Banishing the seriousness of his current position from his mind Fergus grunted and took another quick sip of wine before turning his eyes once more to the heavens. There was something far weightier on his mind that was dampening his spirits. Slowly his fingers reached out to touch the letter in his pocket. It had arrived a few days ago aboard a supply convoy all the way from Doura-Europus. It was from Galena. His wife had written that she and the girls were doing alright at Zeugma and that they missed him. Galena had spoken about her daily routine and that of the girls, trying to sound as if everything was alright. But it had been her last paragraph that had got to him. Despite writing several more times and paying generously for the delivery there had been no news from either Adalwolf in Antioch or Marcus, Kyna, Dylis and the others, faraway on the isle of Vectis in Britannia. No news, nothing but silence. No one had heard from his family in Britannia. There had been no news now for eighteen months and the silence and uncertainty were slowly eating away at him. Had Nigrinus had them all executed? Had he taken over the farm and erased the very memory of their existence? Wearily Fergus stirred and took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he allowed the balmy Mesopotamian breeze to touch his face. What had happened to his father and his family? The lack of news was growing harder to bear by the day.
Author’s Notes
The Roman grain annonae (Cura Annonae) and the famous idea of, “Bread and Circuses,” did exist and constitutes one of the earliest organised social security systems in the world. Its main purpose was to maintain the prestige of the Emperor and the State and to prevent riots from a starving populace. The loss of the Egyptian grain fleet in my book “Rome and the Conquest of Mesopotamia” is fiction but no doubt such disasters did occur. Their consequences would have been severe. It leads me to conclude that the ancient Romans had to contend with many of the same problems and challenges that we must deal with today in our modern world. From paying for and maintaining an expensive social security net, to large scale immigration, foreign threats and wars, organised crime, identity theft, runaway inflation and yes eventually even climate change. How the Romans tried to handle some of these challenges could provide valuable insights for us today. Their empire did after all manage to survive for nearly twelve hundred years in the West and much longer in the East.
The contemporary historical sources on Trajan’s Parthian War are thin on the ground. We simply do not know exactly what happened or even the exact chronological order of events. In “Rome and the Conquest of Mesopotamia” I have based my story on F.A Lepper’s analysis and account of the war. His book “Trajan’s Parthian War” (1948) is well worth a read.
Emperor Trajan’s motives for going to war are also fiercely debated. The ancient view was that he wanted to conquer Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) for the glory and to rival Alexander the Great. A more modern theory is that Trajan ordered the conquest because he wanted to secure lucrative trade routes to India and China. We are not even entirely sure which route to Seleucia and Ctesiphon Trajan actually took although Lepper provides convincing evidence for the Euphrates route. The fact that both Seleucia and Ctesiphon fell quickly during the initial campaign suggests to me that they surrendered quickly. There is no evidence that Fergus took Seleucia by using a ruse. That’s pure fiction. However, we do know that one of the daughters of the king of kings Osroes was captured during the fall of Ctesiphon.
Finally, there is some evidence and suggestion that the Alani and Sarmatian tribes did indeed use Cannabis.
“Rome and the Conquest of Mesopotamia” is book eight in the Veteran of Rome series. VOR 9 will be published later in 2018 and will be the final instalment of the series.
William Kelso, London, January 2018
MAJOR PARTICIPANTS IN ROME AND THE CONQUEST OF MESOPOTAMIA
Marcus and Fergus’s family
Kyna, Wife of Marcus, mother of Fergus.
Corbulo, Marcus’s father, Fergus’s grandfather
Ahern, Kyna’s son by another man. Jowan forced to adopt him.
Elsa, Orphaned daughter of Lucius, but adopted by Marcus and his family.
