The Second Seleucid War

The Second Seleucid War began in 545 AVC during the Second Republic and was a destructive war pitting Crete and her allies against the Seleucid Empire, the Carthaginian Republic and their allies. The Second Seleucid War saw the sack of Gortyn by the Carthigians and the loss of Cretan Thrace to the Seleucids. The scars from this war linger to this day in Crete.

The Adriatic War
In 545 AVC the Cretan Senate received an urgent dispatch from their allies the Aetolians urging them to war against the aggressive Roman Republic. Along with the Aetolians were the Carthaginians, a major world power. The Senate voted for war against the Romans and ordered the Archon, Alexander Omirid to mobilize the navy, but the Adriatic War, as it came to be known, was short lived. The Cretan navy sailed into the Adriatic to meet the enemy fleet, and after only one engagement was recalled. While the navy was away, the Seleucid Empire, sensing an opportunity to expand while Crete was distracted, invaded the Cretan Protectorate Bithynia in Asia Minor. With a Cretan vassal under attack, the Archon took it upon himself to sign a peace treaty with Rome to refocus his resources upon the greater threat.

The War in Macedonia
The Seleucid's poured into Bithynia, quickly overwhelming the small Kingdom. The Seleucid's erstwhile ally Macedonia joined in the war as well and in response Crete called in her allies, the Aetolians, Epirus and Sparta. The Epirian army stormed into Macedonia, taking Stobi while the Cretan Armies invade Macedonia proper, routing the Macedonians and forcing them north. However, while the Cretan armies were away, a disastrous plague struck at home, killing 1/3 of the population and even infecting the Archon, Alexander Omirid. Luckily the war was going better than expected and by April of 546 the Archon was even considering a peace offer in exchange for land. Before the offer could be sent though, the Macedonian navy engaged the Cretan navy in a fierce battle, killing the Kybernates of the 1st Nautikon Xenocrates Zoticid. With the Macedonians now firmly in control of the Aegean, the Archon quickly amended the peace treaty, offering peace in exchange for Macedonia renouncing its claims on Cretan territory. The Macedonians accept, ending the war in the Macedonia, but not in the mainland

The War in Mainland Greece


With the war over in Macedonia, the Archon planned on focusing all troops on Asia Minor, to repel to invasion. Unfortunately, the Seleucids entered into an alliance with the Carthaginians in 546, shattering those plans. Upon hearing the news, the Aetolians bowed out of the war, leaving only Crete, Epirus and Sparta to stand against the two mighty world powers. Egypt extended an offer for alliance, hoping to gain territory in the Levant, but the Upper House stubbornly refused to accept. The Archon ordered the navy to blockade the straits between Asia and Europe, but through a war of attrition the Seleucid navy was able to force the Cretans to port. With the straits open, the Seleucid horde sailed into mainland Greece and marched into Thessaly. To make matter worse, in 547 the Carthaginians landed a full force of 20,000 men in Gortyn and burned the city before marching into Knossus. Two weeks later, the Cretan army arrived and crushed the invading Carthaginians. Soon after the Seleucid Army was routed from Thessaly. By 549, only Crete and Sparta remained in the war, Bithynia was completely under Seleucid control, Sparta had Seleucid armies marching across it and the Aegean had Carthaginian and Seleucid navies roaming freely. The Seleucid Army poured across the straits into Thrace, and the Carthaginians landed a sizable force in mainland Greece to assist. Desperate for peace, the Archon asks the Upper House to support his decision but is turned down. With the Upper House fully invested in the war, the Archon was given no choice but to continue on. An invasion to liberate Sparta was planned and executed, but was ultimately a failure, with Sparta fully annexed by the Seleucid Empire in the fall of 550. Soon after the fall of Sparta, Thrace and Byzantion fell as well. In late 500 an envoy from the Seleucid Empire arrived bearing peace on the following conditions, that Crete cede Thrace and Byzantion and pay the Seleucids a sum of 81 gold. The Archon quickly accepted, but all was not well with the Archon. Having never really recovered from the plague in 546 Alexander Omirid fell ill again and within days of accepting peace, he was dead.