#gaugamela

[spockvarietyhour]

World’s deadliest babybel

[inky-duchess]

Wars, Battles and Sieges: Before the Battle

In the beginning there was squabbling over land, or an insult or even a kingdom who was a scaredy cat and decided to lash out at everyone about them for no good reason. What ever has happened, your characters are at war. Soon they will face the enemy in battle, where they will fight for freedom, eternal glory and- *record scratch* But we are getting ahead of ourselves. What does happen before that thunderous charge? How does everything start?

Finding Ground

Before a battle, the armies would try their best to find the best ground. Scouts would be sent out in search of the best terrain they can do battle on. Boggy ground can be used to derail calvary such as at Bannockburn. Flat hard terrain can be used to aid chariots like Gaugulmela. Finding the perfect ground does not mean a battle will be won. Many a good army was lost on the most meticulously picked battlefields because of forces beyond their control. An example of this would be at the Battle of Pharsalus, where Pompey had every advantage but lost the battle anyway.

Negotiations

As the armies line up and ready themselves for battle, commanders on both sides might meet to discuss terms (but only if they had their monarchs go ahead). Commanders might attend themselves or they might send their lieutenants. What would follow after would be a back and forth, with one side offering terms and the other countering with their own. There were rules surrounding these meetings. Generally both sides were sworn safe conduct and placed in a sort of neutral bubble. Nobody was allowed to draw weapons or try kill one another as that went against the code. During the talks between the English nobility and the commons during the Peasants' Revolt, a knight slashed open the rebel command Wat Tyler's face. This was a no no and probably would have ended in a riot only tween Richard II had other ideas. Perhaps one negotiation I would have loved to have been involved in was the chat between Hannibal and Scipio before the Battle of Zama. The shade that must have been thrown. The drama. The sexual tension. Maybe not the last one but still...

Battle plans

When negotiations for surrender or peace do not work, either side must begin to plan their strategies. Most war councils would have included the most important commanders in the army. These plans would be exclusively attended by the most senior commanders (all of noble rank, commonly before the 20th Century).

Field Marshall/General/Lord High Admiral: The highest rank upon the field. They are given their orders from the monarch to represent their interests upon the field of battle. It was an honour almost exclusively given to nobility.

Brigadier: The Brigadier commands a unit of the recruits, serving under the above rank. They are similar to a Roman centurion though their unit might surpass the traditional 100.

Colonel: The Colonel could often be given temporary control of the army if the Marshal was unable to do so or elsewhere. They were also in command of a regiment (major division of an army) as well as their own unit (smaller division).

There would also be a speckling of other lower ranks, who would likely pull their rank of nobility to attend.

Lieutenant Colonel: The Lieutenant Colonel served as assistant to the Colonel in his regiment, serving as de facto leader if the Colonel falls or is occupied elsewhere.

Major: was third in line in command of a regiment, in command of their own unit and allowed take control when their superiors where unable to command.

Captain: The captain serves as the leader of a company of men. In mediaeval France, the captain was often a lord or a knight commanding his tenants on the field of battle, of course taking orders from the above ranks.

Lieutenant: the captain's assistant with the company to keep the soldiers in good order and command if needed.

The commanders would talk about strategies and how they might win the battle. Ideas will be exchanged, there may be some debate, angry words but a plan will be drawn up, all the commanders and officers given their posts and commands for the day ahead.

[er-cryptid]

Darius III

-- originally named Artashata

-- called Codomannus by the Greeks

-- last king of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia

-- born in 380 BCE

-- died in July of 330 BCE in Bactria

-- married to Stateira I

-- empire was unstable

-- Alexander the Great began his invasion in 334 BCE

-- battled Alexander at the Battle of Gaugamela

-- killed by his cousin and satrap, Bessus

Patreon | Ko-fi

[daydreaming-scribe]

Chrisjen didn’t strike me as the person who would know the names and contact info of all the service members, but I find it adorable that she apparently does.

[khakilike]

I thought Sakai was a character that the show invented because their Sam wasn’t as much fun as the books’ Sam, and I fell in love with her instantly the same way I fell in love with book Sam instantly. And then the rug got pulled out from under me. This show is so good!

