Commands & Colors: Ancients

Title
Commands & Colors: Ancients
Description
Commands & Colors: Ancients allows you to re-fight epic battles of the ancient world using the Commands and Colors game system.

Collection Tree

Collection Items

Paraitacene (317 BC)
By 318 BC the Successors had formed two competing alliances: the ‘Royalists’ who claimed to fight to maintain the empire for Alexander’s infant sons, and a rival coalition that sought to claim their own independent kingdoms. The opposing Successor…
317

Argentoratum (357 AD)
Julian, the young cousin of the Emperor Constantius, has been named to recover the situation in the West after a short civil war opened the frontier to raids and invasion by Franks and Alamanni tribes. Scarcely 23, with no military …
357

Adrianople (378 AD)
A collection of mostly Goth tribes with some allies petitioned Valens to be allowed land and foederati status to escape the Huns. Valens badly needed allies and agreed, aided in the decision because the Goth leader, Fritigern, had accepted…
378

Adrianople (378 AD)
A collection of mostly Goth tribes with some allies petitioned Valens to be allowed land and foederati status to escape the Huns. Valens badly needed allies and agreed, aided in the decision because the Goth leader, Fritigern, had accepted…
378

Camulodunum (60 AD)
Queen Boudica led her army of rebels, predominantly Iceni and Trinovantes, to Camulodunum, once the Trinovante capital and now the Roman capital after the Roman invasion of Britain. The city had been designated a colony for unruly veterans of the …
60

Mona Insulis (60 AD)
The island of Anglesey (Ynys Mon to the Welsh and Mona Insulis to the Romans), rich in grain and copper mines, became a refuge for several tribes opposed to the Roman occupation of Britain. The druids there gave moral and …
60

EPIC Asculum (279 BC)
Pyrrhus of Epirus nearly doubled the size of his army after his victory at Heraclea with allied Greeks, Samnites and Lucanians flocking to his standard. After absorbing the new recruits, Pyrrhus set off towards Rome. His advance was stopped at …
-279

EPIC Leuctra (371 BC)
Sparta’s victory in the Peloponnesian War (431-404) over Athens cemented the reputation of her hoplites as the premier infantry force in the world. However, Spartan arrogance following this victory led to the outbreak of hostilities with her former…
-371

Himeras River (211 BC)
Western Sicily had been a Carthaginian province for centuries, until Rome captured it in the First Punic War. Hannibal sent an agent, Epicydes, to Syracuse to lead a rebellion against Rome in 214. Rome responded by sending M. Claudius Marcellus …
-211

Caralis (215 BC)
Sardinia had been a Carthaginian province for centuries until the turmoil of the Truceless War (241-238) allowed Rome to opportunistically seize the island. This incident fed the hatred of Hamilcar Barca and his sons for Rome. While Hannibal was…
-215

Cirta (203 BC)
Following his victory at Agathocles' Tower, Scipio Africanus was penned in when Hasdrubal Gisgo and Syphax arrived with two large armies. Unable to face them in open battle, Scipio destroyed these armies with a treacherous night attack after feigning…
-203

Agathocles Tower (204 BC)
When Scipio Africanus invaded Africa in 204 BC, Carthage was caught without a field army. Carthage entrusted its immediate defense to Hanno son of Hamilcar. Hanno raised 4,000 cavalry - about 1,000 civic noble heavy cavalry, 1,000 Libyan cavalry and…
-204

Umbria (217 BC)
Even as one Roman army under Flaminius was being butchered by Hannibal’s troops at Lake Trasimenus in 217 BC, his colleague Gnaeus Servilius Geminus was racing to reinforce his fellow consul. Servilius Geminus hoped to trap Hannibal between the two …
-217

Castrum Album (214 BC)
Following the defeat at Iliturgi, the Carthaginians made an unsuccessful attempt against Intibili, and then withdrew to the south. Early in the spring (214) they dealt with a major Iberian uprising, crushing the rebel army and re-imposing Punic…
-214

Cissa (218 BC)
As the Second Punic War began (218 BC), Hannibal first conquered northern Spain. Before heading to Italy, he left his brother Hasdrubal with about 15,000 men in southern Spain and Hanno with 11,000 men in the north. The consul Publius …
-218

Iliturgi (215 BC)
Following the decisive victory of the Scipio brothers at Dertosa (215), Carthage sent out 13,500 reinforcements for Hasdrubal Barca under his brother Mago. Hasdrubal reorganized his command of 18,000 men into three small armies, one under his…
-215

