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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

‘You should beat a wilful child,’ the grandfather muttered.

‘You are a soldier?’ Simon asked.

‘Optio ad spem, Legio VI Ferrata.’

‘That means they had promised him the rank of centurion,’ the old man rumbled. ‘Smart folk the Romans, you have to give them that. They promise a man rank in the future, but don’t give him the pay or confirm it until they feel like it. Makes him eager and hopeful so they get more from him.’

‘But you have left before they gave you what they promised? And since you have kept on shouting it out, I presume this is because you are misguided enough to be a Galilean, follower of their self-proclaimed Messiah, and the Romans consider that a crime rather than bad judgement. Yet I guess that you have been in the army for some time, so either your religion is new or they have not cared too much until now.’

‘Another man wanted the promotion,’ Domitius said, for that was true and safe to reveal. ‘He denounced me in public as a Christian. They had to respond.’

‘And you could not lie? I hear they let you off if you pretend. The Romans care more about appearances than what is underneath.’

‘Good thing for you, my lad, because you can sell them rubbish at a high price,’ the old man suggested.

‘I could not lie when it came to it,’ Domitius said.

‘So you are a deserter and criminal in their eyes, but perhaps you are also an honest man as well as a brave one. We shall see. For Domitius of Rome you have a choice before you. In a few days you should be up and about, for the fever has broken and idleness will no longer do you any good. That shoulder will be fine now as well.’ Domitius had a sudden memory of sheer agony as the arm was put back into the joint. ‘I take it that you know that you are in Nicopolis? Yes, and it is a good city in many ways. There are those here who call themselves Christians and chant their dirges and maul the words of the Torah. When you are well I can take you to one who is a good man for all his strange ideas and he and his wife may help you, although there are others among them I would not trust as far as I can spit. So you may go to them if you so wish.

‘If not, then you can remain as our guest, at least for a while. If that is your choice then you must understand us. We are Jews, and follow the ways of our ancestors as far as we can in this dark world – even this old fool, at least mostly, for his wits have wandered after so many years of idleness. We honour the Sabbath and will allow nothing unclean within our doors. If you stay then you will abide by our rules and respect our customs.