ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 1125 Greece longs for peace

However, the Dionysian Ministry of Military Affairs has already studied the Gauls' tactics, and Leotizides and Patroclus have also specially trained on this. Therefore, the legion light infantry who rushed out of the array first The horses carrying the carriages were attacked from a distance, and then the heavy infantry phalanx quickly turned into a checkerboard array, widening the distance between the detachments and leaving a passage for the remaining Gallic chariots, so that even if they rushed into the formation, they would not be able to escape. Fa had a huge impact on the entire formation and was quickly eliminated.

On the contrary, the charge of the Gallic warriors was fired by the javelins of the Dionian heavy infantry, resulting in many casualties.

In the close fight, although the Gallic warriors' sword attacks were fierce, they faced the most elite soldiers of Dionia's first, second and third legions, and the No. 14 legion After the No.12 Legion defeated the invading Gauls several times in Etruria, they were also undaunted. Therefore, the entire front remained motionless, while more soldiers quickly attacked the Gauls' flanks, gradually attacking the Gauls' flanks. It surrounds...

Supported by the belief in defending their homeland, the Gauls fought hard for more than two hours and were finally defeated...

The Dionian army took the opportunity to hide and kill, and the two cavalry legions continued to pursue them.

The Gauls fled all the way, and countless people were killed, wounded or captured.

After that, the Dionian army was even more devastating, occupying all of Gaul in the mountains in just over two months.

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Time has entered Kingdom No. 20 (373 BC). The conquest of Gaul by the Holy Kingdom of Dionia shocked the entire northern Italy, the Venetians, Umbrians, and even parts of Liguria. People took the initiative to send envoys, asking for alliance or goodwill with Dionia.The allies in central and northern Italy have also strengthened their determination to closely follow the Kingdom of Dionia. Many Latin allies even saw that the Roman soldiers of the No. 14 Legion had obtained a lot of land after this war, and again There was a clamor for the city-state to be merged into the Kingdom of Dionia so that it could enjoy such benefits.

The conquest of mountainous Gaul by the Holy Kingdom of Dionysia caused great disturbances throughout the Western Mediterranean, but for people in mainland Greece, except for a very small number of interested people who paid attention to this matter, most people still paid attention to it. Focusing on Sparta, Thebes, and Athens, the war in Greece continued for several years with no end in sight.

Leading the fleet to expedition to Corcyra was the first battle commanded by the famous Athenian general Iphicrates after he fought for the King of Persia in Egypt and returned to Athens. The battle went very smoothly, and the Spartan army stationed on the island of Corcyra was defeated. , but soon Iphicrates also encountered the difficulty of lack of military funds. He had to let his soldiers work in the fields of the Kercyra people in order to survive.

At the same time, Iphicrates had to ask for help from his friend in the army, the chief general of Athens, Callistratus.

Callistratus, already aware of the difficulties of continuing the war in this state, decided to return to Athens and convince the citizens that they should either provide for the fleet regularly or make peace.

However, when he returned to Athens, he found that the citizens of Athens were focused on one thing - the trial of Timotheus.

Because of the previous fall of Corcyra, the citizens of Athens blamed Timotheus, and some people also accused him of "corruption and malfeasance" during the expedition. So the citizens became excited and immediately put him on trial. , completely forgetting that it was Timotheus who first led the army to recapture the island of Corcyra and made the Corcyra people join the Athenian League. Moreover, during this period, Athens only provided a small amount of military expenditure, most of which was financed by Timotheus himself. raise.

But the trial lasted for several months and never came to a definite result, mainly because Timotheus was well-known in Greece. He received strong support that ordinary people could not match, even Jason, the tyrant of Thessaly. and Alcaitas, king of Epirus, came to Athens in person to prove his innocence.

Because it was the unremitting efforts of Timotheus that these two monarchs temporarily joined the Athenian League, and it was through them that Timotheus was able to borrow money to carry out the Corcyra expedition. Coupled with the cost of the long trial, Timothy has almost gone bankrupt. Now in order to entertain these two distinguished guests and make the food and daily life match their status, Timothy has to pay tribute to his wealthy neighbor, the banker. Xion asks for help.

At the end of the trial, Timotheus was acquitted, not because of the support of Jason and Alcaitas. In fact, the citizens of Athens looked down upon these two powerful figures from northern Greece at all, and regarded them as barbarians. The reason was because Callistratus told them: Corcyra had been recaptured.

Although Timothy regained his freedom, the treasurer of the army he led at the time was tried, charged with corruption and malfeasance, and was eventually sentenced to death.

