Armenia Details (RTW Faction)

Imperial Campaign: Armenia

Outline

Originally meant to be an unplayable faction, we all know by now how to make every last faction in Rome: Total War playable. I will therefore not go into further detail regarding this. The following is a compact guide regarding the Armenian faction in the legendary game 'Rome: Total War'. It will handle some overal tactics and strategies that are sure to turn Armenia into an empire and a fearsome military power, both on the campaign map and on the battlefield. It's of course up to you to actually employ them :)

General Strategies and Tactics

Armenia lies in a particularly good and bad position. Having the Caucasus mountains as its heartland, the good part is of course that these lands are easily defended against invaders, no matter where they come from. The Caucasus is a naturally fortified bastion and after some additional fortifying, Armenia's heartland is pretty much impregnable. However, the downside to Armenia's starting position is that it will bring you financial problems with remarkable speed. Swift expansion is therefore necessary. Kotais and Artaxarta should serve as economic and military settlement, respectively. Immediately install basic constructions; roads, farmlands and a port for Kotais and roads, stables and barracks for Artaxarta. At the same time, on the first turn to be exact, move towards neighbouring Phraaspa to claim it before Parthia does. Parthia is in fact eaqually vulnerable financially and capturing Phraaspa and making it another economic stronghold (if a weaker one) is a good step towards their eventual complete defeat. Having constructed the above-mentioned buildings, it might be wise to install some watchtowers to the west to keep in check the power of Pontus. However, all military efforts should be directed against Parthia at this point. Keep in mind your treasury at all times and start building up an army. It's wise to focus on cavalry with some additional Eastern Spearmen units. They can serve as cannon fodder and take the casualties while your (mounted) cavalry can pepper the enemy from a distance and then move in to finish them off. It is of the essence to take the Parthian capital of Arsakia now. When ready, march on Arsakia. Taking the city should be fairly easy if the Parthians haven't built any walls yet. If so, it's best to try and lure out their main force and defeat them in the field, making the conquest of Arsakia all the easier. Don't forget to send your best generals to the front, they really can make a difference. With Arsakia taken, the Caucasus is conquered and Parthia will probably no longer pose a real threat, at least not close to home. Having secured your heartland, it's best to fortify it with some more watchtowers and forts at natural chokepoints, this to keep in check the Seleucids, Pontus and Scythia. All of these factions will probably have other concerns however; Pontus will be fighting the Seleucids and vice versa and Scythia is simply too far away to stage a surprise assault. This allows you to keep up steady financial growth without any sudden attacks on your lands. After securing your heartland and having built up a treasury and military buildings, I'd suggest invading Asia Minor (nowadays Turkey) instead of further attacks south. If your borders are guarded enough, you'll be able to react swiftly to any sudden attack that might come from there. The advantages of invading Asia Minor are however undeniable: your flanks and rear are secured by the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and your heartland, you'll gain invaluable sea ports to boost your economy and you'll conquer rich cities held by crumbling or minor powers. The biggest opposition will come from Pontus (especially if they conquered rebel-held Ancyra and Nicaea) and their chariots. Use a combination of horse archers and the strong Heavy Spearmen to first pepper them with arrows and then press them into the phalanx of your spearmen. The Seleucid Empire will be crumbling by now, thanks to Egyptian armies invading en masse. Greek-held Pergamum may prove a challenge because of its stone walls and powerful garrison but by now you should have access to the heavy Armenian infantry units that will make short work of the Greek armored hoplites and Seleucid militia hoplites, especially when aided by masses of horse archers for whom the Greek phalanx is an ideal target. After Asia Minor is firmly secured, you'll have an easily defended empire with a steadily increasing income and multiple sea accesses. From here you can either cross the sea and attack the Balkan, although it's better to wait until Macedon, the Greek Cities and the Brutii have weakened each other more. The obvious strategy now is to bring all of the Middle-east under Armenian control. Your biggest enemy in this will of course be Egypt, a fearsome opponent. While wielding very powerful units with all sorts of weapons, Egypt's greatest weakness is that their armies aren't very loyal. Armies led by captains can be bribed easily and this for a reasonable price. Use this to your advantage and you may be able to isolate Egyptian generals, allowing you to focus your forces on a few General-led armies instead of 50 captain-led armies.

A last word concerning diplomacy. Armenia is pretty much a faction without useful allies and therefore an alliance with a faction will only be meant to keep them from attacking your lands. While at war with Parthia, an alliance with Pontus might be fruitful to further secure your western borders. It's even likely that Pontus will offer this themselves. While waging war in Asia Minor, at all times maintain friendly relations with Egypt, possibly in the form of an alliance but certainly in the form of a regular (small) donation of gold. An early alliance with Scythia might be wise to completely secure your northern borders, cut off the Parthian land north of the Caspian Sea and keep Parthia and Scythia from allying against you.