Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece Chapter 1288: Arrival of the Persian Asia Minor Coalition

As the new year arrived, Persian forces steadily gathered in Phrygia. With parts of their vanguard already pushing to the eastern borders of Mysia, Leotychides felt the mounting pressure and began recalling his scattered troops.

In early February, the Persian Asia Minor Coalition held an important military council in the capital of Phrygia. The western commander, Pharnabazus, presided over the gathering. Every attendee was a regional satrap save for one highly unusual exception: the former Thessalian Tagus, Jason.

Five years earlier, after his army was routed by the Daionian Army, Jason fled to Persia alone. Unlike many exiled figures from the Greek Mainland who preferred to linger in western Asia Minor, he traveled straight to the Syrian Region to seek an audience with the King of Persia.

At that time, Artaxerxes had been preparing to lead a campaign in person, but a massive rebellion unexpectedly erupted in his rear across Asia Minor, forcing him to turn his army around to suppress it.

Jason had unified Thessaly, assumed the title of tagus, and served as a core leader of the anti-Daionian Greek expeditionary army, even holding the upper hand in the war for a time. Through Datis, these exploits had long since reached the King of Persia's ears. Considering that the rebels employed numerous Greek mercenaries and that Persia lacked heavy infantry, Artaxerxes recognized Jason as an outstanding Greek commander. He not only granted Jason a warm reception but also made a promise: as long as he served Persia with loyalty, Artaxerxes would fund his return to Thessaly to reclaim the seat of tagus once Persia went to war with Daionia.

Jason could ask for nothing more. He immediately accepted Artaxerxes's appointment as the commander of Persia's Greek mercenary forces. Backed by ample Persian funding, Jason quickly recruited nearly ten thousand Greek soldiers from western Asia Minor and even the Ionian Islands. Training them while actively fighting, he earned significant merit throughout Persia's campaign to suppress the rebellion, winning Artaxerxes's trust.

By the war's end, the mercenaries under Jason's command had swelled to 15,000 men. Artaxerxes did not demand he reduce his forces; instead, he ordered Jason to garrison his mercenaries in Cilicia.

Located in south-central Asia Minor, Cilicia boasted exceptionally fertile plains. Though sparsely populated, its people were wealthy, and they had established a kingdom there long ago. During King Darius's westward conquests, the mountains shielding Cilicia would have made it difficult to conquer, but its king proactively submitted, allowing him to retain his throne.

Early in Artaxerxes's reign, the king and queen of Cilicia actively sponsored Cyrus the Younger's bid for the throne. Cyrus the Younger was ultimately defeated and killed, but Artaxerxes, fearing an upheaval in Asia Minor, refrained from punishing the satraps and kings who had colluded with him. Instead, he quietly sapped their power. Now, having thoroughly crushed the rebellion in Asia Minor, he finally purged the Cilician royal family, seizing this fertile land for himself. He appointed his trusted subordinates as satraps and, fearing local resistance, dispatched the battle-tested Jason to garrison Cilicia.

A few years passed without any further uprisings—but then came the invasion of the Greek expeditionary army.

When Pharnabazus assumed the post of western military commander of Asia Minor, he petitioned the King of Persia to deploy the Greek mercenaries to aid the war effort. Jason's army answered directly to the King of Persia and was not under the command of any local satrap.

Artaxerxes agreed, and Pharabazus promptly issued a summons to Jason.

But having lived within Persia for several years, Jason no longer felt the desperate need to prove himself. He worried that arriving in Phrygia too early would result in the Persians treating his men as cannon fodder, sending them straight to the front lines. He stalled with every excuse he could invent, ultimately becoming one of the last forces to reach Phrygia. This left Pharnabazus somewhat displeased.

During the military council, the majority of the satraps shared a similar view: given that their own forces now numbered over eighty thousand—far exceeding the figures their scouts had reported for the Greek expeditionary army—they should boldly march west to engage the Greeks in a decisive battle and completely crush them. They argued that waiting was no longer an option, as Greek troops continually landed in Asia Minor, constantly swelling the enemy's numbers.

Jason, however, raised an objection. Based on his understanding of Daionia and the city-states of the Greek Mainland, he believed they must have deployed their most elite soldiers for this invasion of Asia Minor. Because Persian infantry was weak and had historically been at a disadvantage in wars against the Greeks, initiating a head-on battle against the Greek expeditionary army now carried a high probability of defeat. At that point, the entire theater of war in Asia Minor would turn disastrous. Conversely, if they avoided rushing into battle and instead actively withdrew their troops—moving or burning all supplies the Greeks could use—they could lure the Greek expeditionary army deep inland. Then, utilizing their familiarity with the terrain and their superiority in cavalry, they could continuously harass the enemy and raid their rear supply lines. This would exhaust the Greek expeditionary army. Once the Greeks were weakened, they could find an opportunity for a decisive battle, significantly increasing their chances of victory.

