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Pontus has effective cavalry including Cappadocian Cavalry, which are are excellent horsemen, best suited to charging into and breaking through enemy formations with their lances. Pontus infantry units include the feared Bronze Shield Pikemen, the elite of the army of Pontus, among the heirs of the world-conquering phalanxes of Alexander the Great. Mazaka - Pontic Large Town Region - Cappadocia.Sinope - Pontic Capital Region - Pontus.Pontus starts in north and east Asia Minor, north of the Seleucid Empire, and west of Armenia. Pontus grew to its largest extent under Mithridates VI the great, who conquered Colchis, Cappadocia, Bithynia, Lesser Armenia, the Greek colonies of the Tauric Chersonesos and for a brief time the Roman province of Asia. Despite being ruled by a dynasty which was a descendant of the Persian Achaemenid Empire it became hellenized due to the influence of the Greeks on the black sea and the smaller Hellenistic kingdoms in the Middle East. It was founded by Mithridates I in 291 BC and lasted until its conquest by the Roman Empire in 63 BC. Pikemen and Cappadocian Lancers are available later on though, allowing more Seleucid-influenced tactics to be used to good effect. The infantry is a little ticklish at times though The early infantry suffers from poor morale and a lack of stopping power, although Eastern Infantry are very good at stopping enemy chariots. Scythed Chariots and Chariot Archers are also available, allowing further flexibility. Pontus have mostly the basic eastern units, but with skirmisher cavalry instead of mounted archers. There are Macedonian-influenced Pikemen though, allowing a solid infantry line to be made when dealing with the western armies and to provide more strategic options. Expect to field a mobile army of mainly missile units. Tactically, Pontus are an eastern faction. Trade and growth are relatively good around the area and Rhodes, Crete and the Seleucids are soon ripe for the picking. While their army is relatively weak at the low initial development levels of Asia Minor, Asia Minor itself is a relatively easy part of the map to take and hold. With a large amount of missile cavalry, chariots chariot archers, Cappadocian Lancers and Pikemen, they have a different balance to most factions, while not severely lacking in any department except heavy infantry. They were best known for their support for the pirates of Cilicia and their subsequent defeat by Pompey.Ī refreshingly different faction, Pontus are similar in some ways to the Seleucids, but mainly they are unique. Pontus are an eastern faction, based in Asia Minor (Modern-day Turkey), having their origins with an ambitious Persian noble who siezed the area when Alexander's empire broke up. Pontus was a Hellenistic Kingdom on the southern coast of the Black Sea. Pontus is a non-playable faction in Rome: Total War. Flag of Pontus as seen in Rome: Total War.