Four Quarters of the Empire 24

'On the 18th day of Kislev, that is the seventh day of Thoth, in the year 21 of Xerxes, the beginning of the reign when king Artaxerxes sat on his throne' - Papyrus Doc. Egypt

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Elephantine, Southern Egypt - 465 BC

The sweltering heat radiated off the Nile's shores, reducing the once dark fertile soil into dust. Asim, a farmer's son, stood in the cool shallow river water, pondering the conversation he had overheard from his parents.

Waking up from the sweltering heat the previous night, he had overheard his parents converse about the lack of food in the village storehouses. Due to extreme weather and high taxes, the villagers had begun to worry that a crisis was on the horizon.

And to make matters worse, tax collectors had been coming even more frequently, indifferent to the begging of the villagers to spare some of the seasonal crop yields for themselves. Supposedly, the higher tax was for a war effort somewhere in the Far East, something that the people in Asim's village found little consolation.

It had been a tough year for Egyptians. With the year's crop yield at a record low and taxes at a record high, the Persian satrapy was in turmoil. In total, 700 talents of silver and 120,000 measures of grain made up the annual tax of the Satrapy of Egypt.

"Brother! Brother!"

Hearing shouts, Asim was shaken out of his thoughts and turned towards the voice, it was his younger brother, Misa. Seeing the child running full sprint towards him, Asim deduced that something was going on.

"Calm down Misa, what's wrong?" Asim asked, worried that some harm may have befallen their family

"Soldiers have arrived! They have big spears and shiny armor and-and-" Hyperventilating from the excitement, Asim had to bring his little brother back to the topic at hand.

"What did the soldiers want? Are they here to collect more taxes?" Asim's voice had quivered at the mention of taxes, he knew that the villagers had long since reached a breaking point and more taxes would cause disastrous consequences.

" I don't think so, brother! They came with a messenger of the King, I came here to tell you they wanted everyone in the village to be in the town square for the announcement" Misa said, having remembered his original purpose for dashing to grab his brother.

Sighing in relief, Asim took his brother's hand and they both jogged from the Nile river to their small hamlet, with a population of only a few hundred. All the buildings were built of mud brick and square in shape, designed to weather the annual flooding of the Nile.

In the middle of the village was a clear space, where the villagers would meet for assemblies and discuss any important matters. Asim and Misa, arriving at the square, greeting various relatives and acquaintances, quickly noticing that the entire village was present. What truly stuck in Asim's mind were the men who rode atop horses and were waiting for all the villagers to arrive.

Each man was equipped with a sword, spear, and shield, they had scaled bronze armor and looked, to the young brothers, like war gods. Unbeknownst to them, these were just some poor grunts sent to escort a messenger to this remote region of the empire, already missing the comforts of home.

The village elder, noticing everyone's arrival, informed the messenger they were ready. Hearing this, the messenger dismounted from his horse and strode forward. The messenger reached into his satchel and took out a brick tablet, on it was Egyptian cuneiform script, the language spoken by the villagers.

"I have a royal decree from the King!" the messenger announced, propelling his voice outwards.

The messenger continued, " King Artaxerxes, King of Kings, King of the Four Quarters, Pharaoh of Egypt, Son of Ra, an Achaemenid, proclaims: Villagers and farmers throughout the empire are to immediately implement the following tools and techniques- the heavy plow, the harrow, mills, and triennial crop rotation."

Putting away the tablet, the messenger was greeted by a stunned silence. The village elder was the first to speak, "What are all these tools? And why should we replace centuries of proven techniques with this...triennial rotation?"

Having asked the questions on everyone's minds, the messenger responded, "These tools' functions and their specifications will be better explained by an officer from the Ministry of Agriculture on a later date, as for triennial rotation, you will be explained how to implement this and its affects by the same man. From my understanding, it's a technique developed by the King to improve crop yield."

(A/N: Google it lol)

"As for why you all should use these techniques and tools, the satrapy of Egypt has been exempted from taxes for the following 3 years, by order of the King. So you have nothing to lose." The messenger said with a roundabout tone. Hearing this, the crowd of villagers broke out in cheers and celebrations, after all, the future was beginning to look brighter.

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As these events unfolded in the distant satrapy of Egypt, Artaxerxes was busy with military affairs. Currently the head of an endless column of soldiers, Artaxerxes discussed the current situation in the empire with his intelligence head, Ur.

"My King, my eyes and ears have given disturbing reports. Sightings of three armies, two of which number 10,000 in size converging towards Aeria from the eastern and northern satrapies of Chorasmia, Bactria, and Gandara. This, adding to the 50,000 Bactrians sums up to a mighty force of 80,000 men."

