Eagles at War

by Ben Kane

  Ara Ubiorum: Cologne.

  Arduenna Silva: the Ardennes Forest.

  as (pl. asses): a small copper coin, worth a quarter of a sestertius, or a sixteenth of a denarius.

  Asciburgium: Moers-Asberg.

  Augusta Treverorum: Trier.

  Augusta Vindelicorum: Augsberg.

  auxiliaries (in Latin: auxilia): It was common for Rome to employ non-citizens in its armies, both as light infantry and cavalry. By the time of Augustus, the auxilia had been turned into a regular, professional force. Roughly cohort- or double-cohort-sized units, they were of three types: infantry, cavalry or mixed. Auxiliary units were commanded by prefects – equestrian officers. At the Teutoburg, Varus’ army contained six auxiliary infantry cohorts, and three of auxiliary cavalry.

  ballista (pl. ballistae): a two-armed Roman catapult that looked like a crossbow on a stand, and which fired either bolts or stones with great accuracy and force.

  barritus: the war chant sung by German warriors. My description of it comes straight from the ancient texts.

  bireme: an ancient warship, perhaps invented by the Phoenicians, with a square sail and two sets of oars on each side.

  Bonna: Bonn.

  caldarium: an intensely hot room in Roman bath complexes. Used like a modern-day sauna, most also had a warm plunge pool. The caldarium was heated by hot air which flowed through hollow bricks in the walls and under the raised floor. The source of the piped heat was the hypocaustum, a furnace constantly tended by slaves.

  caltrops: anti-personnel devices used by the Romans and other ancient peoples. They were four-sided spiked devices; when thrown, one spike always projected upwards, while the three others gave a stable base. They were useful not just against cavalry and elephants, but foot soldiers.

  Campania: a fertile region of west central Italy.

  carnyx (pl. carnyxes): a Gaulish bronze trumpet, which was held vertically and topped by a bell shaped in the form of an animal, often a boar. It provided a fearsome sound alone or in unison with other instruments.

  centurion (in Latin, centurio): the disciplined career officers who formed the backbone of the Roman army. (See also the entry for legion.)

  century: the main sub-unit of a Roman legion. Although its original strength had been one hundred men, by the first century AD it had numbered eighty men for close to half a millennium. The unit was divided into ten sections of eight soldiers, called contubernia. (See also the entry for legion.)

  Cerberus: the monstrous three-headed hound that guarded the entrance to Hades. It allowed the spirits of the dead to enter, but none to leave.

  Civitas Nemetum: Speyer.

  cohort: a unit comprising a tenth of a legion’s strength. A cohort was made up of six centuries, each nominally of eighty legionaries. Each century was led by a centurion. The centurion leading the first century was the most senior (this is Tullus’ rank); the centurions were ranked after him, in order of their century: second, third and so on. The cohorts followed the same order of seniority, so that the centurions of the First Cohort, for example, outranked those of the Second Cohort, who were more senior than those of the third etc.

  Confluentes: Koblenz.

  consul: during the Roman Republic, this position (of which there were two) was the highest magistracy in the land. The consuls were the political and military leaders of Rome for the twelve months of their office. By the time of the early empire, under Augustus, the consuls had become toothless beasts. Considerable honour was still bestowed on the men who served in the positions, as evinced by the emperor taking the post for himself, but they lacked any real power. Although elected, they were in fact appointed by Augustus and subsequent emperors.

  contubernium (pl. contubernia): a group of eight legionaries who shared a tent or barracks room and who cooked and ate together. (See also entry for legion.)

  Danuvius: the River Danube.

  denarius (pl. denarii): the staple coin of the Roman Empire. Made from silver, it was worth four sestertii, or sixteen asses. The less common gold aureus was worth twenty-five denarii.

