Mycenaean Confederation

The Mycenaean Confederation is a confederation of 17 autonomous Mycenaean kingdoms. While the official ruler is technically the wanax who rules the capital kingdom of Mycenae, all kings can rule their domains however they wish, only convening in and adhering to the capital when dealing with foreign policy issues. It is one of the main powers in the known world, however it was not part of the Great Powers' Club. The Confederation is part of the Organization of Free Kingdoms and is highly dependent on Egypt for its food supplies. Just like Egypt, the main rival of Mycenae used to be the Kingdom of Hatti, but currently is the Eastern Coalition. The Mycenaean Confederation, after stabilizing during the Egyptian Expedition, has been rapidly developing and and colonizing territories to the north and east.

## **History**

### **Calamities and stabilization**

Prior to 0 AEE, the Mycenaean Confederation began to be plagued by a multitude of calamities, both internal and external. Due to bad harvests, caused by droughts, the agricultural output was lower than average for over a decade, and natural disasters like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions caused a lot of damage to the cities and rural areas of the country. However, the government had not enough resources to deal with these crises, partly due to the costly Wilusan War, which was still ongoing in the form of guerilla warfare. The citizens of the Confederation began rising up and openly rebelling, threatening to enter the palaces of the kings if the situation was not fixed soon. Furthermore, the barbarian Dorians had invaded from the north, which made the situation even worse and it became a very real possibility that the Mycenaean Confederation might fall completely.

However, seeing this, in 0 AEE the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses III sent an expeditionary relief force to the Confederation, with whom Egypt has been friendly with for over two centuries and so had an interest in its survival. 20 000 troops, as well as hundreds of ships containing grain and other valuable resources arrived on the shores of various Mycenaean islands and port cities, much to the relief of the wanax Wedaneus and the other kings of the Confederation. The experienced and professionally trained Egyptian troops replaced the tired Mycenaeans trying to hold the border and quickly pushed back the unexpecting Dorians, which freed up the Mycenaean military and allowed the country to restock its garrisons and so secure the cities better. Food supplies from Egypt also ended fear of starvation and calmed down the general populace. In 1 AEE the Pylos Agreement was signed between the two countries, with the Confederation receiving the promise of financial, agricultural, and military support from Egypt for the next 10 years, and in exchange the Mycenaeans gave the Egyptians easier access to tin, partial control of some industries in the country, and promised to help if any conflict began with Hatti. Some locals were not too pleased with this arrangement, yet ultimately were still grateful for the help in saving the country from total collapse.

In 3 AEE the situation had stabilized somewhat and so half the Egyptian troops were pulled out, with the rest doing the same gradually over the next few years, as there was no longer any need of them and the Mycenaeans had reorganized their own forces. The Mycenaeans began doing punitive raids into barbarian territories to the north, which further secured their borders and opened up new areas for colonization in the future. In 9 AEE, as the situation at home was stable enough, official colonization efforts began, with the settlers going to the northern islands and the coastal areas on the mainland in the northeast and northwest. In 11 AEE, the term of the Pylos Agreement ended, and so the remaining Egyptians returned home, however, the two countries remained friendly and signed the Keftiu Accords, an official alliance treaty between them. This continued the cooperation of them, and some parts of the Mycenaean society, mostly the upper class, started becoming somewhat Egyptianized, learning their language, adopting their dress and architectural style, and even worshipping some of their gods, being very fascinated with their new southern ally.

In 12 AEE the Mycenaeans put down the last rebel cells, suspected to have been funded by the Hittites, in the previously conquered Wilusa, and now officially reorganized the taken territories into the puppet Kingdom of Wilusa. They began settling it with their own people in order to make it more loyal. In 14 AEE they also increased their colonization efforts in southwestern Anatolia, as a response to Hatti conquering Lukka and making it into their puppet kingdom. Tensions were rising between the Mycenaeans and the Hittites, and the wanax began preparing for a potential war, ordering the constructing of new fleet, and stationing troops in the Anatolian holdings. The Mycenaeans didn't need to wait too long, as in 17 AEE Egypt declared war on Hatti over its illegal occupation of Alashiya, and so the Confederation was immediately called to arms. After the kings convened in Mycenae and voted 13-2 in favor of the war, Wedaneus officially declared war on Hatti.

