves he'd ever imagined, as he fried in hell for ever and ever. Not a nice prospect.
It was still a long way to Ecbatana, so Vadfradad resumed running. Perhaps, if he was lucky, the Great King would reward him for a good message, and he got to celebrate Mithras' day after all. Not with a decorated pistachio tree, presents, carols and family, but at least under a roof with a nice cozy fire, and the famous Mede roast beef.

[Steve Clark]

Got some more Swordmen Mercenaries which turned right around and defeated the nearby Barb village. Now have two settlers working on roads.

[yop73]

Attacked a barbarian town, and enslaved the survivors.
More expeditions underway.

[tanelorn]

The Royal scribes are on strike.

[Civfan]

The babylons discover more barbarians villages. Word has it they are to be subjected to the Babylon state.