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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

As far as Ferox could see, the camp was in good order and the Hispana and the rest were maintaining good discipline, stacking refuse neatly in set places rather than tipping it anywhere handy, and following all the other regulations. The change came on the outskirts, where the mix of civilians and followers were less fussy about themselves and their animals. All in all, combined with so many people and animals to bite, food and other things to investigate, the plains around Nicopolis had become a sheer paradise for flies, which must make it hard to sleep. If Vindex was right, that was not bothering the legatus too much, and for all his dirty mind, the old scout had a nose for these things.

Crispinus was not in camp when he reported at the praetorium, so Ferox left his mare with one of the orderlies, and made his way on foot forward to the siege lines. The picket in front of the gate were at ease, leaning on shields and chatting. Ahead, paths were marked by numbers, and the steady passage of so many feet and heavy loads had worn away the ground so that they were like very shallow trenches left by some enormous plough. Ferox saw a party carrying baskets of stones on their shoulders heading for a route marked II, and since they were going towards the city, decided to tag along behind. Soon the furrow grew deeper and led into a shed covered on sides and roof with animal hides.

‘Out of the way! Out of the way!’ a legionary shouted as he pushed men towards the wall. ‘Clear a path there! They’ve hit Serenus.’

The carrying party did their best, struggling to push tight up against the side because the roof sloped down to meet the walls and there was not much room for their baskets. One let his load slip, spilling stones onto the ground.

‘Daft bugger, Faber!’ an optio yelled at him, but there was no time to pick them up, for more men appeared, carrying a stretcher. They had to slow to squeeze past, then were through. Ferox saw a centurion he knew by sight being carried past, his right arm at a weird angle and his cuirass covered in blood.

‘Get those damned flies off!’ the one in front called back, and the man was on the brink of tears.

Slowly, as men shifted burdens back to a better carrying position, and the clumsy Faber began scooping up the fallen stones, they prepared to go forward. Ferox went to help the man, and, after a flash of surprise and resentment, the optio came back to do the same.

‘Get a move on!’ A man came towards them, but the shadowy interior of the shed meant that Ferox only recognised Rufus at the last minute.

‘Oh, it’s you,’ the young centurion said in surprise. He had no helmet and a bandage was tied around his forehead. ‘Get a move on, you’re clogging things up!’ he barked at the optio.