Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

At the same time, the Thiers learned that King Davos himself had led an army of over 100,000 men, and that there was a Greek alliance of 60,000 to 70,000 men in Asia Minor, for a total of over 200,000 men, who had repeatedly defeated the Persian army with unstoppable force. The Persian army may have been larger in numbers, but in terms of fighting power it seemed no match for the mighty and unified army of Dionysia, a feeling shared by the Tyrian generals who had fought with the Persian army many times.

More importantly, a number of Thales were captured by the Dionysians in the Battle of Cyprus, and are still held in Cyprus today.

He immediately sent messengers to the three legions that had landed in Cyprus to confer with the first and second Dionysian fleets to formulate a military plan to land on the Syrian Gulf and capture the city of Millianderus.

Meanwhile, the surrender of Tyre had a great impact on the other Phoenician city-states, which were not as strong as Tyre and did not have cities built in the sea to defend themselves, nor did they dare to confront Dionysia, so Sidon, Adullus and other city-states soon surrendered and the Dionysian army successfully conquered the Phoenician region.

Davos did not immediately lead his army north, waiting until his army in Cyprus had successfully landed in the Gulf of Syria before he gave the order to move north. But the route of the march was no longer along the coast, for the Libanus Mountains formed a barrier from north to south along the near east coast, and the further north one went, the more difficult it was to travel, especially for such a large army as Dionysius's. Nor did Davos choose to bypass the coast, for the Libanus Mountains formed a barrier from north to south along the near east coast.

Nor did Devers choose to bypass the Libanus Mountains and take the eastern edge of the desert, which was farther away, but also had a hot climate, few people along the way, difficult water supplies, and no major towns except Damascus at its southern end, close to the Phoenician region.

Perhaps in the future Damascus would become the most contentious place in the Near East, but at this time it was not really considered by Devers, because although it was not a small town, it did not have a Persian garrison and did not show hostility to the Dionysian army, but instead sent ambassadors to express its neutrality to Devers.

Therefore, Davos did not take time to capture Damascus, but had his army leave the Phoenician region and head east into the Libanus Mountains with a large reconnaissance brigade to monitor Damascus' movements.

The snowy waters of the Amanus Mountains in northern Syria converged into a river, the Eurontius, which flowed north to south through the Libanus Mountains and finally into the northern part of the Phoenician region, thus forming a broad, narrow plain in the center of the mountains, the Plain of Amic, which was the northern route of the Dionysian army.

Fearing that the Persians would intercept them in the north, Devers specifically ordered his army in Cyprus to land in Syria ahead of the main army to ensure a smooth march north.

In fact, Davos was overly concerned, as part of the Syrian garrison had been transferred by the Persian king to Phanabazos in Asia Minor, leaving the area empty and unable to intercept the main Dionysian army or even provide adequate defense for the region.

The Cypriot army landed on the Syrian coast with ease, quickly captured the city of Milliandros, and then moved rapidly eastward to surround Sochi, the town at the northern entrance to the Amicalk Plain.

By the time the main Dionysian army reached the vicinity of Sochi, the town had already been conquered.

Once Davos had led his army through Sochi and into the Syrian region, he stopped his advance and began to camp and rest.

The camp that was being built extended from the foothills of the Ammanus Mountains in the north to the foothills of the Libanus Mountains in the south, and occupied a well-defended position between the Eurontius River on the east and the Gulf on the west.

Devers also sent a large number of scout horses across the Eurontius River to spy out the movements of the Persian army to the east.

At the same time, he sent some of his troops to attack the Syrian Pass, a coastal defile to the northwest, and once it was captured, he would continue his attack to the west, attacking the towns of Issus, Kastabulum, Philotas and other towns in turn, opening up the coastal passage from Asia Minor, and then joining forces with the Greek allies as soon as possible.

But what Devers didn't know was that the allied Greek army, which had been quick to attack, was now in trouble.

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After the failure of the Greek army against Haskanassus, Leotychides decided, in order not to waste time and to reduce the loss of his troops, to leave some of his troops to surround the city and to continue the main part of his army eastward.