### **Second Hittite-Egyptian War**

Despite the Mycenaeans confidently joining the war against the Hittites, their army was still rather unprepared for such a conflict. The troops had somewhat outdated equipment, not enough training, and a numerical inferiority compared to the Hittites. Luckily for them, the Hittites were mostly focused on the Levantine front where they fought the Egyptians, and only small portions of the army were left to fight the Mycenaeans in the west. After securing their holdings and fending off the Hittite raids, the Mycenaeans began their offensive in 20 AEE, slowly advancing east. In 21 AEE they reorganized their southern Anatolian territories into the puppet Kingdom of Ahhiyawa in order to more efficiently manage it, as the region was crucial for the army supply lines. The Mycenaeans continued pushing on and in 24 AEE surrounded the Hittite city of Apasa on the coast of the Aegean Sea, forcing it to surrender in 25 AEE, which was their biggest victory against Hatti of all time so far.

However, the war wasn't going as well for the Egyptians, who began to be pushed south by the Hittites, and because of that Wedaneus even offered Mycenaean troops to help their allies. This offer was refused, as the Egyptians wanted the Mycenaeans to focus on their own front and not lose the edge there. The Mycenaeans stayed the course and in 26 AEE the wanax Wedaneus was killed in the Battle of Sardis, but it was still ultimately won by them, as the other kings began commanding the army. They successfully did so until the arrival of the new wanax Klymenos, son of Wedaneus, who seamlessly continued the advance deeper into Hatti. The Confederation reached its furthest extent in the war in 29 AEE, having taken most of the western Hittite territories, however, it had to stop its push due to overextension and guerilla warfare from the Luwians and the Hittites. Hatti also sent more troops to combat Mycenae, seeing that it is much more threatening than originally imagined.

The boundary remained the same until around 34 AEE, and the Mycenaeans were unable to advance further even after dealing with the rebels and various holdouts, as the troops were becoming tired and angry and the kings disagreed on the course of the war. To add to that, in 35 AEE Klymenos died of an illness, and his sons Drakomaxos and Eteweokles began competing for the throne. Some chaos ensued and a civil war almost began, with some kings supporting one claimant, and the rest the other. Klymenos' wife Iphimedeia ruled as a regent at home until the succession issue was solved, however, there was no supreme ruler of the army. This gave the Hittites an advantage and they used it to push the Mycenaeans back, though not as much as had been hoped. Eventually, in 37 AEE Drakomaxos was officially recognized as the new wanax, with Eteweokles being his junior co-ruler due to him being 2 years younger. Drakomaxos was eager to continue the fight against Hatti, now that the succession crisis was solved, yet in 38 AEE Egypt, on behalf of the alliance, signed the Treaty of Damascus with Hatti, thus ending the war and forcing Mycenae to stop fighting as well. Some skirmishes continued until 39 AEE, yet both armies were soon ordered to stand down. The Confederation received small amounts of land, as well as rights to colonize areas further to the east, with what remained of unclaimed Anatolia being divided into Mycenaean and Hittite zones. They also received some reparations from Hatti, which would be fully paid by 43 AEE.

### **The new golden age**

Unlike in Egypt, the people of the Confederation were not too angry or disappointed over the meager gains after 20 years of war, as the primary purpose had been to help Egypt, and that was fulfilled. The Mycenaeans had held up a sizeable portion of the Hittite army and some even claim that had it not been for them, Egypt itself would have fallen. In fact, more than anything the people were proud to have served in the war, as for the first time Mycenae stood as an equal ally of Egypt and an equal adversary of Hatti, who are seen as much greater powers. After the war, the country continued developing even more rapidly and advancing in all spheres, intending to surpass Hatti and be even more prepared for the next war. In 41 AEE colonization efforts of Anatolia resumed and by 45 AEE all of it had been taken either by Mycenae or Hatti, who now shared a long border and tensions in the region were quite high, with both sides funding rebels in the other's puppet kingdoms. Mycenaeans also continued colonizing lands in the north, pushing the barbarians further out though some did integrate into the Mycenaean society, many serving as mercenaries.

