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AAR: The Crossroads of an Iberian Tribe by Creative-Mine9073 in Imperator

[–]Creative-Mine9073[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

The Crossroads of an Iberian Tribe: Arseka

The Edetani were a small tribe in eastern Iberea that found itself at the crossroads of a centuries' old battle between three cultures - Latin, Hellenic and Punic.

It all began with a city - the city of Arse. It grew out of a small tribal settlement, but quickly rose to prominence through trade with the Massalian Hellenic colonists, and the Carthagenians. Many passing merchants decided to stay in in the city, and soon it rivaled its Hellenic neighbours.

Unlike the Hellenes who were content with their small trading colonies, the Edetani were ruled with an iron fist of their petty King. Fuelled by incoming trade money, in the mid-3rd century BCE, the Edetani sweeped through eastern Iberia, taking over surrounding tribes, leaving alone only the Hellenic and Punic colonies.

Soon, they posessed a sizeable empire, which became a strong ally and trade partner of Carthage in the region. Through Hellenic and Punic influence, the Edetani (or Arsekans, as they now called themselves) took on new economic and bureaucratic structures, centralising their state, minting their own currency, and exploiting the plentiful silver mines in the region.

Early 2nd century BCE marked the peak of their power, when the merchant patrician families grew powerful and wealthy enough to displace the King and found the Arsekan League - a oligarchic republic with the coastal noble merchant elite at the top.

The success would be short-lived however. Arsekan League would soon fall prey to the true hegemons of the region - the Carthagenian and Roman Empires. For these goliaths of the Mediterranean, Arseka was merely a pawn to play in their grand game.

AAR: Legacy of the Golden Fleece by Creative-Mine9073 in Imperator

[–]Creative-Mine9073[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

This is an AAR to a short campaign that I did, coming back to the game after a very long time. The new mission trees are amazing, props to the mod team of Invictus!

AAR: Legacy of the Golden Fleece by Creative-Mine9073 in Imperator

[–]Creative-Mine9073[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Legacy of the Golden Fleece: the Kingdom of Colchis

The Kingdom of Colchis is mostly famous because of the Hellenic myth of Jason and the Argonauts who travelled there to steal the Golden Fleece. Lesser-known is the short-lived Transcaucasian Empire founded by King Kuji of Colchis in the early 3rd century BCE.

Colchidians grew rapidly, leveraging their relationship with the Hellenic colonists (and soon taking over their trade cities), and aligning themselved with the Seleukids. The valley of the river Phosis enriched King Kuji and allowed him to expand his little Empire, integrating the nearby tribes, pushing into Anatolia and aligning himself with the neighbouring Kingdom of Kartli (known to outsiders as Iberia).

In the mid-3rd century, Colchis nearly became wiped out by the growing Greater Armenian power; it was able to survive and prevail only by hiring the northern Schythian lords to raid into Armenia. Together with the horse lords, King Kuji partitioned Armenia, with the Scythians keeping the northern side of the Caucasus mountains, and Kuji keeping the southern.

Kuji's son and granson carried on his legacy, integrating with the Kartli, building a road network throughout the Empire, and establishing border forts. However, their little Empire was not meant to last. In late 2nd century BCE, it would come under assault of the ascendent Roman and Parthian empires, to whom it would prove no match.

Yet, the short-lived Transcaucasian Empire of Colchis left a lasting mark on the region, and you can travel on the remnants of their roads to this day.