Advanced Hellenistic Era NES

[foolish_icarus]

Macedonia to Rome :

Greetings Laurentius. May your people and nation prosper. Do you desire to begin trade?


to Athens :

It is unfortunate that you have withdrawn your soldiers from the foremost force protecting Greece. However we respect your achievements and your quest for peaceful enlightenment. We affirm our desire for peace and friendly relations with your country. We ask that our ships and merchants be greeted in a friendly manner in your cities and ports, and we of course would do the same for yours.


to Persia :

Do we have your pledge that you will stay out of Lydia?


Spend :

9 talents looking for any valuable ores, minerals, or metals. (this project may receive additional funds later)
9 talents continuing the peasant aid program. (this project may receive additional funds later)
9 talents improving the port and accomodations at Apollonia (this project will receive additional funds later)
3 talents to send military advisors to Lydia to help train their forces

[Micha]

Lydia to Macedonia
Many thanks, we really appreciate your gift!
Will those advisors reveal the secrets of Alexander´s art of war? Like the oblique battle order?
Our friendship is strong, may your nation prosper and grow!

Sparta to Athens
You are once again revealing your own weakness. This war is our chance to make up for the terrible defeat against Persia a hundred years ago, but we need to stand together in order to win! If you don´t immediately join the war, we will seize your cities and ports and make a better use of your military.
Consider this a warning.

[foolish_icarus]

Macedonia to Lydia :

Some of Alexander's military genius cannot be reproduced--other parts require Macedonian military training and organization. But we will show you what we can, to help you with your circumstances. And of course the best thing would be to negotiate peace with Persia, which we are attempting to do. If that is not successful, we shall fight together!


to Sparta :

We will speak frankly to fellow warriors. Your actions threaten to destroy all of Greece, Macedonia, Lydia, and Egypt--the very powers that resist Persia. Squabling weakens us all. Unity keeps us strong. Athens plays a vital role, acting as a free port to move materiels necessary for the military and the populace.

[Micha]

Sparta to Macedonia
What? Our actions threaten you??? It´s those cowards in Athens, running around making great speeches and talking about the rise of Greece, but when we really need them they back down and "declare neutrality". Why do you think the Persians would respect that neutrality? The Attic ports won´t be defended, and if the barbarians land there, the way to Sparta - and Macedonia - is wide open! We mustn´t let those weaklings threaten our safety!

BTW
I forgot to mention:
In 335 b.c., the great philosopher Aristotle moved to Athens and opened his "lycaeum" there. That school of thought has earned Athens much respect from other nations, and many great thinkers started their career there.

[foolish_icarus]

Macedonia to Sparta :

We would have Athens aid us. But the price for making them is too high. Would you have your armies stay strong in preparation for facing the real enemy, Persia, or fight Athens while Persia laughs and regroups her strength? So long as Persia is tied up and we are united, we have the advantage and she does not dare attack us. When we fight each other, we lose that advantage.

[laurentius]

Roman Republic


In the last meeting of the senil...erhm Senate of Rome at the Horti Sallustiani it was decided that ex-consul, current dictator Laurentius Aelius' regime will be extended another 15 years after wich his position will be reconsidered. Other decicions included the diplomatic activities with Magna Graecia, etruscans and the recent hostilities from the samnites and umbrians. As always the senate meeting ended in a roman dinner and dionysian mysteries(food, wine, women=orgy).

The recent humiliation of the Roman envoy in Samnium and the raids to the Roman terriotory by the Umbrii have forced us to start preparations for a pacifying campaign.

A two week feast was held including ceremonial sacrifices to the mercurius, the god of trade to ensure best fortune to start trade with Macedonia


Rome to Macedonia

The most warm greetings from the people of Rome. May the trade between our glorious civilizations commence immediately and may gods bring good fortune to the both of us. 10 Merchant ships have been sent to bring you fine italian goods.

Rome to Magna Graecia

Ave! Greetings from the people of Rome. With great pleasure we see our ancestral brothers polii flourishing on the italian soil. We fully recognise the independence of the MG cities, but wish that you do not interfere with possible operations at Samnium. The peaceful co-existance is in the interest of the people and so we wish to commence trade with you.