In 45 AEE the wanax Drakomaxos died under mysterious circumstances and while Eteweokles was suspected to have killed him, he denied any such allegations and the matter was never investigated further. Eteweokles became the new wanax and one of his first actions was sending a contingent of troops as part of the international intervention in Assyria in 46 AEE, led by Egypt and Hatti. While Mycenae did not have much to gain from this, Eteweokles wanted to show the world that the Confederation was no longer a small local power and instead was one of the main global players, and this gesture was appreciated by all the other countries participating in the intervention. Later on, Ramesses X of Egypt even tried multiple times to make the Confederation accepted into the Great Powers' Club, yet such a motion would always be blocked by Hatti and Karduniash. In general, Mycenae and Egypt remained very close, and the pharaoh and the wanax would visit each other's countries, organize joint naval and land army exercises, and trade more extensively than ever. Many Egyptian and eastern luxuries entered the Mycenaean market and the people started living much more like the citizens of other major kingdoms. Also, Eteweokles, despite being a warrior at heart, understood the importance of other spheres and so sponsored science, arts, and exploration of previously unknown regions, which helped usher in a new Mycenaean cultural and scientific golden age, with inventions and art pieces from there becoming popular all over the region, as far as Elam.

In 56 AEE the Triple Alliance was formed, which superseded the Keftiu Accords, creating an alliance which included Egypt, Assyria, and the Mycenaean Confederation. The initial agreement was signed between Egypt and Assyria, but in 57 AEE Assyria signed it directly with Mycenae, thus formalizing the relationship between the three of them. Despite this, Assyria still remained distanced from the other two states, and Mycenae and Egypt remained each other's main allies. In 59 AEE the first official currency in the world was introduced in Egypt, known as the shematy, and Eteweokles was immediately intrigued by this idea. And so in 62 AEE, after some agreements with Egypt, the Mycenaean shematy was introduced in the Confederation as its official currency, it being pegged to the Egyptian shematy with a fixed exchange rate of 2:1 (Egyptian shematy being worth twice as much as the Mycenaean one). However, the other kings of the Confederation and the populace were slow to adopt it, with only 8 Mycenaean kingdoms, mostly those closest to Egypt, accepting it as the official currency, and even there it being used only in the major cities. The wanax continued working and trying to improve the country in all spheres, and in 70 AEE he celebrated the 25 year anniversary of his rule, being praised as one of the best wanaxes of all time and having the full loyalty of all his subordinate kings, despite having started out with many enemies.

### **Great Powers' War**

**Spoiler warning: this section contains spoilers for the novel The Rise of Kemet.**

In 71 AEE, after the assassination of the kings during the Fifth Great Powers' Conference in Ugarit, the Great Powers' War began. Egypt immediately called upon its northern ally for help against Hatti, and Mycenae answered without hesitation. Once the Mycenaean Confederation joined the war, it immediately began fighting against the Hittites and their puppet states in western Anatolia. The Hittites enjoyed some success at first - they won some battles before the Mycenaeans could organize and ship their troops over the Aegean Sea, and in 72 AEE took over the entire Kingdom of Wilusa, which was transferred to the puppet March of Masa. The combined force from Hatti and the Chiefdom of Lukka also occupied much of the Kingdom of Ahhiyawa, pushing as far as the capital Milawanda.

However, as more Mycenaeans arrived on the peninsula, the advances were reversed. During the Battle of Milawanda, the Mycenaeans defeated the Luwian and Hittite forces decisively and drove them back, soon recapturing all of Ahhiyawa. Moreover, the Hittites had to transfer some troops to the Levant in 73 AEE, which allowed the Mycenaeans to advance even more. They continued east, occupying parts of Lukka, which was now leaderless as the chief died during the battle. Shilhak's invasions and the start of the OFK-EC war did not change the front much, as the Mycenaeans continued advancing and fighting the Hittites, except now Hatti, under Hakkarpili, was aligned with the EC and Mycenae with the OFK. In 73 AEE the Mycenaean wanax Eteweokles attended the First OFK Conference in Men-nefer and became one of the founding members of the faction, pledging to support his allies, including the Hittite exiles under Muwatalli III, in this war until the end.