Currently, Aeria was the frontier, being the satrapy closest to the Persian heartland of Pars. Aeria, Chorasmia, and Gandara had each marshaled 10,000 soldiers. These 10,000 were all trained garrisons and have experience fighting bandits and mountain tribes.

Artaxerxes, hearing this, notes the number of men currently under his control. 100,000. A sizable number sure, but in the chaos of war, numerical advantage can be both a blessing and a curse.

Had Artaxerxes waited, more men could have been conscripted, but with the ongoing famine and shortage of manpower, his empire was already at its limits. Ending this war quickly and decisively was the best decision he could make in order to keep the empire safe from rising foreign forces.

"Where exactly are these armies? And how's their pace?" Artaxerxes asks his eyes and ears.

"Marching at a relatively slow speed my king, They're currently unaware that we've already begun campaigning north. The Bactrians are the slowest and most cumbersome due to their large size. From recent reports, the Bactrians are currently marching along the Hari river, rarely deviating from its shores. The Chorasmians, though smaller in size, are a large distance away from Aeria, having to traverse the Oxus River and then the satrapy of Margiana."

"Reports show that the Gandarans have embarked on triremes on the Helmand river." Ur continued," At their current pace, the Gandarans will arrive in Aeria first, followed by the Chorasmians and lastly the Bactrians." Concluding his report Ur awaited his lieges response.

"Well done Ur, continue keeping a close eye on the movements of the rebels." Turning to his trusted advisors who ride beside him, Artaxerxes says, " I believe I have a plan that has merit."

Listening, Themistocles, the commander of the royal bodyguard, asks, "What do you have in mind, my King?"

"To ensure a decisive end to this war, we should split up. Rather than a large battlefield with countless dead, we send numerically superior forces to crush the divided armies of the Coalition."

"This strategy sounds excellent, my King. But how will we be able to follow and catch up to the rebel armies' movements to be able to intercept them?" The man who asked this was Megabyzus, Artaxerxes brother-in-law, and a renowned general.

' A good question' Artaxerxes thought. Riding on for some time, Artaxerxes came up with a viable solution.

"Generals responsible for leading these interceptor armies will use advanced scouting parties, who will both track enemy position and if able, sabotage enemy supplies lines. With the increase in logistical burden, the rebels will have to adjust accordingly and slow down."

"With this added time, our armies will be able to intercept a tired and weary foe," Artaxerxes said, believing this strategy would work in theory. However, it completely relied on the advanced scouting parties, should they fail, the rebels would slip past their nets and gather in one massive force.

"Who will lead these interceptor armies, my King?" Themistocles asked.

Mulling over the question, Artaxerxes thought, 'If there is anything I'm in short supply of, its capable generals. I can rely on Themistocles and Megabyzus, but Themistocles is responsible for the royal families' protection and can't leave my side...'

Having ruminated for a while longer, Artaxerxes declared, "Megabyzus, you shall lead a splinter force of 20,000 men to intercept and annihilate the misguided Gandaran rebels."

Turning to another one of his generals, a man who had not yet proven himself, Artaxerxes said, "Inarus, you will lead another force of 20,000 men, to meet the Chorasmians in the Margianan plains."

Having said this, there was a stir among the aides and generals around Artaxerxes, and rightly so. Inarus was only 20 years old, and lacking in experience and reputation. But what really mattered to the nobility was this fact: Inarus was an Egyptian prince. Many years ago, Cambyses II annexed the ancient Kingdom of Egypt, exiling and murdering its royal family.

This man was one of their descendants, the only reason he was a member of Artaxerxes inner circle was that he was seen as a political tool. However, Artaxerxes didn't have any options, earlier that day, a Magi had told him he had seen an Egyptian prince of the ancient royal house, receive the blessings of Ahuramazda.

Realizing he had no better options, Artaxerxes decided to put some trust in his faith just this once, and give this prince a chance.

Meanwhile, Inarus himself was in shock. 'Did the King just say my name?'

Previously a nobody in the king's inner circle, Inarus had thought he wasn't even a blip on the Kings radar, yet here he was, being granted command of an army of 20,000 strong.

Not knowing what to say, Inarus got on his knee and swore an oath, "I, Inarus, son of Psamtik, swear to bring victory and glory to the Great King, if not, may my soul burn for an eternity"

Taken aback by such a serious pledge, many of the onlooking nobles and aristocrats silenced their grumblings. Artaxerxes, taking the man's arm and helping him up, said with a smile, "Great! I expect the head of the satrap of Chorasmia to be at my feet the next time we meet."

Nodding, Inarus replied, "Of course, my King"

Uncertain about his decision, Artaxerxes grabbed his horse's rains and galloped forward, at the head of the massive army, an army amassed from the Four Quarters of the Empire.