Kings of Kings - a Sassanid Persia AAR

[alexander seil]

[NOTE: Duplicate of the AAR on the Paradox forum. I will add more posts later.]

[this is played as the "Yellow" player in the Anno Domini 375 scenario, with the patch 1.07b and minimal alterations to standard game rules]

November, 375. The Roman Empire has officially been divided for 11 years between the Western and Eastern parts. Valentinian, the Western Emperor, has just died and his sixteen-year-old son Gratian has just succeeded him. From his capital at Trier, he must keep watch on the turbulent Germanic tribes on the other side of the Rhine and Danube, in particular the Alamans. His uncle, the Arian Eastern Emperor Valens, based in Antioch, will have to confront the Visigoths and large barbarian migrations that loom over the horizon...Meanwhile, on the northern shores of the Black Sea, the powerful Huns, having just emerged from the steppes, are on the verge of crushing the Ostrogoths. - an unknown medieval chronicler (scenario description)

The Inhabited World in the Seleucid year 687, in the reign of Shapur II


Seven hundred years ago, the Inhabited World lay prostrate before the Greeks. But, seven hundred years after the conquests of Alexander, the powerful Sassanid dynasty reigns in the heart of the empire of Cyrus and Darius - Mesopotamia and Persia. The world has changed - the disunited but brave Greek people who have crushed the armies of Darius and Xerxes are now themselves a decadent, imperial people, rivaling the distant inhabitants of Italy as the true masters of the world. But their great empire is threatened on all sides - the Romans of the West and of the East are facing against fierce, blonde-haired warriors from the dark forests of lands far away from Shapur's capital at Ctesiphon. Even greater threats loom far to the north...Inside, the peoples of their universal empire are torn apart between reverence for the old gods and for Christ. The dominant Christian class is itself torn apart, for they argue among themselves violently over the very nature of their god. Is time right for Shapur to once more threaten the peace of the Empire?

The Persian state


To the south, the inhabitants of the desert are split among the kingdoms of the Lakhmids and the Ghassanids, tributaries of the Persians and the Romans, respectively. To the north, Armenia is also in league with the Emperor in Constantinople. The host of the King of Kings is, as he believes, ready to march to Antioch and the inner sea the moment some internal squabble upends the fragile internal peace of the Empire. He will not have to wait for long.

[alexander seil]

Shapur's Ambition
The campaigns of 688-694 (Seleucid era)

The Siege of Haran

Although for a few months, Shapur was eager to please the Emperor of the East [some gift-giving and trade agreements], a momentary weakness in the Empire's defenses along the Danube spelled an inevitable Persian invasions. The plan was simple - three thousand of the fiercest Iranian horsemen would penetrate deeply into the Empire, covering the two main forces, including Shapur's own army, which even included Indian elephants and a large supply train. While Ardashir was to be left to siege and take Haran, Shapur would continue his march to the sea and invest Antioch.



But fates decided otherwise...
The Mesopotamian sun was blistering, even this late in the day. The great plain upon which it shone was divided in half by what seemed a great river of fire - Euphrates. The day, almost over, was fateful for the Persians. Driven back and separated from Ardashir's host, Shapur decided to ford the river at night in a brave but hopeless dash forward, away from danger and towards the greatest city of the Levant, Antioch. His plan was but an afterthought born of desperation, because his forces were already spent. On the other side of the river, for many days the remnants of his forces would have no protection from heat and starvation. The local Roman garrisons and the cruel Mesopotamian sun would melt his army away. - a 6th century Greek manuscript by an unknown author.

Modern historians only know this much of the campaign itself [I didn't take notes ], but so much could be reconstructed - the Persian armies failed to coordinate their advance and Shapur's main force, as well as the cavalry covering his advance, were ambushed by Roman reinforcements. Unable to retreat because the Romans held the main roads, Shapur attempted to evade the Roman armies and march westward, but his army simply collapsed when it met resistance across the Euphrates. Miraculously, Shapur was not killed or captured. The Romans then drove off the remnants of Ardashir's forces investing Haran. Soon enough, Shapur agreed to a truce with the Emperor and the Armenians, who have taken some towns in Atropatene and now consolidated their positions.

However, in the south, the Lakhmids and the Ghassanids clashed across the Levant, with the Lakhmids even approaching the Nile delta. Weakened by internal dissension and incessant Nubian raids, the Emperor in Constantinople had to call upon his Western counterpart for help, eventually subduing the Lakhmids.