### **Hittite Civil War**

**Spoiler warning: this section contains spoilers for the novel The March of Deshret.**

The Mycenaeans continued fighting the Hittites as they had during the Great Powers' War and by late 74 AEE conquered all of Lukka. Not much changed in Mycenaean tactics and strategy until 75 AEE, when they joined forces with the Hittite exiles. Their first common engagement was the naval Battle of the Alashiyan Strait, where a Mycenaean fleet under Anaxandrides saved Muwatalli's troops, which were being transported to Hatti by Egyptian and Alashiyan ships, from an ambush of Hakkarpili's fleet. Once the Hittites landed, they met up with the Mycenaean land force under Eteweokles and the two armies began their reconquest of Hatti.

The two armies first fought together on land during the Siege of Tarhuntassa, and after a decisive and easy victory, the city was established as the headquarters of Muwatalli's army. The armies then proceeded to capture Tuwanuwa and other cities, steadily advancing north and defeating Hakkarpili's forces. They were also soon joined by the Hittite Resistance, which participated in the Second Battle of Tuwanuwa. After that, the Resistance went west to fight the Battle of Purushanda while Muwatalli and Eteweokles fought in the Battle of Kanesh, with both being decisively won and the cities secured. Over the campaign, the two forces and their leaders began trusting each other and cooperating more, starting the process of putting an end to centuries of unrelenting Mycenaean and Hittite hatred for each other.

Eventually the Siege of Hattusa began, though Hakkarpili and his faction only controlled the royal palace on the hill, as most of the city and the surrounding areas had fallen to barbarians who had been hired by him but realized that the EC would lose on this front and so wanted to ransack the region before the OFK arrived. The Siege was eventually won by the OFK, with both the barbarians and Hakkarpili's faction being defeated and Hattusa reclaimed by Muwatalli. As this was unfolding some Mycenaeans under Eteweokles were fighting at the Battle of Suppiluliuma's Pass during the latter part of the siege and defeated the advancing barbarian band led by Argishti, but in the process the wanax Eteweokles was killed. In general, the whole campaign was quite costly for everyone involved, with dozens of thousands of military and civilians casualties, and prominent Hittite generals and Mycenaean kings dying: the Mycenaean king Conon of Ephyra was injured during the Battle of Tuwanuwa and later ambushed and killed by the Luwians as he was being transported back home, while the Hittite general Lihsuman and Mycenaean kings Tharybis of Pylos and Trechus of Delphi were all killed during the Siege of Hattusa. With the reclamation of Hattusa, the Hittite Civil War came to an end, though Muwatalli still had to and continues dealing with some holdouts, mostly in Kizzuwatna.

After the war, the Hittites and Mycenaeans officially signed a peace treaty, putting an end to hostilities between Mycenaeans and any Hittites, which finally made it possible for the Mycenaean troops to return home after many years. The treaty included the return of Wilusa to Mycenae and the return of Lukka to Hatti, setting the borders back as they were in 71 AEE before the Great Powers' War. In 76 AEE Wilusa and Ahhiyawa were annexed directly into the Confederation and made into fully fledged kingdoms with all the rights and responsibilities, as they were now seen as developed enough and worthy of this status due to their contributions during the war. This was also allowed by the treaty, as the borders between Mycenae and Hatti became much more open. However, due to Eteweokles' death, a succession crisis began in the Confederation between his sons Tirynthius and Hecataeus, with both receiving support from some kings of the Confederation, though the OFK leaders all support Tirynthius due to his policies of increased trade and cooperation with Hatti and pacifism, while Hecataeus still opposes Hatti and was an opponent of ending the war with the EC, having wanted to continue fighting until the Coalition is destroyed completely. The succession crisis still continues in 77 AEE, after the end of the OFK-EC War, with both potential successors gaining more and more supporters.

## **Geography**

The Mycenaean Confederation encompasses all the islands in the Aegean and Ionian seas, the entire Peloponnese peninsula, the coastal areas to the north of it, as well as some western Anatolian regions. However, the country is constantly expanding, as colonization efforts in the north are still ongoing. The territories are divided between 17 autonomous kingdoms, and the regions they hold are usually referred to by the kingdoms' names. The terrain is quite mountainous, though there are some lowlands, which have moderately good soil. The Mycenaean Confederation is surrounded by the seas to the west and south, Hatti and its puppets Masa and Lukka to the east, and to the north it borders the untamed barbarian regions, inhabited by the Dorians, Macedonians, and Thracians.

