Slitherine

With the defeat of Carthage after Zama in 202 BC and the humbling of Macedon after Cynoscephales in 197 BC, Rome was both master of the Western Mediterranean and Greece, and thrust herself into the political sphere of the Seleucids. The Seleucid king, the dynamic Antiochos III, had replicated Alexander's feat by campaigning as far as India to bring the eastern satrapies back into his inheritance, and had earned for himself, like Alexander, the title 'the great'. But he was aging when he challenged Roman overlordship of Greece. The decisive battle for supremacy in the eastern Mediterranean took place near Magnesia in Asia Minor in early 189 BC (or late 190).

Designer's note

Both armies were successful in smashing their opponent's left wing, the Romans taking advantage of panic and confusion when the Seleucid scythed chariots failed in their attack, and the Seleucid of the sheer shock power of their heavy cavalry. In the centre the great Seleucid phalanx block deployed unusually deep was forced to form a square to protect its flank then tried to retreat back into its camp. While Antiochos' cavalry took itself out of the main fight by trying to attack the Roman camp, the Roman legions stormed the Seleucid camp, winning a decisive victory.

There is a bit of a mystery concerning the argyraspides in the seleucid army (whom some believe to be cavalry). They are mentioned in the battle array but not afterwards. Given that they were Antiochos' best infantry this is rather troubling. Grainger believes they were only lightly engaged before leaving the field following the collapse of the rest of the army on their left. In the game the Seleucid player will have the choice to not engage them.

A characteristic feature of ancient battles was the lack of lateral maneuvers, resulting in highly compartmentalized fighting. The left wing would be completely unaware of what the right wing is doing (At Philippi, Cassius committed suicide thinking his other winning wing had lost), which also explains why many times we see a victorious cavalry ride off in pursuit while they could instead have turned inside. This reality makes simulations of ancient battles very unrealistic without a robust control and command system which FoG lacks (the use of double move worsens the situation, which is why i'm absolutely against such rule). Map overlays are the best i can come up with to approximate and to prevent the game from degenerating into a swirling mass of troops (as much as possible) as is often the case.

The game starts with the Seleucid left on the verge of collapse and requires the Seleucid player to extricate as many units as possible, and conduct a fighting withdrawal of his centre towards his camp in preparation for the climax. There are decisions to be made as to when and if to engage the argyraspides, and how aggressive the heavy cavalry can be with regards to the Roman camp.

122 mobile bgs, 18 turns.

Main source: Grainger, J. D. :"The Roman war of Antiochos the Great" (2002) Leiden

Thanks.