New "Ancient Empires" PBEM created

[germanos]

A day at the Marketsquare.

In Tell Mardich, that beautifull city on the Euphrates, overlooking the ruines of the once mighty barbarian Village of Ma'ri, there is an uproar at the central market. All of the citizens have left their business and gathered around the podium that carries the inscription of the ruler of Assyria, Sargon III. Everybody wants to hear the latest news, that had spread like a fire: the 13th Skirmishers have returned!
Their comrades that abandoned them earlier, and brought the stories of the evil barbarian Horsemen, have been routed up, and now stand tied to posts in front of the podium, facing the wrath of their Lord, and that of the militairy commander of the city. They will be punished for their cowardice, and the shame that they have brought to their regiment. Their tales have been wildly exaggerated, the survivors have told their leaders, and the men boast on their victory over the wild hordes of Barbarians. Each and everyone of the survivors claim to have slain at least three mounted barbs, while the biggest-mouthed count to as far as their fingers will bring them, often resulting in odd numbers, since they clearly had been given a beating themselves. Still, roughly two-third of the men that set out on their scouting mission have returned, and many citizens cannot beleive it is true: the stories of the cowards had been so convincing, and the survivors do indeed speak of men on horses, and huge horses at that.

When the celebrating continues deep into the night, with plenty of beer and roasted horse in abundance, the stories grow ever larger, and the citizens, releived of their fear that the city would be sacked by the feared enemy, add their own flavor to the myth. Within a few months, nobody can exactly recall what happened in this epic battle, and for many years to come, travelers that pass through Tell Mardich will in the evening be told about that amzing day when only a handfull of Mardichians defeated the barbarian hordes that were fast as lightning, and as numourous as sand in the desert.



In Nineveh, Sargon has received an envoy of Babylonia, that brought with him the scrolls that were lost earlier. It proved to be a treaty proposal for the establishment of borders with Babylonia. Sargon happily signed the document, sealed it, gave food and shelter to the envoy, and replaced his donkeys and oxen. Within a week the envoy returned home.

All appeared well to Sargon: the documents for the Persian King had been given to a Persian Runner, and it could not be long now before they would reach their destination. With the arrival of these documents, a long and lasting cooperation would definitely be established.

The news from Tell Mardich made him wonder wether it would be such a good idea to investigate more in the use of horses for warfare… Well, the men were still busy to figure out how to train these wild beasts, so it might not be a workable thing after all. The stories about these 'Horsemen' grew wilder everyday, and Sargon just didn't know what to beleive of it anymore. He was getting tired of all this governing. In a few years his son would be getting ready to replace him. Ah, Sargon was allready looking forward to spend more time hunting, and finally have some time to see something of his empire, other then the dull and groveling governers before him.


*50 gold from a hut.
*city of Nisibis abandoned

[Steve Clark]

bump

[Kull]

Western Desert: Chariot Warfare (Part 1)

The sounds of battle are terrible, and totally without parallel in normal life. There is the heavy wooden clash of parrying spears and the soft thunk from those entering flesh; the eerie whistle of arrows passing over the battlefield, and the hornet-like noise from those passing closer to your head; the manifold human voices, mixing in a vast cacophony of hoarse shouted orders, shrill screams of pain and fear, and lusty victory cries. But of all these, the sounds that Hezi would never forget were the awful screams of terror-stricken horses, echoing through the narrow valley.

The horsemen of Pe had seemingly chosen their campsite well. The hills far to the West of the Nile were mostly dry and barren, but here a vigorous spring bubbled out of the rocks, creating a small stream which in turn gave birth to a verdant meadow - perfect for hungry horses and thirsty men. The only drawback was the location - the best grazing was set well to the rear of a canyon that featured high rocky cliffs on three sides and but a single exit. It was also the only watering place for days in any direction, so the odds of encountering an enemy war party were certainly higher here than anywhere else. Yet this had been of no concern whatsoever to the men of Pe. Their horses were far swifter than the most seasoned skirmishers, and they were quite confident that even if discovered by the soldiers of Memphis, speed would assure their certain escape. What they hadn't counted on was the sudden appearance of a chariot army!

The horsemen had time to mount up and prepare for battle, but they were at a serious disadvantage. Horseback archery was a tricky business - a man couldn't ride and shoot at the same time, and even when stopped, the horse was apt to move on it's own - you simply couldn't handle a bow and control your animal at the same time. Thus a second man on horseback had to hold the reins and steady the archer's horse. This obviously couldn't be done while moving, so both men had to halt whenever the archer was ready to shoot. By contrast the four-wheel onager-drawn chariots were quite a bit slower, but they offered a stable platform that allowed archers to shoot on the move. In fact each chariot hosted four men - a driver, two archers and a multipurpose extra whose primary job was to supply the bowmen with a steady supply of arrows, but who could also fill in for an injured man and even had a rack of spears available for close-in combat with the enemy.

On rougher ground, or given enough open area to use their speed advantage, the day might have gone to the horsemen. But they were trapped like rats in a sealed granary. Even their successes, such as the maiming of several onagers and the resultant immobilization of their chariots, bore no fruit. The halted chariots simply blocked the canyon exit, serving as stationary forts - which if anything improved the accuracy of the now motionless on-board archers. What ensued was nothing short of slaughter, and Hezi could only marvel - with a mixture of awe and horror - as Apophis and his Hyksos charioteers sealed their victory.

