Looming Threat 37

' The spear of a Persian man has gone forth far; then shall it become known to you: a Persian man has delivered battle far indeed from Persia.' - Darius the Great

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A ritual was underway in the grand ziggurat of Babylon, one where Babylon's chief god, Marduk, was being deified.

Throughout the empire, there were countless shrines, temples, and altars known as ziyans (a place of divine epiphany). Whether it was mountain tops, rock surfaces, or hillsides, all served as sacred sights for various Iranian and Elamite gods.

With religion being such an important facet of the Achaemenid empire, it was only natural that its priests held significant sway in court politics.

There were two major branches among the priesthood of the Achaemenid Empire. the small "Royal" Priesthood, based around worshipping the Deified Emperor and paying respect and sacrifice to past Emperors, and the much larger "Elder" Priesthood, devoted to worshipping the respective Gods of their choice.

Magus Ukpish, Haturmaksha, 'fire watcher', the man responsible for kindling the sacred flame of Ahuramazda was a close advisor to Artaxerxes and prudently advised him on how to navigate the complex religious order in the Achaemenid empire.

The Magi donned robes of worship, emblazoned with various diagrams and talisman symbols giving off an aura of mystery and the arcane. His facial features were covered by a mask made of silk, on which were various symbols representing Ahuramazda.

In his hand was an ornate chain that carried a swinging incense, purifying his presence of the 'Lie'.

Chanting a sacred hymn, the Magus chanted in tandem with dozens of other priests in the lavishly decorated ziggurat of Chogha Zanbil.

Soon, a few dozen clueless sheep were corralled into the shrine.

Without much pretense, the sheep were slaughtered by the priests of the Babylonian god, Marduk, in order to secure a healthy crop yield, good weather, and blessed prominence.

Having finished their hymns of prayer, the priests descended the room at the top of the ziggurat and announced to the people:

"King Artaxerxes has received Marduk's blessing. Rejoice and sleep well for Artaxerxes has guaranteed Babylon's well-being. "

Hearing these reassuring words, the gathering populace let out a resounding applause, relieved that their King is favored by the gods and that they won't suffer hardships.

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"Marduk has received your offerings. All the seers report the rise of a powerful empire in the future, my King" Magus Ukpish said in a hoarse and worldly tone.

Hearing this rather vague foretelling, Artaxerxes decided to take particular care in the future towards any rising powerhouses.

Dismissing his de-facto head of religion, Artaxerxes turned on his throne to his various other advisors and ministers in the throne room of Babylons Southern Palace.

"With religious matters taken care of, is there anything else to report?" Artaxerxes asked, curious if the happenings in his empire

A tall middle-aged man with pale features stepped onto the audience platform. "Ur, what news do you have of my vassals?"

Performing a courtesy, Ur, head of the Eyes of the King and intelligence gathering, responded, "Much has happened as of late, my King. As per your decree, the Phoenicians have begun constructing a fleet so vast and so mighty that it is said every tree west of the Euphrates has been logged!"

Hearing this, Artaxerxes released a faint grin, thinking, 'With the famed prowess of the Phoenicians shipyards I can rest easy. After all, they are responsible for the founding of countless colonies in the Mediterranean and by extension are responsible for the Carthaginian hegemony over the western Mediterranean.'

Noticing his Kings pleasure after hearing such news, Ur continued on, "As for the bloomeries you decreed to be built, they've all begun construction, and it's believed they will be operational by the end of the summer."

"Already, recruitments for the new cavalry unit, the cataphracts have gone underway, with young scions volunteering by the droves," Ur said, wishing to give his King the good news before the troubling reports he had received earlier that day.

Artaxerxes, seeing his eyes and ears distraught even after delivering such good news, braced himself for whatever else his intelligence head had to report.

Swallowing his nervousness, Ur said, "I'm afraid it's not all good news my King. I have received disturbing reports of the Delian League's naval and troop movements. Though nothing dangerous as of yet, there have been telltale warnings of a possible invasion."

Curious as to why Ur was at a loss, Artaxerxes asked, "What do you mean? Do those Athenian boy lovers plan an invasion or not?"