Cassius, Elsa’s husband and Marcus’s secretary
Armin, Orphaned little brother of Elsa
Galena, Wife of Fergus
Briana, Fergus and Galena’s first daughter
Efa, Fergus and Galena’s second daughter
Gitta, Fergus and Galena’s third daughter
Aina, Fergus and Galena’s fourth daughter
Athena, Fergus and Galena’s fifth daughter
Indus, Marcus’s Batavian bodyguard in Rome and ex-soldier
Aledus, Friend and army buddy of Fergus
Dylis, Marcus’s half-sister, adopted by Corbulo
Cunomoltus, Marcus’s half-brother, illegitimate son of Corbulo
Imperial family
Marcus Ulpius Traianus, Emperor of Rome (Trajan) AD 98 - 117
Plotina Pompeia, Empress of Rome, Emperor Trajan’s wife
Salonia Matidia, Trajan’s niece.
Members of the Peace Party
Publius Aelius Hadrianus, (Hadrian) Leader of the peace party
Adalwolf, German amber and slave trader, but also guide, advisor and translator for Hadrian.
Vibia Sabina , Hadrian’s wife
Publius Acilius Attianus, Hadrian’s old childhood guardian (Jointly with Trajan)
Marcus Aemilius Papus, friend of Hadrian
Quintus Sosius Senecio, Soldier and supporter of Hadrian
Aulus Platorius Nepos, Roman politician and soldier
Admiral Quintus Marcius Turbo, close friend of Trajan and Hadrian
Members of the War Party
Gaius Avidius Nigrinus, Senator, leading citizen in Rome and close friend of Trajan. Leader of the war party and potential successor to Trajan
Lady Claudia, A high born aristocrat and old acquaintance of Marcus
Paulinus Picardus Taliare, One of Rome’s finance ministers, in charge of the state treasury
Aulus Cornelius Palma, Conqueror of Arabia Nabataea and sworn enemy of Hadrian.
Lucius Pubilius Celsus, Senator and ex Consul; bitter enemy of Hadrian.
Lusius Quietus, Berber prince and Roman citizen from Mauretania in northern Africa, a successful and popular Roman military leader.
Marcus, Fergus’s father, senator and supporter of the War Party
Members of Fergus’s close protection team
Arlyn, Hibernian bodyguard of Hadrian
Barukh, Jewish bodyguard of Hadrian, recruited in Antioch.
Flavius, Blond Germanic bodyguard and Fergus’s deputy
Saadi, only female and youngest member of Fergus’s protection team
Skula, A bald Scythian (Russian) tribesman. One of Hadrian’s guards.
The two Italian brothers, ex-legionaries and bodyguards to Hadrian
Numerius, bodyguard to Hadrian, recruited in Antioch.
The Armenians and Parthians
Osroes I, King of Kings of Parthia
Parthamasiris, Nephew of Osroes, who became king of Armenia.
Volagases III, rival Parthian king to Osroes, rules in eastern Parthia
Sanatruces, nephew to the king of kings Osroes
The Fourth “Scythica” Legion
Gellius, legionary legate of the Fourth legion.
Britannicus, A young Tribune augusticlavii with the Fourth legion
Hiempsal, Numidian officer with the Seventh auxiliary cavalry alae of Numidians
Other Characters
Cunitius, A private investigator and one-time enemy of Marcus
Heron of Alexandria, A Greek mathematician, engineer and inventor.
Similis, Ex-prefect of Egypt, placed in charge of all security matters in Rome whilst Trajan is away in the east.
Blaikisa, Cassius’s freedman
Alexandros, Greek captain of the ship Hermes that sailed to Hyperborea with Marcus
Licinius, Roman ambassador in Gabala, Caucasian Albania
GLOSSARY
Adia
bene, region in north-eastern Iraq
Aerarium, State treasury for Senatorial provinces
Aesculapius, The god of healing
Agora, market place and public space
Albania, Roman client kingdom at the southern foot hills of the Caucasus
Aila, Red sea port now called Aqaba in Jordan
Alae, Roman cavalry unit
Alani, A Scythian people living on the steppes to the north of the Caucasus
Antioch, Near Antakya, Turkey
Arabia Nabataea, modern day Jordan and northern Saudi Arabia
Araxes river, also known as the Aras. Former border between the USSR and Iran
Artaxata, ancient capital of the kingdom of Armenia
Athena, Greek goddess and protector of Athens
Agrimensore, A land surveyor.