Po River (203 BC)
Following Scipio’s victory at Ilipa in 206 Mago once again sailed to the Balearic Isles to recruit mercenaries. Then, rather than fall back to Africa, as everyone expected, Mago launched the third Barcid invasion of Italy. With new levies from …
-203

Celtiberia (207 BC)
Following the Battle of Baecula, Hasdrubal and Mago Barca and Hasdrubal Gisco gathered for a council of war in 208 BC. They decided that Hasdrubal Barca would cross the Alps into Italy. Mago broke up his army to provide troops …
-207

Orongis (212 BC)
Mago Barca began the Second Punic War as a subordinate commander under his brother Hannibal. In 215 he was given command of his own army, and sent to Spain to reinforce his other brother, Hasdrubal. Mago fought a series of …
-212

Panormus (250 BC)
Following the disaster at Bagradas only a few hundred of Regulus’ men ever made it back to Rome. But they were enough to spread the horrible stories of being trampled by elephants, and cut down by cavalry. Despite his defeat …
-250

Adys (256 BC)
Following the Battle of Agrigentum, the Carthaginian leaders decided to avoid pitched battles and instead fall back on fortified posts, while harassing the Romans with their fleet and guerrilla raids. The focus of the war shifted to Rome’s successful…
-256

Agrigentum (262 BC)
The First Punic War began when Rome decided to invade Sicily in 264. Chartage, unprepared, scrambled to raise an army under Hannibal Gisgo. By 262 Hannibal arrived with an advance force at Agrigentum, but the Roman consuls Lucius Postumius Megellus …
-262

Megalopolis (331 BC)
Sparta had stood on the sidelines while Athens and Thebes battled Macedon at Chaeronea. As the Macedonian army plunged ever deeper into Asia, King Agis III sensed an opportunity to regain the hegemony of Greece for Sparta. Agis began secret …
-331

Chaeronea (338 BC)
Philip II gained the throne of Macedon in 359 BC and re-organized his army into a combined arms force. He then set on a long diplomatic and military campaign to dominate the Greek city-states. In 338, Athens and Thebes allied …
-338

Mantinea (362 BC)
Thebes’ shocking victory at Leuctra in 371 had ended the Spartan hegemony over Greece. Epaminondas then organized the Arcadian League of cities in the Peloponnesus, in order to counter-balance Sparta and ensure Theban supremacy. A division in the…
-362

Leuctra (371 BC)
Sparta’s victory over Athens in the Peloponnesian War (431-404) cemented the reputation of her hoplites as the premier infantry force in the world. However, Spartan arrogance following this victory led to the outbreak of hostilities with her former…
-371

Tegyra (375 BC)
In 379 BC, an insurrection ejected the Spartan garrison at Thebes, and the city set about reestablishing its control over the Boeotian League. After several years, the Thebans succeeded in driving Spartan garrisons out of every city in Boeotia,…
-375

Lechaeum (391 BC)
The Spartan commander at Lechaeum, honoring the tradition of the Amyclaeans in his army to return to their city of Amyclae to celebrate a religious festival, marched an escort force of Hoplites and cavalry past Corinth. After successfully leading his…
-391

Coronea (394 BC)
After the battle of Nemea, Agesilaus was moving south into Boeotia with an army of helots and veterans of the Ten Thousand, reinforced by some Spartan regiments and other allies. The coalition forces lined up to oppose him at Coronea. …
-394

Nemea (394 BC)
After the Theban victory at the battle of Haliartus, Athens, Thebes, Corinth and Argos joined together in an anti-Spartan alliance. Aristodemus was sent north to challenge the alliance and the two armies met near the dry riverbed of Nemea. The …
-394

River Centrites (401 BC)
After the battle of Cunaxa, the Ten Thousand chose Cheirisophus and Xenophon as leaders. Xenophon led an organized retreat through Carducia and Armenia toward the Black Sea, constantly harassed first by Persian armies and then by local tribes. Using…
-401

Piraeus (403 BC)
After the Thirty were deposed, the new government, although more moderate, was not ready to compromise with the Athenian exiles, who now held the Athenian port of Piraeus. The new government sent emissaries to Sparta, and Sparta sent Pausanias at …
-403

Munychia (404 BC)
Thrasybulus and the Athenian exiles marched from Phyle to the port city of Piraeus. The next day, oligarchic forces under the command of Critias, one of the Thirty Tyrants, marched out to meet them. Thrasybulus had taken a defensive position …
-404

