ancient greece mediterranean ruler

Chapter 261 The secret of Dionia’s power? (one)

"Oh, that's interesting!" Kanios smiled and subconsciously looked at the man opposite him: he had a slender figure, a thin face, and an aquiline nose. He had a smart temperament in his frailty.

Realizing that Kanios was looking at him, the man raised his head and said with a smile: "I met you in the VIP hotel in Turii. My name is Sipulos, from Trina."

Kanios hesitated and whispered: "...I am from...Elia."

"Oh, Elia." Sipulos didn't seem too surprised. He looked at Kanios and said seriously: "I have been to Elia several times. Speaking of our Trina and you Elia, We have the same predicament. The territory of Trina is often attacked by Brutians, while Elia has always been surrounded by Lucanians. The difference is that we have allies behind us, while you are mostly alone. Fight.”

Sipulos' words touched Kanios's heart. This feeling of sympathy made him feel good about Sibulos, and he leaned forward unconsciously.

"You are here to ask for help from Dionia on behalf of Elia." Sipulos said again.

Kanios hesitated again, and then said: "Elia is here to seek an alliance with Dionia..."

Sipulos saw his concerns and said comfortingly: "Don't worry, Dionia will definitely form an alliance with you!"

Sipulos made an astonishing statement, and Kanios was shocked when he heard the words. In the past two days, he had seen the strength and prosperity of the Dionians in Turii, and he began to worry: The weak Aelia could not attract Dionia's interest is not to provoke the vicious Lucanians.

At this moment, he put aside his guard and asked: "Why are you so sure?"

"Because Aelia's position is very important." Sipulos tied a piece of tripe with a wooden skewer, threw it into his mouth, chewed it carefully, and said: "It will help Dionia unify Lucalia. area."

"Dionia wants to occupy the entire Lucalia region, how is this possible?!" Kanios was shocked.

"This is of course very possible. Dionia's political system determines its ambition to expand." Sipulos said with a complex look on his face, very sure.

"You mean-" Kanios suddenly realized, looked around, lowered his head and whispered: "Dionia has a tyrant." City-states with tyrants are always brutal, greedy and aggressive, no matter how many dozens they have. The tyrant Gron of Syracuse and his successor Hieron years ago, Anaxilas, the former tyrant of Rhymium, and Dionysius now have all proved this one after another.

Sipros shook his head.He is a person who is good at thinking. Since his last mission to Dionia, out of curiosity about this emerging alliance, he has been analyzing the reasons for its rapid rise: "That's not entirely the case. I don't know about Dionia." Is Davos, the Archon of Asia, considered a tyrant? Although he is the supreme leader of the Dionysian army, has the power of sacrifice, and is also the supreme administrator of the city-state alliance, as the highest authority of the Senate, The chief senator has great influence, but he does not just do whatever he wants. His proposals also require the majority approval of the senators in the senate before they can be passed. The appointment of senior public officials in the alliance must also be recommended by the senate. Although he has the right to deny, important matters such as launching war and achieving peace are also collectively decided by the Senate. Unlike a tyrant who can easily decide the life and death of citizens, his actions are still bound by the laws of the alliance. However, compared to Sparta, The king and the generals of the democratic city-state, there is no doubt that he has greater power..."

Canios listened carefully and thought thoughtfully: "No wonder I heard that this consul often does not need the protection of guards in the city of Thurii. He often goes in and out of the neighborhoods of Turii alone. He is not at all like Dionis." Hughes lives in a palace and has thousands of mercenary guards to protect him. In this way, he seems to be a...well...democratic king."

"Democratic King?!" Sipulos listened and slapped the table excitedly: "This word is very suitable, and it just explains Davos's status in the Dionia Alliance! Officially because of the unique ruling power of Dionia It is the official system that has created the rapid rise of Deolia."

"You mean that Dionia's power is caused by Davos alone?" Kanios asked in surprise.

"Well...Davos is of course a very capable consul, but Dionia's political system is also very unusual -" Sipulos rarely found a person he liked, and Kanios' question was convenient. He continued to explain what he had thought deeply during this period, but after eating too much sauce, he felt his throat was a little dry. He swallowed and said, "Canios, do you drink beer? The beer in this shop It tastes delicious. I heard that it was brewed by Davos who specially commanded his slaves to conduct many experiments. Not only was this man very strong in military and political abilities, but he also had his own uniqueness in doing business. No wonder he was called 'God's Favored One'!"