Jason's suggestion met with fierce opposition from the vast majority of the Persian satraps. These nobles, hailing from the core regions of Persia, lacked experience fighting the Greeks. Deep down, they still viewed Greece as a land of barbarians. Their inherent pride would never allow the Persian army to employ such cowardly tactics against the Greeks they looked down upon. The satraps of Mysia, Lydia, and Phrygia were especially demanding of a quick resolution, completely unwilling to see the territories under their jurisdiction ravaged by the Greeks.

Some satraps even launched personal attacks against Jason, accusing him: the King of Persia had been generous, not despising his status as a foreign refugee but instead elevating him to an important position. Yet, rather than seeking to repay the King of Persia's trust, Jason only wanted to delay the war at this critical juncture. What exactly were his true intentions?

Others specifically pointed out that after receiving the summons, Jason had not immediately marched his fully organized Greek mercenaries to Phrygia, but had instead delayed until the very end. Fearing he harbored ulterior motives, they argued it would be best to strip him of his command and interrogate him, lest he suddenly defect to the Greeks during the battle.

Though Jason felt a bit guilty, he had a fiery temper, and he instead began arguing with the satraps.

Faced with the satraps' unanimous demand to swiftly repel the Greek army, Pharnabazus ultimately had to adopt their advice, actively seeking a decisive battle with the Greek expeditionary army.

After the council concluded, Pharnabazus kept Jason behind alone to placate him. He explicitly expressed his trust in him, promising that as long as Jason performed exceptionally in the upcoming battle, he would report his merits to the King of Persia and assist him in his future return to Thessaly.

As a veteran Persian commander in Asia Minor, Pharnabazus had not only endured the humiliation of encircling a Greek expeditionary force only to have them break the siege, but he had also experienced the pain of being severely beaten by the army of Agesilaus. Knowing profoundly just how formidable the Greek army could be, he agreed with Jason's perspective. However, when so many satraps unanimously demanded a swift battle, he had no choice but to agree against his better judgment. Even though he was the newly appointed western military commander of Asia Minor and a son-in-law to Artaxerxes, his identity as a noble born in Asia Minor meant the trust he enjoyed from the King of Persia paled in comparison to some of the Persian satraps present. A single secret letter from any of them might deepen the suspicious King of Persia's doubts.

Though somewhat wary of the Greek expeditionary army's combat strength, he believed the forces under his command had gathered the elites of all western Asia Minor. Not only did they outnumber the Greek expeditionary army, but they also had the support of battle-tested Greek mercenaries, giving them a very strong chance of winning the decisive battle. Therefore, filled with confidence, he led the western Asia Minor coalition out of Phrygia and into Mysia, marching massively toward the Greek expeditionary army's position.

Hearing this news, Leotychides instantly sighed to himself:

As it happened, once the various detachments of the Greek expeditionary army had assembled, their supreme commander, Leotychides, convened a military council with the army's generals.

At the council, allied generals like Epaminondas, Lycomedes, and Iphicrates unanimously agreed: the Allied Forces were powerful, and they should seize the time to march east and seek a decisive battle with the main Persian army. If they secured a victory, all of western Asia Minor would be powerless to stop the Greek expeditionary army's advance.

However, some felt concerned. They had already learned that the King of Persia had appointed Pharnabazus as the military commander of Asia Minor. He was an experienced veteran who would very likely choose to avoid battle. If the Greek expeditionary army spent a long time far from the coast, plunging deep into the unfamiliar inland environment, they would likely encounter many troubles.

The aged Agesilaus confidently told the generals, "You have absolutely no need to worry about the Persians avoiding battle, nor do you need to actively seek them out for one. The Persian army will come to the Allied Forces for a decisive battle on their own!

"This is because the people of western Asia Minor already harbor resistance toward officials from Persia. Judging by the recent intelligence, the populace of western Asia Minor has a deep distrust for the newly appointed Persian satraps. If these satraps lead their armies in a retreat instead of fighting, leaving the Allied Forces free to destroy their farmlands and villages, the locals will be filled with resentment over their failure to save them. This would be highly detrimental to their future rule. Those arrogant Persians generally would not make such a choice.

"As for the Persian military commander, Pharnabazus... I know him quite well. He is indeed a capable Persian general and commands considerable prestige in western Asia Minor. If he decided to retreat, his soldiers would obey, and the public might be able to accept it. However, he is a smooth operator who loves making friends and is extremely generous. As a result, during his time as a satrap in western Asia Minor, he cultivated harmonious relationships with his peers, his subordinate officials, and even the local populace. But he lacks decisiveness and is far too emotional—which is exactly the greatest taboo for a commander. I believe he will find it very difficult to reject the satraps' requests and abandon the people of Mysia and Phrygia to retreat!"

(End of Chapter)