ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 113 Tarantum's Aid

At the venue, some people were still complaining: Two hundred drachmas were too many.

Some people also retorted: It is necessary to have more, so that they can feel that it is not easy to become a citizen of Amendolara, so that they can appreciate it.

As a result, the next day, news came from the household registration official Laphias: the consul's wife Christoya had advanced money for ten free people, and at the same time, Melses also advanced money for six free people. money.

Only then did everyone realize the value of this group of free people.Not to mention that Melses had a vicious vision. Along the way in Persia, he searched for many talents who could write and calculate, as well as craftsmen with outstanding skills. Even those ordinary slaves were mostly strong because they were laborers in the supply camp. They have experienced many battles and can become qualified soldiers with a little training. What's more valuable is that they are mainly Persian farmers.In the Mediterranean region, there are three places where farmers are very experienced in growing crops: First, the Persians. The fertile land in the two river basins has cultivated excellent farmers; second, the Egyptians. The Nile River basin that surges every July makes the Egyptians They only love to do two things in their life - farming and worshiping gods; the third is Carthage, Carthage's two powerful magic weapons - sea trade and agriculture, for which they also specially compiled a farming book.As for the Greeks, because the land in Greece is barren, they are more engaged in sailing trade, grazing cattle and sheep, growing olives and brewing wine, and doing handicrafts... And these new citizens have been traveling around to fight, and they have no regard for farming. A smear of darkness.

So everyone rushed forward, and the three hundred free people were quickly divided up. Citizens who had not hired free people had to go to the market in Tarantum to buy slaves (at that time, Tarantum had the largest slave market in Magna Greece). Some citizens even had the idea of ​​​​the large number of freedmen in their neighbor Thurii, but of course this was a story later.

The Senate, after disposing of the proposal concerning the slaves, was not immediately dissolved, for Marighi returned from Tarantum.

Take the sea route from Amendolara, not far from Tarentum. Get on the boat from the port of Turii and it can be reached in less than two hours with a favorable wind.Davers made a mistake when he sent Mariji as an envoy to Tarantum. Of course, he did not have better talents available at that time. As a Persian, Mariji was unable to get in at Tarantum at first. Archita anticipated this situation and wrote a letter asking Mariji to bring it to his father Histiavis. Coupled with Mariji's flattery and the rich and novel gifts he brought, the senior senator Histiavis Yavis actively mediated for him, causing the Senate and Consul of Tarantum to show enthusiasm for Amendolara's initiative to form an alliance with Tarantum.

Of course, it was not because of Histiavis that Tarantum became enthusiastic about the mercenary proposal. The actual reason was: Although Tarantum and Thurii had ceased war for decades and had now joined the defensive alliance, But this is a loose alliance after all, with no binding force.Since this alliance was initiated and established by Tarantum, it also actively contributed some efforts. For example, some city-states have relatively deep hatred between each other and it is good not to undermine each other, such as Crotone and Locri.Including Tarantum, there was some grudge against Thurii. After all, Tarantum, as one of the largest states in Magna Graecia, actually lost twice in a row to a newly built city-state. In the end, although an armistice agreement was signed, the peaceful republic was established. Heraclea was built, but Tarantum was greatly embarrassed in Magna Graecia.Amendolara, who was once an ally of Thurii, is now allied with Tarantum. The Tarantum Senate feels that it has a big face, and the addition of Amendolara can also protect their affiliated city-states well - —Heraclea, how can you disagree!

But another request made by Mariji put them in trouble: Mariji asked Tarantum for assistance on the grounds that Amendolara had just experienced war and was in urgent need of supplies to survive.Originally, as a newly formed ally, Tarantum was a wealthy city-state, so providing some material assistance was a simple matter.However, the amount of materials requested by Mariji was relatively large, and the elders had to discuss the matter of assistance.

Until the next day, when Archieta led the troops back to Tarantum and reported the process of his expedition to the Senate, he focused on explaining the combat effectiveness of the mercenaries and the outstanding military talent of the leader Daves, and also emphasized: now Amendolara is run by a new group of citizens, mercenaries.

In fact, Mariji had already praised the performance of the mercenaries in the annihilation of the Lucanian coalition forces before, but it only caused dissatisfaction among some elders, who believed that they wanted to take Tarantum's credit.Now that Archita, whom they trusted, also said these words and was full of praise for Davos, they realized that this new Amendolara could not only protect Heraclea from the wind and rain, but also Can do something else.Therefore, not only did the number of materials requested by Mariji not be reduced, but some additional things were added.

