| “ | The weary Macedonian army pauses its relentless march, resting in the cities of Lower Cilicia. | ” |
| —In-game summary | ||
The Cilician Gates is the ninth scenario of the Alexander the Great grand campaign in Chronicles: Alexander the Great. It is based on the Battle of Issus in November 333 BCE, close to the mouth of the Pinaros River near the modern town of Dörtyol in Turkey, and the leadup to it. In this battle, Alexander confronted the Persian Great King Darius III for the first time.
Intro[]
Breaching Halicarnassus was a tremendous feat — as had been the victory at Granicus, not to mention the slew of cities throughout Asia Minor that had surrendered without a fight. Yet the victory Alexander truly craved remained elusive. He set off once more, seeking a confrontation with the Persian king, Darius III — named after the very monarch who had launched the first Persian invasion of Greece.
Along the way, Alexander came upon the town of Gordion. Here, there was an ancient cart tied to a post by the most fiendishly intricate knot, a tangled mass of ancient cords, twisting, snaking, weaving, slipping over and under and around, a knot with no visible beginning or end. Not a very interesting attraction, you might think. But it was said that whoever could undo the knot would rule the world. Alexander examined the knot, paused for thought... Then with a single stroke of his sword, simply sliced it in two.
From there Alexander proceeded south, until he reached Cilicia. He began to feel a frightful heat rising in his breast, then he broke into a wild sweat, frothing like a raging stallion. He flung himself into the icy cold waters of the River Cydnus, but emerged wracked with cramps and fever.
All of the king's physicians feared to administer a remedy — what dreadful tortures would await them if they failed, or worsened the king's condition? Only one — Philip of Acamania — was willing to produce a cure. But as Alexander was about to raise the potion to his lips, a messenger passed him a letter from Parmenion, claiming that the Persian king had paid the doctor to poison him. Alexander looked the physician straight in the eye, and downed the cup in one go.
At first, the king fell back, his breath lost, swooning into near-unconsciousness — but then, as Philip attended to him, Alexander regained his senses, and felt the cure work its way through his body.
A period of rest was clearly in order. Alexander and his men, welcomed into the cities of lower Cilicia, at last paused their relentless march.
Scenario instructions[]
Starting conditions[]
- Starting Age:
Classical Age - Starting resources: 300 food, 600 wood, 200 gold, 200 stone
- Population limit: 200
- Starting units:
- Cleitus
- Perdiccas
- 8 Phalangites
- 5 Swordsmen
- 3 Bowman
- 2 Scout Cavalry
- 2 Galleys
- 1 War Lembos
- 22 Villagers
- 10 Fishing Ships
Objectives[]
- Main objectives
- Gather x/50000 resources
- Destroy all of Darius' Town Centers.
- Find and slay Darius.
- Side objectives
- Flare on the map to make Parmenion move his army there.
- Subdue the Cilicians to gain them as allies. Destroy their Town Centers to do so. x/2 Cilician Town Centers destroyed.
- Tribute the Pirates 2000 gold to stop their attacks.
- Scuttle warships for resources by bringing them to the flagged area.
- Decisions
- Choose a new unit for Alexander's army:
Differences between difficulty levels[]
- The amount of required gathered resources varies per difficulty level:
- Easiest: 20,000
- Standard: 30,000
- Moderate: 35,000
- Hard: 40,000
- Legendary: 50,000
- On Hard and Legendary difficulties, the player needs 2,000 gold instead of 1,000 to tribute the Pirates.
Hints[]
- You cannot construct Markets in this scenario.
- Wood is concentrated in forest to the north, along with Boars for Food. Gold can be found in the rich offshore oyster beds, along with fish for food.
- Create Fishing Ships at the Port to gather from Oysters and Fish.
- Cilicia is well known for banditry. Prepare to defend your Villagers from attacks on land, and your ships from pirate attacks at sea. Military ships can be created at the Shipyard.
