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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

‘I wish you had not done that,’ Cerialis lied.

EPILOGUE

The next morning

NICOPOLIS BURNED. SOSIUS, or men he had hired for the task, had prepared carefully and piled up pitch and oil ready to ignite, and the fires burned quickly. The sudden strong winds made everything far worse, spreading the blaze from street to street. Outside the citadel, whose walls had held back the flames, three-quarters of the city was in ruin. The fickle wind had dropped after a few hours, so that the next day thick smoke rose and hung above the remains.

Marcus Atilius Crispinus, legatus of Legio VIIII Hispana, burned on his own pyre behind his main camp. Given the heat, and the heavy losses, Cerialis had decided to hold the funeral straightaway, so that the ashes could be gathered and sent back to the family. Two hundred legionaries paraded, along with several score from other units, and if some showed dents to their armour and scars on their faces, they had wiped the dirt away and done their best to wash down their shields. There were so many dead, and many more wounded who would surely die unless they were brought in and treated, even before anyone thought about dealing with the enemy, that Cerialis could only give so much attention to the fallen legatus.

The prefect was the most senior officer left, even if he took care to show every respect to Arrian as the acting commander of the legion. Once the defences behind each breach had been taken, there was no real resistance, for by then the defenders could see that the city was blazing. Cerialis had met with Arrian as he led his men along the cardo, and they had raced to the citadel gates to find Sentius and his men in place. An hour later, the strategoi, including Athenodorus whose head was bandaged, and some other leading men, came to surrender. The others had been killed or had fled, along with their families.

Many died, and only the raging fires held back the sack of the city as legionaries and auxiliaries alike slipped off into the alleys to see what they could find. The men who had led the assault were bloodied, filled with rage and angry at having seen so many comrades die. Some were exhausted and simply sank down to sleep, while some took such pride in their discipline that they stayed at their posts or even tried to fight the fires. Most went off on their own or in little groups, and many of these murdered, raped and stole as the mood took them and opportunity offered. Men who had been in reserve, or left to guard the camps or man the outposts, followed them into the city, through the breaches or the now opened gates. They were not wild, but they were tired and angry and plenty of them joined in the sack. So did the galearii and other slaves, many of the camp followers and traders, villagers still outside the city, and even some of the citizens when they saw the chance. Alongside the roaring of the flames, were screams of pain and the sobs of women and girls.