Beer was only a drink consumed by the people at the bottom of the city-state, but Kanios was also a little moved after hearing what Sipulos said.

"Two big cans of beer!" Sipulos shouted.

A long, thin-necked jar was placed in front of Kanios. When Kanios picked it up, a faint sweet fragrance hit his nostrils.He quickly took a sip, and the cool golden liquid flowed smoothly into his stomach, dissipating most of the heat in his body.He couldn't help but took another big sip.

"It tastes good!" Seeing this, Sipulos said proudly.

Kanios nodded, burped, and asked impatiently: "What is the difference between the Dionia system you just mentioned?"

Sipulos did not show off anymore. He took a sip of wine and said slowly: "Whether it is Crotone or our Trina, the highest power is the citizens' assembly, which decides everything in the city-state; secondly, it reduces the The number of people attending the meeting is usually no less than 400, who discuss and resolve ordinary city-state affairs; the generals elected by the citizens’ assembly are only the highest executors of the decisions made by the citizens’ assembly and the council, right?”

"Yes, the same is true for Aelia. The system of democratic city-states in Greece is roughly like this."

"The system of Dionia comes from Amendolara, and Amendolara...I guess that after it broke away from Sybaris, it was influenced by Tarantum like Heraclea and Metapontum. , since Tarentum is a sub-gang of Sparta, it changed the 'Double Kings' to the 'Double Consuls', and the Council of Elders became the Senate, but the consuls were elected by the citizens' assembly, but Davos led the hiring After Bing joined Amendolara, not only did the dual consuls become the sole consuls for life, but it seems that the Citizens' Assembly has never been held..." Sipulos said in a deep tone.

"Dionia canceled the citizens' meeting?!" Kanios almost exclaimed. Before talking to Sipulos, based on his past understanding-Davos was a tyrant, so Dionia didn't A citizens' assembly, Canios would not be surprised.But Sipulos has told him, "Davos is not a tyrant and is also restricted by the Senate." His understanding of Dionia has become - this is still a relatively normal city-state alliance, so listen to It would only be a bit overreacted when it comes to Sipulos.

"The Citizens' Assembly in Dionia was not expressly cancelled, but it was not held..." Sipros said slowly: "I think it may be because of the special circumstances of the Dionia Alliance that it was not held. After all, Dai The citizens of Onia are scattered in several cities, and the origins are complicated. There are Greeks, and a considerable number of foreigners, including Turui, Amendolara, and Crimea... Citizens' assemblies are time-consuming and prone to quarrels over interests, unable to decide anything..."

Kanios thought about it carefully and had to admit: "Maybe, this may be an important reason. Just like Elia, even though we have not many citizens and they have lived in the city for generations, every time When a citizens’ assembly is held, many important issues cannot be agreed upon, let alone an emerging alliance like Dionia with complicated sources of citizens.”

Sipulos tapped the body of the beer can with his hand, hesitated for a while, raised his head and took a sip of wine, and then said: "Actually, the citizens' assembly handles affairs... On any issue, citizens can easily base their own preferences on it." and interests, rather than the interests of the city-state, to express opinions and exercise veto power, often resulting in a problem that cannot be solved for a long time, especially in times of crisis! If the citizens’ assembly cannot quickly unify its opinions, the city-state will be in great danger Among them, it is precisely because of this that Trina has faced the invasion of the Brutians for a long time, so we have a different system from South Italian city-states such as Crotone and Silitium, that is, once an enemy invades, Trina will Na will immediately elect a full-power general with the highest authority to decide all city-state affairs during the war! This avoids endless discussions and disputes!"

Kanios looked happy: "Elia would also elect a dictator during the most difficult times of the war, who would have the highest power in the city-state, very similar to the all-powerful general you mentioned."

The common understanding made Sipulos no longer hesitate, and he said straightforwardly: "You see, both Trina and Elia realized that the Citizens' Assembly did have some shortcomings, but they only made some small changes, but Dionia completely put aside the citizens' assembly and used the ability of Consul Davos and the rich administrative experience of the Senate senators of less than a hundred people to quickly pass bills and bills based on the interests that are conducive to the development of the city-state alliance. After making a decision, Dionia enacted some laws that could not be passed by the citizens' assembly of other South Italian city-states. Two of them are very important! As a newly formed alliance, Dionia can rise so quickly. These two bills It played a very important role!”

　Thanks to Li Shibin, Kite 2001, and Christian Rosenkreuz for the rewards!Your support is my biggest motivation for writing! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)