ORDERS

-14 talents to train 1000 more swordsmen
-Split the Legion of Rome in two.
-Form new Legion of Latinium, will consist of 9000 swordsmen, 2000 horsemen and 14 000 foot soldiers. it will be commanded by proconsul Marcus Aemilius and it will be stationed in the fort at the border of Umbrian/Samnian border.
-10 talents to build Fort Latina for the legion latinium.
- Transfer 450 swordsmen to Cales with 25 triemes.
-The Legion of Rome, will now consist of 10550 swordsmen, 4000 horsemen and 10 000 foot soldiers.
-5 talents to improve roadnetwork to capua and to the new fort latina.
-Move Legion Latinuim to the new fort and Legion of rome to the border with Umbria.
-Issue a declaration of war to the Umbrian tribal counsil of elders.
-Start raiding the Umbrian countryside.
-10 talents in the treasury.

[laurentius]

Rome to Carthage

Ave!

Greetings from the people of Rome. We wish to trade with the most skilled merchants of the the west mediterranean. Also we wish to sign a non-aggession pact with the glorious punic civilization.

[Micha]

Carthage to Rome
Greetings, dictator laurentius Aelius of the Roman Republic!
Our council of the hundred and four was very pleased about your decision to open the roman markets to our merchants. Thirteen cargo vessels set sail to Ostia while you hear this message, and they are loaded with the finest goods to be found East of the Adria. Interested in Indian gems? It´s the latest fashion here in Carthage...

We have noticed you recently claimed the Island of Corsi... What are you going to inherit into your growing empire next? Just out of curiosity, you see?

OOC
Update tomorrow evening, GMT

[bipolarbear]

Do we have your pledge that you will stay out of Lydia?

As long as we have your word not to screw iwth us.

[bipolarbear]

Persia sends half of its troops stationed in palestinia to defend Nabataea.

Persia spends:
28 talents on swordsmen 1/2 in Gaza and 1/2 in Nabataea
40 talents on war chariot in 1/2 Damascus and 1/2 Icodion
6 talents on 2 triremes in Salamis
14 talents on horsemen in Mazaka
140 talents on pleasing the people of the Empire.
3 talents on a peace donation to Macedonia
3 talents on a peace donation to Lydia
1 talent on 200 infantrists in Tarsos

Macedonia to Sparta :

We would have Athens aid us. But the price for making them is too high. Would you have your armies stay strong in preparation for facing the real enemy, Persia, or fight Athens while Persia laughs and regroups her strength? So long as Persia is tied up and we are united, we have the advantage and she does not dare attack us. When we fight each other, we lose that advantage.

Persia wishes for no violence to erupt between our nations. Persia extends a hand of peace, and of membership into the Morgan Freeman Alliance. When you join, you get a free fruit basket!

Persia to Rome
How do you like Persian Rugs, and other luxuries of the Persian Empire? WOuld you liek to open up a trade alliance? We would. As a show of good faith, we have sent you 150 Persian rugs, to use as you please.

[laurentius]

Rome to Athenikia

Ave! Dear Athenikian friend, to us Romans Athenikia has always been the center of the civilized world, the center of learning and higher thought. Your capability of sitting around doing nothing but making things better and theorizing whether the sun revolves around the Earth or not still remains a mystery to us. We believe that this must have been the gods will, the divine assignment for you. Therefore with pleasure we start trading with the people of Athenikia. We would also like to invite some of your scholars to teach us the wonders of the world, Rome of course pays for everything, so in case you find this satisfactory just keep all the recieps and hand them over to me

Rome to Carthage

Ave! The senate is eager to welcome your merchants here and has assigned a whole new market in Rome dedicated to Carthagian goods. It is know as the Mercatus Carthagiensis. Our apologies for the rather pathetic port facilities but we assure you they will be improved. In few years time a whole new port will be opened in the town of Ostia at the mouth of river Tiber.

As of indian gems, we are sorry but the current laws prohibit roman women to own more than one set of jewellery at a time so unfortunately we have to decline. We have heard though about a mysterious Indian drink called "tchai" or "thé" that improves endurance and reaction time. We would be very interested in buying a great amount of this mysterious magic drink.

TOP SECRET As of our strategic plans. The Senate and The people of Rome want to maintain the Status Quo with Carthagians in the west mediterranean.

