Hi everybody,
My wife is working on a historical fiction book set in Greece in 440 BC and has a question she could really use your historical knowledge and help with (thank you in advance):
Ok so here's the deal: The characters in this scene are in a spy network, receiving letters from various sources throughout the ancient world that enable them to have a strong grasp of politics. She’s looking for countries, city-states, or colonies that would fit roughly into the following scenario (she can change the scenario a bit to keep things accurate).
King of PLACE A wants to create a new trade route. He is advised against his proposed route because there is conflict/tension between his neighboring PLACE B and PLACE C. PLACE B has formed a secret alliance with PLACE D, so since the > trade route would bring wealth to PLACE C, the allied B and D would sabotage such a route.
The king of PLACE A should instead create his trade route through the peaceful region of PLACE E.
Anything that somewhat fits that mold or a similar set of circumstances would be SO helpful. The places can be in the Mediterranean or beyond it but close enough to still impact the Mediterranean.
Thank you VERY MUCH for your help!
Hi there - we're happy to approve your question related to your novel, and we are happy for people to answer. However, we should warn you that many flairs have become reluctant to answer questions for aspiring novelists, based on past experience: some aspiring novelists have a tendency to try to pump historians for trivia while ignoring the bigger points they were making, while others have a tendency to argue with historians when the historical reality does not line up with what's needed for a particular scene or characterization. Please respect the answers of people who have generously given you their time, even if it's not always what you want to hear.
Additionally, as amazing as our flair panel is, we should also point out that /r/AskHistorians is not a professional historical consultation service. If you're asking a question here because you need vital research for a future commercial product such as a historical novel, you may be better off engaging a historical consultant at a fair hourly rate to answer these questions for you. We don't know what the going rate for consultancy work would be in your locality, but it may be worth looking into that if you have in-depth or highly plot-reliant questions for this project. Some /r/AskHistorians flairs could be receptive to working as a consultant in this way. However, if you wish for a flair here to do this work for you, you will need to organize this with them yourselves.