  Donar: the German thunder god, and one of the only tribal deities attested to in the early first century AD.

  equestrian: a Roman nobleman, ranked just below the class of senator. It was possible to move upwards, into the senatorial class, but the process was not easy.

  falx (pl. falces): two-handed, long scythe-like weapons used by the Dacian tribes. Very dangerous! Some historians think that a modification to legionaries’ helmets in the second century AD was made to counter the danger posed by these lethal weapons.

  Fectio: Vechten.

  Flevo Lacus: the Zuiderzee, now the IJsselmeer.

  Fortuna: the goddess of luck and good fortune. Like all deities, she was notorious for her fickle nature.

  frameae (sing. framea): the long spears used by most German tribesmen. They had a short, narrow iron blade and were fearsome weapons. Employed in conjunction with a shield, they were used to stab, throw or swing at an opponent.

  frigidarium: an unheated room in Roman bath complexes, with a cold water basin.

  Gallia Belgica and Gallia Lugdunensis: these were two of the four Gaulish provinces defined by Augustus. The other two were Gallia Aquitania and Gallia Narbonensis.

  Germania: in AD 9, the Romans regarded the area between the Rhine and Elbe Rivers as the province of Germania Magna. East of the Elbe and its tributary the Saale lay Germania Libera, or ‘free’ Germany.

  gladius (pl. gladii): by the time of the early principate, the Republican gladius hispaniensis, with its waisted blade, had been replaced by the so-called ‘Mainz’ gladius (named because of the many examples found there). The Mainz was a short steel sword, some 400–550 mm in length. Leaf-shaped, it varied in width from 54–75 mm to 48–60 mm. It ended with a V-shaped point that measured between 96 and 200 mm. It was a well-balanced sword for both cutting and thrusting. The shaped handgrip was made of ox bone; it was protected at the distal end by a pommel and nearest the blade by a hand guard, both made of wood. The scabbard was made from layered wood, sheathed by leather and encased at the edges by U-shaped copper alloy. The gladius was worn on the right, except by centurions and other senior officers, who wore it on the left. Contrary to what one might think, it is easy to draw with the right hand, and was probably positioned in this manner to avoid entanglement with the scutum while being unsheathed.

  Hispania: the Iberian peninsula.

  Illyricum (or Illyria): the Roman name for the lands that lay across the Adriatic Sea from Italy: including parts of Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro. Illyricum included the area known as Pannonia, which became a Roman province sometime during the first half of the first century AD.

  intervallum: the wide, flat area inside the walls of a Roman camp or fort. As well as serving to protect the barrack buildings from enemy missiles, it allowed the massing of troops before patrols, or battle.

  Jupiter: often referred to as ‘Optimus Maximus’ – ‘Greatest and Best’. Most powerful of the Roman gods, he was responsible for weather, especially storms.

  Laugona: the River Lahn.

  legate (in Latin, legatus legionis): the officer in command of a legion, and a man of senatorial rank, most often in his early thirties. The legate reported to the regional governor. (See also the entry for legion.)

  legion (in Latin, legio): the largest independent unit of the Roman army. At full strength, it consisted of ten cohorts, each of which comprised 480 legionaries, divided into six centuries of eighty men. Every century was divided into ten sections, contubernia, of eight men. The centuries were each led by a centurion, each of whom had three junior officers to help run the unit: the optio, signifer and tesserarius. (See also the relevant entry for each.) Every century and cohort had their own standard; each legion possessed an eagle. The legion was commanded by a legate, whose second-in-command was the most senior tribune, the tribunus laticlavius. The camp prefect, a former primus pilus, was third-in-command; after h
im – we are not sure in what order – came the five junior tribunes and the primus pilus. One hundred and twenty cavalrymen were attached to each legion. (See entries for tribune, primus pilus and turmae.) In practice, no legion was ever at full strength. Sickness and detachments on duty in other places and, in wartime, losses due to combat were some of the reasons for this. Most scholars now therefore accept that Varus’ three legions with their associated auxiliary troops numbered around thirteen to fifteen thousand men, rather than the oft-quoted twenty thousand.

