¬ Localised file for battle descriptions {CANNAE_TITLE}Cannae {CANNAE_DESCR}Following his crushing victories over Roman armies at Trebia and Lake Trasimene, the Carthaginian general Hannibal marched onwards to Rome, all the time hoping to rouse support among the non-Roman Italians. In this, he was to be disappointed, although he did manage to attract some Gauls into his army.\n\n Rome put a huge army into the field in an effort to stop him. At Cannae this force, under L. Aemilius Paullus and C. Terrentius Varro, outnumbered Hannibal's men. The Romans arrogantly thought that by simply marching superior numbers towards the enemy they would win.\n\n Unfortunately Hannibal's Spanish and Numidian cavalry were superior to the Roman Equites, who soon abandoned the fight, allowing the Carthaginian allies to sweep into the back of the advancing Romans. Hannibal then pulled off what is possibly one of the greatest manoeuvres in military history by pulling his central units back, sucking the Roman army forwards. He then crashed into the Roman flanks with Pike phalanxes, trapping his enemies in a ring of steel. What followed was the largest massacre of Romans by an enemy ever recorded.\n\n But Hannibal never capitalised on his victory. The war dragged on, and Rome was to emerge triumphant... {CARRHAE_TITLE}Carrhae {CARRHAE_DESCR}Carrhae was a battle that need not have happened.\n\n It was the success of Julius Caesar in Gaul that led Licinius Crassus, a rival for power, to move against the Parthians: Caesar was doing rather too well. Crassus had been a member of the First Triumvirate with Caesar and Pompey, and then a consul with Pompey. His achievements were in danger of being overshadowed.\n\n In 55 BC Crassus went to Syria - a province he had been given when the spoils of the Empire were divided up - with war on his mind. The Parthian Empire to the east was an opportunity for glory and even greater wealth, although his desire for a war was completely unnecessary and probably beyond his skills to manage. To be fair to Crassus, he was an adequate general, rather than a great commander like Caesar or Pompey. He probably knew that he owed his place in the Triumvirate to his enormous wealth. There also have to be some doubts as to Julius Caesar's true motives in writing to Crassus urging him to go to war.\n\n In 53, he got his war but foolishly rejected local advice and marched directly towards the Parthian heartland; he had been advised to attack through the mountains of Armenia. The legions cross the Euphrates at Zeugma, pressed eastwards but, on hearing that the Parthians were near, Crassus reformed the army into a massive marching square. An army of horse archers and cavalry under the inspiring commander Surenas then confronted him. As the Roman infantry stood firm, the Parthians began the battle with a cacophony of beating drums to dishearten their enemies. Then the arrow storm started...\n\n Although it's not usual to tell you about the aftermath of a battle you're about to refight, the fate of Crassus is worth knowing. The Parthians captured and executed him. Crassus was probably the wealthiest man in the Roman world, and the Parthians poured molten gold down his throat. They also slaughtered the Roman wounded and took the survivors into captivity. The final insult was that they captured many standards, including legionary eagles. {CYNOCEPHALAE_TITLE}Cynocephalae {CYNOCEPHALAE_DESCR}With Carthage defeated at Zama and the Second Punic War brought to a successful conclusion, Rome turned its attention to other matters. In Greece, the former ally of Carthage, Philip of Macedon provoked Roman hostility just by his continued existence. Romans never forgive or forget those who oppose them, even when this is done ineffectually. It didn't take a lot of effort for Titus Quinctius Flamininus to persuade the Senate that a settling of accounts with Philip was now needed.\n\n In 200 BC a Roman army landed in Thessaly. After some tentative manoeuvering by both sides, they camped on either side of a series of ridges and hillocks called "The Dogs' Heads" (for their shapes) and prepared for battle. The fight that followed was characterised by changing fortunes for each side but it was the Romans who eventually gained the upper hand.\n\n Philip's influence in Greece was broken, and a series of small campaigns by Flamininus resulted in the Greek cities being largely independent of Macedonian power by 196. By carefully not taking control for Rome, Flaminius was hailed as a liberator, but in practical terms none of the Greek cities were powerful enough to oppose Rome's will. {MANCETTER_TITLE}Mancetter {MANCETTER_DESCR}Twenty years after the initial invasion of Britannia, the Romans had still not entirely managed to pacify the natives. They needed the local aristocracy to help them rule, yet they had managed to alienate them through excessive greed and high-handedness. Even royalty were treated badly. When the King of the Iceni died his household was plundered, his wife whipped and his daughters raped. The Britons were definitely being shown their place in the Roman scheme of things.\n\n There was just one problem the Romans hadn't counted on. The dead King's widow, Boudica was not going to take this kind of treatment. She had no trouble in gathering tribesmen who hated Rome, and marched to Londinium, slaughtering the settlers of Verulamium (St. Albans) along the way. In fact, the native Britons lost no opportunity in slaying any Roman or fellow traveller they could lay their hands on.\n\n Paullinus, the Roman governor, had gathered what troops he could - one of his own Legion commanders refused to march to his aid. He met Boudica near Watling Street, the great supply road from the Kent Coast with only 10,000 men under his command. But they were 10,000 hardened, disciplined Legionaries...\n\n The slaughter of Britons was immense. In one day, Paullinus saved Britannia for the Empire.\n\n Boudica took her own life rather than be captured and humiliated further by the Romans. {PHARSALUS_TITLE}Pharsalus {PHARSALUS_DESCR}Julius Caesar had more than proved himself with his campaigns in Gaul, establishing himself as a popular commander as well as great one. His legions were now to be tested to the utmost when, in 49 BC he crossed the Rubicon, the formal boundary of his province, into Italy and directly challenged the power of the Senate and that of his greatest rival, Pompey. Caesar had the advantage that his legions were mostly veterans of his campaigns in Gaul. He had also assured himself of their loyalty by doubling their pay.\n\n Pompey withdrew the Senate's forces to Greece, with the ultimate aim of gathering all the Roman armies in the east and further troops from client kingdoms. Caesar quickly moved to snuff out resistance in the west, then followed and tried to trap Pompey in Greece, but he had done so too quickly and lacked supplies for a protracted siege. Instead, it was Caesar who was forced to retreat from Greece over the mountains into Thessaly. Pompey, despite the temptation of returning to Italy and seizing the heartlands of Rome, followed him.