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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

‘An hour – or just over.’

‘Splendid. But though I would dearly like to stay, I think the work will be faster without my assistance!’ Hadrian had raised his voice for the soldiers to hear, and smiled with them. ‘So we will have to come back. Let’s see a bit more, my dear Crispinus.’

They went back to the horses, and as they rode around past the southern camps, Hadrian gestured for the two of them to go a little ahead of the rest. ‘How is the mining going?’

‘Well, indeed very well, although it is a long way to dig. As far as we can tell they have no idea what we are doing. Shall we ride that way now?’

‘No, let’s look at the obvious things first and that should not create any suspicion. When will the mine be ready?’

‘Six, seven days at least. The ground is getting harder, and it takes longer to bring out the spoil because the mine is so long. They use little carts.’

‘I should like to see those. Now, my friend, you realise the implications of what the Lord Trajan has done? For us, in particular.’

‘Crispinus glanced to his left, at the city walls. ‘It suggests that his plans are considerably more extensive than who will rule Armenia, and that this city would be very useful in any operations to assert our control in this region.’

‘Quite. Having both factions of the royal family with us should help.’ Hadrian followed the legatus’ gaze. ‘Those are pretty walls, as well as formidable… But in the end it is only of use if the city falls. Will it?’

‘Yes. One way or another, it is within our grasp.’

Hadrian showed his teeth in a broad smile. ‘Good, that is what I came to hear, and to see whether there is any way I can help you to that end.’

‘Your replacement?’

‘Delayed, but only by a little. Nicopolis must fall by the end of this month, or…’ Hadrian did not finish the thought and Crispinus had no need to ask. Yet as they rode towards the eastern side of the city, it bothered the legatus that he could not hear the pounding of the battering ram. When they arrived the news was worse than he had feared.

‘They were not trying to block it today,’ Rufus explained, stammering a little at being presented to the acting governor – and a relative of the emperor. ‘We did not think much of it, as we had cut through all their sacks protecting the wall yesterday. Then suddenly they lassoed the shaft of the ram. Must have used leather or something strong, and had that tied to cables, because they hauled on them and made it hard to operate. We tried to cut their ropes, but could not. Then they got another rope around it and hauled, jerking first from one side then the other.’

‘It pulled the ram out of its mounting, I suppose,’ Hadrian said, and rubbed his beard. Rufus nodded, unable to conceal his surprise at a senator able to understand these things. ‘You’ll have to make a new mount, won’t you?’