## **Administration**

### **Government**

The country is a confederation of 17 autonomous kingdoms, each ruled by a king from the regional capital. While the wanax is technically the official ruler and Mycenae the official capital, in peacetime Mycenae effectively acts just like any other kingdom and the wanax as any other king. The wanax can issue new laws, but it is up to each individual king to decide whether to follow it or not, as the kings have free rule in their domains. Each king collects his own taxes, commissions his own building projects, raises his own army and navy, and chooses his own successor for the kingdom. However, the kings often lend each other resources, work on projects together, and cooperate in other ways. The Mycenaean market is also very interconnected due to extensive trade between the kings.

A small portion of the kings' revenue goes directly to Mycenae, in order to maintain it well, as it is the meeting spot for all the kings when dealing with international matters. Only then does the wanax have higher authority. He is the official figurehead when visiting foreign countries, or when foreign rulers visit Mycenae (unless they decide to visit regions other than the capital). The wanax also signs all the international trading agreements, as well as enters into military alliances on behalf of the Confederation. All wars are declared by the wanax, though first a vote is held in Mycenae with all the kings participating, and the support of at least half (currently 9) the kings is needed to enter the war (if someone is not present in the summit, their vote is automatically counted as being in favor, due to opposition to the war having to be publicly expressed to the others). During a war, the wanax has the highest authority both on the campaign and at home.

### **Economy**

The Mycenaean Confederation has a GDP of 97 million Egyptian shematy (194 million Mycenaean shematy) and a GDP per capita of 80.8 Egyptian shematy, similar to Hatti and Assyria. Since the end of the Egyptian Expedition, the Mycenaean economy has been steadily growing, with an average annual GDP growth (from 38 AEE) of 5.79%. Due to the Commonwealth heavily supplying Mycenae with food, the economy has started shifting from being based on agriculture to one more based on manufacturing, though many Mycenaeans are still farmers. The Confederation has the lowest percentage of slaves in the population from all the major powers, while also having the largest percentage of merchants, due to being connected to many trade routes in the unknown regions in the west and north and in the civilized world in the east and south. The Mycenaean Confederation has no standing army, but during wars men are conscripted from all the job sectors. While each king has their own conscription policy, in general the agricultural sector is targeted the most, while the scribes are almost never conscripted, due to there already being a shortage of them even in peacetime. The main Mycenaean imports are tin and copper from the west and now Hatti as well, agricultural produce from the Commonwealth, and wood from Retjenu, while the main exports are ships, furniture, hunted game, tin, and copper - everything mostly to Commonwealth, from where part of that is sold to the regions further to the east.

### **Military**

The Mycenaean Confederation has no standing army, except garrison forces and a small amount of law enforcement officers. During wars, each king is expected to raise their own army from their ruled territories and send it to the combined Mycenaean army, at the head of which is the wanax. Sometimes forces are raised by individual kings even during peacetime, mostly to defend against or attack barbarians to the north. Each king also has their own navy, though during peacetime only around half of the ships are utilized, one of the purposes being the disruption of pirate activity. During wars, the rest of the ships are manned, by volunteers or also by conscripted men, and they are all combined into a united Mycenaean fleet.

The combined navy is commanded by a grand admiral, usually the king of the Isles (currently Anaxandrides), as he has the most ships of all kings. Soldiers from the kingdom of the Isles, and some from the other kingdoms, serve as marines on the ships. Each kingdom's fleet is commanded by an admiral from there (usually a high ranking noble), who is subject to the grand admiral during wartime, and each ship has a captain who answers to their respective admiral. The Confederation has 442 warships, of which 278 are currently active.

In land warfare, the wanax commands both their own forces and the whole army at large, with the other kings (except the king of the Isles) acting as generals under him and commanding their own forces. In battles, the wanax traditionally leads the charge and commands the center, while the highest ranking subordinate kings command the left and right flanks. If action takes place overseas (most likely in Anatolia), a few kings may be left with their forces on the Mycenaean mainland, to defend the home region from potential barbarian attacks or enemy landings, though they are rotated with the kings fighting at the main front. The kings with the largest armies have subordinate colonels, who command 500 - 1 000 men. Such units are further divided into companies of 100 soldiers, with captains commanding them. Captains answer to their colonel or, if the king's army is small enough, directly to their king.