\n\n In June, both armies reached the town of Pharsalus, and what followed was to be one of the great set-piece battles of the Roman age. Both armies came into line with one flank resting on the River Enipeus, with Pompey's powerful cavalry forces ready to attack any weak spot. When the battle was over, Pompey's power was broken and he fled to Egypt. Caesar, on the other hand, had become master of the Roman world. Even after his assassination in the Senate on the Ides of March 44 BC, his name would live on as a title of leadership, even up to the present day in the forms of 'Kaiser', 'Tsar' and even 'Drugs Czar' in current day governments. But it need not necessarily have been that way... {SPARTACUS_TITLE}Spartacus {SPARTACUS_DESCR}Possibly the most famous slave in all of Roman history, Spartacus scared the living daylights out of the Romans. He and his gladiators took a disparate mob of slaves from all over the Empire and made them into an army. He was more than just a rebel to the Romans: he represented a deadly threat to the Roman world. The whole economy relied on slavery and slaves were everywhere. If they turned on their rightful Roman masters and slaughtered them - well, who was safe, even in the comfort of their own homes?\n\n This was why the Romans spared no efforts to destroy Spartacus, and why his achievements in wrong-footing the Republic are so impressive. He established a base on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius in 73BC and managed to hold off repeated attacks by the Roman army. In the meantime, his men raided nearby latifundia (great estates) almost at will and brought more freed slaves into Spartacus' ranks.\n\n Spartacus would last another two years, until factional infighting among the slaves split his forces and he was suppressed by the combined might of Pompey and Licinius Crassus. Crassus even constructed a wall and ditch some 60 kilometres long during the final campaign to bottle up Spartacus! {TEUTOBURGERWALD_TITLE}Teutoburg Forest {TEUTOBURGERWALD_DESCR}By 9 AD the frontier of the Rome world lay along the natural moat of the Rhine. To the north, the barbarians lurked in their dark forests (according to the Romans) and plotted the destruction of all things civilized.\n\n The Emperor Augustus was, however, absolutely convinced that the comforts of civilized living could be brought to the German tribes, and pushed for full provincial development of the German interior. However, there seemed to be faint prospect of ever bringing civilization and its comforts to the awkward Germans. This may have been behind the decision to appoint Quinctilius Varus as governor of the province. The man was an able administrator, but not a very good soldier. He was a civilian, with a civilian's mission of collecting taxes, conscripting soldiers, and establishing Roman law. Perhaps Roman efficiency would win over the Germans.\n\n The German tribes, on the other hand, were equally convinced that the comforts of Rome were probably very nice, but not the Roman government and taxes that seemed to go with them. There was little money to pay taxes (barter economies don't need money), free warriors saw conscription as slavery, and Roman law was completely barbaric - why was it right to go around imprisoning people and flogging them when a blood feud settled a dispute properly? Varus established his main camp somewhere on the Weser (best guesses place it somewhere near modern Minden), but as winter approached, Varus, his army and the camp followers pulled back towards winter quarters to the south. This was the opportunity that the Germans had been waiting for. Arminius, their hidden leader, had spent time in Varus' camp but once the Romans were on the march and the route they were to take was established, he disappeared - and the attacks by the wild men of the German forests began... ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬* ¬* THIS FILE GONE FOR LOCALISATION!!! ¬* ALL CHANGES & ADDITIONS MADE POST THE DATE SPECIFIED ¬* BELOW MUST GO UNDERNEATH THIS DIVIDER!!! ¬* ¬***** Changes made after 29/03/2004 17:30:00 ¬* ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** {TELAMON_TITLE}Telamon {TELAMON_DESCR}After the end of the 1st Punic War and the Pyrrhic War, the Romans had every right to feel pleased with their results. There had been unrest in northern Italy, but the mere appearance of an army had quashed any opposition. The Romans had even decided to close the Temple of Janus in the Forum, something that only occurred when there was peace throughout Roman lands. This was very uncommon indeed.\n\n However, peace never seemed to last. In 225BC an alliance of Gallic tribes and mercenaries from Transalpine Gaul moved into Etruria through an unguarded pass in the Apennines. To meet this invasion, the Romans called on the resources and manpower of all of middle and southern Italy, who rapidly mobilised defensive forces. As a result, they succeeded in outmanoeuvring the Gauls, and forced the invaders towards the coast of Tuscany, while another army made an unopposed landing at Pisae and prevented them from a line of retreat.\n\n The Gauls were surrounded, trapped. At Telamon, on the coast of Etruria, the Gauls stood back to back and waited for the Romans to approach. The Romans, however, had learned from previous wars with the Gauls, and did not let the headlong rush of Gallic warriors dishearten them…\n\n After Telamon the Romans decided that enough was enough. Northern Italy would have to be secured and the Gauls defeated, a task that would virtually double the area under Rome's direct control. By 220BC nearly all the Gallic tribes had submitted and Carthage was severely weakened by the loss of one of its main sources of mercenaries. The peace won would not be long lasting. {RAPHIA_TITLE}Raphia {RAPHIA_DESCR}More than a century after the death of Alexander the Great, his successors were still struggling for dominance over his fragmented empire, including that of the Middle East, one of the most fought-over corners of the world. Antiochus III of the Seleucids had designs on regaining control of Coele-Syria (approximately what is now modern Lebanon, Israel and Jordan) which had been annexed earlier by Egypt. Antiochus could do little about the situation immediately, but his opportunity came when the new king of Egypt, Ptolemy IV came to the throne. As he was not an attractive character, there were defections to the Seleucids among Egyptian generals and governors, and war loomed.\n\n By Spring 217BC both sides had completed their preparations. Egyptian diplomacy had delayed the fighting for long enough. The Egyptians had gathered a mercenary army, but Antiochus had managed to take much of Coele-Syria during the previous year's campaign. The two armies advanced, and clashed near the small town of Raphia, in what is now Gaza, with the sea protecting one flank of each army. Both kings chose to make this flank their strongest, and lead the battle from there...