1st century BC (Vae victis!)

An elite Orlenian Army decimates the less orginized Parisians

Ptolemaic-Carthegian War
After Carthage had built up its political presence in the western Mediterranean, the nation decided to set its sights on the other end of the sea. The main powers in this area were the Ptolemaic Empire and Macedonia, both relatively old and powerful, especially when compared to Safineim, the nation Carthage had been forced to deal with most recently. As Macedonia was in a stable alliance with Etrusca, any chance of attacking that nation was passed up quickly. However, the Ptolemaic Empire had recently lost a war to Macedonia, and was a far more appealing target. With this in mind, in the year 97 BC, the Carthaginians gathered an army estimated at 7000 and sailed across the sea, ready to attack.

The army was initially planned to arrive in Alexandria, but two things conspired to prevent this. The first was unfavorable weather, something that could be waited out, but could just as easily get worse. The second was that the Ptolmaics had apparently caught wind of the oncoming invasion, and had fortified the city far more than expected. So, contrary to the original plan, the Carthaginian troops landed about 30 miles west of Alexandria. Despite the short distance, it would take the almost two years to get to and lay siege to the city, with Alexandria ultimately being captured in 95 BC. This city - along with the surrounding area - was the only thing Carthage gained from this war, though in the long term, the Ptolemaic Empire would collapse into civil war about 100 years later.

Safineim's Chaos
After the second Safinei war, Safineim barely managed to keep their economy afloat, mostly through the use of attempted government interference and more trade. This proved to be an exceptionally unstable model, and by 89 BC, the Safinei economy was in ruins. To make matters worse, that year had featured a terrible harvest, and as winter set in, many were left without access to food. Inevitably, this caused riots which shattered Safineim and left it bleeding for months on end, as the economy only got worse. Crime was rampant, particularly in the eastern regions, where government influence was comparatively low to the rest of the country.

After six months of near anarchy, a government coalition, led by a new king, attempted to bring order back to the nation. The first step was to stat a successful farming season, and as a result, the government began paying for farmers to cease rioting and return to their fields. While this halted the chaos in rural areas and provided a food source, the government also had to provide relief for those in cities. This came in the form of various - and probably unnecessary - labour projects, mostly revolving around infrastructure. These measures had the crisis stopped, though debt continued to mount, and would continue to do so until the nation's demise.