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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

‘What did you do in the legion?’

The change of tack caught Domitius by surprise. ‘I tried to be a good soldier, and do my duty.’

‘Pah! What is that to me? I mean what work did you do, if soldiers do work. You are too young to have chased this old fool through the hills! A good father teaches his son a trade, and from what I hear your army likes to give men a craft.’

‘I was mostly with the ballistae – the catapults we have – and sometimes in the fabricae.’

‘Then you have some knowledge of mechanisms and tools, at least. Well, you may be useful and may be able to learn more. So if you wish to stay long you will earn your keep. Think on it. You must decide by the end of the week. You know what a week is?’ Domitius nodded. ‘Well, there it is. If you do stay we shall say nothing of where you have come from – at least for the moment. Not everyone is fond of the Romans or their soldiers.’

The grandfather snorted in amusement.

Simon placed a hand over his heart and leaned in, eyes no longer blinking. ‘Thank you for saving my daughter. I am glad to see you well. Now, I must get back to my work. Think upon my words.’

‘You fought against us?’ Domitius asked the old man once Simon had left.

‘I did – and look where I ended up!’ He shook his head. ‘God in Heaven help me, but I enjoyed it too. I have no love for Rome or the Romans and pray for the day your City burns as ours did, and even more for the bright golden day when the Temple stands again. But that is not today, and like the others, I thank you, optio ad spem.’

Sara appeared, carrying a tray, and gave him a smile that was almost nervous. Domitius already knew what he was going to decide. There was warmth about this family, something he had not felt since he was a child. For the first time in his life he was beyond the frontier, in a world he did not know. Better to face that with friends and with an angel by your side.

IV

The temporary camp of Legio VIIII Hispana

Fourteenth day before the Kalends of April, the first day of the Quinquatria Festival

‘WE COULD ISSUE half rations, just for a few days. That would—’

Rufus was cut short by the newly arrived primus pilus. ‘Think before you speak, lad! These are men, not machines, and they can only march so far, carry so much and work so hard in a day. Not if you want them able to do the same on the next day and the next. Press them and they might do it once, or twice or even a third time – the gods know they’ve surprised me more times than I care to remember – but if you keep on they’ll crack in the end and that’s the road to disaster! I’ve seen it!’ The chief centurion’s face was round, lined with age and very red. He was one of the handful of gifted and lucky soldiers who started in the ranks and made their way to the top of the centurionate. If he was frank, Rufus had to admit that he was scared of the man, and it did not help that he seemed to have a very quick temper.