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Back The City Save as PDF
Contents ( 111)
  1. BY ADRIAN GOLDSWORTHY
  2. CONTENTS
  3. MAP
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. I
  6. In the hill country
  7. Nearer the Euphrates
  8. The same night
  9. II
  10. The temporary camp of Legio VIIII Hispana, Fifty-five miles east of Cyrrhus
  11. Fifteen days before the Kalends of March
  12. III
  13. On the training grounds outside Zeugma
  14. Fifth day before the Nones of March
  15. In the house of Simon the merchant, Nicopolis
  16. The next day
  17. IV
  18. The temporary camp of Legio VIIII Hispana
  19. V
  20. Outside Nicopolis
  21. Eleventh day before the Kalends of April
  22. Nicopolis
  23. The same day
  24. VI
  25. On the road to the crossing at Zeugma
  26. Tenth day before the Kalends of April
  27. VII
  28. Zeugma
  29. Seventh day before the Kalends of April
  30. VIII
  31. The camp of VIIII Hispana
  32. One day before the Nones of April
  33. Nicopolis
  34. The same day, late afternoon
  35. IX
  36. Outside Nicopolis
  37. Eighth Day before the Ides of April
  38. X
  39. Near Nicopolis
  40. A little later
  41. XI
  42. In the plain in front of Nicopolis
  43. The Ides of April
  44. Nicopolis
  45. The same night
  46. XII
  47. In front of Nicopolis
  48. Eighteenth day before the Kalends of May First day of the siege
  49. XIII
  50. Outside Nicopolis
  51. Seventeenth day before the Kalends of May Second day of the siege
  52. XIV
  53. Outside Nicopolis
  54. Fifteenth day before the Kalends of May The fourth day of the siege
  55. Nicopolis
  56. The sixth day of the siege
  57. XV
  58. Up country
  59. Thirteenth day before the Kalends of May The eighth day of the siege
  60. XVI
  61. Zeugma
  62. That same night
  63. XVII
  64. The siege lines outside Nicopolis
  65. Eleventh day before the Kalends of May The tenth day of the siege
  66. XVIII
  67. The large camp to the east of Nicopolis
  68. Tenth day before the Kalends of May The eleventh day of the siege
  69. Nicopolis
  70. Late on the fourteenth night of the siege
  71. XIX
  72. Before Nicopolis
  73. Fifth day before the Kalends of April Sixteenth day of the siege
  74. XX
  75. Outside Nicopolis
  76. The Kalends of May The twenty-first day of the siege
  77. XXI
  78. Before Nicopolis
  79. The day before the Nones of May The twenty-sixth day of the siege
  80. Nicopolis
  81. The next day The twenty-seventh day of the siege
  82. XXII
  83. North west of Nicopolis, some miles from the road
  84. Fifth day before the Ides of May The thirty-second day of the siege
  85. XXIII
  86. In front of Nicopolis
  87. The day before the Ides of May The thirty-fifth day of the siege
  88. XXIV
  89. Outside Nicopolis
  90. The Ides of May
  91. The thirty-sixth day of the siege
  92. XXV
  93. The breach in the western wall
  94. XXVI
  95. Outside Nicopolis
  96. Seventeenth day before the Kalends of June The thirty-seventh day of the siege
  97. The prison at Nicopolis
  98. Three days later
  99. The forty-first day of the siege
  100. XXVII
  101. The citadel at Nicopolis
  102. The last hours of the fourteenth day before the Kalends of June
  103. The forty-first day of the siege
  104. XXVIII
  105. Nicopolis
  106. The same night
  107. EPILOGUE
  108. The next morning
  109. HISTORICAL NOTE
  110. GLOSSARY
  111. CAST OF CHARACTERS

‘Atilius Crispinus,’ Memnon said, pronouncing the name as if it was wildly outlandish.

‘Oh yes, heard of him. Rumour is that he’s mad or used to be, and how many really shake that off? He’s old certainly, so probably desperate to make a name. He will be determined, but might hurry and make mistakes.’

The strategoi asked questions about ramparts, redoubts and the power and numbers of artillery. Domitius answered them as well as he could. Once again, there was nothing really secret in any of this.

‘How do we slow them down?’ It was Simon who asked the question, after they had gone to a tower on the far side of the city and studied the eastern camp. ‘Cannot just let them keep on working day after day.’

‘Our catapults keep their heads down,’ Memnon pointed out, but he was not dismissive. ‘Still a sally might do more.’

Domitius rubbed his chin. The barber had come again this morning, not that there had been much growth, and there was pleasure in touching the smooth skin. ‘They think your ditch makes them safe. Truth is that it does mean that it’s harder to charge out and dash back before their reserves come up. So go at night. Get men to creep into the ditch and wait. Others come behind with torches, hidden as well as you can because you don’t want to give the game away. Then rush them, scream, blow trumpets, cause chaos and have the men coming behind burn everything they can’t smash or steal. Even have some with shovels to dig up as much of their ramps as you can. But you have to go in fast and then quit before they get organised. Then do it again the next night and the next night, until they’re always on edge, and then you wait a night or two before you do it again.’ His enthusiasm grew as he spoke, and in his mind’s eye he saw soldiers fleeing and ballistae and anything else of wood going up in flames. There was a joy in outsmarting people.

‘It could work,’ Memnon conceded.

‘Give me and my lads a chance and we’ll prove it,’ Simon told them. ‘They’re itching to go. Tonight if you want? There’s plenty of time to organise. Why wait.’

Athenodorus’ owl’s head rolled as he looked at each man in turn. ‘What do you think, Roman?’

‘I’d wait. Go tomorrow or maybe the next day.’ He sensed their suspicions growing, and wondered why they could not see the obvious. ‘They’ve really only started on the works and, as I say, they reckon they’re safe. Let ’em build some more, raise the ramps a little higher, then it will be worse when you destroy them – and more of a shock that you can. Make the most of this first surprise. Be harder to catch them really off guard later, but each quiet day and night they have now will make them relax. They’ll be told not to, but soldiers get bored easily, so let them keep on thinking they are safe. Then torch all they’ve built.’