The Athenians no longer trusted Timotheus, and Timotheus was completely disappointed in Athens. This Athenian with excellent command skills (especially in naval warfare) soon left Athens and turned to serve Persia.

After successive defeats at Corcyra, the Spartans' disappointment grew.However, the attack on Thebes on land still failed to make any progress. In addition, several earthquakes occurred in the coastal areas of the Peloponnese Island this year. The panicked Spartans hurriedly sent people to Delphi. Ask the oracle.

The priests of Delphi had long been tired of the endless war, because the war had spread to the territory of Phokis (Delphi is located in the Phokis area), so they asked the Pythia to give an oracle: This is Poseidon's battle against Phokis. Badda was outraged by the ongoing war.

So Sparta finally decided to seek true peace.

They still hope to bring peace to Greece through the mediation of the Persian king like the last Corinthian War.Although the Kingdom of Dionysia, not far from Sparta, also had the ability to act as a mediator, due to a certain psychology, the Spartans did not have this idea at all, so they sent envoys to the Persian court.

Coincidentally, the Athenians also had this plan.Because the war has continued to this day, military expenses have become a huge burden on the Athenians, and the citizens' theater allowances may even be reduced as a result.

Another important reason is that Thebes not only was not weakened in this war, but became stronger and stronger with the help of Athens. Not only did they unite most of the Boeotian city-states, but they also fought against the Spartan coalition. Gradually it began to gain the upper hand, and the strength it showed scared the Athenians. After all, before the Corinthian War, Athens and Thebes had been mortal enemies for decades.

This year especially, Thebes raided Plataea, southeast of Boeotia.

Plataea, a small mountainous state that suffered many disasters, was once besieged by the Spartan coalition because of its firm support for Athens in the Peloponnesian War, and was eventually destroyed.At the beginning of this war, in order to contain Thebes, Sparta allowed the exiles of Plataea to return to their hometown and rebuild their homes.Because of its extremely important strategic location, it was the only place for the Spartan coalition forces to pass from the land through the Isthmus of Corinth, over the mountains, and into the Boeotian region. The Thebans had long been interested in incorporating it into the Boeotian alliance. Taking advantage of the fact that the Spartan army's attacks were weakening and its own strength was increasing, envoys were sent many times to persuade Plataea.

While the Plataeans said perfunctorily that they should think carefully, they secretly sent people to Athens, hoping to rejoin the Athenian League.

This matter was noticed by Thebes. At the suggestion of Pelopidas, the Theban army raided Plataea, quickly occupied the city, and expelled the Plataeans from the country. Many people were killed. Forced to flee to Athens.

When Isocrates learned of this, he immediately wrote a speech "On Plataea" to express his sympathy for their tragic fate and at the same time condemn the evil behavior of the Thebans.

Although this incident did not officially turn these two powerful city-states in Central Greece into enemies, it undoubtedly further alienated the relationship between the two parties.

Callistratus made good use of these reasons and persuaded the people at the citizens' assembly to decide to make peace with Sparta and stop the war.

The Athenians also did not consider inviting Dionia as a mediator: First of all, they thought that inviting the former sub-state as the host of the meeting would be a bit of a shame for Athens, and Isocrates has continuously preached in recent years, It also makes Athens wary of Dionia; secondly, as a mediator of this war, it needs to have sufficient strength and sufficient influence in Greece. Dionia has never set foot in mainland Greece before, and it is also friendly to Sparta had a long-standing peace agreement.On the contrary, although Persia is thousands of miles away, it has been waving its sleeves in various city-states in Greece, constantly using money to win over this one and attack that one. The "King's Contract" successfully signed a few years ago has already demonstrated its influence in Greece.

Therefore, Athens also sent envoys to Persia.

Thebes became a little anxious after learning that both Sparta and Athens sent envoys to Persia to seek support. During the discussion, Pelopidas made the suggestion to seek support from Dionia for the first time.

As the strength of Thebes has increased in the past two years, the Spartan coalition can no longer blockade Thebes. Therefore, Thebes senior officials have learned more news from the outside world. What surprised them most was that Dionia defeated Cara. Thage became the overlord of Magna Graecia and Sicily (in the impression of native Greeks, these two places and Carthage are the only civilized places in the Western Mediterranean, while other areas are barbarian lands, not worth taking a look at) ), it can be seen that the Kingdom of Dionia is very powerful and very close to Thebes. It also sold food to Thebes during its most difficult time and expressed goodwill. Therefore, if it can obtain its support, Thebes was not afraid of Persia, which was thousands of miles away.

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(End of this chapter)