Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1287: Return to Byzantium

Melisander asked, "Looking at the map, the distance from Egypt to Cyprus seems even farther than from Crete to Cyrenaica. With such a long sea voyage and nowhere to rest or resupply food and water along the way, can our troopships really make it safely? Once our fleet reaches the waters off Cyprus, will they still be capable of fighting?"

Chalcides answered earnestly, "I made sure to carefully question the Greek merchants in Naucratis who frequently trade in Cyprus. They all told me that during this season, there are no storms in the Near East Waters. As long as we stock the ships with enough food and water and sail day and night, it will only take three or four days to reach Cyprus." (One major reason sailing outpaced marching was that, with a set course and a steady wind, ships could sail twenty-four hours a day without stopping.) "Furthermore, we can hire these Naucratis merchants as guides to lead the way.

"As for the navy... I remember their long-range strike from Sicily against Carthage, which ended in the total defeat of the Carthaginian Fleet. They should be highly experienced in this regard. Of course, they will have to make that judgment themselves."

"How are the defenses on Cyprus Island? How many troops do they have?" Matonis was intrigued, his tone growing eager.

"Decades ago, Cyprus was merely a vassal of Persia. Its kings allied with the Greek city-states of Asia Minor on several occasions to fight for independence, and it took Persia considerable effort to suppress them. Having learned their lesson, the Persians abolished the kingship and splintered Cyprus into multiple city-states. Moreover, they forbade them from building tall, thick city walls, decreeing that doing so would be seen as treason against Persia.

"While I don't know exactly how many soldiers Cyprus can rally against us, their defensive capabilities are clearly weak. Furthermore, Nicosia, their largest city-state, sits right in the center of a plain, making it an easy target. More importantly, everyone here just felt that attacking Cyprus from the sea would be difficult. If we share that assumption, the Cypriots are even less likely to expect it. Our surprise attack is bound to succeed!"

When Chalcides finished speaking, the eyes of the Legion Commanders lit up.

Davos coughed lightly, drawing the generals' attention back to him, and then thoughtfully said, "Attacking Cyprus from the sea is indeed a good idea, but this is mainly to secure naval dominance. It is not our primary route for attacking Persia's Near East region. After all, aside from the Gulf of Issus, no other area possesses the right conditions for a large-scale landing...

"According to our intelligence, the Persians have already amassed a massive army in the Mesopotamia region. The moment we capture Cyprus, we will inevitably put the Persians on high alert, and they will certainly reinforce the coastal defenses at Issus. If our main forces attempt an amphibious assault in the Near East, we would undoubtedly be running a tremendous risk. Therefore, our offensive focus must remain on land.

Davos looked down at the narrow strip of coastal land north of the City of Gaza on the map, his expression somewhat complex. "Chalcides, do you know much about Jerusalem in Canaan?"

"Your Majesty, I have asked about it. The Jews living in Jerusalem are a weak people. They were once slaughtered by the Assyrians, and the survivors were taken captive in Babylon. Although the Persians later released them and allowed them to return to their homeland, decades have passed, and their numbers remain small...

"I heard that a few years ago, they sent envoys to beg the King of Persia for funds to rebuild their ruined temple. The King of Persia agreed to their request and even appointed his trusted cupbearer—a fellow Jew named Nehemiah—as the governor of Jerusalem to oversee the matter.

"However, after Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he clashed with Sanballat, the governor of Samaria to the east, and their conflicts continue to this day. Because of this, the weak Jews are completely powerless to stop our great army. We could even occupy this place—" Chalcides pointed at a marker on the map, "—the port town of Jaffa in the Jerusalem region, for our Fleet to drop anchor."

"Excellent!" Davos shifted his gaze from the map and looked around at the commanders, speaking gravely. "Gentlemen, it seems everyone largely agrees with Chalcides's proposal. Therefore, I will summon Secilian, Midorades, and Straphacus as soon as possible for another military council. There, we will discuss the feasibility of attacking Cyprus and annihilating the main forces of the Persian Fleet...

"Regardless of the outcome of that next council, our offensive against Persia will be launched very soon. I only ask that you use this time to have the soldiers of your legions learn and adapt to marching, camping, and fighting in the desert as quickly as possible!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" everyone answered in unison.

...

The next day, Davos took Asistes and High Priest Amenhotep to worship at the temples of Ptah and Osiris. They received a warm welcome from the temple priests, and he even had a close interaction with the sacred bull Apis, which was raised within the temple.

