In 208 BCE, Antiochus III's Seleucid army was still rapidly moving eastward, vowing to reinvigorate the breakaway territories of the interior of Asia. But unlike the Persian or Parthian rebels that preceded it, the next adversary, isolated in the mountains of Afghanistan, was also the local interest group with the highest percentage of Greeks.
Thus, the battle between the two sides at the Arius River became an exotic collision of two Greek armies.
The decline of the Seleucid Empire contributed to the secession of the local group of Bactria
As early as 247 BC, Theodotus, who had been a satrap, declared independence and spun the province of Bactria from the Seleucid Empire. At that time, King Antiochus II was in a state of scarcity. Not only was it defeated by the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt in the war in southern Syria, but it was also invaded by Celtic barbarians in the north of Asia Minor. As a result of years of war, he had to collect excessive taxes on the eastern provinces and demanded that more troops be mobilized to fill in the holes for him. The result was the betrayal of the feudal officials. For example, the province of Parthia, which was later occupied by barbarians, also decided to go its own way in this year.
The Greek colonists of Bactria were mostly former mercenary units
However, Bactria, backed by the Hindu Kush, was geographically superior, unlike Parthia, which was easily seized by nomadic barbarians. The local Greek settlers, derived from mercenaries in the service of the Persian Empire or Alexander the Great. After the end of that earth-shattering war, they were sent to such remote areas to shoulder the border of Tuntian. However, at the beginning of the construction of the cities, they could only play the role of second-class citizens in their new homes, subordinate to the smaller number of Macedonian garrisons. It wasn't until the outbreak of the Diadochi War that the first-class people who pressed on their heads moved westward one after another, and they were very lucky to sit back and enjoy the success. It can even become one of the least affected areas in troubled times.
Hellenistic city restoration in Bactria
Before the new war, the Bactrian Greeks had enjoyed decades of relative peace. On the one hand, it borrowed advanced technology to build water conservancy and reclaimed a large area of two days and orchards. On the other hand, it is also a key point of transportation between the east and the west, which can attract businessmen from all over the world with stable expectations. As a result, the rapid development of urbanized populations and the very favorable economic conditions have made the surrounding local tribes choose to be convinced. Finally, the relatively special cultural environment has also created a completely different military culture. With the exception of ordinary citizen soldiers who were responsible for defending the city, the aristocratic elite chose to fight on horseback, and were ahead of other Hellenistic kingdoms in terms of equipment and skills. Although there was a usurpation of the throne by the ministers, which knocked down the former monarch Theodotus II, the whole base is still quite strong.
The usurper Osidemos was originally the brother-in-law of the previous king
In 209 BCE, news of Antiochus III's expedition reached the region, causing the newly ascended Osidmus to feel that the situation was critical. Obviously, as long as the Parthian Alsace family could not support it, their own territory would be the next target. Second, the Bactrian army did not train the Macedonian phalanx, and it was difficult to hold off a strong enemy by relying on the line of infantry. If you also consider that many towns are limited in size and do not have a defensive design for large siege engines, it is impossible to maintain the win rate in traditional mode. For now, the only way to do this is to send the advantage of cavalry and block the Wang Shi from afar as much as possible. When the other side retreats due to supply difficulties, it can rely on diplomatic efforts to develop the window period.
The unique environment made the Bactrian Greeks very reliant on cavalry
For this reason, when the branches of the Seleucid army approached from northern Iran, the 10,000 cavalry of Bactria were ready on the banks of the Arius River. But the momentum is too great, and it must ignore the keen observation of the other party's scouts. Antiochus knew that he would lose a lot from the front, so he simply chose to retreat a little before dark, and settled the main infantry in a nearby town. He personally led more than 2,000 elite cavalry and quietly returned to the river in the second half of the night, preparing to complete the forced crossing with the help of night cover. While there may have been some lightly armed skirmishers or Guards infantry on their side, they would have played little role in the ensuing battle. Fortunately, the Bactrians were also unprepared, and returned to the distant camp to rest in order to protect their horses, thus giving the other side an opportunity.
Osidemos's troops are centered on elite ironclad cavalry
In the early hours of the next morning, Osidmos was awakened from his sleep to learn that a Seleucid army had crossed the Arius River. When he personally led the Bactrian cavalry to the scene, he didn't even have time to start the battle formation, so he launched a direct attack on Antioch in front of him. In particular, ironclad cavalry with human and horse equipment was not common among the Hellenistic nations at the time, so it was expected by those who formed it. Unfortunately, horses in classical times had limited carrying capacity, and the overly tight protective gear was very heavy. So much so that it affects the speed of the charge, and can only approach the target in small steps. Antiochus was a top elite on both sides, trained in the pure Macedonian aristocratic tradition since he was a child, and had a lot of experience in hand-to-hand combat on horseback. Therefore, after getting close to the slow ironclad unit, instead of showing a declining momentum, he fought back and forth under unfavorable circumstances.
Seleucus hedged against the cavalry of Bactria
However, the Bactrians had an absolute numerical superiority after all. As the cavalry battle continued along the riverbank, more men rode to the scene to reinforce the scene. They will use classic Greek tactics, constantly attacking with squadron units. The Seleucids had just repelled a group of opponents, and then they had to face a continuous charge from another group. Most of them fell in the heat, Antiochus III's mount was hacked to death, and several teeth were knocked out of his own teeth. But he still desperately persevered, using the brief gap between each round of confrontation to reorganize the queue, and then instigated a counterattack against the newcomers. Unwittingly, they let most of the enemy forces turn the attraction around them, ignoring the rest of the situation on the other side of the Arius River.
In the fierce battle, Antiochus himself was almost killed on the spot
Soon, the offensive and defensive sides on the battlefield reversed. It turned out that Antioch deliberately left a reserve on standby before the war. As the 2,000 men around him were about to be exhausted, a sudden surge of reinforcements began to attack the Bactrians from the flanks and back. Due to the fierce fighting before, Oshidemos's men were in a chaotic phase, and there was no chance to reorganize and respond. Those heavily equipped ironclad cavalry suffered huge losses in helplessness. As a large number of local elites spilled blood on the battlefield, the rest also chose to flee the scene.
After the arrival of the reserves, the Seleucid cavalry turned the tide of the battlefield
Although the Battle of Arius was won, the losses of the Seleucid army were not small. The nearly 1,250 cavalrymen killed, mostly from aristocratic families or vassal elites, were far more expensive than the withering of ordinary citizen soldiers. But the Bactri were undoubtedly more consumed, with at least 2,500 ironclad cavalry sleeping on the border of the province. Osidemos had no choice but to flee back to the capital city of Bhaktra, unable to arrange anything other than defend the city. Therefore, Antioch was able to surround it calmly and calmly, and it took almost two years to force the other party to obey.
Despite the admittance, the Kingdom of Bactria entered the era of auspiciousness
After that, the two sides who have won and lost choose to shake hands. With the aftermath of victory, Antiochus III traveled deep into the Indus Valley in the south before returning to the west to plan other wars. Although his victory was not perfect, he largely completed the reorganization of the eastern Seleucid possessions, and was worthy of the title of Lord of Zhongxing. If it hadn't been for the insistence on fighting the Romans later, it would undoubtedly have left a better evaluation in history.
Othydemos used a vassal posture to keep the basic market and continued to run his own kingdom of Bactria. His descendants would move on to Transoxiana, Sistan, and India, continuing the Far Eastern branch of ancient Greek civilization throughout the Classical Era......