Hannibal 02: Fields of Blood
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Telamon: modern-day Talamone, in Tuscany. In 225 BC, it was the site of an enormous battle between the Romans and an army of invading Gauls, which was heading south for Rome.
tesserae: pieces of stone or marble which were cut into roughly cubic shape and fitted closely on to a bed of mortar to form a mosaic. This practice was introduced in the third century BC.
tepidarium: the largest area in a Roman baths and often where bathers met and talked. Containing a large, warm pool, it was a place to linger.
Ticinus: the River Ticino.
Trasimene: the modern-day Lago Trasimeno, in north-central Italy, close to Perugia and Siena.
Trebia: the River Trebbia.
triarii (sing. triarius): the oldest, most experienced soldiers in a legion of the third century BC. These men were often held back until the most desperate of situations in a battle. The fantastic Roman expression ‘Matters have come down to the triarii’ makes this clear. They wore bronze crested helmets, mail shirts and a greave on their leading (left) legs. They each carried a scutum, and were armed with a gladius hispaniensis and a long, thrusting spear.
tribune: senior staff officer within a legion; also one of ten political positions in Rome, where they served as ‘tribunes of the people’, defending the rights of the plebeians. The tribunes could also veto measures taken by the Senate or consuls, except in times of war. To assault a tribune was a crime of the highest order.
triplex acies: the standard deployment of a legion for battle. Three lines were formed some distance apart, with four cohorts in the front line and three in the middle and rear lines.
triumph: the procession to the temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill of a Roman general who had won a large-scale military victory.
turma (pl. turmae): a cavalry unit of thirty men.
velites (sing. veles): light skirmishers of the third century BC who were recruited from the poorest social class. They were young men whose only protection was a small, round shield and, in some cases, a simple bronze helmet. They carried a sword, but their primary weapons were 1.2-m (4-ft) javelins. They also wore wolf-skin headdresses of some kind. It’s unclear if the velites had any officers.
Venusia: modern-day Venosa.
Vestal Virgins: the only female priesthood in Rome, who served Vesta, the goddess of the hearth.
Via Appia: the main road from Rome to Brundisium (modern-day Brindisi) in the far south of Italy.
Via Latina: in the third century BC, this road ran south from Rome, through the country of the Latins and into Campania.
via praetoria: see entry under porta decumana.
via principalis: see entry under porta decumana.
Victumulae: a town in the vicinity of Placentia (modern-day Piacenza) in northern Italy. Its exact location is unknown.
Volturnus: the River Volturno.
Vulcan (or Vulcanus): a Roman god of destructive fire, who was often worshipped to prevent – fire!
About Ben Kane
When I was a boy, we had no TV at home, which is perhaps the reason I became an avid reader. I read just about any genre, but especially military and historical fiction. Yet my love of animals won out when it came to leaving school, and I trained as a veterinary surgeon. After spells of working in Ireland and the UK, my itchy feet took me abroad in 1997. The travelling bug bit me hard. For three and a half years, I returned only to earn enough money to travel again. It was during this time that I first had thoughts of writing historical military fiction.
I came back to the UK in early 2001 as the terrible foot-and-mouth disease outbreak began. I volunteered immediately and spent nearly a year working in Northumberland. Supervising the slaughter of livestock was truly awful, but I was able to visit the Roman sites along Hadrian’s Wall as well. My imagination ran riot in every place I visited, wondering what the Italian legionaries first posted there must have thought. It was then that my determination to become a writer of historical fiction took firm root. What started as a hobby became an obsession, and by 2006, I was writing The Forgotten Legion.
Landing a book deal in 2007 changed my life. After about 18 months, I was able to switch careers and become a fulltime writer and now I buy textbooks and military/civilian replica Roman items as part of my job! I also travel to the places that I write about; I see and feel and breathe them for myself. Over the last two years, I’ve followed Spartacus’ trail across Italy; I’ve stood at Cannae, and pictured Hannibal’s army meeting the massed legions of Rome; I’ve watched the sea lapping against the fortifications of Syracuse, where the Romans besieged the city for close to two years.
Writing about Roman history has become my world, as evidenced by the walk I did in April 2013 along Hadrian’s Wall in full Roman military kit, raising money for the charities Combat Stress and Medecins sans Frontieres. You can find out more about my books, my research and the walk on my website.
Ben Kane, May 2013
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