H27

For the next few years, Epirus continued to prosper and grow. With improvements to agriculture spreading to Thessaly and the Ionian Islands, more food was available than ever before and the granaries maintained by the state were full to bursting. Still, there was a surplus of grain, olives, wine, salted fish, cheese, and more. These were traded at a premium to various Italian Cities, as the ongoing wars between Rome and her enemies continued until two-eighty-eight. The sales of foodstuffs greatly helped the treasury.

In Thessaly, where herds of sheep, goats, cattle, and horses were common, tanneries, clothworks, and dyeworks popped up, making leather goods and textiles, aided by the import of cochineal beetles that were crushed to make carmine dye, and saffron flowers from Crete that could be used to make a fine yellowish-orange dye. Tanneries in Thessaly produced all sorts of leather goods, from saddles to leather armor, while clothworks produced wool and linen cloth, richly dyed with the products of the dyeworks.

In the various forests of Thessaly, lumber mills and charcoal kilns were built, many of the former utilizing rivers and streams to power the intricate clockwork of the saws, based on the drawings of the Mill of Amphitrios in Epirus Proper. The proceeds of the latter going to feed the new Osmond Process forges springing up in major cities across Thessaly. Furriers too began to take pelts for large-scale trade, the raw hides processed into warm furs that were sought after by the Illyrians, Thracians, and Pannonian Gauls.

Sandpits were also dug in Thessaly, as was a mine for copper. The sand was of a type found primarily in the Roman Territories in Campania and Apulia, which acted as the binding agent for their long-lasting concrete. King Pyrrhus was able to crack the recipe for such a thing and begin making the durable, shapable, substance in mixing works in Thessaly and Epirus Proper. The Copper, on the other hand, had numerous uses, including a new initiative to sheathe the bottoms of all Epirote Naval Ships in copper sheets to cut down on maintenance.

Nor were these the only investments made. In Epirus Proper, marble quarries and clay pits were dug, and brickworks and potteryworks were built. The Marble was a valuable trade good, and the clay was processed into cheaper bricks and more expensive pottery. At the same time, a small section of coastal land was set aside to grow Saffron that had been imported from Crete for both use as a spice and a dye. Furthermore, a part of the marshes on the coast near Korkyra had been drained, providing new farmland as well as exposing a source of Jet.

All this economic activity allowed for a boost in productivity, which meant fewer people were necessary to work the fields. That in turn allowed for new workers in King Pyrrhus' many ventures, new sailors for the fleet, and new soldiers for the Army. Population growth also rose substantially as more food and better standards of cleanliness led to an increase in babies similar to the previous increase that had occurred at the start of the implementation of all the reforms in Epirus. The Army was now increased to a full muster of eighty-thousand troops, all equipped in steel with stirrups and hard tree saddles, and trained to Hellenic standards of discipline, if not entirely Hellenic themselves.

Of note was the securing of Nisean Horses from the Seleucids once the Mauryan invasion of their Eastern Provinces was dealt with. The Breeding population that had been purchased had their first matured generation within the eight or so years of peace in Epirus, and King Pyrrhus had developed a strategy for Cavalry involving them, cladding both rider and horse in armor and utilizing these Kataphraktoi as a hammer to smash opponents that were pinned against his infantry. These Hammer and Anvil Tactics would see use in the decades to come on Battlefields in Italy, Attica, and Cyrene.

Of the fleet, ships were careened dozens at a time as their bottoms were swathed in copper sheeting. The thin sheets of copper proved to be a godsend of savings on maintenance costs, as the various barnacles, worms, and other pests of Poseidon's domain proved unable to find the same purchase they had enjoyed when bare wood was plunged beneath the waves. Furthermore, the copper sheets allowed the ships to cut through the seas a touch better, giving copper-bottomed ships a slight edge in speed.

