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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

IX

Outside Nicopolis

Eighth Day before the Ides of April

THEY WERE MAKING good time, with the bright half-moon high in an endless field of stars, so that the land was silver. Only a fool could lose his way on a night like this, but since the army always had a fair few of these, Ferox had been careful to keep the column together. They were four abreast, each turma only a horse’s length behind the one in front. The hardest thing was to keep to a steady, almost slow pace. They wanted to cover the ground quickly, but if you let the leading turmae lose their heads and canter or even trot too fast, then the column would start to spread and the ones at the back would soon be galloping to keep up – that is if they could. This was a beautiful night, the land rolled gently ahead of them and with so many horses together the urge to ride free and fast called out to everyone. A Sarmatian would have galloped and rejoiced in the feel of the wind and would somehow have found his kindred again the next day. From all Ferox had heard, the true Parthians were much the same, and the best of their warriors came from bands much like the Roxolani and Iasyges that he knew from the Danube. Brigantes were good horsemen, but not like that, and soldiers were soldiers, trained rather than raised to ride. So, he kept the column together and kept the pace slow, and knew the men were impatient to be off, but would not loosen his rein on them. This way it would be very hard for anyone to straggle, although every unit had a few men who could be ingenious in their clumsiness and might well find a way. Hopefully they would be picked up by the infantry column following behind at its own pace.

‘Will we make it in time?’ Flavius Cerialis asked, breaking the long and companionable silence.

‘We can be outside the city soon after the sun rises,’ Ferox confirmed. ‘Assuming no one tries to stop us. Anything else, then my lads can always gallop ahead. After all, it’s not really about numbers.’

‘Let us hope that is unnecessary. Your men are a little – how shall I say – irregular. We don’t want to frighten anyone after all.’

‘And your six hundred armed and armoured riders?’

‘A gesture of sincere respect to an ally.’ Cerialis laughed. Back when Crispinus had served as tribune in Britannia, Flavius Cerialis had commanded the cohort stationed at Vindolanda while Ferox was the local regionarius, the centurion tasked with keeping the peace in the area. Like the aristocratic tribune, this had been Cerialis’ first posting to the army, as prefect in charge of a cohort of Batavians, tough warriors from the Rhineland. Unusually, Cerialis was a Batavian himself, from the tribe’s royal line, his father having managed to change sides early enough during the great revolt more than a generation ago. He was very ambitious, a little vain, but Ferox had come to respect him, for he was willing to learn and in time became a good soldier. ‘This is all about respect, old fellow, about how much Rome values the friendship of Nicopolis and their princess.’