\n\n Although Ptolemy won the battle (Antiochus got carried away in the heat of a cavalry charge and pursuit, and became cut off from his army) he did little to secure any concrete gains from his victory. Antiochus campaigned elsewhere along his borders and did well, eventually returning to Coele-Syria in 200BC to avenge his defeat and secure the area for the Seleucid throne. {LAKE_TRASIMENE_TITLE}Lake Trasimene {LAKE_TRASIMENE_DESCR}The rise of Rome was far from inevitable. As the Romans moved to secure their control over the Italian peninsula, another people, the Carthaginians, were busily establishing their own empire in Spain and North Africa. It was inevitable, however, that the two rising powers in the region would clash violently at some point: there simply wasn't room around the shores of the Western Mediterranean for the two empires to co-exist. If Rome's power lay in its legions, then Carthage's maritime power was based solidly on the wealth that trade brought to the city. The Romans, however, had managed to defeat their local rivals in Italy, successfully challenge Carthaginian supremacy at sea during the 1st Punic War, and then develop a taste for further territorial gains by taking Sardinia and Corsica. Such behaviour could not go unchallenged by the Carthaginians. They could not allow power to slip away into the hands of some northern upstarts from Italy.\n\n Fortunately, the Carthaginians were blessed with a great general in Hannibal, who can only be described as a military genius. In 218 BC he lead a force from Spain, over the Alps and into Northern Italy to directly challenge Roman power. He defeated the Romans at Trebia in 217 BC and forced them onto the strategic defensive, partly thanks to the Gauls joining the Carthaginians after the battle. Hannibal was unable to profit further from his success, though, as the people of Italy - other than the Gauls - remained largely loyal to the Roman Republic.\n\n But Hannibal pushed hard, and again caught a Roman army at Lake Trasimene. Now he would have another chance to prove his worth, this time against the full might of a Roman consular army under C. Flaminius. He had already demonstrated tactical finesse in commanding many different types of soldiers against the relatively brute force approach of the Roman commander at Trebia. Now Hannibal intended to teach the Romans another hard lesson. It was not to be the last lesson in generalship he would hand out. {SYRACUSE_TITLE}Syracuse {SYRACUSE_DESCR}The city-state of Syracuse was originally a Greek colony on the island of Sicily, blessed with a defensible position and a good harbour. The city, like many Greek states, had a fairly warlike history of fighting off Carthaginians, Etruscans and eventually Athenians to establish its dominance in the Western Mediterranean after 413 BC. During the next hundred years or so Carthage expanded its power once more into Sicily, and Syracuse turned to its allies in the Greek homeland and Rome for help.\n\n The alliance with Rome came to a shuddering halt with the death of King Hiero of Syracuse in 215 BC. His young grandson and heir, Heironymous, favoured the Carthaginians but he was murdered and replaced by a republic. As it became clear the Pro-Carthage party was gaining the upper hand in Syracuse, the Romans sent an invasion force under the command of Claudius Marcellus to Sicily. The hasty sacking of one of Syracuse's frontier posts by the Romans did nothing to aid their cause in the city. This caused a massacre of pro-Romans in the city, and a re-affirmation of Hieronymous' alliance with Carthage.\n\n Marcellus immediately moved to besiege Syracuse. Surrounding the city turned into a bitter and long struggle, but eventually Marcellus carried the outer defences with an audacious night assault. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of the whole affair came after Marcellus had given his permission for looting. Roman soldiers killed the greatest inventor of the age, Archimedes while out pillaging… The positive side was that the Romans were exposed to the culture of Greece as never before, and found it largely to their liking. {ZAMA_TITLE}Zama {ZAMA_DESCR}After fifteen years of warfare, Carthage and Rome had fought each other almost to the point of exhaustion. The Second Punic War was not going well for the Carthaginians, and even the Romans were beginning to find that their resources were becoming stretched. Despite brilliant victories, Hannibal had been unable to break Roman power in Italy. He was still there, but lacked the manpower to make any kind of decisive breakthrough. The Romans were content to let Hannibal march and countermarch; they had eventually managed to drive the Carthaginians out of Spain, but at a high cost. They had, however, learned how to tactically defeat the Carthaginians on the battlefield, rather than through the long process of attrition.\n\n In 204BC Scipio landed in North Africa at the head of a large Roman force. Two years of hard campaigning - and convincing victories by Scipio - made Carthage ask for peace. The Romans had also managed to separate Carthage and Numidia and put their own candidate on the Numidian throne. A deal was struck and the war looked to be over, but the recall of Hannibal from Italy with his veterans gave the hard-liners in Carthage the upper hand before the treaty could be implemented in full. With the armistice now dead, the armies marched towards each other, and met at Zama.\n\n The battle lines were drawn. Scipio's army was superbly trained. Hannibal was able to field a large contingent of elephants, but for once his cavalry was inadequate. The loss of Numidia had weakened his mounted forces substantially… {MAGNESIA_TITLE}Magnesia {MAGNESIA_DESCR}After the death of Alexander the Great, his generals fought viciously for control of his empire. Eventually, three major fragments stabilised and have become known collectively as the Successor Kingdoms. These were Macedonia under the Antigonid dynasty, the Seleucid Empire, and Egypt under the Ptolemaic dynasty (the family that would eventually produce the famously beautiful and alluring Cleopatra).\n\n While the Romans were busy winning a war against the Macedonians, Antiochus III of the Seleucid Empire was making serious efforts to regain part of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). Although the Romans had no direct interest in this part of the Mediterranean world, they had allies who did, particularly Pergamum. The Romans began to interfere, simply because any other greater power might be a threat to Roman security in the long run. Relations between the Seleucids and the Romans were not helped by the appearance of Hannibal at the Seleucid court. Although the war remained one of words for a while, it was only a matter of time before fighting began. Neither side really wanted war, but in the charged atmosphere of Roman arrogance, Seleucid suspicion of Rome's motives and Hannibal's re-emergence, it happened. The resulting war marked the beginning of the end for the Seleucids.\n\n At Magnesia (in present day Western Turkey) the Romans and Antiochus III clashed. The Seleucids formed up in large, blocky phalanxes, separated by elephants to make a more flexible battle line than a pure phalanx. Every phalanx, of course, was vulnerable in the flanks, a problem made worse by the relative decline in the quality of Greek cavalry. Against the supremely disciplined and flexible Roman legions, the Seleucid army was to be tested to the point of destruction… {ARAUSIO_TITLE}Arausio {ARAUSIO_DESCR}As Rome expanded her frontiers near the end of the second century BC, other people were also on the move, including the barbarian tribes to the north and west. The Cimbri and Teutones had wandered along the borders of the Roman world for many years, driven from their original homes in Jutland and Frisia by changing sea levels. Their wanderings did not take them into Roman territory to start with, as they were unwilling to match their strength against the Legions, but the need for living space was obviously becoming an issue. This is what lead the tribes into Transalpine Gaul in around 110BC, and what lead to the eventual confrontation with Rome.