In 83 BC, at the invitation of one of the factions in the interminable civil wars, he invaded Syria and soon established himself as ruler of Syria, putting the Seleucid Empire virtually at an end. [58][57], The controversial practice of temple "despoliation", however, was a regular occurrence under the Seleucidsin contrast to earlier times. Weakened economically, militarily and by loss of prestige, the Empire became vulnerable to rebels in the eastern areas of the empire, who began to further undermine the empire while the Parthians moved into the power vacuum to take over the old Persian lands. A revival would begin when Seleucus II's younger son, Antiochus III the Great, took the throne in 223 BC. In order to increase the population of Greeks in their kingdom, the Seleucid rulers created military settlements. [50][51][52][53] While the motive is simple enough, the Seleucid empire boasts of a sophisticated political economy that extracts wealth from local temples, cities (or poleis), and royal estates; much of which was inherited from their Achaemenid predecessors. The Attic standard was already the common currency of the Mediterranean prior to Alexander's conquest; that is, it was the preferred currency for foreign transactions. trade marks of The Creative Assembly Limited. You can bring reinforcements there from Antioch. All of their units were actually very good best units in the game actually; silver shield legionaires, scythe chariots, silver shield pikemen, war elephants. The only time this doesn't work if is the enemy army has too many units of general's bodyguard, as they can just bruteforce their way through, and then you are done for. Or not, if you took a long time, and the Romans got Marian reforms, prepare for a very long slug fest. [18], Starting from the 2nd century BC, ancient writers referred to the Seleucid ruler as the King of Syria, Lord of Asia, and other designations;[19] the evidence for the Seleucid rulers representing themselves as kings of Syria is provided by the inscription of Antigonus son of Menophilus, who described himself as the "admiral of Alexander, king of Syria". Press J to jump to the feed. "[52] On the other hand, the primitivist viewassociated with M.I. When the king said that he would call his friends into council and consider what he ought to do, Popilius drew a circle in the sand around the king's feet with the stick he was carrying and said, "Before you step out of that circle give me a reply to lay before the senate." The geographic though really made it a challenge since most neighbours were ambitious and expansion oriented The AI often failed because it had to juggle between developing cities in order to access better units, or training more low quality units between several enemies at once. Temple of dionysus gives loots of happiness but makes your governors incompetent, asklepeios gives loots of health but very little public order and hephasteus obviously is good for recruiting troops and even gives more public order than asklepeios. endstream endobj 33 0 obj<>stream I hope they balance it a bit so that each campaign another superpower will reign in the east, not just the Ptolemai or Parthia. Hope this helps, and make sure when you fight egypt you use infantry only against chariots. Here, a "proportional land-tax", that is, a tax based on the size of one's plot, is collected by the local governor (or Satrap) and sent to the capital. "[58] Nevertheless, annual tribute was "a long-accepted and uncontroversial practice. The various non-Greek peoples of the empire were still influenced by the spread of Greek thought and culture, a phenomenon referred to as Hellenization. Antiochus agreed, but when they met and Antiochus held out his hand in friendship, Popilius placed in his hand the tablets on which was written the decree of the senate and told him to read it. The romans certainly were undergoing massive military change at the time, and their army's evolution is accurate enough for a video game, but Babylon was an ancient and powerful city, Antioch would have been strong by now. UPh.|fdOzM HvEv4v>!-8K&( oM+n.x6.b)p %0B(vcK>Tc"":c=Jg9+Dx(iA _{KxB{}F`c:[aB Seleucus II was soon dramatically defeated in the Third Syrian War against Ptolemy III of Egypt and then had to fight a civil war against his own brother Antiochus Hierax. Expecting a confrontation, Seleucus gathered his army and marched to the Indus. After the death of Antiochus VII Sidetes, all of the recovered eastern territories were recaptured by the Parthians. 