[jeannereames]

More on the Pages

Recently in my post about the Pages’ Conspiracy, summarizing one of Beth Carney’s articles, I mentioned the possibility that the boys were holdovers from early in Alexander’s campaign. But reading through Diodorus (17.65.1), he talks about reinforcements ATG got after Gaugamela & Babylon, from Amyntas Andromenou’s mission back to Macedonia earlier. It was a substantial recruitment, and among them 50 sons of prominent Macedonians (e.g., Hetairoi) whose father’s sent them as “bodyguards.” Curtius (5.1.42) also mentions them and although he calls them the “adult” sons and also describes them as “bodyguard,” the description of their job is exactly that of the Pages.

These are curious passages, as it leaves their age unclear. I think at least late teens, so they might have been older than Pages back in Macedon, perhaps 16+. But it’s probably from this group that Hermolaos and Sostratos and their allies came. It would also make them relatively recent additions to the army. Some of these other recruits were a bit shocked by some of the changes they found. It’s also at this exact same time that Alexander started a reorganization of the army in order to promote men based on ability as much (maybe more?) than by birth. This would have made the men work harder because their office was no longer guaranteed. It doesn’t seem that he was promoting commoners over the elite, but “lower” elite were being leapfrogged up. Besides working harder, it also made these men more loyal to Alexander, because he was the one they had to impress in order to move up.

It’s probably around this time that we start to see the division between the Old Guard and the New Men. After having defeated Darius twice, both times against larger armies, Alexander was secure as king. The Greeks realized it; it prompted Agis’s revolt. And certainly within Macedon, Alexander was now able to move with impunity and make the changes he wanted to.

Remember, the strength of any given Macedonian king was a matter of success on the battlefield and personal charisma. Macedonian kings could get away with whatever they could get away with. ;) It took a while for Alexander to move out from his father’s shadow, but by Gaugamela, he most definitively had.

[rocinantexandria]

The Expanse 5x04 - Gaugamela

Spoilers! Whew what an episode, I geninely had goosebumps at the end. Almost every moment was important so my brain was GOING trying to figure out what was going on.

Okay to start with, Amos. Our boy went to ‘The Pit’ which seems to be some supermax prison where he went to see, Clarissa Mao! Who I completely forgot about lol it feels obvious now. It was nice to see her again but it all got upended by what I assume was the second rock crashing down above the prison Oh my gosh I’m so worried about Amos. Seeing the ceiling crack and I know they were quite underground but its still worrying, I hope they’re not buried.

Moving onto Alex and Bobbie who were flying in the Razorback- I mean the newly named Screaming Firehawk 😉. They’re tailing Sauveterre’s assistant(?)’s ship looking for criminal activity and coming to terms with the fact that Mars is dying, or more specifically that the dream of Mars is dead. Alex is in the same grief we saw Bobbie in last season. Also, they just found out about the rocks hitting Earth so I wonder if they’ll continue following Sauveterre or rendezvous with Chrisjen.

Looking to Tycho we have Jim and whew everything just went sideways. Sakai shot Fred! wtf! Unexpected. I had a feeling someone was working with Marco’s faction but not her! Now I’m worried about the Roci because she was working on it for so long, what if she sabotaged their ship so they won’t follow? Either way its a whole attack on Tycho with someone going for their reactor, Fred being killed and this cool robot retrieving the protomolecule. They also planned to take Monica but Jim intervened, so one upside. Rest in Peace Fred Johnson god damn.

So now we have- The Aftermath. We have three rocks hitting Earth and an explosion in the Mars parliament which we were not shown. Earth were able to destroy three other rocks using Chrisjen’s knowledge but millions may still be dead and the Secretary General herself is dead. Chaos. I love it. Chrisjen is watching everything unfold from Luna whilst trying to contact her family and communication between the U.N on Earth is a mess trying to find out who is in charge. Hard times ahead for Earth I don’t know how they’re gonna get out of this.

Meanwhile I was right, Naomi was taken straight to Marco by Filip. I don’t know what to make of it with Filip wanting his mother nearby but after what they’ve done is there any redemption coming? I doubt he even thinks he needs to be redeemed. Marco made his address to the system, I had chills listening to it at the end of the episode. He has the protomolecule now as a threat if either Mars or Earth step out of their boundaries to try to oversee the Belt again but I’ve got a bad feeling it won’t take much for him to send it their way.

Such an incredible episode, it didn’t slow down once and I have no idea whats going to happen next. Certain scenes from the trailer jump out at me like Jim saying to take the Roci out for a hunt and Drummer coming face to face with Marco but they could be next week or many episodes away who knows; either way I’m excited!!

[the-eye-of-moron]

And with that one episode, Marco Inaros becomes television’s Smug Evil Face Most Deserving of a Punch😡