Rome to Persia

Ave! Greetings from Rome. Rugs from the magnificient Persian Empire are always welcome in Rome. We are very keen on opening trade routes with Persians, but we believe the word "alliance" is inappropriate at the time.


************************************************
Three new holidays have been added to the Roman Calendar to celebrate the opening of trade with mighty neighbourgs and friends.

below the roman command&control

[foolish_icarus]

Macedonia to Persia :

We are so happy to hear this. Security is the key to peace, and as such we will happily accept your fruit basket as soon as the last Persian soldiers leave Lydia.

[Micha]

UPDATE STARTED

[Micha]

UPDATE - 330 to 325 b.c.

Middle East
Egypt
(Bipolarbear, I had to massively change your orders to make them fit. For example, there is no province of Nabataea, though you ordered to defend it. I guess you meant the town under siege, so I instead sent your army there. Also you didn´t specify which army to send, so I took the bigger one; Same problem with all those new units: You didn´t say which army to put them in, so I created new armies or put them into the nearest one. Why exactly did you build 2 triremes? You have almost 500 of them rotting in your ports!!!)
The Persian harbour of Tanys suffered under the Egyptian siege for almost four months until the reinforcements arrived; Unfortunately the Persian attackers were vastly outnumbered by the Egyptians and Cyrenaicans. Nonetheless the Persian cavallery charged into the endless ranks of infantry, inflicting huge casualties to the siege army. Some of the siege weaponry was captured, before the brave Persians had to retreat because of heavy losses. However, the Cyrenaican army fled back home when it witnessed the suicide attack of the Persian cavalry, and the Egyptian siege was broken for some days.
It is not clear who has won the battle, for both sides weren´t able to accomplish their missions. The Pharao has ordered his troops to regroup and continue the siege, and his army obeyed. All in all about 25,000 lost their lives fighting for a town of roughly 4,000 inhabitants...

Persia
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away from the battle, the Persian treasure chambers have been opened and a huge chunk of the money has been distributed amongst the population. Of course the poorest were gifted first, but also some of the more influencing parts of the society got their share. As a result, dissent is decreasing. With the situation in Asia minor getting less threatening, the greek settlements behave less offensive, and most revolts have ceased. Only some hardliners in the local Persian administrations are still arresting Greek found outside their towns.
To solidify the peace, the great king sends 3 talents to both Lydia and Macedonia; Although huge parts of the Persian population feel that sending tributs to "inferior" nations is humiliating, noone dares to critisize him for that publically.
Also the tributes from the provinces came in. Babylonia sends 1,000 finest Babylonian war chariots to the great king, Assyria another 1,000 swordsmen, Phoenicia sends 5 talents, Armenia 4 talents, Cypros 1 talent, Cilicia sends 1,500 horsemen, cappadocia another 2,000 horsemen and the other provinces pay in fruits and other foods.

Greece and Asia Minor
Athens
After five years of teaching philosophy in Athens, Aristotle has finished his work on the "doctrine of the mean". It said that any moral virtue has two extremes, too much and too little of it, and the best lies in the middle. These theories about morale, as well as his work on studying animal habits, have earned him - and Athens - great respect among philosophes and wise men all over the mediterranean. There is even some kind of intellectual tourism to Athens, making the city rich.
Most of this wealth is used to fund the fortification of the city and its nearest surroundings, and a minor city wall has been completed after four years of building. Of course it´s just a basic wall, with no catapults or moats. But it will provide a good defence against attacking ground forces, in case they lack proper siege weaponry.
Sparta
Athens´ old enemy Sparta has started expanding its military, for defensive means, of course. Little is known about the situation there, for the homelands are closed to non-Spartans (except for slaves, that is).
Macedonia
Within a few months the town of Appolonia, situated on the Macedonian West coast, was equipped with a new port capable of supplying triremes and trade vessels. Between the two temples of Poseidon and Apoll, a completely new residential area was erected. Several dozens of houses will now accommodate the locals as well as travellers and traders. The whole project was initiated by the Macedonian king himself, although his reasons are not clear at this time. Apollonia´s citizens don´t seem to care for the why anyway, they are happy about the progress and interest their little town is experiencing. Strangers speaking bad of the Macedonian king won´t make friends there...
Combined with this very special engagement, more funds were spent on the peasant aid program. This time there are three lucky counties benefitting from the aid, making several hundreds of poor farmers very happy. Other people, of course, call it a drop in the bucket...
Meanwhile, prospectors have reported the discovery of a new vein of gold near the city of Amphipolis. Only small amounts were found as of now, but the prospectors insist in the existence of a huge deposit deep down below. However, the location is somewhat difficult to reach. A road must be built before any mine, to transport lumber to the site. Also there seem to be at least 15 metres of earth above the deposit, which need to be removed. All in all the project would cost dozens of talents, and the Macedon advisors donßt think it will bring profits. (Though the prospectors believe it is an abundant source of gold that just sits there to be mined...)
Lydia
In the city of Sardes, the Macedon advisors have started training the local troops. Although the teachers are few and ill-equipped due to low budget, the effects on Lydia´s morale are high. Many of the men there don´t agree with the current peace talks, most of them long for Persian blood. And if not Persia, then someone else. The loose alliance of city states is slowly breaking apart without the menace of a common enemy to fight...