At the same time, Pyrrhus and his Wife, Lanassa of Syracuse received a blessing from the Gods, the birth of a baby girl. The Princess, named Euridyce, was a healthy baby girl with her mother's brown eyes and a bubbly personality. Born in two-eighty-eight, she was the youngest of the King's children, with Princess Olympias being the eldest and Prince Ptolemy being the middle child.

For her part, Princess Olympias Grew into a serious, but beautiful young woman who wrote poetry and plays as a hobby. Her Comedy, the Divine Bathhouse, a farce in the same vein as The Frogs by Aristophanes was quite popular and involved the efforts of Dionysius to build a bathhouse on Olympus in opposition to various gods wishing for other, different additions to the heavenly mountain. Her wit earned her the hand in marriage of Achaeus, brother of King Antiochus I Asianos of the Seleucid Empire, a deal which helped with securing the aforementioned breeding population of Nisean Horses for Epirus.

As for Prince Ptolemy, he was growing into a miniature version of King Pyrrhus himself, if somewhat less prone to sudden bouts of genius. Ptolemy was growing into a fine rider, a good swordsman, a capable tactician, and a well-liked leader among his cohort of young Noblemen. His boundless energy channeled into martial pursuits often left the Prince quite ahead of others in his cohort. Beyond that, Prince Ptolemy had discovered a passion for Falconry, the topic introduced to him by a Treverii Mercenary named Indutomarios. The Prince had a specially trained falcon he named Kirkos that he lavished attention on.

On the foreign affairs front, the Alliance with the Aitolean League continued apace, as did the Alliance with Syracuse. However, this Alliance expanded further with the addition of Locri, Tarentum, and Metapontion in Magna Graecia, as well as Sparta in Hellas. The former was expected, given Pyrrhus' strong trade and diplomatic ties in Magna Graecia, but Sparta was a surprise. As it turned out, King Archidamus IV of Sparta was eager to reclaim the Glory of Spartan Arms after defeats against Demetrios Poliorketes at the start of his reign and figured the best way to do so would be to ally with Epirus.

Archidamus and Pyrrhus met in two-eighty-five to discuss the alliance and terms were agreed on for a joint attack on Athens to take place no later than two-seventy-five. Athens had managed to make a puppet out of the Achaen League, including once-mighty Corinth. That was something the Spartan King would not allow since having an Athenian Puppet in the Peloponnese was a bridge too far for Archidamus. As part of the terms of the alliance, Epirus would be entitled to lands of their choosing in Athens and Athenian Dominated Territory.

It was a good treaty, and King Pyrrhus saw no reason not to accept it. With a decade more of preparation, it may even be possible to seize Athens itself. The Jewel of Achaea and the birthplace of Democracy having to pay him tribute would do wonders to legitimize him as a new Alexandros Megas. With the advantages Epirus had and the allies they'd made, it would even be somewhat easy. Or so the plan had been.

Unfortunately, the death of Agathocles, Tyrant of Syracuse in two-eighty-three, and the revolt of a large number of his Mercenaries stationed in Zanclo would draw Epirus into a much larger war than anticipated. . .

XXXX

AN: So yeah, trying a sort of court chronicler POV for the timeskip. I dunno if I like it, though.

Epirus had around eight years of peace and managed to grow economically, diplomatically, and militarily in that time. Alliances with various cities in Magna Graecia and Sparta will be key to moving forward in the future.

Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever and this peace is no exception. Agathocles lived longer than he did IOTL, but the same problems happened on his death ITTL. The Mamertines revolted and took Zanclo and with it, control over the straits of Messina. Both Rhegion and Syracuse are going to call in help from Pyrrhus, with Rhegion and other Greek Conies in southern Italy and Sicily promising to join the alliance forming in Magna Graecia.

That in turn will alarm Rome, who will declare war, both to remove Epirote Influence as well as to avoid paying back loans.

Speaking of Rome, next up, we'll see how their War Wrapped up over the timeskip.

Stay tuned. . .