\n\n By now, the Senate was treating the matter with some concern, but rejected any peace overtures from the barbarians. In 105 the consul Gnaeus Mallius Maximus was sent north with his army to deal with the problem, but he was not helped by a lack of cooperation on the part of the proconsul Quintus Servilius Caepio. Caepio, incidentally, was suspected of having stolen an enormous amount of gold and silver booty during an earlier campaign, loot that should have gone to the coffers of Rome.\n\n When battle was joined at Arausio, near modern Orange, it was a disaster for the Romans. Fortunately for Rome, the tribes did not take advantage of the open road that lead to Rome. Instead the Cimbri pushed on to Spain, while the Teutones resumed their wanderings through France. Rome had been spared a complete catastrophe.\n\n As a result of this terrible defeat the Romans elected Gaius Marius as consul. It was he who completely changed the way the Roman Army was organised, not only creating a new style of legion, but also retraining legionaries to fight in a new manner, and giving them unprecedented strategic mobility by having men carry their own gear, rather than needing a baggage train. The Marian legions were to be the ones that gave Rome dominance over the known world. {JUGURTHA_TITLE}Jugurtha {JUGURTHA_DESCR}Numidia was a Carthaginian client kingdom for many centuries and its borders were roughly the same as modern Algeria. Its people were semi-nomadic until roughly the time of the Second Punic War, when King Masinissa swapped sides, abandoning Carthage in favour of Rome. He spent decades extending his influence, stealing former Carthaginian territory and trying to turn his people into settled peasants.\n\n Numidia provided part of the pretext for Rome to launch its last assault on Carthage, resulting in the city being wiped from the face of the earth and the site being sown with salt. The fleeing Carthaginians were allowed to settle in what were now Numidian lands. Seeds of trouble were sown, however, when the new King, Micipsa adopted his nephew, Jugurtha as an heir. In later years, he was given command of forces sent to help the Romans, and impressed many of them with his military prowess. In the meantime, Micipsa fathered two sons, and Jugurtha was disinherited. After Micipsa died, Jugurtha was of the opinion that dividing the kingdom among the sons was a very bad idea and usurped the throne. One son was assassinated, the other fled to Rome. Matters could have rested there, but Jugurtha allowed himself to be provoked, and declared war in 109BC.\n\n The man eventually sent to deal with him was Gaius Marius. Having been elected consul in consecutive years - something that wasn't supposed to happen under Roman law - Marius was proving to be among the best soldiers Rome had ever had. His skills as an organiser were absolutely vital when it came to updating the way that the Legions fought. It is to Marius' credit that the Legionary system he re-forged was to give Rome absolute dominance of the known world. During this crisis, Rome had also been distracted by a threat much closer to home: another barbarian invasion of Italy seemed imminent.\n\n After the battle Jugurtha was taken back to Rome in chains and, after being marched through the city as part of the victory parade, he was ritually executed: another failed enemy of the Senate and People of Rome. {CHAERONEA_TITLE}Chaeronea {CHAERONEA_DESCR}In Rome military success and political power went hand-in-hand - the second was almost impossible without the first.\n\n Lucius Cornelius Sulla began his military career under Marius in Africa, helping in the capture of Jugurtha of Numidia, and eventually becoming consul in 86BC as a member of the senatorial group. Marius, who was the 'man of the people' was now his rival. The two of them were locked into a life and death struggle for control of Rome and the Roman world, even while the empire was under attack. For example, Mithradates VI of Pontus was in the process of moving west through Asia Minor into Roman territory.\n\n Command of the expedition against him would be politically valuable, and Marius managed to outmanoeuvre Sulla on the political front and get the job. Marius was almost certainly worried that Sulla was turning out to be a greater general - and therefore more influential - than him. Not to be outdone, a now angry and resentful Sulla marched his armies towards Rome and put Marius and his allies to flight! With Marius declared an outlaw (the victor, after all, gets to say who was right all along), Sulla turned back towards Greece and Asia beyond, intent on destroying the threat of Mithradates and Pontus.\n\n Sulla landed in Epirus with five Legions, captured Athens, and then met the army of Pontus at Chaeronea, later to be the birthplace of Plutarch. He defeated them, and imposed swinging fines, forcing Mithradates to hand 2000 silver talents (a talent was a measure of weight approximate to the amount a single man could carry), 70 war ships and his conquered territories, as well as to become a vassal of Rome. Back in Rome, however, Sulla had been declared a public enemy, his house had been pulled down, and his family and friends dispossessed.\n\n With victory secure, Sulla used it to help him in his bid for ultimate power in Rome. The man sent to replace him in Asia was murdered, and Sulla eventually returned to the city as victor of a civil war and dictator. His brutal regime murdered many of his enemies and took their property, he re-organised the government and removed any popular checks to the Senate's powers, passed many unpopular laws and then, in a move that surprised everyone, he retired as dictator and years later died peacefully from a fever... {GERGOVIA_TITLE}Gergovia {GERGOVIA_DESCR}Julius Caesar was appointed proconsul for the combined provinces of Illyricum, Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul - a vast territory for him to rule, but still not quite enough. Fortunately, he commanded one of the best armies of the day, tough veteran legionaries with good military engineering skills. Even so this wasn't big enough for his purposes, and he eventually raised legions from among the native people who weren't Roman citizens by birth, something of a first for a Roman general.\n\n In a series of rapid campaigns, he defeated an array of Gallic tribes across modern France from the Rhine to the English Channel. Caesar had an eye on political power in Rome, not just on simply conquering a bunch of barbarians. He even found time to bridge the Rhine to fight the Germans, and cross into Britannia to teach the natives there a lesson in Roman warfare. All throughout these campaigns, he still had to have an eye on the political manoeuvrings of his fellow Romans, Crassus and Pompey, and how his own victories would look to the Senate. Fortunately, Crassus was to be dead quite soon, urged into foolish military adventurism by Caesar himself.\n\n All was going well until 54 BC when a revolt broke out lead by Vercingetorix, an Avernian aristocrat. Thrown temporarily onto the back foot, Caesar was forced to react to the Gaul and his attacks, rather than the other way around. The Gauls annihilated one of his legions in the winter of 54-53 BC, and disaster never seemed far away. The rebellious Gauls were proving to be a huge problem.