[Stefan Härtel]

Following questions were asked to every Persian adult over 12:

1. What is the most useful invention of the past centuries?

1. Goat's horn backscratcher (60%)
2. Hairdryer (20%)
3. Sheepskin condome (20%)

2. What is the most useless invention of the past centuries?

1. Wheel (79%)
2. Fire (12%)
3. Bronze (9%)

3. Imagine you could elect your head of state, whom would you choose?

1. The Great King (100%)

4. Do you think the Great King does a good job?

1. Yes (100%)

5. What is your favourite hobby?

1. Picking my nose (57%)
1. Cleaning my horse (39%)
2. Mowing the lawn (4%)

6. Do you think there is an adequate offer of pasttime and leisure activities?

1. Look at above question (57%)
2. Is that some sort of a trick question? (39%)
3. No (4%)

[Steve Clark]

As the Horsemen traveled East, it came upon a small encampment of astronomers and learned from them, Star Observations.

[yop73]

Minoan explorers continue their exploring.

[tanelorn]

The mighty Hittite ruler leaves the sweet embrace of his belly-dancer harem to post the following parchment
Those striking scribes had their heads struck clean off their necks, so the Hatti are left with noone to write an account of their glorious deeds this turn
Meanwhile our soothsayers read the stars: It is the Hittite manifest destiny to rule the world and to endure all eternity as a nation, to the end of time!
Those sooth sayers that said otherwise received the above treatment (not the belly-dancing)
"-What Sea peoples?" King Mursilis

[Civfan]

The king is on vaction. all his quit

[germanos]

The King is dead, long live the King

The Assyrians mourn their King, Sargon III. After a long and prosperous reign, he died at the old age of 59 years.
His son Tudiya was crowned at a sober ceremony at the Palace tents.

Sargon died wis a smile on his face, as in the last days of his life, messengers from all over his empire reported that two Towns had been brought under Assyrian influence, and one hut conyained 50 Gold coins of an unknown minter. Sargon last deed has been the founding of Dibshiya.


Tudiya's reign started out well, with the discovery of another Town, and two more huts. He ordered the 2nd Khorsabad Skirmisher-scouts to enter the hut, which proved to be a very unlucky move. Barbarians on Horseback emerged from the hills overlooking the little town on the river, and they could be seen preparing for an attack. Knowing from the 13th Skirmishers experiences that the horsemen looked more fearfull then they actually are, the commander ordered his men to dig in along the thick forested riverbanks. He assured his Lord the Horsemen would be slain by his forces.
If so, the forces will be dispatched to conquer the newly found town downstream, where the 1st Khorsabad Skirmishers are preparing the assault.

Exploration of the unknow territories North-East to South-West continues.

With the training finished on the fourth leather-armoured Spearmen formation in Nimit Ishtar, the four corners of the empire are well defended against Barbarian raiders or foreign invasion. Other cities are building city-walls or artisan quarters, although some governors have pleaded to Tudiya to build buildings of teaching for soldiers or civilians. Tudiya does not yet know how to do this, but will put some of his wise men on it.

[Kull]

Epidemic!

Behold! And in the 7th year of the Reign of Ramesses, a pestilence swept down upon the land, striking down all that stood before it. In particular it affected the scribes, halting their tale bearing and leaving them feverish & cranky........

[Stefan Härtel]

A wonderful time has come to Persia. Messages of success has reached the court of Ecbatana. First, the royal scouts reported that they have reached a river, far in the south, which they immediately declared posession of the Great King; the local inhabitants subdued voluntarily and payed a small, yet satisfying tribute. But the more striking news was, that the scouts have reached a shore of unseen beauty.
The soft sound of waves clashing on the shore could be heard five Elamite miles away. As the brave explorers travelled down the river, they met the point where it mouthed into the sea.
Never before have these brave men seen such a sight! It is rightfully proclaimed that Ardvi Sura Anahita, the Godess of waters, is the most beautiful deity of all. Mere words cannot describe the graceful game she played with Vayu, the God of winds, as the soft, white-crowned waves made their way to the shore.
The reflection of the deep, red sun on the oceans mirror inspired the adventurers to travel on, and see what other miracles may await them on this beautiful world.

But the great Gods have wasted their mercy. Pleasing the scouts with all possible divine beauty they could give, they forgot the mortal souls at Ecbatana, the manmade monument destined to be the greatest city on earth.

The Great King, Cyrus II has died. He was in his eighty-ninth year.

Some said, by giving all their splendour to nature, the Gods ignored their most loyal slave among humans.

Particularly Ohrmazd, the King of Gods, and Verethragna, the God of War, must have slept. Despite his old age, Cyrus did not die of natural causes. He fell victim to a coward attempt on his life by his trusted friend and servant, the eunuch Sinatrukes. But Cyrus' son, the brave, wise and good Teispes, made sure Sinatrukes went to hell, to serve the evil Ahriman alongside Aeshma, Azhi Dahaka and Smedsnet in all eternity.

Mourning swept over the Persian empire, but it was soon replaced by hope and trust into the new lord of Persia. May he live long and prosper! May he reign long, victorious and glorious!

[Steve Clark]

Road completed between Mycenae and Argos.

[yop73]

Minoan explorers have the feeling they discovered 2 huge islands. Could it be continents or peninsula's???

[Steve Clark]

Originally posted by yop73
Minoan explorers have the feeling they discovered 2 huge islands. Could it be continents or peninsula's???

Neither, they are just useless clumps of dirt. There are bigger and more valuable lands the other way.

[yop73]

Well, we discovered !2! huge islands, each on the other side of the sea where Crete lies in.
But you are probably right, the people of the eastern continent have found less treasuries than those of the western continent.
So we will probably settle the western continent.