Today you are a satrap, but tomorrow a king. While we still bow our necks to the son of Seleukos Nikator who resides in far away Seleukeia, we will not do so for long. The Seleukid Empire is beset on its western border by the Ptolemaioi and it's attention is there. The eastern provinces of the vast empire is neglected and the barbarian horsemen from the north are attacking it's eastern satrapies and killing lawful Greeks and natives alike. Are we just going to sit idly by, while the lands that Alexandros and our grandfathers conquered decades ago are overrun by the foul Dahae or other barbarians? No. If the King of 'Arche' Seleukeia is going to let his eastern lands be overrun we will not answer to him no more. And if you break free and defend the eastern Greeks from the northern savages, the coins minted with your head on, might have the word 'Soter' or Saviour written on them.

The forces of the kingdom of Baktria are an exciting mixture of Hellenic and Iranian (and if you choose to expand there, Indian), and you will not lead them to glory on the field of battle without utilizing the best of both worlds. Mainland Hellenes straight from Thessaly and Athens served with Hellenized Iranians and locals throughout Baktria's realms. Hellenistic phalangites and Iranian spearmen will make up the core of your infantry. From the lightest armed local levies in Hellenic and indigenous panoplies to the successor state phalangites, you will have many different types of infantry from which to choose. Any Baktrian king will strive to quickly recruit a royal foot unit suitable for this kingdom and will find that the mobile and elite Baktrian hypaspists, whose equipment and style is a curious mix of a Hellenic unit adapting to the terrain, climate, and fighting styles of Transoxiana, will turn the tide of many battles. You will have to rely heavily on your countless varieties of cavalry, including regional javelin and bow mounted units of varying abilities, Median and Baktrian medium cavalry, as well as Hellenistic and uniquely Baktrian cataphract cavalry. The cavalry are supplemented by Indian elephants, which Baktria supplied in large numbers to the Seleukid empire before its independence. A variety of skirmishers are also available, including well armored and elite units as well as the Baktrian Doryphoroi, whose spears and bows make them one of the most intriguing units available anywhere.

Baktria is constantly harrassed by nomads from the north, and the Seleukids will not let Baktria go without a fight. The relationship with Pahlava is stormy and you will need to choose your path with them carefully; good relations can help to stave off the decaying Seleucid influence in the region, but even then they are a threat that Baktria will have to deal with if they are to move west. The Hindu Kush provide a monumental barrier to the southeast, but any enterprising king must lead his forces across the top of the world to make India his own, and the Bactrians are better poised to do this than any other faction. With India at your back and the barbaric nomads to the north contained, the dream of Alexandros' Brotherhood of Man can become a reality that sweeps across the eastern world!