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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.’

‘Come on, lads, get moving.’ The legionaries shuffled off with their burdens.

‘Looking for someone?’ Rufus asked. ‘Thought you were off with the convoy?’

‘Supposed to report to the legatus,’ Ferox told him. ‘They said he was inspecting the siege lines.’

Rufus nodded. ‘You might be able to catch him. Now let me see – yes, it’s better to keep going and then head across. I’ll show you.’

‘You’ve been in the wars, I see,’ Ferox said as they walked, because he knew that most Romans did not care much for silence.

‘Oh, it’s nothing.’ There was an edge to Rufus’ voice which made this seem more than decent modesty. Reaching a junction between this and other sheds, they went out through a side door to the right, past one of the redoubts, which now sported a tower some sixty feet high. Rufus glanced up. ‘Thought the legatus and his party might be up there,’ he said. ‘He’d mentioned going back to get a better view of it all, but there’s only the usual watch up top.’

Ferox was glad, his legs were still stiff from the long ride and he did not fancy climbing all those ladders. They kept going, into another row of sheds, dashing across a gap to reach another. There were no shots or any real sense of danger, but he guessed that Rufus ought to know the risks well, so copied what he did. They moved to the side as a dozen soldiers with empty baskets passed them on their way back to camp, and then again as another group, heavily covered in dust and carrying tools, followed them. From then on there were men everywhere, working, watching through narrow embrasures in the redoubts or heavy screens, waiting beside scorpiones and all the range of larger ballistae, or coming on duty or going off after a shift. The faces were sometimes tired, often bored, and there was a little less of the chatter and joking usual for soldiers. Ferox could not quite sense the mood, but at least did not feel that it was bad.

Rufus led him to one of the redoubts, built on the very edge of the ditch and with a roof protecting it from missiles coming down from the city walls.

‘I’d like a tower to match theirs,’ Rufus explained, his face more animated than before. ‘But there isn’t the spare timber yet, or the labour to make it, apart from the trouble we will have from the Nics.’ He grinned. ‘That’s what the fellows are calling the Nicopolitans. You’ve been away for quite a while so I guess you haven’t heard.’

‘Where are we in relation to the assault ramp?’ Ferox asked. It was always wise to know as much about what was happening as possible, even though he hoped he and his men would not be called upon to play too much of a part in the storming – if it came to that.

Rufus beckoned for him to follow. ‘You have to be a bit careful, as the buggers are getting better and better at shooting. Stand just there, hard against the side.’ He pointed to a spot beside one of the embrasures. It was closed by a shutter, the bottom pulled back a few inches. Ferox obeyed and squinted through the gap.