Players[]
Player[]
- Player ( Macedonians): The player starts in the northern half of the map with a small military, and two towns: one inland focus mainly on food and wood production, and another on the coast primarily supporting food and gold economy. The player must gather the required amount of resources (varying per difficulty level), while defending against the Cilicians from the northeast and the Pirates from the south. Once the required resources have been gathered, Darius appears to the east, and establishes himself in the town previously controlled by the Local Villagers. The player is required to destroy his Town Center, and kill Darius (make him flee) to win the scenario.
Allies[]
- Parmenion ( Macedonians): Parmenion has established his camp near the western end of the map. He is initially passive, but after some time, his force of Elite Phalangites will be available to command. The player can order Parmenion to a spot by using the flare.
Enemies → Potential Allies[]
- Cilicians ( Thracians - Cilicians): A tribe with their base containing four Town Centers in the mountains northeast of the player's inland base, and notably containing all of the map's Stone Mines, they will attempt to disrupt the player's economy with regular raiding parties containing Bowmen and Hill Tribesmen. Once the player has gathered enough resources and Darius appears, they stop actively attacking the player, and can be allied if the player destroys two of their Town Centers. After that, they will send their troops against Darius, though they serve as a distraction at best.
- Pirates ( Spartans - Pirates): The Pirates have their base on two islands southeast of the player's coastal town, and will send regular mixed raiding force of Biremes, Galleys, Incendiary Rafts, and Lemboi, progressively upgraded. To stop their raids, the player must destroy their Docks and Shipyards to gain full control of the water, or alternatively tribute them to leave the player alone.
Neutral → Enemy[]
- Local Villagers → Darius ( Achaemenids): This player controls a large walled town guarded by several towers, and containing three Town Centers and Farms, but no military production buildings. Their stance to the player is Neutral. After Darius arrives, he takes over the town, builds several Forts and military production buildings, and moves against the player with Elite Skirmishers, Guardsmen, Immortals, Imperial Cavalry, Laminated Bowmen, and War Chariots. Darius himself is represented by a War Chariot with a hero glow.
Strategy[]
Time is of the essence in this scenario. Once the scenario begins, the player should immediately train Villagers and send them to collect food and wood. Build Fishing Ships at the same time to gather Oysters. The player should also wall off all open passes and not leave a single gap behind, as early on, the Cilicians will start sending units to attack the player's base, especially the Villagers, in an attempt to disrupt their economy. If the player hired Peltasts in the previous scenario, they can make short work of the enemy units; otherwise, Skirmishers will do well too. Once the passes are walled, the player can focus on the navy.
The Pirates will start sending in a huge fleet to raid the player's Fishing fleet. Train a large army of Galleys and a few Lombos to fend off their attacks. Once the player has a sizeable fleet, and some Catapult Ships, they can destroy all of the Pirate Docks, and then scuttle the ships for resources, giving the player full control of the water. Alternatively, they can be bribed with 2,000 gold (on Hard and Legendary difficulties) to leave the player alone; doing this will also grant additional ships and a hero unit in the next scenario.
At one point during the scenario, the player will have a choice between Axe Cavalry or Axemen to add to the roster. It is recommend to go for the former, as the Axe Cavalry functions similar to a Camel Rider, giving the player a viable mobile anti-cavalry option for their army.
Once the player attains enough resources, Darius will enter the game, and the Cilicians will stop attacking. The player has an option to force them to ally with the player by razing two of their Town Centers.
The player can take the fight to the Cilicians next. An army of Companion Cavalry and some Swordsmen will be sufficient. Once allied, the player can mine off their quarries and erect Castles to hold off Darius' onslaught. One of the Town Centers and Castles are near the shore, so they are within range of Leviathans. Another Town Center is deeper inland, but their beach is inaccessible, so the player can unload Palintonons to raze the second Town Center.
Darius will put up a tough fight, so the player needs a good army of Companion Cavalry and some Palintonons to destroy the last two Town Centers, and Darius himself. The player wins after Darius is slain (fled) and all Town Centers destroyed.
Achievement[]
For the achievement "An Army Marches on its Stomach", gather the required resources in under 25 minutes. This is best attempted on lower difficulties due to the lower thresholds, and smaller enemy attack waves.