The Armenian War (690?-693? S.E.)

As the Empire lost internal cohesion, Shapur was still worried about the growing Armenian kingdom. The last independent ruler of Colchis bequeathed his country to the Armenians, while the Armenian campaigns against Albania brought a resounding defeat of those tribes (believed to have been the allies of Persia), as well as even more land. Raising new forces on the Roman model [a lot of heavy infantry, few cataphracts], Shapur marched against Armenia. Once more, the Lakhmids advanced into the Levant. But Shapur's forces broke against the Armenian royal city many times. Through a near bankruptcy , a great increase in taxation and neglect of infrastructure, eventually enough forces and siege engines were mustered to force open the city gates. The Persian gains were unremarkable (and even dangerous, given that the Albanian tribes were fickle allies at best) [Albania are a "raider" state, so they can attack me even if we're allied], but the Lakhmids, seizing upon the massive revolts in Egypt and the Nubian advances as a great opportunity for expansion, extracted a humiliating peace from the Romans, cutting the Eastern Empire in half.



In the west, meanwhile, the Alamans advanced far into the Empire. The Huns are riding from the north and east, already having pushed the Goths into the Empire's Danubian provinces.

What will the next ten years bring? Will the Huns, having traveled from Sarmatia to the borders of the Empire in scarcely 5 years, be able to penetrate into the Empire? And, finally, will Shapur now turn on his Lakhmid allies to claim Edessa?

[alexander seil]

In the Seleucid year 695 (383 to the Christians), Shapur II suddenly died. It is unknown whether from infirmity, an assassin's blade or simply disappointment over his failed campaigns against the Romans and the Armenians. Although his reign saw great victories over the Romans before 687, the subsequent campaigns brought near-ruin to Persia, with only the massive pressure from the Goths, Alemans and the Huns keeping the Romans from utterly obliterating Persia. But, before he died, the royal army was rebuilt once more. More elephants were brought from the far reaches of the world and the army was once more re-organized according to Roman principles [I'm relying on heavy infantry for now].



The new King of Kings, Shapur III, although far less capable than his predecessor, nevertheless has the same ambitions. To the north, the Huns have penetrated deeply into Armenia, while the Empire is still at war with the Goths. The King of Kings sent emissaries to the Emperor to demand a handover of Haran [I will execute a Threat diplomatic action], and his host is preparing to invest this last Roman holdout on the Euphrates.

[alexander seil]

Under the cover of a Nubian invasion of Cyrenaica, the pirates of the Mediterranean strike once again at the lucrative trade routes between the Levant and the rest of the Empire. [I cast a Pirates stratagem on Cyrenaica, pirate fleet spawned off the coast of the Levant]



Meanwhile, Shapur secured an agreement from the Western Emperor to provide no help to Theodosius [Friendship treaty], gathered his forces and marched to make war against the Romans once more. Having bought off the Ghassanids with a considerable sum of silver talents and a pretty bride from one of the smaller noble houses [Wedding stratagem played to secure a peace treaty], the campaign was easy enough. Shapur's great host besieged Haran. Meanwhile, from the south, his impetuous Lakhmid allies arrived, whose commander promptly ruined Shapur's plan for a slow siege by assaulting the walls outright and drawing in the Persian army as well. Nevertheless, Haran was successfully captured and the Romans agreed to let Shapur have the city - now they had a common enemy, the Lakhmids, whose over-expansion threatened both empires. The common understanding was secured by a lavish royal weddings, with the Emperor's daughter married to Shapur. [Marriage treaty]

[alexander seil]

[First of all, I want to show what happens when barbarian territories are lost due to absence of garrisons after 5 years. See below. Note that the Ostrogoths and the Alans regained independence.]



In the Christian year 395, Persia was shaken by a noble revolt at Persepolis that took with itself several surrounding satrapies and interrupted trade with India [I think they killed a caravan with Carpets headed for Susa]. Although the nobles suffered a defeat at the gates of the city, the remaining traitors withdrew behind the walls.