  legionary: the professional Roman foot soldier. A citizen, he joined the army in his late teens or early twenties, swearing direct allegiance to the emperor. In AD 9, his term of service was twenty years, with a further five years as a veteran. He was paid three times a year, after deductions for food and equipment had been made. Over a tunic, most often of white wool, he probably wore a padded garment, the subarmalis, which served to dissipate the penetrative power of enemy weapons that struck his armour. Next came a mail shirt or the famous segmented iron armour, the so-called lorica segmentata. Military belts were always worn, and for the most part covered by small tinned or silvered plates. It was common to suspend from the belt an ‘apron’ of four or more dangling leather, metal-studded straps to protect the groin. Various types of helmet were in use during the early first century AD, made of iron, bronze or brass, sometimes with copper, tin and/or zinc alloy decorative pieces. The legionary carried a shield for defence, while his offensive weapons consisted of gladius, pilum and dagger (see entries for the first two). This equipment weighed well in excess of twenty kilograms. When the legionary’s other equipment – carrying ‘yoke’, blanket, cooking pot, grain supply and tools – were added, his load came to more than forty kilograms. The fact that legionaries were expected to march twenty miles in five hours, carrying this immense weight, shows their high level of fitness. It’s not surprising either that they soon wore down the hobnails on their sandals. Although it was usual for troops to have to pay for such things themselves, there is a recorded instance of soldiers – after a long, forced march – demanding that the emperor pay for their new hobs. Their demand for ‘nail money’ was granted! I loved this little snapshot, which led me to weave it into the story.

  lituus: the curved bronze badge of office carried by soothsayers. Take a look at a modern bishop’s crozier to see that nothing changes!

  Lupia: the River Lippe.

  Mare Germanicum: the North Sea.

  Mars: the god of war. All spoils of war were consecrated to him, and few Roman commanders would go on campaign without having visited Mars’ temple to ask for the god’s protection and blessing.

  Minerva: the goddess of war and also of wisdom.

  Mithras: possibly a Persian god, he was born on the winter solstice, in a cave. He wore a Phrygian blunt-peaked hat and was associated with the sun, hence the name ‘Sol Invictus’: ‘Unconquered Sun’. We know little about Mithraism, except that there were various levels of devotion, with rites of passage being required to rise between them. With its tenets of courage, strength and endurance, the religion was popular among the Roman military, especially during the empire.

  Mogontiacum: Mainz.

  molles: Latin word, meaning ‘soft’ or ‘gentle’, and my invention of a derogatory term for a homosexual.

  Novaesium: Neuss.

  optio (pl. optiones): the officer who ranked immediately below a centurion; the second-in-command of a century. (See also the entry for legion.)

  phalera (pl. phalerae): a sculpted disc-like decoration for bravery which was worn on a chest harness, over a Roman officer’s armour. Phalerae were often made of bronze, but could also be made of silver or gold. I have even seen one made of glass. Torques, arm rings and bracelets were also awarded to soldiers.

  Phoenician: someone from Phoenicia, today’s coastal Syria and Lebanon. The Phoenicians were famous travellers and traders; they founded Carthage in the eighth century BC.

  pilum (pl. pila): the Roman javelin. It consisted of a wooden shaft some 1.2 m long, joined to a thin iron shank approximately 0.6 m long, and was topped by a small pyramidal point. The javelin was heavy and, when launched, its weight was concentrated behind the head, giving tremendous penetrative force. It could drive through a shield to injure the man carrying it, or lodge in the shield, rendering it unusable. The range of the pilum was about thirty metres, although the effective range was about half this distance. While it is thought that legionaries may have each possessed a pair of pila, it’s more likely that they would have gone into battle with one. I have portrayed Varus’ unsuspecting legionaries carrying two each, because they were on what was, at the outset, a peacetime march.

  praetorium: the commandant’s house in a Roman camp. Often situated behind the principia, it was built on a grand scale, in the style of a townhouse, with a range of buildings around a square central courtyard.