Armorica, Region of north-west France
Aquincum, Modern Budapest, Hungary
Arcidava, Fort in the Banat region of Dacia
Argiletum, Street of the booksellers in ancient Rome.
Asses, Roman copper coins, money
Babylonia, region around Babylon, Mesopotamia
Ballista, Roman artillery catapult
Banat, Region of Dacia, Romania and Serbia
Berzobis, Fort in the Banat region of Dacia
Bonnensis, Bonn, Germany. Full name.
Burdigala, Roman city close to modern Bordeaux, France
Bostra, a Roman occupied town in Jordan
Capitoline Hill, One of the seven hills of ancient Rome
Carnuntum, Roman settlement just east of Vienna, Austria
Carrobalista, Mobile Roman artillery catapult
Castra, Fort.
Caltrops, small spiked metal anti cavalry and personnel weapons
Cappadocia, Roman province in central and eastern Turkey
Caucasian Gates, Darial Gorge Georgia/Russia border
Centurion, Roman officer in charge of a company of about 80 legionaries
Cella, internal space in a temple
Chaboras river, now known as the Khabur river, tributary to the Euphrates
Charax, near modern day Basra
Cilicia, Roman province in modern Turkey
Circesium, a town now called Buseira in Syria
Classis Pannonica, Roman fleet based on the Danube at Carnuntum
Cohort, Roman military unit equivalent to a battalion of around 500 men.
Colchis, land around the south-eastern part of the Black sea
Colonia Agrippina, Cologne, Germany.
Contubernium, Eight-man legionary infantry squad. Barrack room/tent group room
Corona Muralis, Roman military decoration
Cornicen, Trumpeter and signaller.
Cuirassed armour, Expensive chest armour that followed the muscles of the chest
Cyrenaica, eastern part of Libya
Currach, Celtic boat
Cataphract, type of heavily armoured cavalry
Ctesiphon, Parthian winter capital, near modern Baghdad
Dacia(n), The area in Romania where the Dacians lived.
Decanus, Corporal, squad leader
Decurion, Roman cavalry officer.
Demeter, Greek goddess of agriculture
Denarii, Roman money.
Derbent, claims to be oldest town in Russia, on the Caspian-sea
Deva Victrix, Chester, UK.
Domitian, Emperor from AD 81 – 96
Draco banner, Dacian coloured banner made of cloth
Doura Europus, Near to Salihiye in eastern Syria
Edessa, Sanliurfa, now in south eastern Turkey
Emporium, Marketplace
Elegeia, Armenian town in the region of Erzurum
Eleusinion, Temple of Demeter, Athens
Eponymous Archon of Athens, The city’s ruler and mayor
Equestrian Order, The Order of Knights – minor Roman aristocracy
Equites, Individual men of the Equestrian Order.
Euphrates, major river in Iraq, Syria and Turkey
Falx, Curved Dacian sword.
Fibula, A brooch or pin used by the Romans to fasten clothing
Fiscus, The Roman state treasury controlled by the emperor and not the senate
Focale, Roman army neck scarf
Fortuna, The Goddess of Fortune.
Forum Boarium, The ancient cattle market of Rome
Forum Romanum, Political centre of ancient Rome, area of government buildings
Frisii, Tribe of Frisians who lived in the northern Netherlands
Gabala, ancient capital of Caucasian Albania
Gades, Cadiz, southern Spain
Garum, Roman fermented fish sauce.
Gladius, Standard Roman army short stabbing sword.
Greaves, Armour that protects the legs
Hatra, Hatra in Iraq
Hengistbury Head, Ancient Celtic trading post near Christchurch, UK.
Hibernia, Ireland.
Hispania, Spain.
Hyrcanian Ocean, Caspian Sea
Hyperborea, Mythical land beyond the north wind.
Iberia, Spain but also a small Roman client kingdom south of the Caucasus
Imaginifer, Roman army standard bearer carrying an image of the Emperor
Imperator, Latin for commander/emperor, used to hail the Roman emperor
Invidia/Nemesis, God of envy and vengeance
Insulae, Roman multi-storey apartment buildings
Janus, God of boundaries.