0000006766 00000 n With a mix of hoplites, chariots and elephants, and some careful leadership and manoeuvrings on the battlefield, you should take them out. Note: This is ONLY to be used to report spam, advertising, and problematic (harassment, fighting, or rude) posts. Egypt. This form of fighting had been developed by the Macedonian army in the reign of Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great. Antiochus and Philip V of Macedon then made a pact to divide the Ptolemaic possessions outside of Egypt, and in the Fifth Syrian War, the Seleucids ousted Ptolemy V from control of Coele-Syria. The result was the eventual loss of control of Judea to an independent Hasmonean kingdom, proving the wisdom of the usual policy of not overly interfering with local religious practice. After the Roman conquest of Pontus, the Romans became increasingly alarmed at the constant source of instability in Syria under the Seleucids. The Seleucids existed solely because no other nation wished to absorb them seeing as they constituted a useful buffer between their other neighbours. The Seljuk Empire from Medieval times? Parthian expansion continued as well. Its simple really, you just need to have spent an unhealthy amount of time on that campaign like I have :P. With the army that you start with at Sardis, immediately take Pergamum (buy mercs if you have to). Seludica had a boss unit roster, a real jack of all trades that would let them dominate had chariots had not been so OP in auto-resolve mode. Towards the end of Antiochus II's reign, various provinces simultaneously asserted their independence, such as Bactria and Sogdiana under Diodotus, Cappadocia under Ariarathes III, and Parthia under Andragoras. [53] Nevertheless, the low denomination of bronze coinage meant it was used in tandem with bartering; making it a popular and successful medium of exchange. All trademarks are property of their respective owners in the US and other countries. [52] Nevertheless, there are two significant developments of currency during the Seleucid period: the adoption of the "Attic Standard" in certain regions,[53] and the popularization of bronze coinage. 0000001106 00000 n All other rights - including, but not limited to, distribution, duplication, and publish by any means - are retained by HeavenGames LLC. He even emulated Seleucus with an expedition into India where he met with King Sophagasenus (Sanskrit: Subhagasena) receiving war elephants, perhaps in accordance of the existing treaty and alliance set after the Seleucid-Mauryan War. [30], The Indians occupy [in part] some of the countries situated along the Indus, which formerly belonged to the Persians: Alexander deprived the Ariani of them, and established there settlements of his own. [54] The average Mesopotamian peasant, if working for a wage at a temple, would receive 1 shekel; it "was a reasonable monthly wage for which one could buy one kor of grain= 180 [liters]. [56] However, there is no evidence for the amount that was taxed on any given region. Parthia will likely counterattack you at Susa after you take it from then in the first few turns. [53] The Mesopotamians used the value of one shekel as a fixed reference point, against which the amount of a good is given. [40] Efforts to deal with both the Parthians and the Jews as well as retain control of the provinces at the same time proved beyond the weakened empire's power. In Rome 1 I loved playing Seleucids, the easier start for me was to commit everything I have to destroy Ptolemies, if you do that early you're good to go. The Seleucid Empire (/sljusd/;[8] Ancient Greek: , Basilea tn Seleukidn) was a Greek state[9][10] in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. However, recent discussion has since criticized these models for their grounding on "Greco-centric" sources. H|TMo6WR@C4IKE+2iPTRe'qz/7sJVysr4P,OJBiQ Somewhere between 80 and 90% of the Seleucid population was employed,[50] in some form, within the prevailing agricultural structures inherited from their Neo-Babylonian and Achaemenid predecessors. Therefore, during periods of war, heavy taxation, and crop failure, prices increase drastically. [21], In the region of Punjab, Chandragupta Maurya (Sandrokottos) founded the Maurya Empire in 321 BC. Antiochus died in 187 BC on another expedition to the east, where he