Phyle (404 BC)
Following Athens’ defeat in the Peloponnesian War, the victorious Spartans imposed an oligarchic government on the city which became known as the Thirty Tyrants. Late in 404, Thrasybulus, leading a force of Anthenian exiles, gathered at Phyle near…
-404

Anapus River (415 BC)
In 415 BC Athens and Sparta were still under the Peace of Nicias, when the Sicilian city of Segesta requested help from Athens in their war against Selinus. Some Athenians saw this as an opportunity to take over all of …
-415

Mantinea (418 BC)
Ironically, the greatest Hoplite battle of the Peloponnesian War was fought during the Peace of Nicias (421-415). Athens was able to forge an anti-Spartan coalition. King Agis II of Sparta marched out to seek a decisive battle. The Spartan army …
-418

Amphipolis (422 BC)
In 424 BC, the Spartan general Brasidas led an army toward Thrace to threaten the only accessible part of the Athenian Empire. He reached Thrace and offered generous terms to the people of Amphipolis, who surrendered without a fight. In …
-422

Delium (424 BC)
The first great Hoplite battle of the Peloponnesian War was fought between Athens and Boeotia. The Athenians formed a plot with some Boeotian democrats to overthrow the Theban autocracy. Demosthenes led an expedition in the west, while Hippocrates…
-424

Sphacteria (425 BC)
After the Battle of Pylos, a force of Spartan soldiers was isolated on the island of Sphacteria. Demosthenes, commanding the force at Pylos, initially planned to starve the Spartans out, but it became clear over time that the Spartans would …
-425

Olpae (426 BC)
During the Second, or Great, Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) the Athenians recognized their inferiority to Sparta in land warfare, and chose to fight with proxy forces and at sea. Nevertheless, there were many small battles, and the clash at Olpae …
-426

Tanagra (457 BC)
The First Peloponnesian War (460-445 BC) broke out due to Megara’s defection from the Spartan alliance, and Spartan envy and fear over the growth of the Athenian Empire. Nicomedes marched an army into Boeotia in 457 BC to intervene in …
-457

Mycale (479 BC)
In the spring of 479 BC, various Ionian cities began a revolt against their Persian rulers, and soon were forced to turn to the Greek mainland for help. A meeting was called in Athens, and a Greek fleet of 110 …
-479

Plataea (479 BC)
The Persian emperor Xerxes I led a massive invasion of Greece to avenge the defeat of his father’s forces at Marathon. After annihilating the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, Xerxes captured and burned Athens. Macedon, Thessaly and Boeotia submitted to…
-479

Thermopylae - Grand Overview (480 BC)
King Xerxes desired to punish the Athenians for his father’s defeat at Marathon and their support for Ionian revolts. He planned a second invasion of Greece in 480 BC and amassed a huge to extend the Persian Empire …
-480

Thermopylae - Middle Gate (480 BC)
King Xerxes desired to punish the Athenians for his father’s defeat at Marathon and their support for Ionian revolts. He planned a second invasion of Greece in 480 BC and amassed a huge army to extend the Persian Empire into …
-480

Sepeia (494 BC)
Cleomenes I of Sparta, inspired by the words of the oracle at Delphi that he would take Argos, marched into Argive territory. It was here that the Argive army took up a defensive position. The Argive generals wanted to be …
-494

Thyreatis (545 BC)
Sparta and Argos were quarreling over Thyreatis, a territory which was occupied by Sparta, but belonged to Argos. The Argives marched out to recover their land, but instead of engaging in battle, the two armies agreed that rather than commit …
-545

Hysiae (669 BC)
King Darius I of Persia sent an expedition against Athens in reprisal for the burning of Sardes in 498 BC during the failed Ionian Revolt. The Persian fleet under the joint command of Datis and Artaphernes landed near Marathon bay, …
-669

Marathon (490 BC)
The Persian emperor Xerxes I led a massive invasion of Greece to avenge the defeat of his father’s forces at Marathon. After annihilating the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, Xerxes burned Athens, then Macedon, Thessaly, and Boeotia submitted. However,…
-490

Plataea (479 BC)
The Carthaginians learned from earlier defeats in Sicily that they had to field reliable, trained heavy infantry of their own. They formed the Sacred Band, a force of about 2500 excellently trained Carthaginians, as good or better than anything the …
-479
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