Seleukid, 320BC to 83BC

 Book 2, List 19

This list covers the largest of Alexander's successor kingdoms created by Seleukos when he seized Babylonia around 320BC. At it's greatest extent it encompassed most of the eastern possessions conquered by Alexander but it's core territory was Babylonia and Syria where the majority of the population was.

This was something of an accidental army this one. Many years ago at a convention, very near chucking out time, Donnington (or a supplier) were selling off a number of leftover army pack at two for the price of one. As they had a Republican Roman pack, an army I really wanted, I grabbed it and looked to see what else was on offer, preferably a contemporary opponent such as Carthaginians. However, all they had in that period was a Macedonian pack, so I got that with the view to using it as some sort of successor. After some quick research I decided that the Seleukids were the successors I could most relate to. This was partly influenced by having some catafract figures which meant that I could do an army of the same period as the Romans I had just bought. So most of the figures are Donnington from that original pack supplemented over time with a few Essex Xystophoroi cavalry, Irregular catafracts and some archers of indeterminate manufacturer.

The army itself appeals as it is the only mainstream successor army that can realistically be used as a cavalry based army with infantry support; note I consider the Bactrian-Greek to be non-mainstream although a powerful army in it's own right.. One of the strengths of the army is it's wide range of troop types, but, as has often been noted, players can easily be confused if you don't start by only using the core troop types. However, unlike most successor armies it has a very low Pk minimum which means it can be more viable at lower AP games than most where the phalanx eats AP for a short frontage.

There are a number of sub-periods in the list, however, these do not impact on the troop types available in any major way with a couple of exceptions. These are that pre 280BC there are 5 El(O) available reducing to 3 thereafter (not that many players would take 5 regularly) and that post 205 BC the Kn(F) become nearly all Kn(X). Post 205BC the El must be (S) and cease to be available after 162BC. El become available again from 145BC to 125BC but are now (I). More minor variations, but worth remembering, is that pre 280BC the Reg Ax(S) are not available (but the Irr ones are), pre 245BC the useful Galatian Cv(O) are not available and pre 167BC the "Roman Argyraspides" Bd(O) are not available. My current preference is for the post 167BC army of Antiochus IV and his immediate successors.

There are only 2 sets of allies for this army, Jewish and Parthian. The former are the weaker in my opinion as they add little to the army unless you really need more Ax(S) - and even then you will be limited by the fixed PIP die. The Parthians may not appear to add much but can bring a large contingent (0 - 30) which can include substantial numbers of Bw(O). Alternatively you could just use them to make this a practically wholly mounted army.

The army's strike force is undoubtedly its Kn, either (F) or (X), and it's El, (O) or (S) depending on which time period you use. There is a very low Pk minimum of 7 and it can have up to 12 (S) adding staying power to the phalanx. The later option to replace half the Pk(S) with Bd(O) as "Roman" Argyraspides is useful for the extra frontage generated against non-Kn armies, especially infantry based ones. There is a wide array of support troops available - LH(O) and (F), Cm(O), Cv(O), Ax(S), Ps(O), Ps(S), Ax(O), Wb(S), Bw(I) and even Exp(O) if you have the points. This range of choice creates the possible problems of coordination in the battle line, especially for inexperienced players. That said very few are compulsory thus allowing you to concentrate on the core troops you need against a particular opponent. One tactic to remember is to deploy the phalanx 3, or even 2, deep if you need to cover ground or are fighting mounted based armies - 2 is pretty thin, however, especially against Kn and should probably only be kept for the Argyraspides and emergencies.

Choice of supporting troops is very important for this army as they will give you the flexibility needed in many games. I find that the Cm(O) are great value at 6AP when facing mounted, although being Irr they are not easy to manoeuvre. Their biggest benefit is that by having the same combat factor against mounted that Kn have it can free your Kn if you want them to attack infantry. The 3 Thracian Irr Ax(S) are almost compulsory in my view and can provide excellent elephant escorts. Another good buy are the Galatian Cv(O) but not so the Wb - they are just too much of a control liability and too few in numbers to justify inclusion (of course there is an argument that they should be Bd(I) which would make them far more attractive). Finally, another practically compulsory buy, are the LH(O) and LH(F) for obvious reasons, they just round off the army.

The army operates best in the classic 3 commands with one containing the whole phalanx and then 2 mainly mounted wings with one of these as the strike force with the other as a holding force. It is debatable where the C-in-C should go and I think that how you intend to use the phalanx will decide this. If you intend to use the phalanx quite offensively the C-in-C is best with them so he can boost their movement, if not he should go with the strike wing.

Rough going can prove to be a bit of a problem with this army, as with most successors, as there is not much scope to have a large number of light troops in the army once you have picked the phalanx and strike cavalry. However, there are just enough to enable you to contest small areas, with larger ones you will probably have to just resort to covering it with other troops.

seleukid450ap.txt - is a 450AP army post 245BC, pre 205BC.

seleukid500ap.txt - is a 500AP version of the above.

lateseleukid450ap.txt - is a 450AP post 168BC army.

lateseleukid500ap.txt - is a 500AP version of the above.