sought to extract money to pay the indemnity. [52] According to Historian R.J. van der Spek, this is due to their particular method in recording price, which favored bartering over monetary transactions. How you spend your money is very important. [21], It is generally thought that Chandragupta married Seleucus's daughter, or a Macedonian princess, a gift from Seleucus to formalize an alliance. He spent the next ten years on his anabasis (journey) through the eastern parts of his domain and restoring rebellious vassals like Parthia and Greco-Bactria to at least nominal obedience. total war rome battle roman quotes gamespy governors cities temples mars turn build which invaluable troops recruited hardened veterans into 0000000926 00000 n He hoped further to take control of Lysimachus's lands in Europe primarily Thrace and even Macedonia itself, but was assassinated by Ptolemy Ceraunus on landing in Europe. Ptolemy's revolt created a new subdivision of the empire with the Partition of Triparadisus in 320 BC. After the death of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Seleucid Empire became increasingly unstable. What now? m?[iTEuC5*8V{M [{~ WrSBs, SfL]Uhn(]JHex6e4g/zGnLBc0O}Z@*kj?&u,42V(vLA?Cs R,G8fF rights reserved. Other territories ceded before Seleucus' death were Gedrosia in the south-east of the Iranian plateau, and, to the north of this, Arachosia on the west bank of the Indus River. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. (Y@?SRC~%]e()U%:wiH,J&rz{+CTfR};i(I Soon after, however, a Parthian tribal chief called Arsaces invaded the Parthian territory around 238 BC to form the Arsacid dynasty, from which the Parthian Empire originated. Next Selucia, which is very important for taking Parthia. In fact, the Babylonian Astronomical Diaries in 308/7 BCE note hefty a 50% tax on harvest "from the lands of the temple of Shamash (in Sipprar or Larsa). These are the shrines, temples, and other places of worship available by faction. &ai}]F"|*.+wk HyrBp(!L@WA/h As with the other major Hellenistic armies, the Seleucid army fought primarily in the Greco-Macedonian style, with its main body being the phalanx. The lands east of Syria were also really large and had few cities in between. [53][52][59] According to Spek and Reger, the current view is that the Seleucid economyand Hellenistic economies more broadlywere partially market-oriented, and partially monetarized. xb```f``z @f87?ah/70:$>\R&{UO I've won battles against 3000 men armies with 2 units of militia hoplites - just camp that town square. As the greatest source of state income, the Seleucid kings actively managed the irrigation, reclamation, and population of Mesopotamia. Antiochus Sidetes is sometimes called the last great Seleucid king. Consequently, they managed to partially block contact with the West.[35]. H|Kr!EW Agreed. But prioritize Barracks at Hatra, Sardis and Selucia, and Stables in Antioch. [53] With encouraged Greek colonization and land reclamation increasing the supply of grain production, however, the question of whether this artificially kept prices stable is uncertain. [53] Rather, the introduction and widespread implementation of currency is attributed to Darius I's tax reforms centuries prior;[53] hence, the Seleucids see a continuation rather than shift in this practice, i.e. (We destroyed that faction). [52] As a result, coastal regions under the Seleucids Syria and Asia Minorwere quick to adopt the new standard. You are spread thin and can't afford to dedicate any city to just economy or just military, but must balance both types of builds in all cities, except Tarsus. Unlike Ptolemaic Egypt, Greeks in the Seleucid Empire seem to rarely have engaged in mixed marriages with non-Greeks; they kept to their own cities. Their cities are huge tax farms, once they are gone you are in a nice (well, better) position strategically, and late game Egypt dominates. The Seleucid Empire was a major center of Hellenistic culture. HU]k8}%C.B'|Aaa([.m300plsD4`d~uw0fM5*qkhsjqa4faD.wN}G$q^S\*5n4I3Z)9*()X\$4{k^0*`B]y!%&1 ;e >}x*2)*x `6HR)Q}H @vVI6B;n}"Ggl+E bV7} #:Z){ufPKpg8z3i;U3 s25!