Ur, realizing his King's impatience, said, "It's not so simple my King. I have not received reports of greek troops advancing to our borders at the satrapy of Hellespontine Phrygia. However, my eyes and ears are diligent and take note of the resting ports of the Delian leagues fleet and there have been reports of quinqueremes vanishing from their harbors. To be frank, we've lost track of the Delian Leagues fleet."

Feeling a sense of deja vu, Artaxerxes couldn't help but pick up some Pearl Harbor vibes from this apparent lack of intelligence on the greek navy. Taking a note to heavily increase the funding of his Eyes and Ears, Artaxerxes said, "I understand the conundrum. It may just be the Delian League rotating its fleets for repair or some training exercises, but it also may be a prelude of an invasion..."

Ur, glad to see the King understanding his dilemma felt immense relief that the responsibility of such a debacle was taken off his shoulders.

After a few moments of thought, Artaxerxes spoke again, this time addressing all the advisors and generals in the room, "Athens is planning something without a doubt, whether it's war or training is not up for debate. Thus, I command the marshaling of the Anatolian reserves to defend against the Delian league should an invasion truly commence."

Many of the aides and generals, after hearing their Kings command immediately began planning the logistical supplies and coordination with the satraps of Anatolia.

Continuing on, Artaxerxes said, "As for who should lead this army, send word to my brother-in-law in Syria. Megabyzus has vacationed long enough, he will relish the opportunity for vengeance against those Athenian swine."

And just like that, with a few sentences, Artaxerxes revved the war machine that is the Persian empire. Messenger carriers were already being sent out onto the royal road to gallop their horses dead to their destinations, and speedily rally armies in Anatolia and send a summons to Megabyzus in Syria.

Just before Ur dismissed himself, Artaxerxes spoke, "One last thing, send word to the Spartans that Persia is interested in forming a cooperation of aligning interests..."

Hearing his Kings wish, Ur bowed his head in acknowledgment, understanding what his king was implying.

Ur having stepped off the audience platform, Artaxerxes asked, "Anything else that needs to be discussed in today's council?"

One man raised his hand and then stepped onto the elevated dais, used as an audience platform. Artaxerxes recognized the man, he was his Minister of Agriculture, Dauma.

Performing a courtesy and acknowledging his King, Dauma spoke, "My King, I wish to report to you the results your new innovations have brought to the empire."

Nodding his head, Artaxerxes signaled for Dauma to continue, he truly was curious to see if his subjects could utilize these new tools even after the minimal tutorial he had provided.

Seeing his Kings interest, Dauma continued with excitement laced in his voice, "My King, the results have simply been extraordinary. Let me start with the heavy plow, it has made it possible to farm in areas with clay soil, which is much more fertile than the previously used dirt types. Though it's still too soon to state its exact crop yield, this innovation alone has exponentially increased the amount of arable and fertile farmland in the empire."

"As for mills, so far we've mainly utilized watermills due to their simple design, and they've essentially revolutionized flour production. Where once a man may have to spend hours of backbreaking energy with a stone rock to pound wheat into flour, now the entire process has been reduced to a fraction of its previous effort consumption. With the surplus of time and more of the farming class seeing a sudden surplus amount of flour, the variety in trade goods has seen an explosion in demand!"

(A/N: I'm assuming pre-watermill, all farm produce went to feeding families and paying taxes, now with the surplus they can buy goods and better the economy.)

"Lastly, the harrow has quadrupled the speed of farming and resulted in a plethora of benefits I won't bore you with. Sadly, we have yet to see the full effects of triennial rotation as it takes two years to fully implement, but seeing the results of the other tools and equipment, hopes are high around the empire that in the following year's hunger will no longer be an ever-present fear!"

By the end of his spiel, Dauma's tone had been laced with a fanatic zealousness directed towards Artaxerxes.

Feeling a little uncomfortable by the man's worshipping stare, Artaxerxes dismissed his discomfort and congratulated the man, "Well done Dauma, though Ahuramazda provided the framework, you and your ministry implemented everything splendidly."

Hearing such high praise from his King, Dauma immediately responded, "This was only made possible by you my King! And Ahurmazdas blessings of course!"

Finding Daumas revelry amusing, Artaxerxes dismissed the man after he finished his report and asked if there was anything left to report.

When no one in the majestic throne room made a move, Artaxerxes took that as his cue and left the hall, his head filled with thoughts of a possible upcoming war with Athens, and the upcoming boons of his recent innovations.