Legendary difficulty[]
The Above strategy is generally effective, but can be difficult to implement on Legendary. The key, as above, is speed.
Wall off the player's base, but not too far out so the player has time. Palisade Walls will suffice. Wall roughly from the cliffs on the coast with the shipwreck, up to the ruins, and across to the trees, as well as walling off the Outpost just north of this. The Cilicians should, instead of attacking, get caught in the treeline. Be warned that while the wall strategy works, it is also possible for Cilician Laminated Bowmen to start attacking the walls eventually.
As the player does this, build up the fleet massively. Specifically, if the player can focus on a Galley Fleet, with some Lombos, and eventually some Catapult ships, the player should be able to handle the Pirates with some good micromanagement. If the player has about 30 Galleys, they can take out most Pirate ships in a single volley, which helps diminish their numbers faster. Focus on sinking their Incendiary Rafts, then their Monoremes and Biremes, and then the Galleys. When the player manages to hold a solid defense, push forward and focus the main fleet on enemy ships, and Catapult Ships on their Sea Towers, Shipyards, and Ports. The player can start to slow down Pirate Ship production fast enough to have a chance, as long as the player makes sure the player is reinforcing the fleet. The Pirates are also likely to attack the player's coastline as the player attack theirs. It may be that the two islands work somewhat separately, allowing the player to focus on one at a time, as long as the player's coast is defended. Additionally, the player can defeat the Pirates while leaving one Port left standing, allowing trade.
It is possible, if the player manages time and resource collection, to destroy two Cilician Town Centers before Darius arrives. This does not make them allies early, as that only triggers after Darius' arrival, but doing it early and making Cilicians an ally as soon as possible can be incredibly advantageous, even on Legendary. It can be a difficult push on higher difficulties, but taking out the northernmost Town Centers can be quick and effective, and managed in a single push with a combined force of Ekdromos (if chosen), Hoplites, and Skirmishers, if the player has trouble getting the stone for a Fort. As the player attacks the Cilicians, they may also send Lancers to attack, and they will attack the player's walls.
Get a Fort as soon as possible, and build up a force the player can rely on, like Phalangites, Companion Cavalry, anti-cavalry units, and Skirmishers, with at least three Palintonons. If coordinated, it is fairly easy to push Darius back to his own base between the player's forces, Parmenion's, and the Cilicians. Let them commit their troops first, then use the player's to turn the tide when Darius' forces are weakened. Use the player's Palintonons to take down their towers and Forts by the gate. Using Outposts with 'End of the World' researched, and building a Fort near their main gate, the player should be able to box Darius in quickly. From there, it is a relatively easy push if the player lets the Cilicians and Parmenion keep pushing through.
Trivia[]
- The intro refers to the legend of the Gordian Knot, saying that whoever could undo it would go on to rule all of Asia. While the popular account describes Alexander's solution to undo the knot by cutting it with his sword, classical historians such as Plutarch and Arrian, referring to Alexander's contemporary Aristobulus, suggest that he instead pulled the linchpin from the post to which the cart was tied, thus exposing the knot's ends, allowing him to untie it without cutting it. The ruins of the namesake town of Gordion in ancient Phrygia are located about 10 kilometres from the modern Turkish town of Polatlı, southwest of Ankara.
- Regardless of the actual method, idioms such as "cut the Gordian knot" or "untie the Gordian knot" have entered many languages to mean a simple or an unorthodox solution to a complex problem.
- If the player killed all the Bears in the previous scenario (Unto the Breach), Parmenion, shortly after Alexander recovers, suggests that the bearskins from Halicarnassus might be related to his fever, before the melee shield ability is granted to "Alexander, the mighty hunter of bears".
- The region of Cilicia is also the site of the clash between Thoros and the Byzantine forces.
- In the actual Battle of Issus, Alexander was moving south through what is now Syria when his scouts reported that the Persian army under Darius was behind him, searching for him. Therefore, the Persians were actually north of Alexander's position, not southeast as portrayed in the scenario.