{ky VD\f;&r.dchO-IW|%@"2i {dr06jW-h6BX 9jkEY\7"s6J[Xe,PC\G_n!uGZKA#^?U5` :1FS|4sp5Jz,:lI1Wjt 8Asoaif_fuc:d T|RtU# Mithridates' ambitious son-in-law, Tigranes the Great, king of Armenia, however, saw opportunity for expansion in the constant civil strife to the south. endstream endobj 35 0 obj<>stream [53][52] On one hand, the modernist viewlargely associated with Michael Rostovtzeff and Eduard Meyerargues that the Hellenistic economies operated along price-setting markets with capitalist enterprises exported over long distances in "completely monetarized markets. Seleucus' younger brother, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, now seized the throne. In addition to this treaty, Seleucus dispatched an ambassador, Megasthenes, to Chandragupta, and later Deimakos to his son Bindusara, at the Mauryan court at Pataliputra (modern Patna in Bihar state). All rights reserved. The immense size of the empire gave the Seleucid rulers a difficult balancing act to maintain order, resulting in a mixture of concessions to local cultures to maintain their own practices while also firmly controlling and unifying local elites under the Seleucid banner. By 100 BC, the once-formidable Seleucid Empire encompassed little more than Antioch and some Syrian cities. Chandragupta then redirected his attention back to the Indus and by 317 BC he conquered the remaining Greek satraps left by Alexander. Demetrius Nicator's brother, Antiochus VII Sidetes, took the throne after his brother's capture. You had chariots, pikemen, elephants AND legionaries rolled no one. But in general, Greek poleis produced: "grain, olives and their oil, winefigs, cheese from sheep and goats, [and] meat. In battle I generally work as a standard Hellenistic faction. Do you lose battles or just don't have enough armies to fight all the enemies? They are cheap, excellent defensive units, and you are rich. "[50] For example, the construction of the Pallacottas canal was able to control the water level of the Euphrates which, as Arrian notes in his Anabasis 7.21.5, required: "over two months of work by more than 10,000 Assyrians. The other being of course it's surrounded by 5 other factions who are only too happy to invade it. Each game is different there are chances where any Faction can take over and expand like mad! "[53], Bronze coinage, dating from the late fifth and fourth century, and was popularized as a "fiduciary" currency facilitating "small-scale exchanges" in the Hellenistic period. With Egypt and Minor Asia you got so many troops and money nobody can defeat you. The Greeks were dominant in Lydia, Phrygia and Syria. Your next moves will make or break the game. Well, as you know, the Seleucid Empire is one of the weakest factions in RTW 1, if not the most one. 0000006412 00000 n It's still doable at that stage, but if any of your other neighbors decides to attack you at that point you will have to split the few armies you have or possibly lose the north or eastern provinces if pontus/armenia/parthia get serious with their attacks. 8lMV ;;W}1NuLY'z:>Taz!e4U\uc-mpas'a([nxD70"0_1' q7 Yes most of these units had higher upkeep and took longer to build than more specialized factions, but thats a small price to pay for the flexibility. registered trade marks or trade marks of SEGA Holdings Co., Ltd. or its affiliates. Seleucus's empire reached its greatest extent following his defeat of his erstwhile ally, Lysimachus, at Corupedion in 281 BC, after which Seleucus expanded his control to encompass western Anatolia. The phalanx was a large, dense formation of men armed with small shields and a long pike called the sarissa. I build temple of askelopis up to the second tier (sp?) Alexander the great didn't conquer persia with levy spearmen and peasants. They hold from Alexandria to Byzantium and as far east as you can go. [53] In fact, Antiochus I's heavy withdrawal of silver from a satrap is noted by the Babylonian astronomical diary (AD No. Antiochus IV built 15 new cities "and their association with the increased phalanx at Daphne is too obvious to be ignored".[49]. Copyright Games Workshop Limited 2015. [57] The increasingly bold interference is due, in large part, to the appointment of provincial high-priests by the monarch himself. "[51], Interpretations on the Seleucid economy since the late 19th century traditionally fell between the "modernist" and "primitivist" camps. Rulers with names in italics are considered fictional. The distance from Greece put a strain on the Seleucid military system, as it was primarily based around the recruitment of Greeks as the key segment of the army. Seleucids was my toughest campaign to be honest. The settlers would maintain the land as their own and in return they would serve in