\n\n In 53 BC, the Gauls and Romans met at Gergovia. After the fighting, Caesar's talent for positive propaganda on his own behalf was put to a severe test. This battle was one of his few setbacks (not a defeat, no - or if it was, it was someone else's fault). Vercingetorix and the Gauls got the better of the Romans, but Caesar was to have his revenge and ultimate victory, one year later at Alesia.\n\n Vercingetorix paid the price for his defiance of Roman authority. After his surrender, he was paraded through Rome and publicly beheaded. {ALEXANDRIA_TITLE}Alexandria {ALEXANDRIA_DESCR}After his defeat at Pharsalus, Caesar's rival Pompey decided that a trip to Egypt would be beneficial to his continuing good health. Rome had long had an interest in Egypt, and was the 'guardian' of the Ptolomaic dynasty, so his decision to flee there was not unreasonable. He fled by sea, looking for asylum with the Egyptian ruler, Ptolemy XIII, but before Pompey could land he was assassinated.\n\n Caesar, who was in fairly hot pursuit, arrived shortly afterwards and was soon deeply involved in Egyptian politics and Ptolemaic family squabblings - the same thing most of the time.\n\n Ptolemy XIII was not the only member of his family to have designs on the throne. His sister-and-wife (the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty having adopted traditional pharoanic Egyptian ways), Cleopatra VII, had thoughts of being queen all by herself. The 22-year-old had herself delivered to Caesar's quarters (he was a notorious lothario) wrapped in an oriental carpet, and persuaded the old fox into supporting her instead of her brother. Her plan worked, and with the arrival of Roman reinforcements, Caesar carried out a coup on her behalf, fighting Ptolemy's loyalists through the streets of Alexandria.\n\n After the battle Cleopatra married her younger brother, Ptolemy XIV and took Caesar as a lover. She bore him a son, Caesarion, and they could have lived happily ever after, except for the fact that Caesar's behaviour had riled the Senate to a murderous rage. With Caesar assassinated, Cleopatra transferred her favours to Mark Anthony, and the stage was set for a final tragedy... {BIBRACTE_TITLE}Bibracte {BIBRACTE_DESCR}When the Romans arrived in Transalpine Gaul they lost no time in becoming involved in local Celtic politics. There were, after all, about 60 different tribes, and the unified Romans were definitely the dominant powerhouse. This meant that many of the Celtic tribes were gradually drawn into the Roman sphere of influence as trade and wealth seduced them. The Aedui were one of these tribes, and were even given the title of 'Brothers of Rome' by the Senate to show the close relationship.\n\n It was natural, then, that the Aedui would turn to the Romans for help when they were under pressure from the Helvetii, a tribe who were moving out of the mountains and into their lands. Initially the Senate declined to help, but Julius Caesar, while proconsul, recognised the opportunity for enlarging direct Roman control into Gaul. He agreed to help, seeing this as a chance to move his armies into Celtic territory. Once the Helvetii were defeated, whether or not they would go home again was another matter... {MONS_GRAUPIUS_TITLE}Mons Graupius {MONS_GRAUPIUS_DESCR}'They rob, kill and rape and this they call Roman rule. They make a wilderness and call it peace.'\n\n These were only some of the curses and criticisms of the Romans put into the mouth of Calgacus, the leader of the Celts, by the historian Tacitus. In 84AD the province of Britannia was very largely pacified in the south, but in the northern mountains the locals were still resisting Roman power. Agricola, the Governor of Britain, went north with a substantial force to bring these ingrates to heel and stamp Roman authority on the Highlands. The Britons chose to make their stand on the slopes of Mons Graupius. The Romans attacked and the battle is claimed as a one-sided massacre of the natives…\n\n Tacitus is the only historical source for the battle. He - and this was a safe way for a Roman writer to criticise Roman power - gives a superb and rousing speech to Calgacus before the battle. The British chieftain rouses his men to defend their homes, their freedom and their lives against the might of Rome as Agricola and his Legionaries close in for the kill. Unfortunately, Tacitus' geography isn't quite so good, and the exact site of Mons Graupius remains unknown. Several places, including some good candidates in the Grampians, have been suggested. {TIGRANOCERTA_TITLE}Tigranocerta {TIGRANOCERTA_DESCR}For most of history, Armenia has existed as a buffer state between larger powers, but in the early first century BC it had imperial ambitions of its own. The Armenian king, Tigranes, had overrun much of Syria and constructed a new capital named Tigranocerta. Foolishly though, he had allied himself with the neighbouring king of Pontus in his struggle against Rome, and in 69 BC the Roman general Lucullus came to settle the score.\n\n Lucullus marched into Syria with a smallish force of around 20,000 veteran troops. At first Tigranes was contemptuous, describing Lucullus' force as "too large for an embassy, but too small for an army", but when Lucullus laid siege to his capital he was forced to react. Tigranes levied a huge force from across his domain, lead by fearsome cataphract cavalry with both men and horses in heavy armour.\n\n He moved to face Lucullus across a small river. In response, Lucullus marched his force along the riverbank as if in retreat, then suddenly charged across a ford and attacked the right of Armenian army where the cataphracts were posted. Keeping them occupied with his cavalry, Lucullus worked two cohorts of infantry around their flank and attacked. Not used to being charged by foot, and finding it hard to turn in their heavy armour and close formation, the cataphracts broke in flight. Dismayed by the loss of its best troops, the rest of Tigranes' army followed suit.\n\n Its empire still-born, Armenia became another footnote of history. ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬* ¬* THIS FILE GONE FOR LOCALISATION!!! ¬* ALL CHANGES & ADDITIONS MADE POST THE DATE SPECIFIED ¬* BELOW MUST GO UNDERNEATH THIS DIVIDER!!! ¬* ¬***** Changes made after 21/04/2004 17:30:00 ¬* ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬ NB: In the following (Bibracte), I've changed "Brothers of Rome" to "Friends of Rome", which is the correct term. (Luci Black) {BIBRACTE_TITLE}Bibracte {BIBRACTE_DESCR}When the Romans arrived in Transalpine Gaul they lost no time in becoming involved in local Celtic politics. There were, after all, about 60 different tribes, and the unified Romans were definitely the dominant powerhouse. This meant that many of the Celtic tribes were gradually drawn into the Roman sphere of influence as trade and wealth seduced them. The Aedui were one of these tribes, and were even given the title of 'Friends of Rome' by the Senate to show the close relationship.