When Mariji read out the alliance with Tarantum at the venue, the old citizens heard it and didn't feel much. It was the same alliance, but the object was Tulii instead of Tarantum. The content was not What a change.It was the Persian in front of them, Mariji, now a citizen of Amendolara, who caught their attention. Not only was he fluent in Greek, but also because of the two bills he introduced, the old citizens felt complicated for a while.

Then, Mariji read out the list of Tarantum's aid supplies: one hundred tons of grain, one thousand pounds of salted fish, two hundred sets of bucklers and bayonets, one hundred bolts of linen cloth...

Every time they heard the amount of supplies, there was more surprise on their faces. In the end, before Mariji finished reading, everyone cheered: Tarantum is so generous!Not to mention anything else, one hundred tons of grain is enough to sustain the lives of all the people of Amendolara for six months. By then, the wheat fields of Amendolara will also be harvested.Amendolara's biggest difficulty was easily solved in this way, and the senators seemed to be in a dream.

"Because the quantity of all the above materials is too large, Tarantum will be divided into several batches and transported to Heraclea by sea, and then transported here. The first batch will be delivered tomorrow!" As soon as Mariji finished speaking, everyone Applause.

At this time, Davos took advantage of the situation and said loudly: "Everyone, in view of the great achievements Mariji has made for Amendolara, I propose that Mariji, a citizen of Amendolara and a business officer of the city-state, become a senator of the Senate!"

The proposal was enthusiastically supported by the new citizens, and the old citizens reluctantly raised their hands.

Next, the Senate also decided that the envoys led by the administrator Cornerus and the censor Antonios would visit Tarantum on the second day to express their gratitude to the allies and conduct in-depth discussions on the details of the alliance. .

The Senate meeting ended, and Marij followed Davos out of the venue.

"Thank you for helping me! But you made me a citizen of Amendolara, a commercial officer, and a noble elder!" Mariji said gratefully.

"It seems I didn't lie to you." Davos chuckled.

"Sir, you always keep your word, how could you lie to others!" Marij seemed to have forgotten what he said when he came to Magna Graecia.

"Mariji, you must remember that this is not my decision, it is because the elders thank you for rewarding Amendolara for your contribution!" Davos said even though he was modest, he reminded him.

Mariji looked around, and then whispered: "What Senate! I only know that if it weren't for you, my lord, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be a citizen of Amendolara. Mariji will always be loyal to you, Lord Davos!"

Mariji's words were sincere, and Davos smiled again and said, "It seems that you still have to slowly adapt to life as a citizen of a Greek city-state."

Marij wanted to say more, but Davos patted him on the shoulder and asked, "How about Tarantum?"

Mariji was a smart man and did not say any more, but said seriously: "The time was too short. After walking around in a hurry, I felt that Tarantum was a big city with many people and many rich people...theirs There are many merchant ships at the port, the market is bustling, and the trading volume in a day is probably not low..." Mariji looked envious.

Davos nodded and asked again: "I heard that the Messapians are invading Tarantum. How is the situation now?"

If he had not joined the mercenaries, Mariji would not have cared about these things, let alone say anything. Following the mercenaries, he had heard and witnessed, and had some understanding of the military: "The Messapians have retreated, and they invaded." The troops are mainly composed of cavalry and light infantry, and they will not directly confront Tarantum's heavy infantry. They can only invade the land outside Tarantum city, but Tarantum has nothing to do with them, because they have no choice but to Can’t catch up with the Mesapeans.”

"Cavalry? Do the Messapians have many cavalry?" Davos asked keenly.

"I don't know. But I heard that the terrain south of Tarantum doesn't have many continuous high mountains, and there are few rivers. Most of it is flat grassland, so the Mesapei people graze a large number of cattle, sheep and horses there."

Davers was moved. He originally thought that in the Apennine Peninsula, except for the Gauls in the north who raised horses because of the vast plains and swamps of the Po River Basin, the cavalry was strong; the forces in other places were mainly infantry, with a small number of The cavalry is just a facade.Unexpectedly, in the south, on the "heel" of the "Italian leather boots", there are actually tribes based on cavalry (actually, this is because Mariji's intelligence was wrong, and Messapi's army is not based on cavalry). We must turn back. Let Antonios visit Tarantum to investigate this Mesapi faction.

Note: Messapi Messapi is said to be a race that immigrated from Illyria (the location of Epirus and Albania today) to the "heel" of southern Italy a long time ago, because it was earlier than the Greek colonial era, so it is also called regarded as local indigenous people.

　See you tomorrow night, guys!

　　I wish you a good sleep and a sleepwalk in ancient Greece!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)