News from the North! Ankon reports that all is well with the Picentenes and that there are no issues to be had there, though there are some reports that their people continue to press into the hilly frontier and establish new farms there.
Well, that's a bit of a relief. Hopefully it'll keep for the duration of Obander's term of office.
Issa and Pharos are expanding well, though some of the Liburni in the interior of Pharos have refused the reality of their subjugation and fled into the hills, where the citizens of Pharos follow to hunt them down. Iapode piracy remains an issue, but one relegated to their northeast corner, and sometimes now focused upon the Liburni who lick their wounds from their previous failures.
Hm, helpful; that will make the Liburni less likely to mono-focus on us, or at least be less likely to do so successfully and quickly.
Goings on from within the city, presented by Proboulos Epiktetos Linos of the Demos Drakonia
EPIKTETOS: The office of proboulos is an extraordinary honor. In comparison to the xenoparakletor, my esteemed and honorable friend the great Eupraxis, the office of proboulos dates back to the first years of the city, the first concession of the citizens that although the assembly remains supreme, it is essential to elevate some men to lead, and to guide, the people. But since those days, the proboulos has revealed the failures of his office, in preserving the distinction between elevation and tyranny. There were men, good men, even great men, who saw the office of proboulos as an extension of their own glory, hubristic as they were. And as the office fell into less repute with the splitting of the xenoparakletor in the reforms created by wise Kallias, there was a general conclusion that men can only gain true glory from the office of xenoparakletor. But think of what the proboulos controls. In the first place, he is guardian of the people, as he protects the citizen rolls and oversees the other magistracies, rooting out any and all corruption. In the second place, he controls the city's finances, which are necessary for our city's survival. We are a city of commerce. Finally, in conducting the building of new great works, the proboulos provides employment to the people.
So I thank the people of Eretria for giving me this opportunity. Now I turn rapidly to the finances...
[Some in the audience were probably starting to glower, seeing this as Epiktetos puffing himself up by way of puffing his office up...]
Agoranomos: Itheos Akadios (Demos Exoria).
Assembly of the Mint: Krethon Ibykos (Demos Exoria).
Popular Tribunal: Sosibios Kineas (Demos Drakonia).
Chief of Public Lands: Kebes Bisaltos (Demos Exoria).
Grand Mantis: Parmon Polyeides (Demos Drakonia).
Elder Ekdromos: Austesion Sabyllos (Demos Exoria).
I have already spoke to the Elder Ekdromos, but we have agreed that working on a reformation of the city's military forces must wait until the triremes and rowers have been trained and the Harbor is complete, for our goal is to maximize those sources of revenue from which we draw and keep static those expenses that draw from our coffers.
Interesting.
The
agoranomos handles trade within the city, which means that a Drakonid
proboulos overseeing a great expansion of the harbor has to contend with an Exorid
agoranomos who may be at least as interested in landward trade with the Iapyges. Control of the money supply and weights and measures are similarly dominated by the Exorids, as is control of the public lands (such as is left of them).
The Drakonids
do hold the popular tribunal, which drafts legislation, and the current giant mantis in charge of our temples.
And the Antipatrids are, yes, not getting much of their agenda done.
I thank the following citizens for their participation. The consistent and vocal participation of citizens, and the effort that obtaining lifters so as to be able to speak and present your speech, is among the greatest of all services a citizen can normally provide. The following citizens have been awarded a carved stone and twenty drachmae for speaking. Skantarios the Hoplite, Euonomos Philonikos, Aniketos who calls himself Philosopher, Leukos the Accountant, Leander Long-Speaking, Arktos Arkadios, Kipekos Wide-Speaking, Sarpedon son of Sarpedon, Diomedon the Terse who speaks ever wisely, Gregorios Alexios, Erastos Nikedemos who kills spiders, Alkaios son of Kleitos who distinguished himself in speech this assembly, Eutychon Eutychos, Phylakos seller of grain, Heliodoros son of Giorgos whom all hope will recover from illness, Iskander Xanatos, Hermesdora Eretriazenis who calls himself Psillos, Nereos who makes sails, Kleon of the Tyrrhenians, Kleon Aristophanes, Kaidos the Messenger, Isigas Euplastos, Tychaeos who calls himself humble and aristos, the elder and younger Theopilos, who are fond of weasels, and Ajax Lalage of the Ekdromoi.
Leander the Long-Speaker and Phokion Aristeides have each been awarded 150 drachmae for their motions which have passed to the level of a general vote at a special session of the assembly next year, given the density of decisions to be made this year.
Yey.
...But yeah, we're going to have to be careful; our expenses significantly exceed our income for this year, and the not-so-sacred treasury only has so much money in it.
How should the demands of the Metic Assembly be dealt with? Choose one of the four choices below.
[] [Metics] It is time now for a Prytanis to be selected from among the Metics to address the assembly [Metics will choose their own representatives to present before the city].
[] [Metics] Allow Metics to purchase property within the walls of Eretria and reduce their taxation [10% reduction in Metic taxation, -14 talents a turn].
[] [Metics] The city will intervene in the Metic debt crisis and pay their debts [-90 talents].
[] [Metics] We cannot accept any of these demands! [Metics will consider assembly a failure].