\n\n It was natural, then, that the Aedui would turn to the Romans for help when they were under pressure from the Helvetii, a tribe who were moving out of the mountains and into their lands. Initially the Senate declined to help, but Julius Caesar, while proconsul, recognised the opportunity for enlarging direct Roman control into Gaul. He agreed to help, seeing this as a chance to move his armies into Celtic territory. Once the Helvetii were defeated, whether or not they would go home again was another matter... ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬* ¬* THIS FILE GONE FOR LOCALISATION!!! ¬* ALL CHANGES & ADDITIONS MADE POST THE DATE SPECIFIED ¬* BELOW MUST GO UNDERNEATH THIS DIVIDER!!! ¬* ¬***** Changes made after 13/05/2004 09:00:00 ¬* ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬* ¬* THIS FILE GONE FOR LOCALISATION!!! ¬* ALL CHANGES & ADDITIONS MADE POST THE DATE SPECIFIED ¬* BELOW MUST GO UNDERNEATH THIS DIVIDER!!! ¬* ¬***** Changes made after 03/06/2004 16:48:00 ¬* ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** {TELAMON_TITLE}Telamon {TELAMON_DESCR}After the end of the 1st Punic War, the Romans had every right to feel pleased with their results. There had been unrest in northern Italy, but the mere appearance of an army had quashed any opposition. However, in 225BC an alliance of Gallic tribes and mercenaries from Transalpine Gaul moved into Etruria through an unguarded pass in the Apennines. To meet this invasion, the Romans called on the resources and manpower of all of middle and southern Italy, who rapidly mobilised defensive forces. As a result, they succeeded in outmanoeuvring the Gauls, and forced the invaders towards the coast of Tuscany, while another army made an unopposed landing at Pisae and prevented them from a line of retreat. The Gauls were surrounded, trapped.\n\n After Telamon the Romans decided that enough was enough. Northern Italy would have to be secured and the Gauls defeated, a task that would virtually double the area under Rome's direct control. By 220BC nearly all the Gallic tribes had submitted and Carthage was severely weakened by the loss of one of its main sources of mercenaries. The peace won would not be long lasting. {RAPHIA_TITLE}Raphia {RAPHIA_DESCR}More than a century after the death of Alexander the Great, and his successors were still struggling for dominance over his fragmented empire. Antiochus III of the Seleucids had designs on regaining control of Coele-Syria which had been recently annexed by Egypt. Antiochus could do little about the situation immediately, but his opportunity came when the new king of Egypt, Ptolemy IV came to the throne. As he was not an attractive character, there were defections to the Seleucids among Egyptian generals and governors, and war loomed.\n\n By Spring 217BC both sides had completed their preparations. Egyptian diplomacy had delayed the fighting for long enough. The two armies advanced, and clashed near the small town of Raphia, with the sea protecting one flank of each army. Both kings chose to make this flank their strongest, and lead the battle from there... {LAKE_TRASIMENE_TITLE}Lake Trasimene {LAKE_TRASIMENE_DESCR}The rise of Rome was far from inevitable. As the Romans moved to secure their control over the Italian peninsular, another people, the Carthaginians, were busily establishing their own empire in Spain and North Africa. It was inevitable, however, that the two rising powers in the region would clash violently at some point: there simply wasn't room around the shores of the Western Mediterranean for the two empires to co-exist.\n\n Fortunately, the Carthaginians were blessed with a great general in Hannibal, who can only be described as a military genius. In 218 BC he lead a force from Spain, over the Alps and into Northern Italy to directly challenge Roman power. He defeated the Romans at Trebia in 218 BC and forced them onto the strategic defensive.\n\n Hannibal continued to push hard, and caught a Roman army at Lake Trasimene. Now he would have another chance to prove his worth, this time against the full might of a Roman consular army under C. Flaminius. He had already demonstrated tactical finesse in commanding many different types of soldiers against the relatively brute force approach of the Roman commander at Trebia. Now Hannibal intended to teach the Romans another hard lesson. It was not to be the last lesson in generalship he would hand out. {ARAUSIO_TITLE}Arausio {ARAUSIO_DESCR}As Rome expanded her frontiers near the end of the second century BC, other people were also on the move, including the Cimbri and Teutone, barbarian tribes from the north and west. Their wanderings did not take them into Roman territory to start with, but the need for living space was obviously becoming an issue. This would eventually lead the tribes into Transalpine Gaul in around 110BC, and force the eventual confrontation with Rome. In 105 the consul Gnaeus Mallius Maximus was sent north with his army to deal with the problem, but he was not helped by a lack of cooperation on the part of the proconsul Quintus Servilius Caepio.\n\n When battle was joined at Arausio, near modern Orange, it was a disaster for the Romans. Fortunately for Rome, the tribes did not take advantage of the open road that lead to Rome. Instead the Cimbri pushed on to Spain, while the Teutones resumed their wanderings through France. Rome had been spared a complete catastrophe. {GERGOVIA_TITLE}Gergovia {GERGOVIA_DESCR}Julius Caesar was appointed proconsul for the combined provinces of Illyricum, Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul - a vast territory for him to rule, but still not quite enough. Fortunately, he commanded one of the best armies of the day, tough veteran legionaries with good military engineering skills.\n\n All was going well until 54 BC when a revolt broke out lead by Vercingetorix, an Avernian aristocrat. Thrown temporarily onto the back foot, Caesar was forced to react to the Gaul and his attacks, rather than the other way around. The Gauls annihilated one of his legions in the winter of 54-53 BC, and disaster never seemed far away. The rebellious Gauls were proving to be a huge problem.\n\n In 52 BC, the Gauls and Romans met at Gergovia, a fortified hilltop fort. Fearing that the Gauls were bringing forward reinforcments, Caesar ordered a legion to march to the rear of the fort. Spotting this, Vercingetorix moved the entire Gallic army to watch, leaving the path to the fort clear for Caesar. The Roman General ordered his forces forward, but the Gauls returned just in time to counter the offensive and surround the Roman army. {MONS_GRAUPIUS_TITLE}Mons Graupius {MONS_GRAUPIUS_DESCR}In 84AD the province of Britannia was very largely pacified but in the northern mountains the locals were still resisting Roman power. Agricola, the Governor of Britain, went north with a substantial force to bring these ingrates to heel and stamp Roman authority on the Highlands. The Britons chose to make their stand on the slopes of Mons Graupius. The Romans attacked and the battle is claimed as a one-sided massacre of the natives as claimed by Tacitus, the only historical source for the battle.