  primus pilus: the senior centurion of the whole legion, and possibly – probably – the senior centurion of the First Cohort. A position of immense importance, it would have been held by a veteran soldier, in his forties or fifties. On retiring, the primus pilus was entitled to admission to the equestrian class. (See also the entry for legion.)

  principia: the headquarters in a Roman camp, to be found at the junction of the via principalis and the via praetoria. It was where the administrative centre and where the standards of the units in the camp were kept. Its grand entrance opened on to a colonnaded and paved courtyard which was bordered on each side by offices. Behind this was a huge forehall with a high roof, which contained statues, the shrine for the standards, a vault for the soldiers’ pay and perhaps more offices. It is possible that parades took place here, and that senior officers addressed their men in the hall.

  Rhenus: the River Rhine.

  Rura: the River Ruhr.

  Sala: the River Saale.

  scutum (pl. scuta): an elongated oval Roman army shield, about 1.2 m tall and 0.75 m wide. It was made from two layers of wood, the pieces laid at right angles to each other; it was then covered with linen or canvas, and leather. The scutum was heavy, weighing between 6 and 10 kg. A large metal boss decorated its centre, with the horizontal grip placed behind this. Decorative designs were often painted on the front, and a leather cover was used to protect the shield when not in use, e.g. while marching. It’s recorded that Varus’ legionaries’ shields became so wet from the rain that they were hard to fight with.

  sestertius (pl. sestertii): a brass coin, it was worth four asses; or a quarter of a denarius; or one hundredth of an aureus. Its name, ‘two units and a half third one’, comes from its original value, two and a half asses.

  signifer (pl. signiferi): a standard-bearer and junior officer. This was a position of high esteem, with one for every century in a legion. Often the signifer wore scale armour and an animal pelt over his helmet, which sometimes had a hinged decorative facepiece, while he carried a small, round shield rather than a scutum. His signum, or standard, consisted of a wooden pole bearing a raised hand, or a spear tip surrounded by palm leaves. Below this was a crossbar from which hung metal decorations, or a piece of coloured cloth. The standard’s shaft was decorated with discs, half-moons, crowns and representations of ships’ prows, which were records of the unit’s achievements and may have distinguished one century from another. (See also the entry for legion.)

  Styx: the river in the underworld across which the dead had to travel, paying the ferryman a coin for the passage. The ritual of placing a coin in deceased people’s mouths arose from the ancients’ perceived need for money after death.

  tesserarius: one of the junior officers in a century, whose duties included commanding the guard. The name originates from the tessera tablet on which was written the password for the day. (See also the entry for legion.)

  testudo: the famous Roman square formation, formed by legionaries in the middle raising their scuta over their heads while those at the sides formed a shield wall. The testudo, or tortoise, wa
s used to resist missile attack or to protect soldiers while they undermined the walls of towns under siege. The formation’s strength is reputed to have been tested during military training by driving a cart pulled by mules over the top of it.

  tribune (in Latin, tribunus): a senior staff officer within a legion. During Augustus’ rule, the number of tribunes attached to each legion remained the same (six), but one was more senior than the rest. This tribune, the tribunus laticlavius, was of senatorial rank, and was second-in-command of the legion, after the legate. He was often in his late teens or early twenties, and probably served in the post for one year. The other tribunes, the tribuni angusticlavii, were a little older, and of equestrian stock. They tended to serve in their posts for longer, and to have more military experience. (See also the entry for legion.)

  trireme: the classic Roman warship, which was powered by a single sail and three banks of oars. Each oar was rowed by one man, who was freeborn, not a slave. These ships had a large crew in proportion to their size. This limited the triremes’ range, so their main use was as troop transports and to protect coastlines.

  turmae (sing. turma): a ten-man cavalry unit. In the early principate, each legion had a mounted force of 120 riders. This was divided into twelve turmae, each commanded by a decurion. (See also the entries for ala and legion.)