Hm. Gonna have to think about this.
Whatever the option chosen, Obander secured the agreement of Rhegion to act as a major port of call for the women and children, and eventually the men, of Kymai, such was the trust he garnered on his journey. When he arrived in Kymai, however, he was met with a frustrating sight. The people were not pleased by his presence when he told him who he was (2d10+2=9), and it was only with some effort and discussion with the city's remaining leadership that he was able to bring them around (2d10+4=15). The reason for the suspicion was obvious, of course; Eupraxis had just come from Rhegion, and although he was an Eretrian, the mother city of Kymai was distant and only tangentially its mother through their common ancestry in Old Eretria in faraway Hellas. The arrival of Eretrian grain shipments, however quelled much of the original suspicion, and it turned to shock and relief. How grateful were they for Eretria's help! Perhaps the city would also assist them against Rhegion and its ambitions as soon as the Oscans were dealt with!
When the truth came out, of course, it was far less glamorous, and caused much consternation. Some citizens were enraged and cursed Eretria. Some sought the advice of the famed sybil of Kymai, and her oracle had been fortuitous, saying that the people of Kymai would live on, which made many think that it would be better to stay in the city.
...The oracle is a massive troll. But
of course the oracle is a massive troll.
[sighs]
How should Rhegion's attention towards Kymai be diverted away? Choose of one of three choices below.
[] [Rhegion] Encourage Rhegion to make war against the city of Lokri Epixephyrii [Raises tension with Krotone].
[] [Rhegion] Redirect their ambitions toward the islands of Lipara and the Lucanian coast [Raises tension with Thurii].
[] [Rhegion] Help them work out a settlement with the Sikeliote League in Sicily [Raises tension with Taras].
Currently leaning towards encouraging them to attack Lokri Epixephyrii. Of all three allies, angering Krotone is least likely to bite us in the ass later.
How should the Kymai's new settlement be treated in relation to the Linean colonial laws?
Current potential freemen to be evacuated from Kymai: 2,500
[] [Kymai] The settlement will have the same citizenship laws as the rest of the Epulian League's new colonies. [-500 potential freemen, weaker cohesion, more rapid population growth after settlement].
[] [Kymai] The settlement may have its own laws [+200 potential freemen, stronger cohesion, less rapid population growth after settlement].
I think we'd better make an exception for this specific case, wherein we are
moving a
polis, not founding one.
[] [Mission] Amber Trade Mission. The Enetoi were Eretria's staunch allies in the war against the Liburni. We must know capitalize on this to gain a monopoly over the export of amber to the wider Mediterranean. Through this we can strengthen ties and open the way for a future colony in the marshy lagoons off the coast of their lands, strengthening an Eretrian presence in the northern Adriatic [If successful, Eretria will be then be able to construct a trading colony in the Venetian lagoon and a new monopoly trade route worth 25 talents].
[] [Mission] Picente Diplomatic Mission.The colony of Ankon is now rapidly growing beyond the small plot of land provided by the Picentes. Although the town of Numana and its hinterland lies to the south, the northwest of Picenum is sparsely populated. In order to avoid conflict with the Picentes and ensure a foundation for new Eretrian colonies along that stretch of coast, the xenoparakletor will be dispatched to negotiate a purchase of land for both Ankon and future colonies [-40 talents, if successful Ankon's territory will expand and land will be opened up for further colonies in Picenum].
[] [Mission] Histri Diplomatic Mission. Although the Histri and Eretria started off on poor footing, it is time to resolve these differences and reconcile the two in the aftermath of the war with the Liburni. We will obtain a translator who will be able to communicate with the Histri and dispatch envoys on an expedition to Nesactium. The goal of the mission will be to resolve prior differences, leverage the recent victory against the Liburni while it lies fresh in their memory, and important to Eretrian prestige and honor, retrieve an apology from the people of Tergeste for their attack on the Eretrians. In the process we may hope to secure a trading post in a fine harbor to the southwest of Nesactium for our merchants [-25 talents, if mission successful Histri will be reconciled and could become allies, opens up potential for trading post at location of Pola].
[] [Mission] Messapii Tributary Mission. Although King Artahias reigns in Neriton, the Messapii are not yet integrated vassals of Eretria, and indeed owe only theoretical allegiance to the city. If we are to transform a temporary subject into a permanent ally then we must build the institutional and diplomatic grounding for it. The Xenoparakletor will tour the Messapii lands and gain support for a more permanent and fair arrangement, all the while tying the resolution of conflicts and the settling of disputes to Eretria. In this way we can curtail Artahias' ambitions without enraging him, and even grant him greater central authority that he may wield on our behalf [-20 talents, If successful, gain access to 25% of the entire Messapii freemen levy as well as 10.3 talents in regular tribute].
I think we have to view this with an eye to our financial situation and the need to have stability in Epulia while we deal with far-foreign problems. Spending a large lump sum of cash among the Picentes, when we're already going to be deficit-spending for the next few years, seems unwise given that there is no pressing emergency there
right now.
And Mnemnon himself, who advocated it, would prefer to go among the Messapii than among the Histri.
So to me this comes down to a choice between the Enetoi and Histri missions, both of which stand to bring in money in the medium to long term.