\n\n He - and this was a safe way for a Roman writer to criticise Roman power - gives a superb and rousing speech to Calgacus before the battle. The British chieftain rouses his men to defend their homes, their freedom and their lives against the might of Rome as Agricola and his Legionaries close in for the kill. {TIGRANOCERTA_TITLE}Tigranocerta {TIGRANOCERTA_DESCR}The Armenian king, Tigranes, had overrun much of Syria and constructed a new capital named Tigranocerta. Foolishly though, he had allied himself with the neighbouring king of Pontus in his struggle against Rome, and in 69 BC the Roman general Lucullus came to settle the score. \n\n Lucullus marched into Syria with a smallish force of around 20,000 veteran troops. At first Tigranes was contemptuous, describing Lucullus' force as "too large for an embassy, but too small for an army", but when Lucullus laid siege to his capital he was forced to react. Tigranes levied a huge force from across his domain, lead by fearsome cataphract cavalry with both men and horses in heavy armour. He moved to face Lucullus across a small river. In response, Lucullus marched his force along the riverbank as if in retreat, then suddenly charged across a ford and attacked the right of Armenian army where the cataphracts were posted. Keeping them occupied with his cavalry, Lucullus worked two cohorts of infantry around their flank and attacked.\n\n Not used to being charged by foot, and finding it hard to turn in their heavy armour and close formation, the cataphracts broke in flight. Dismayed by the loss of its best troops, the rest of Tigranes' army followed suit. Its empire still-born, Armenia became another footnote of history. ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬* ¬* THIS FILE GONE FOR LOCALISATION!!! ¬* ALL CHANGES & ADDITIONS MADE POST THE DATE SPECIFIED ¬* BELOW MUST GO UNDERNEATH THIS DIVIDER!!! ¬* ¬***** Changes made after 17/06/2004 13:01:00 ¬* ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬* ¬* THIS FILE GONE FOR LOCALISATION!!! ¬* ALL CHANGES & ADDITIONS MADE POST THE DATE SPECIFIED ¬* BELOW MUST GO UNDERNEATH THIS DIVIDER!!! ¬* ¬* This particular divider does not denote a changes round. ¬* This is when the files were locked to be sent for Russian and Polish translation. ¬* ¬* ¬***** Changes made after 01/07/2004 09:00:00 ¬* ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬* ¬* THIS FILE GONE FOR LOCALISATION!!! ¬* ALL CHANGES & ADDITIONS MADE POST THE DATE SPECIFIED ¬* BELOW MUST GO UNDERNEATH THIS DIVIDER!!! ¬* ¬* ¬***** Changes made after 07/07/2004 17:15:00 ¬* ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** {TREBIA_TITLE}Battle of the Trebia {TREBIA_DESCR}As Rome secured control of the Italian peninsular, Carthage was establishing an empire in Spain and North Africa. It was inevitable that these two rising powers would clash violently for control of the Western Mediterranean. Carthage needed space for its trade and maritime empire, and the Romans simply saw Carthage as another threat. War was bound to come, sooner or later.\n\n Fortunately for the Carthaginians, they had the services of Hannibal Barca, one of the greatest generals of all time. Marching from Spain, he slipped past one Roman army and into northern Italy over the Alps, even managing to bring a contingent of elephants with the army. His bold strategy was to march on Rome and break Roman power at its heart. He also hoped to gain allies as he advanced, among peoples disenchanted with the domination of Rome.\n\n After two months of campaigning he was met by a Roman force at the River Trebia. Hannibal used a feigned cavalry retreat to lure the Romans across the freezing river. True to form, and despite the winter floods, the Romans crossed the river and made straight for Hannibal's army. Historically, Hannibal was ready and crushed the Roman army. The few Romans who escaped were the ones who broke through the Carthaginian line as it closed around them and then kept running! {CYNOCEPHALAE_TITLE}The Battle of Cynoscephalae {BATTLE_OF_ASCULUM_TITLE}Battle of Asculum {BATTLE_OF_ASCULUM_DESCR}Pyrrhus, the King of Epirus, had a long career as a soldier, pretty much from the age of 12. He was related to Alexander the Great through his mother, and was drawn into the Wars of the Successors after Alexander's death. In the process, he managed to get himself deposed and reinstated as King of Epirus and proclaimed the King of Macedonia, and then promptly dethroned in Macedonia. Pyrrhus consciously modelled himself on Alexander and even claimed that Alexander talked to him in dreams. Even after losing the Macedonian throne, he kept looking for something to conquer, like his hero...\n\n It was at this point that ambassadors from Tarentum arrived to ask for help against some western 'barbarians' who called themselves 'Romans'. Pyrrhus needed little further encouragement and, in 280BC landed in Italy. His first overtures to the Romans offering mediation between them and the citizens of Tarentum were rejected. His victory at Heraclea was not enough to win the war, however, even when he marched on Rome. Incidentally, his opponent at Heraclea, Appius Claudius, was responsible for giving the Roman army its first taste of new punishment: decimation. Pyrrhus had hoped to win over Rome's allies and client cities to his banner, but every one of them shut the gates against him, and he was forced to winter in Campania, even though he had been close enough to Rome to see the smoke of the city on the horizon.\n\n In 279, Pyrrhus advanced again. This time he moved up the Adriatic coast, methodically reducing the Roman colonies there. Perhaps he hoped that the locals would rise and follow him, but the Romans moved too and sent an army to confront him under the command of P Sulpicius Saverrio and P. Decimus Mus. The two armies confronted each other near the River Aufidus, upstream from the spot were the equally bloody Battle of Cannae would be fought some 63 years later...\n\n Asculum was to give the world the concept of the pyrrhic victory: a victory won at so great a cost that it was almost a defeat. As Pyrrhus himself remarked 'If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined.' {THE_SIEGE_OF_SPARTA_TITLE}The Siege of Sparta {THE_SIEGE_OF_SPARTA_DESCR}King Pyrrhus of Epirus liked to believe he was the last of a long line of kings, a great warrior in the tradition of Alexander the Great and worthy enough to be from the heroic age of Greece.\n\n The truth was different.\n\n After his early successes against his Greek and Macedonian neighbours, his luck changed when matched against the Romans at Asculum in 329 BC. Although he won the battle, the cost was so high in men that "pyrrhic victory" is still used to describe a triumph bought at terrible cost.\n\n Bloodied by his campaigns in Italy and Sicily, Pyrrhus returned to Epirus and raised a new army to conquer Greece and Macedonia. He managed quick victories against the Macedonian king, Antigonus, and then turned his attention south to Greece itself, and a great prize beckoned him on: Sparta.\n\n The city-state was only a shadow of what it once had been. The great days of Spartan warriors were long gone, but the lands of Sparta were still well worth conquering. More importantly, Sparta had always relied on its elite hoplites for defence, men trained from infancy to do nothing but fight. As a result, the city had no walls - it had never needed them!\n\n With most of the Spartan army away on campaign with King Areus, the city looked terribly vulnerable... {Battle_Tutorial_TITLE}Battle Tutorial {Battle_Tutorial_DESCR}You are the new leader (pater familias) of a young and upcoming noble (Patrician) family.