However, after passing through Karya and entering the region of Lycia, the allied Greek forces could no longer advance along the coast, because Lycia and the neighboring region of Pisidia were mountainous and difficult to travel, so the army had to go north, bypassing Lycia and Pisidia, and then pass through the passes of the Taurus Mountains in the region of Cappadocia and enter the rich region of Cilicia.

It was during this time that the Persian military commander of Asia Minor, Pharnabazos, regrouped some of his defeated troops and received some reinforcements from the court (after Pharnabazos' report of the battle was sent to Artaxerxes, the Persian king believed the letter that "the defeat was due to the sudden revolt of the Persian mercenaries" and therefore did not remove him from his post). Instead, he sent reinforcements and ordered them to do their utmost to keep the Greek army out of Asia Minor, which was partially restored, but ironically, Pharnabazos did not dare to face the Greek army head-on this time, but decided to implement the advice of Iason, whom he had killed: to clear the field and send small units to take advantage of the terrain to attack the transport routes of the Greek army.

The governors of Asia Minor, who had already had a taste of the Greek forces' strength, did not object, allowing this strategy to be implemented.

As the Greek army failed to conquer Halicarnassus, a town with a large harbor, the Greek convoys had to disembark more and more at the port of Miletus, stretching their supply lines.

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In September, the relief force sent by Davos captured Issus, took Kastabroom, and even moved westward to Maras, just across the Alainean plain from the rich Cilicia.

But the allied Greek forces had not even passed through Pisidia and reached the region of Cappadocia, which was far away from each other.

In the meantime, scout horses sent to the east reported that they had found a large Persian camp near the city of Tapsacus (located on the Euphrates River, more than 200 miles from Eurontia), and that Persian troops were constantly arriving from the east. ......

The Persian army is finally coming! ...... Both Davos and his generals were energized, and ordered their soldiers to fortify their camps and strengthen their defenses, but Davos also sent his orderlies to the plain of Alaine to inform the troops who were there to meet the Greek allies to return immediately.

Soon after, Persian cavalry appeared on the eastern bank of the Eurontius River, attempting to cross the river to spy on the Dionysian camp.

The Dionysian cavalry drove them away, and there were many skirmishes, but the main forces on both sides, one in Syria and the other near Tapsacus, remained in a standoff for over a month.

At dusk one day, a guest arrived in Davos's tent.

"Izzam, you're back at last! I didn't hear from you for so long, I thought you were attached to your homeland and didn't want to go back to Deaonia, hahaha ...... "Davos was in a joking but very excited mood, striding forward and giving Izam a strong hug.

"Your Majesty, seriously, I'm back in Doukia and seeing those brothers of mine saying familiar words, wearing familiar clothes, and eating familiar food ...... I'm always somehow afraid- "Izam said with a look of relief, "Fearing that my decades of experience in Dionysia was nothing but a dream! Now that I've met His Majesty, I'm completely relieved!"

Then he said with a slight sense of guilt, "I find that I can no longer live without the prosperity of Dionysian life, and I am completely unable to adapt to the poverty of Dukia ......."

Devers reassured him: "Under the circumstances, men are willing to enjoy pleasure, not to suffer pain of their own accord. But the poverty of Dukia is mainly due to the cruel oppression of the Persians, and as soon as we have defeated Persia, I believe that this terrible situation of the Dukia people will gradually improve! Oh, by the way, you haven't eaten all the way back yet, have you?"

"Your Majesty, before I came to see you, I went to see Lord Mariji, and have already eaten a little at his place. This time I could not have reached Dukkia so smoothly if Lord Mariji had not found a Persian caravan and provided cover for my movements!"

After defeating Carthage more than a decade ago, considering that Persia would become the kingdom's biggest enemy, he quietly supported several trustworthy friends in Persia with the assistance of the Ministry of Intelligence, and these friends of the kingdom also secretly sold weapons and food forbidden by Persia to Doukia several times ......".