Legionary: The Scourge of Thracia (Legionary 4)
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Officium; The clerical staff of a Roman commander. These record-keepers would reside and work in or near the camp or fort’s principia.
Optio; Second-in-command of a Roman century. Hand-chosen by the centurion.
Plumbata (pl. plumbatae); A lead-weighted throwing dart carried by Roman legionaries, approximately half a metre in length. Each legionary would carry three to five of these clipped in behind his shield. They would launch them, overhand or underhand, at their enemy prior to sword or spear engagement. They required some skill to throw accurately, but had a tremendous range of nearly ninety feet.
Praesental Army; Literally ‘the Army in the Emperor’s Presence’. By the late 4th century AD, the Eastern and Western Emperors each possessed such an army, comprised of crack corps of auxilia palatina infantry legions and scholae palatinae cavalry brigades as well as many more specialist units. It is thought that both Eastern and Western Praesental Armies numbered upwards of thirty thousand men.
Primus Pilus; The chief centurion of a legion. So called, as his own century would line up in the first file (pilus) of the first cohort (primus).
Principia; Situated in the centre of a Roman fort or marching camp, the principia served as the headquarters. In a standing fort, the principia would be laid out as a square, with three wings enclosing a parade area. The legionary standards, wage chest and religious shrines were housed inside the wings along with various administrative offices.
Quadriburgium (pl. quadriburgia); High-walled, sturdy, square Roman forts that became prevalent towards the end of the 4th century AD. Characterised by their huge, rounded and protruding corner towers, these structures indicated the increasingly defensive stance of the empire in these times.
Reiks; In Gothic society, a reiks was a tribal leader or warlord. Whenever the Gothic tribes came together to fight as a united people, a ‘council’ of reiks would elect one man to serve as their Iudex, leader of the alliance.
Sagittarius (pl. Sagittarii); Roman foot archer. Typically equipped with a bronze helm and nose-guard, mail vest, composite bow and quiver.
Schola Palatinum (pl. Scholae Palatinae); The elite cavalry regiments of the later Roman Empire. Typically, these crack riders would serve in the Emperor’s Praesental Army.
Sica; A bent or curved dagger – a smaller version of the falcata – used for stabbing down around armour or shields.
Signifer; Standard-bearer for a Roman century.
Solidus (pl. Solidi); Valuable gold coin in the later Roman Empire.
Spatha; The Roman straight sword up to one metre long, favoured by the Roman infantry and cavalry.
Speculatore (pl. speculatores); A shadowy secret police employed throughout the Roman Republic and Empire. They tended to focus on internal affairs and domestic threats, carrying coded messages, spying, and assassinating on command.
Tablinum; A room in a Roman house separating the atrium and the peristyle gardens. Often this space would be used for carrying out business discussions.
Terra Mater; The Roman Goddess of the Earth (literally ‘Mother Earth’).
Tesserarius; Each legionary century had one man who served as a tesserarius. They would be answerable to the optio and their chief responsibilities were organising night watch and protecting watchwords.
Thermae; Roman bathhouse, comprising a dressing room (apodyterium), cold room (frigidarium), warm room (tepidarium) and hot room (caldarium).
Tribunus (pl. tribuni); The senior officer of a legion. In the late 4th century AD, a tribunus was usually in charge of one or more legions of limitanei or comitatenses.
Turma (pl. turmae); The smallest unit of Roman cavalry, numbering thirty riders.
Valetudinarium; A medical building in a Roman camp or fort.
Vexillatio (pl. vexillationes); A detachment of a Roman legion formed as a temporary task force.
Via Militaris; The nearly 1000km long highway constructed in the 1st century AD running from Constantinople all the way through the Dioceses of Thracia, Dacia and on into Pannonia to the fortress-city of Singidunum. So-called because it was the main road the legions marched through the Balkan Peninsula.
Vicus; Legionary forts and camps were not long constructed before being abutted by these slum-like settlements of shacks, inns, brothels and traders’ markets, all eager to provide the soldiers with licentious entertainment and lighter purses.
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When the falcon has flown, the mountain lion will charge from the east, and all Byzantium will quake. Only one man can save the empire . . . the Haga!
1046 AD. The Byzantine Empire teeters on full-blown war with the Seljuk Sultanate. In the borderlands of Eastern Anatolia, a land riven with bloodshed and doubt, young Apion's life is shattered in one swift and brutal Seljuk night raid. Only the benevolence of Mansur, a Seljuk farmer, offers him a second chance of happiness.
Yet a hunger for revenge burns in Apion's soul, and he is drawn down a dark path that leads him right into the heart of a conflict that will echo through the ages.