The fat bull, completely black save for a white star-shaped spot on its forehead, proved very friendly toward him. Swishing its tail, it quickly ate the forage he offered, prompting the priests of Ptah and Osiris to exclaim in loud admiration (Apis was originally considered an incarnation of the creator god Ptah, and later evolved into an incarnation of Osiris), "Pharaoh Davos is truly the son of Amun; even the tranquil sacred bull dares not show any negligence!"

Davos then proceeded to the temple of Neith, the goddess of wisdom and war, to offer sacrifices. He even promised Amenhotep that he would find time to visit the Karnak Temple in Thebes to pay his respects. However, he refused another suggestion from the Egyptian high priest: to travel to the Amun temple in the Siwa Oasis to seek a divine oracle.

The Siwa Oasis was located deep in the desert of western Egypt. The Amun temple there was extremely ancient and highly revered. Its oracles were widely renowned; not only did Egyptians frequently go there to worship, but there was also no shortage of worshipers among the Greeks, especially those from Thessaly and Macedonia in Northern Greece.

Davos didn't refuse because the journey to the Siwa Oasis was too arduous. Though he remembered from the history of his previous life that Alexander had journeyed to worship at the Siwa Oasis temple after conquering Egypt and encountered great dangers along the way, Amenhotep repeatedly assured him that despite being deep in the desert, the route to the Siwa Oasis was very safe due to the constant stream of pilgrims.

The issue Davos considered was that many of the Greeks who went to worship at the Siwa Oasis viewed the Amun of that temple as the Egyptian incarnation of Zeus. Historically, Alexander had proclaimed himself the son of Zeus, making it only natural for him to go there and pay respects. But for Davos, a descendant of Hades, such a visit was clearly inappropriate.

...

At the same time King Davos arrived in Egypt, the central Italy coalition forces—led by the Volsci, Hernici, and Sabine—also crossed the sea and landed in Asia Minor. With this, the Greek Expeditionary Army commanded by Leotychides had fully assembled.

During the period when the Greek Expeditionary Army was arriving in succession, Leotychides hadn't waited idly. Instead, he maintained an aggressive offensive posture. Not only did he consecutively force the towns near the Straight of Hellespont to surrender, but he also leveraged the momentum from the naval victory at Samos to lead his main forces away from the coast and push deep into the interior of Mysia. Meanwhile, he dispatched a portion of his army south into Lydia.

Because the Persian army was powerless to resist, the Greek Expeditionary Army's momentum surged. Not only did coastal Greek city-states like Bosporus and Chios surrender one after another, but even some inland towns in Mysia and Lydia submitted to them.

During this time, an amusing incident occurred. Tenth Legion Commander Stiphylos made a request to Leotychides: he hoped to be allowed to lead a detachment across the strait to force Byzantium into submission.

Thirty years ago, the predecessor to the Daionian Army—the Persian Mercenaries—had been utterly humiliated in Byzantium, an event that had even involved King Davos. Leotychides had heard of this. He knew very well that this request was likely not Stiphylos's own idea, but rather came from his father Amyntas, or perhaps even at the collective urging of many veteran generals in the army.

Naturally, Leotychides did not refuse. In fact, since there was little military pressure at the moment, he generously approved: Stiphylos could lead the entire Tenth Legion on this mission.

Stiphylos led his troops to land on a beach near Byzantium. They had barely finished setting up camp when envoys from Byzantium rushed over, humbly declaring to him: Byzantium was willing to submit to the Sacred Kingdom of Daunia!

The incident from decades ago had long been forgotten by Byzantium, which had seen nearly an entire generation pass since then. However, the Byzantines knew full well that both Athens and Sparta—whom they had successively relied on—and even the entirety of the Greek Mainland, were now groveling at the feet of Daionia. Previously, Daionia's influence had not yet reached the Euxine Sea, so the Byzantines could feign ignorance. Now that the enemy's massive army was right on their doorstep, the people of Byzantium, always adept at bending to the wind, instantly yielded.

Naturally, Stiphylos didn't volunteer to bring up the embarrassing affairs of the past. Instead, he laid out several harsh demands: providing a substantial amount of food and tribute gold, as well as supplying ships and laborers to serve as auxiliaries for the army... Byzantium accepted them all.

Given how sensible the Byzantines were being, Stiphylos could not justifiably make trouble. He had no choice but to lead his eight thousand fully armed soldiers on an armed parade through the city of Byzantium. Finally, he demanded that the Byzantine government build a commemorative pillar at the port, and atop it, they had to place a Statue of King Davos riding a horse and brandishing his sword.