Beyond the Bosporus, the Huns have driven the fleeing Visigoths deep into Dalmatia, while the Empire's former Danubian provinces are being repopulated by Germanics [Moesia has 9000 E. Germanic population]. In the meantime, the Huns, having plundered Anatolia [many cities in the Eastern Empire are down to 0 population while Italian cities are crammed!], established themselves temporarily in Nicomedia. More ominuously, a small contingent of Hunnish warriors overthrew the King of Iberia and have launched an attack on Persia's northernmost satrapy [war with the Huns ] in the middle of the Christian year 396.

[alexander seil]

King of Kings Yazgard ascended to the throne in the Christian year 399. His reign would have been just as unremarkable as his predecessor's, whose most famous exploit on the battlefield involved exploiting his Arab allies to fight off a Hunnic raid, but Yazgard had visions of greatness. His vision became reality in just a year, but before that, a peculiar matter was brought to Yazgard's attention by his advisers.

It was no secret to anyone that Persia's real powerbase was the fertile land between the Tigris and the Euphrates, as well as the great cities that lay there. Unfortunately, most of the population in that region were Aramaic-speaking Jews and Christians, not Mazdeic Persians and Parthians, which was a potential threat. However, seeing no wisdom in quarreling with the Christians for now, Yazgard let them build churches wherever they wanted and let the Mazdeic priesthood know that the Christians would henceforth be under royal protection.



The religious situation in the Persian Empire circa AD 400 [red denotes percentage of population that belongs to the state religion, Mazdeism]


In the meantime, still simmering from the treatment he received during the Hunnic raids, the Lakhmid king allied himself with Constantinople and asserted his independence from the Persians [vassalization treaty expired]. Yazgard saw his chance, and quickly arranged for ambassadors to be sent to Armenia, seeking an alliance. He also sent spies and agents south of the Euphrates, inciting a powerful Arabic prince to revolt with his numerous retainers [Mutiny stratagem played]. Although no agreement could be made with Armenians, the massive revolt that engulfed the core Lakhmid tribal lands enabled the whole might of the Persian host, some 40,000 men, to be concentrated against the Arabs' newly-conquered provinces west of the Euphrates.

Edessa fell easily, as traitors inside the city opened the gates [Traitor stratagem played in siege mode]. In Cilicia, the Persians massacred the Lakhmid king's last remaining armies and took Tarsus [it took multiple tries, though, and I wasted an Elephant Charge stratagem ]. Soon enough, the Arabs were forced to submit to Yazgard's will, reaffirm their oaths and give up all the lands they seized from Armenia and the Romans in the past 25 years.

[PhilThib]

Wonderful

[alexander seil]

The great Roman Empire in the Christian year 412 was hardly as impressive as its earlier self. Over the course of just 30 years, the Empire lost its Danubian and Mesopotamian provinces. The Eastern Empire is depopulated, with Constantinople an empty shell. The Western Empire is beset by mutinies and would-be "emperors," and Emperor Honorius hardly controls any of his own empire outside of Ravenna, central Italy and a handful of isolated outposts across the Empire. However, the barbarian threat has abated, with Franks driven to the east and the Huns under Charaton now proclaiming themselves heirs to the Romans. Their capital is at Nicomedia, a city reduced to an armed camp. In the meantime, the Franks under Sunno settled down north of the Danube and south of the mysterious northern seas [modern Poland].



In the Persian kingdom, the years between 400 and 420 were hardly eventful. Yazgard's rule was beneficial and peaceful, although a failed palace coup and revolt in Mesopotamia forced the court to relocate from Ctesipho to Nisibis. A few border clashes with the Huns and the Romans did not change much, although Tarsus was handed over to the Romans as a bribe to end their alliance with the Huns. Yet, trade flourished, with caravans carrying silks, carpets and spices arriving in Mesopotamia from Seres, Bactria, India and Arabia Felix.

In the meantime, the Christians fractured the Church once more, with an ascetic from Britain named Pelagius denying original sin and denouncing the corruption of the Roman Church. His doctrine gained widespread acceptance in Syria and led the rural population to rise up in revolt against the Arian Emperor, Arcadius, and the Catholic Church he still tolerated. Yazgard's tolerance for Christian heretics prevented Commagene from following suit.



But religious tensions were on the rise in Mesopotamia, too. Inspired by the collapse of Christian Orthodoxy in Syria, a mystic by the name of Tiridates traveled south of the Euphrates to spread the faith in Ahuramazda. Unfortunately, Babylonia's few Christians and the Jewish rabbis incited the pagans to murder Tiridates.