Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Then Capps whispered to him, "Are you next going to lead your army eastward along the coast?"

"Yes, because it will ensure the safety and convenience of logistical transport routes, reduce the Persian threat to the Allied flanks, and also ensure that the army conquers Asia Minor at a faster pace."

"Uh ...... While I was returning to Turi from the Po River region and waiting to depart, I was once summoned by the Princess of Kristoya, who asked me to bring you a message that she hoped you would be able to conquer or recruit Miletus as soon as possible."

"Miletus?"

"You don't know?" Capps saw that Leontikides was confused and reminded, "Princess Kristoya is a native of Miletus, but she has not been able to return to Miletus for decades since following His Majesty.

Hearing this, Leonticides stopped in his tracks, deep in thought.

Capps did not urge him forward, but also stopped and looked towards the Sardesian gate standing directly in front of him, forgiving him, who had experienced countless storms and waves, could not help but feel slightly agitated at this moment: more than 30 years ago, under the leadership of Menon, he had also been here, but the Sardesians had strictly forbidden them to enter the city, and had also designated a narrow area five miles away, so that the mercenaries could only build camps in this area, and were not allowed to move around, as if to guard them against thieves ...... But today, not only could he enter the city proudly, but he would also become the master of the land and the people of this area!

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With Capps running the conquering rearguard at the head of the administration, Leonticides could devote all his attention to the military.

By the end of June, as the allied forces advanced eastward to the coast of Ephesus, a riot had broken out among the city's people, who overthrew the pro-Persian oligarchy and traveled more than 10 miles out of the city to welcome the arrival of the Greek army.

In mid-July, as the Greek army approached Miletus, the Miletus oligarchy sent an emissary to meet with Leonticides, who declared that Miletus would remain neutral and would not participate in the Dionysian-Persian war.

Leonticides refused without hesitation and insisted that Miletus must surrender unconditionally.

While Miletus' oligarchy was arguing, the city was surrounded by Greek forces and the Dionysian Fourth Fleet arrived to blockade the harbor, causing panic among the population.

The people were surprised to learn that there was a Princess Chrysostom of Miletus in the Holy Kingdom of Dionysia, a favorite of the King of Dionysia, who was a native of Miletus and was looking forward to returning to her homeland. If they were to be captured, offered to the Dionysian army, and surrendered to it, Princess Cristobal, out of gratitude and remembrance of her homeland, would shield the city from the flames of war. ......

The people were suspicious of this rumor, and some of them made a special effort to investigate the people and events mentioned in the rumor and found out that they were true. As a result, disgruntled members of the Miletus oligarchy began to run around, inciting the people to overthrow them and return to Dionysia.

The government of Miletus, sensing that the situation was not good, prepared to send troops to suppress the situation, but the Dionysian army outside the city attacked.

Although the walls of Miletus were large and strong, it was not possible to defend the entire city with Miletus' own forces, not to mention the fact that it was completely surrounded and could not be defended by any reinforcements. This resulted in minimal casualties on both sides, thus serving the purpose of Leontiades - to give a good account of himself to Princess Chrysostom, who was highly respected by the people of Dionysia.

After the surrender of Miletus, the allied Greek forces did not encounter any further battles, and the journey was uneventful, with the surrender of every town in their path, until they reached the city of Halicarnassus, the capital of the Karelia region.

The coastal city-states of Karya, like most of the coastal city-states of western Asia Minor, were once Greek colonial cities. Eventually Karya was conquered by the Persian Empire as a province, but the region, like the rest of western Asia Minor, remained relatively independent, even though most of the towns in the region were united in an alliance of neighbors centered around the temple of Zeus at lagina, which was, of course, a religious group rather than a political entity.

After Agesilaus had led his army into chaos in western Asia Minor and Tisaphris had been executed by the queen dowager of Persia for his crimes, the Karian nobleman Hecatomnus took advantage of the turmoil and established his rule in Karelia. In order to appease them, Artaxerxes temporarily appointed Hecatomnus as governor of Karya, while marrying a daughter to the son of Pharnabazos.

Hecatomnus was a shrewd man, as were his sons, Methuselas, who always paid their tribute to the Persian treasury on time and showed their submission to the Persian king. He first remained neutral, then fell to the king when the rebels were at a disadvantage, and assisted the Persian army in putting down the rebellion, thus retaining his governorship after the war was over. During this period of turmoil, his power in Karya was further strengthened by the fact that he was not only the officially appointed governor of Karya, but also co-regent of many cities in the region.

He not only rebuilt the city of Halicarnassus at great expense, but also expanded the harbor, built a fortified castle and two military ports on the small island of Zephyrion outside the city, and built a fleet of ships at great expense.

Fearing that the landing of allied Greek forces would interrupt his ongoing plans, he actively supported Pharnabazos this time, not only providing a large number of troops, but also becoming one of the main advocates of the formation of the Asia Minor fleet, with the number of warships generously provided by him.14 Of course, he was also planning how to take command of the fleet in Asia Minor into his own hands after the war was over.

Unfortunately, the destruction of the Asia Minor fleet at Samos by the Dionysian fleet dealt him a severe blow, and the subsequent defeat of the Persian army by the Greek allies caused him great anxiety, and he immediately mobilized in the region of Karelia to strengthen the defense of Halicarnassus.

His prediction was correct, and the next time the Greek army moved eastward along the coast, it entered the Karya region.

Immediately Mousolaus returned to his old tactics and sent an emissary to meet with Leonticides, offering him that Karya was willing to remain neutral in the war, and even to provide the Greek army with some goods to facilitate its passage through the Karya region, provided that the Greek army no longer considered Karya an enemy.

Mossolaus' idea was a good one, but Leonticides, having learned some detailed information about Karya, did not feel comfortable with the cunning and volatile Mossolaus, and the Karya region was not weak, nor did he feel comfortable leaving such a potential problem unaddressed and placed in the rear of the army, so instead of accepting Mossolaus' request, he offered: the Karya region must surrender to Deionia!

This, of course, was unacceptable to the ambitious Mossolaus, so negotiations failed and the war began.

Mossolaus knew that the allied Greek forces were too strong and powerful to fight in the wilderness, so he shrank his forces to the interior of the city and defended it with all his might, delaying the war until the situation changed.

Hecatomnus and Mousolas, father and son, had run the Karya region for more than 20 years. The opposition had been suppressed for a long time and had very little influence, and the population had largely approved of the family's rule, so it was unlikely that unrest and riots would occur in the midst of an overwhelming army like Ephesus and Miletus.

However, the failure of several allied attacks on Halicarnassus, a walled and heavily fortified city, wiped out the slowness of the allied Greek generals, which had been the result of their successful offensive, and forced them to engage in a patient battle with Metholas.

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At the end of April, Davos led his army eastward from Daphnay with a huge supply convoy that ran parallel to the coast, crossed the desert after a six-day trek, and bypassed the city of Gaza to enter Canaan. They then easily captured the port of Jaffa, making it a supply port for the army.