The Mycenaean army has a standard composition, with three man chariots in the front, followed by elite swordsman, and then the bulk of the army made of conscripts - regular spearman, archers, and support staff (including support chariots). In recent years it has started adopting Egyptian army methods, with some joint military exercises having been held. Currently the army allows only men to enlist, though women are sometimes allowed to serve on campaign as support staff (such as medics) and proposals to increase the role of women in warfare have been made by king Keteus of Crete, who is currently experimenting with the idea among his ranks and had some women serve during the Great Powers' War and the Hittite Civil War.

## **Demographics**

The Mycenaean Confederation has one of the lowest population of the major powers, with only 1.441 million inhabitants, though the number is steadily growing. There are estimated to be only around 45 000 slaves in the country, with the remaining millions being free people. Most of the population is concentrated in the Peloponnese peninsula and the areas closest to it, with the northern regions still being lightly populated due to them being settled recently and colonization efforts still ongoing.

The vast majority of the people, around 1.326 million (92%), identify as Mycenaean, though there are some other ethnic groups, mostly the peoples of the north who were integrated during the colonization of those areas. That includes around 44 000 Thracians (3.1%), 32 000 Luwians (2.2%), 10 000 Dorians (0.7%), and 7 000 Macedonians (0.5%). They are being encouraged to learn the Mycenaean language and adopt their culture, and most who remain in Mycenaean lands do so, as that is the only way for them to advance socially and get into better positions. The remaining 22 000 or so people are of various other origins, including Egyptians, Alashiyans, Italians, and Hittites. Almost all the people in the country worship the Mycenaean pantheon of gods, though the spread of Egyptian gods has intensified in recent decades, with around 10% claiming to worship some aspects of the Egyptian pantheon.

The Mycenaean Confederation has a literacy rate of 11.2%, and the Mycenaeans on average know the most languages, due to them dealing with many different ethnic groups in their trading ventures. The urbanization of the country is 15.6%, with the kingdom of Mycenae being the most urbanized (43.4%) and the kingdom of Ephyra being the least urbanized (9.8%).

List of the largest cities in the Mycenaean Confederation (77 AEE)
 Knossos
 Pylos
 Athens
 Thebes

## **International relations**

Most of Mycenaean contact with the wider civilized world comes through the Commonwealth, which has been the Confederation's ally for over 70 years, and the two countries have the closest bond of any known kingdoms. The pharaoh and the wanax often visit each other's countries, as do the nobles and even regular people of both states, and the Commonwealth and Mycenae are each other's largest trading partners by far. They also have connected official currencies on a fixed exchange rate, with the Mycenaean shematy being worth one half of an Egyptian shematy. Egypt often pushed for the inclusion of the Confederation into the Great Powers' Club, yet the attempts had not been successful in any of the five conferences. Mycenae remains loyal to Egypt and the OFK and is ready to fight against the EC again if the need arose.

Hatti was the Confederation's main rival, and the two countries had been hostile to each other over the western Anatolian territories, which sometimes led to skirmishes or support of rebel groups on the other side of the border, yet after the Hittite Civil War the two countries began coming closer together and cooperating more. Hatti considers the Mycenaean Confederation to be its equal and Muwatalli III has great respect for the Confederation for helping him reclaim Hatti. Most people are still somewhat wary about the former opponent, but steps are being taken to mend this and make the two countries into proper allies.

Mycenae also has good relations with Alashiya, and trades with it extensively. The Confederation has always supported the island's independence and continues doing so. Both countries have a similar culture due to being naval based states and the two often cooperate on new ship designs and naval warfare tactics. The Confederation also supports the independence of the OFK Mandate of Amurru, just like Alashiya, not wanting Egypt and Hatti to grow too powerful and instead seeking the OFK to have more small independent members.

The Mycenaean Confederation never really had extensive relations with the EC members due to them being far away to the east, though the Hittite Civil War and the OFK-EC War in general made most Mycenaeans dislike the eastern kingdoms. Even still, most do not have strong opinions on the EC as it did not affect the Confederation much during the war, with most soldiers only fighting in Hatti. The successors to the throne have differing policies on dealing with the faction, with Tirynthius being more willing to trade with the EC while Hecataeus is highly militaristic and did not and still does not support the peace treaty, wanting to continue fighting against the EC until it is completely destroyed.