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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

‘Sir.’

Crispinus interrupted. ‘You have not done anything wrong, Secundus – or at least nothing we chose to notice this time. It’s Lucius, is it not?’

‘Sir.’ The soldier’s tone suggested that he was wary of admitting this, but could not see another way.

‘And you were on the alert because you heard the commotion and saw the light from the sally on the western side of the city.’

‘Yes, sir, we were on the alert, sir.’

Crispinus rolled his eyes in frustration, prompting Cerialis to pick up the report in front of him. ‘Perhaps it is easiest for the moment if the tesserarius tells us again what you told him.’

‘Sir!’ Duccius stepped forward and stamped to attention. He was one of those men who liked to shout. He also cared for precision, and produced a writing tablet from the pouch on his belt. ‘Yes, sir! On the eleventh day before the Kalends of May, I came on duty at the start of the second hour of the night and began to inspect the outpost line. All was in order at picket one, and picket two, after which I spoke to the duplicarius Acer, from the ala Britannica, because his men were providing a dozen troopers for guard duty for each watch. He observed that it was a fine night, and I replied that—’

‘Perhaps we could skip this part and get to your encounter with these three men,’ Cerialis suggested.

Duccius nodded, then began to scan his tablet, his lips moving as he read his own account.

‘The last outpost in the line is much further ahead than the rest, is it not?’ Cerialis prompted. ‘And can you explain to us why that is?’

Duccius’ eyes flicked from one face to another. His written version had not covered this and surely the prefect knew full well about all of this. ‘It’s further forward, sir.’ He affirmed. ‘So in advance of the rest and nearer the city.’

Cerialis’ pity and impatience got the better of him, and he turned to Crispinus. ‘There is a cluster of rocks. Getting to and from them in daylight is risky, because they have engines able to cover the ground, so the men who take over at the end of the night have to stay there all day. They’ve stretched cloaks across a few poles driven into the ground to give themselves shelter, and take food and drink to last their shift. Three men spend the whole night there, one on guard at all times, and then another three take over for the day. Isn’t that right, Duccius?’

‘Yes, sir! There is a cluster of rocks. Getting to and from them in daylight…’ Duccius’ brow furrowed as he tried to recall the prefect’s words. ‘So that it is risky…’

‘I believe I understand, tesserarius,’ Crispinus said, interrupting the recital. ‘I believe what matters is when you came to inspect them. That was unusual I understand?’ Seeing the panic in the man’s eyes, he quickly went on. ‘I mean to say that you arrived earlier than usual.’