the Seleucid army when called. Antigonus, along with his son Demetrius I Poliorcetes, unsuccessfully led a campaign to annex Babylon. There were two main periods in the establishment of settlements, firstly under Seleucus I Nicator and Antiochus I Soter and then under Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Well, can you give some more info on what is exactly the problem? The rest of the Seleucid army would consist of native and mercenary troops, who would serve as light auxiliary troops. Copyright 2004-2022 HeavenGames LLC. "[56] But this was far from an isolated case. Always try to get the enemy to attack you. The Maccabees again rebelled, civil war soon tore the empire to pieces, and the Armenians began to encroach on Syria from the north. Hey, I've tried this campaign a few times, and I keep losing, or I end up with just Antioch trying to not die. Does anyone know any good temple strategy for the Seleucids? Then I secured Minor Asia, then go east to show the pitiful Parthians who the boss is. Espaol - Latinoamrica (Spanish - Latin America). Although, parthia and armenia can be done vice versa, they both have a very poor early game. [53][52], Second Intermediate PeriodSixteenthDynasty It can get quite stressful once you are at war on every direction and you have absolutely no advantage other than your tactical ability to kill the stupid AI. Following his and Lysimachus' decisive victory over Antigonus at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, Seleucus took control over eastern Anatolia and northern Syria. 0000002514 00000 n Thats why Egypt and the three roman factions were usually the superpowers in rome total war 1. "[51] As an example, Antiochus III's despoliation of the Anahit Temple in Ecbatana, wherein he procured 4000 silver talents, was used to fund his Great Eastern campaign. Workshop, The Game of Fantasy Battles, the twin-tailed comet logo, and all associated He ruled not only Babylonia, but the entire enormous eastern part of Alexander's empire, as described by the historian Appian: Always lying in wait for the neighboring nations, strong in arms and persuasive in council, he [Seleucus] acquired Mesopotamia, Armenia, 'Seleucid' Cappadocia, Persis, Parthia, Bactria, Arabia, Tapouria, Sogdia, Arachosia, Hyrcania, and other adjacent peoples that had been subdued by Alexander, as far as the river Indus, so that the boundaries of his empire were the most extensive in Asia after that of Alexander. In the winter of 130/129 BC, his army was scattered in winter quarters throughout Media and Persis when the Parthian king, Phraates II, counter-attacked. From memory, once they get a monopoly on the Holy Lands it is essentially game over for the Selucids. Im not suprised the Seleucid empire gets ripped apart its very hard for a player to play, some areas have to be abandoned and areas have to be consolidated to be defended properly, you cannot expect the ai to do this. You can pretty much ignore military buildings there. \$;pU@zPQ!<03 B( 0^2W#0],% T" Build up large garrisons of milita hoplites at Sardis, Hatra and Seleucia and make sure you pin your enemies at your gates there, as they will pretty much be laying siege to your cities constantly. Antiochus I (reigned 281261 BC) and his son and successor Antiochus II Theos (reigned 261246 BC) were faced with challenges in the west, including repeated wars with Ptolemy II and a Celtic invasion of Asia Minordistracting attention from holding the eastern portions of the Empire together. [38], On his return journey, according to Josephus, he made an expedition to Judea, took Jerusalem by force, slew a great many who had favored Ptolemy, sent his soldiers to plunder them without mercy. As they tend to go for Dumatha with the garrison from Susa, they will both leave the city lightly defended for you and will also return with a formidable army of Cataphracts Generals and Archer Cav. "[54] While this appears dire, we should be reminded that Mesopotamia under the Seleucids was largely stable and prices remained low. The lack of family members in some of their cities is a huge setback if you are playing their campaign. 