\n\n You have been given a military command by the Senate and People of Rome (SPQR) and must help forge a safe, strong and lasting empire in Italy.\n\n Your first objective is to repel a barbarian attack to the north west of Rome./n Marcus an old and trusted centurion has agreed to guide you through your first battle. As your tutor will have told you, It is up to you to "seize the day" (carpe diem). ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬* ¬* THIS FILE GONE FOR LOCALISATION!!! ¬* ALL CHANGES & ADDITIONS MADE POST THE DATE SPECIFIED ¬* BELOW MUST GO UNDERNEATH THIS DIVIDER!!! ¬* ¬* ¬***** Changes made after 15/07/2004 17:00:00 ¬* ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** {GERGOVIA_TITLE} The Siege of Gergovia, 52 BC {LAKE_TRASIMENE_TITLE} The Battle of Lake Trasimene, 217 BC {RAPHIA_TITLE} The Battle of Raphia, 217 BC {TELAMON_TITLE} The Battle of Telamon, 225 BC {TIGRANOCERTA_TITLE} The Battle of Tigranocerta, 69 BC ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬* ¬* THIS FILE GONE FOR LOCALISATION!!! ¬* ALL CHANGES & ADDITIONS MADE POST THE DATE SPECIFIED ¬* BELOW MUST GO UNDERNEATH THIS DIVIDER!!! ¬* ¬* ¬***** Changes made after 22/07/2004 09:00:00 ¬* ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬* ¬* THIS FILE GONE FOR LOCALISATION!!! ¬* ALL CHANGES & ADDITIONS MADE POST THE DATE SPECIFIED ¬* BELOW MUST GO UNDERNEATH THIS DIVIDER!!! ¬* ¬* ¬***** Changes made after 29/07/2004 09:00:00 ¬* ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** {BATTLE_TUTORIAL_TITLE}Battle Tutorial {BATTLE_TUTORIAL_DESCR}You are the new leader (pater familias) of a young and upcoming noble (Patrician) family.\n\n You have been given a military command by the Senate and People of Rome (SPQR) and must help forge a safe, strong and lasting empire in Italy.\n\n Your first objective is to repel a barbarian attack to the north west of Rome./n Marcus an old and trusted centurion has agreed to guide you through your first battle. As your tutor will have told you, It is up to you to "seize the day" (carpe diem). ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬* ¬* THIS FILE GONE FOR LOCALISATION!!! ¬* ALL CHANGES & ADDITIONS MADE POST THE DATE SPECIFIED ¬* BELOW MUST GO UNDERNEATH THIS DIVIDER!!! ¬* ¬* ¬***** Changes made after 05/08/2004 12:00:00 ¬* ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬All that has changed in the text below is that the incorrect "/n" has been replaced by a correct "\n". {BATTLE_TUTORIAL_DESCR}You are the new leader (pater familias) of a young and upcoming noble (Patrician) family.\n\n You have been given a military command by the Senate and People of Rome (SPQR) and must help forge a safe, strong and lasting empire in Italy.\n\n Your first objective is to repel a barbarian attack to the north west of Rome.\n Marcus an old and trusted centurion has agreed to guide you through your first battle. As your tutor will have told you, It is up to you to "seize the day" (carpe diem). {BATTLE_OF_ASCULUM_TITLE}The Battle of Asculum {CYNOCEPHALAE_TITLE}The Battle of Cynoscephalae {TREBIA_TITLE}Battle of the River Trebia {CARRHAE_TITLE}The Battle of Carrhae {TEUTOBURGERWALD_TITLE}The Battle of Teutoburg Forest {THE_SIEGE_OF_SPARTA_TITLE}The Siege of Sparta ¬NB: All that has changed in the following is that the date has been removed (game adds it via the descr_battle file) {GERGOVIA_TITLE} The Siege of Gergovia {LAKE_TRASIMENE_TITLE} The Battle of Lake Trasimene {RAPHIA_TITLE} The Battle of Raphia {TELAMON_TITLE} The Battle of Telamon {TIGRANOCERTA_TITLE} The Battle of Tigranocerta ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬* ¬* THIS FILE GONE FOR LOCALISATION!!! ¬* ALL CHANGES & ADDITIONS MADE POST THE DATE SPECIFIED ¬* BELOW MUST GO UNDERNEATH THIS DIVIDER!!! ¬* ¬* ¬***** Changes made after 12/08/2004 09:53:00 ¬* ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** {MACEDONIAN_RUINS_TITLE}Macedonian Ruins {ANCRYA_TITLE}Ancrya {ROME_TITLE}Rome {CILICIAN_HILLS_TITLE}Cilician Hills {SYRIAN_FLATS_TITLE}Syrian Flats {ARRETIUM_TITLE}Arretium {ILLYRIAN_VALLEY_TITLE}Illyrian Valley {SOUTHWATER_TITLE}Southwater {LONDINIUM_TITLE}Londinium {NUMIDIAN_BASIN_TITLE}Numidian Basin {SARMATION_MOUND_TITLE}Sarmation Mound {THRACIAN_FOOTHILLS_TITLE}Thracian Foothills {GRASSY_FLATLAND_TITLE}Grassy Flatland ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬* ¬* THIS FILE GONE FOR LOCALISATION!!! ¬* ALL CHANGES & ADDITIONS MADE POST THE DATE SPECIFIED ¬* BELOW MUST GO UNDERNEATH THIS DIVIDER!!! ¬* ¬* ¬***** Changes made after 19/08/2004 16:05:00 ¬* ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬ The only change to the following text is to the date of the battle of Asculum which was previously specified wrongly. {THE_SIEGE_OF_SPARTA_DESCR}King Pyrrhus of Epirus liked to believe he was the last of a long line of kings, a great warrior in the tradition of Alexander the Great and worthy enough to be from the heroic age of Greece.\n\n The truth was different.\n\n After his early successes against his Greek and Macedonian neighbours, his luck changed when matched against the Romans at Asculum in 279 BC. Although he won the battle, the cost was so high in men that "pyrrhic victory" is still used to describe a triumph bought at terrible cost.\n\n Bloodied by his campaigns in Italy and Sicily, Pyrrhus returned to Epirus and raised a new army to conquer Greece and Macedonia. He managed quick victories against the Macedonian king, Antigonus, and then turned his attention south to Greece itself, and a great prize beckoned him on: Sparta.\n\n The city-state was only a shadow of what it once had been. The great days of Spartan warriors were long gone, but the lands of Sparta were still well worth conquering. More importantly, Sparta had always relied on its elite hoplites for defence, men trained from infancy to do nothing but fight. As a result, the city had no walls - it had never needed them!\n\n With most of the Spartan army away on campaign with King Areus, the city looked terribly vulnerable... ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬* ¬* THIS FILE GONE FOR LOCALISATION!!! ¬* ALL CHANGES & ADDITIONS MADE POST THE DATE SPECIFIED ¬* BELOW MUST GO UNDERNEATH THIS DIVIDER!!! ¬* ¬* ¬***** Changes made after 01/09/2004 09:00:00 ¬* ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬* ¬* THIS FILE GONE FOR LOCALISATION!!! ¬* ALL CHANGES & ADDITIONS MADE POST THE DATE SPECIFIED ¬* BELOW MUST GO UNDERNEATH THIS DIVIDER!!! ¬* ¬* ¬***** Changes made after 03/09/2004 09:00:00 ¬* ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬**************************************************************************************** ¬+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ¬******************************************************************************************************* ¬******************************************************************************************************* ¬* ¬* EXPANSION PACK TEXT BEGINS HERE!!! ¬* ALL TEXT BELOW THIS LINE SHOULD BE EXPANSION ADDITIONS/CHANGES ONLY!!! ¬* ¬*¬***** Changes made after 05/01/2005 15:18:00 ¬* ¬******************************************************************************************************* ¬******************************************************************************************************* ¬+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++