Italian peninsula
Answering the repeated Umbrian raids into Roman territory, the Republic has issued a declaration of war to the ravaging hordes. The new Fort Latina with its excellent road connection to the capital is now a stronghold on the border, denying access to the Roman homelands as well as supplying the mighty legions of the Republic.
Under the leadership of proconsul Marcus Aemilius an army of almost 25,000 is fighting the Umbrians back to the mountains where they came from; the villages of Ameria, Vettona and Assisium have been burned down, and soon the legion has seized the town of Iguvium. There a quite large amount of silver coins has been captured, being worth about 16 talents.
But now that their homelands are under attack, the Umbrians seem to rally high up in the mountains, preparing to put up a fight against the legions of Rome. A small group of Ubrian warriors has been enslaved and brought to Rome, where the citizens rejoiced at the sound victory of their army. The commanding Proconsul has earned the respect of the Roman citizens, who were forgetting about their personal problems for some time.
Also the road connecting Fort Latina with the capital has been extended further south to Capua, providing a faster way to travel; This is promoting trade in the region, especially since the arrival of the first Carthagian and Macedonian trading ships. A huge amount of exotic goods is flooding the small Republic, bringing wealth to its citizens, and stories about the rich lands to the south...

Western Mediterranean
Iberia
The colony of Carthago Nova is growing rapidly and now hosts about 20,000 people. After the Carthagian settlement was secured, the search for resources went on, and hordes of settlers digged into the dust of the surrounding area. Not much was found till now, but the natives are wearing golden jewelry which they must have gotten from somewhere. So more efforts are put into this venture.
Meanwhile, the city of Carthage has begun to expand its fortifications, for hostile nomads have been sighted to the West. About 55 talents have been invested so far, funding a basic wall with gates and watchtowers.

NPC orders
- Legion of Rome has lost 114 swordsmen, 71 horsemen and 218 foot soldiers
- An Umbrian army has formed in the hills of Umbria, consisting of 3,500 horsemen; 5,200 foot soldiers; 9,000 light infantry
- Egyptian "Pharao´s Army" has lost 2,931 horsemen and 14,211 foot soldiers; siege weaponry worth 7 talents has been captured by Persia
- Persian "Syrian Army" has lost 7,609 horsemen and 2,117 foot soldiers
- Sparta is training 6,000 hoplites (54 talents) and building 2 triremes (6 talents)
- Lydia´s military effectiveness has increased by 9%; Lydia trained 3,000 horsemen and added them to "Southern Army"
- lacking orders, Magna Graecia has banked its entire income
- Attic Federation´s income has increased by 4, basically due to "tourism" and increased trade
- Rome´s income increased by 2 because of the improved trade; the small harbour hinders further increase
- Carthage´s income has increased by 1 due to trade
- Macedonian´s income has increased by 1 due to trade

[Micha]

Sparta to Athens
Despite of your coward behaviour we have no interest in your pity lands. We are people of war, and periods of peace make us ill. We are looking for risky ventures and tough battles, for that is where the honour comes from. Just go on talking and squabbling about the sky, we will get our people some true achievements!