0000003629 00000 n I put a Hephasteus temple in the capitol of Antioch for making elite troops and upgrading passerbys. Chandragupta conquered the Nanda Empire in Magadha, and relocated to the capital of Pataliputra. [52], The adoption of the Attic standard was not uniform across the realm. It is difficult to believe that these monarchs who knew enough to bow before Nabu, bake bricks for Esagil, and enforce kosher regulations in Jerusalem, would be blithely aware of the political hazards of removing Temple treasures. Are you sure about attacking Egypt first (unprovoked I mean)? Playing the selucid empire, you have to move fast and strike hard. Warhammer, the Warhammer logo, GW, Games 0000006047 00000 n You can wipe them out easiest if you capitalize on your victories, and will have the most trouble if you allow them to spam their armies. [50] In this regard, the Seleucids are notable for paying their sizeable armies exclusively in silver. While client nations like Armenia and Judea were allowed to continue with some degree of autonomy under local kings, Pompey saw the Seleucids as too troublesome to continue; doing away with both rival Seleucid princes, he made Syria into a Roman province. He then chose to withdraw rather than set the empire to war with Rome again. He faced the enormous task of restoring a rapidly crumbling empire, one facing threats on multiple fronts. Megasthenes wrote detailed descriptions of India and Chandragupta's reign, which have been partly preserved to us through Diodorus Siculus. The government established Greek cities and settlements throughout the empire via a program of colonization that encouraged immigration from Macedonia and Greece; both city settlements as well as rural ones were created that were inhabited by ethnic Greeks. Greeks, Assyrians, Armenians, Georgians, Persians, Medes, Mesopotamians, Jews, and more all lived within its bounds. 0000001593 00000 n All Rights Reserved. [46] For example, Antiochus III brought Greeks from Euboea, Crete and Aetolia and settled them in Antioch. Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | Forum Code of Conduct | Legal Information. 60g Silver, Barley, June 242 BCE. When he returned to the west in 205 BC, Antiochus found that with the death of Ptolemy IV, the situation now looked propitious for another western campaign. Then Ottoman Empire had started to rule and destroyed, Registered Users, Moderators, Tech Moderators, 2 * 3 * 3 * 37 : The prime factorization of The Beast, Praying in the temple of shireknights cult, http://forums.totalwar.com/showthread.php/40972-Campaign-AI-only-game-modded. On the campaigne map I just used to to hire a load of mercainarys creten archers and slingers and hoplights and even barbarian cavalry and warband and just use them and a general to go for the citys with wonders.I think there are 3 wonders all around them.They give you a Faction bonus then you just hold the citys till you get your own unit production going.I found it easy to play as them. Alexander Balas reigned until 145 BC when he was overthrown by Demetrius I's son, Demetrius II Nicator. In the wars in Anatolia between Mithridates VI of Pontus and Sulla of Rome, the Seleucids were largely left alone by both major combatants. To the east, conflict with the ancient Indian ruler Chandragupta of the Maurya Empire in 305 BC led to the cession of vast territory west of the Indus and a political alliance. 0000000016 00000 n [54] Prices exceeding 370g silver per ton in Seleucid Mesopotamia was considered a sign of famine. This kingdom was characterized by a rich Hellenistic culture and was to continue its domination of Bactria until around 125 BC when it was overrun by the invasion of northern nomads. Despite the clear collapse of their power, and the decline of their kingdom around them, nobles continued to play kingmakers on a regular basis, with occasional intervention from Ptolemaic Egypt and other outside powers. They fought with, Seleucid empire made a great mistake with fought another empire before Mongols. ]+]j60 ,Vz9u60uV:1wbAi -< d*Yfy 0 tY [56][57] The definition of "royal land" remains contested. Antiochus died during a military expedition against the Parthians in 164 BC. bJ+\0p4HhoAr`F&l@tk#%E&mum> - The rise of Seleucus in Babylon threatened the eastern extent of the territory of Antigonus I Monophthalmus in Asia. [42] Local educated elites who needed to work with the government learned the Greek language, wrote in Greek, absorbed Greek philosophical ideas, and took on Greek names; some of these practices then slowly filtered down to the lower classes. They would later overtly take the title of Kings of Persis, before becoming vassals to the newly formed Parthian Empire.[32][33].