Jupiter Optimus Maximus, Patron god of Rome
Kaftan, Parthian dress, a long traditional outer garment
Kostolac, City in Serbia
Keffiyeh, Traditional Arabic headdress
Kushan Empire, Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of India
Lares, Roman guardian deities
Iazyges, Barbarian tribe, roughly in modern Hungary
Legate, Roman officer in command of a Legion
Liburnian, A small Roman ship
Limes, Frontier zone of the Roman Empire.
Londinium, London, UK.
Lower Pannonia, Roman province in and around Hungary/Serbia and Croatia.
Ludus, School
Lugii, Vandals, barbarian tribe in central Europe.
Luguvalium, Carlisle, UK.
Mars, Roman god of war
Marcomanni, Barbarian tribe whom lived north of the Danube in modern day Austria
Mardi, Armenian tribe that lived around lake Van
Massalia, Marseille, France
Mausoleum of Augustus, Mausoleum of Augustus in Rome
Mesopotamia, modern Iraq
Middle Sea, Mediterranean Sea
Mogontiacum, Mainz, Germany.
Mons Graupius, Roman/Scottish battlefield in Scotland
Mosul, Mosul northern Iraq
Munifex, Private non-specialist Roman Legionary.
Noviomagus Reginorum, Chichester, UK.
Numerii, Germanic irregular soldiers allied to Rome.
Nero, Roman emperor 54-68 AD
Nike, Greek god of victory
Nisibis, Known now as Nusaybin in south-eastern Turkey
Numidians, one of the Berber tribes of northern Africa
Nymphaeum, monument consecrated to the water nymphs
O group meeting, Modern British army slang for group meeting of officers
Onagers, Heavy Roman artillery catapults
Optio, Roman army officer, second in command of a Company.
Ostia, Original seaport of Rome
Osrhoene, a Roman client kingdom around Edessa
Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome. The Imperial palace there.
Palmyra, Palmyra in Syria, ancient city partially destroyed by IS
Panathenaea, Ancient Greek festival in honour of Athena
Parthian Empire, Iraq, Iran and parts of Saudi, Syria and central Asia
Parthenon, The temple of Athena on top of the Acropolis in Athens
Peplos dress, traditional dress presented to the goddess Athen
a
Peristyle, open space surrounded by vertical columns
Petra, Petra, Jordan.
Pilum/pila, Roman legionary spear(s).
Pistorum, college of bakers
Porolissum, Settlement in northern Dacia/Romania
Portus Augusti, The new seaport of ancient Rome
Portus Tiberinus, Rome’s Tiber river port
Posca, watered down wine with added spices
Praefecti Aeranii Saturni, Rome’s finance ministers
Prefect, Roman officer in command of an auxiliary cohort or civil magistrate.
Praetorian Guard, Emperor’s personal guard units
Principia, HQ building in a Roman army camp/fortress.
Propylaia, ancient monumental entrance gate into the Acropolis
Pugio, Roman army dagger.
Quadi, Germanic tribe living along the Danube
Resafa II, Fictitious Roman fort near Sergiopolis
Rosia Montana, Ancient gold and silver mining district in Romania/Dacia
Roxolani, Barbarian tribe in eastern Romania
Rutipiae, Richborough, Kent, UK.
Sacred Way, Important road in the ancient city of Rome
Satala, east of Sadak in Turkey on the ancient border with Armenia
Sarmatians, Barbarian allies of the Dacians
Sarmatian cataphracts, Heavily armoured Sarmatian cavalry
Sarmisegetusa Regia, Capital city of ancient Dacia
Saturn, God of wealth
Saturnalia, Roman festival in late December
Scythians, Barbarian tribes, modern Ukraine and Russia
Singidunum, Belgrade.
Sirmium, The ancient city of Sirmium on the Danube
Singara, modern Sinjar in northern Iraq
SPQR, Senate and People of Rome.
Stola, Woman’s cloak
Stoas, covered walkways
Styx river, Mythical river of the underworld.
Stylus, Roman pen
Subura, Slum neighbourhood in central Rome
Sura, ancient city on the Euphrates river in Northern Syria, west of Raqqa and north of Resafa
Tapae, Dacian fort at the entrance to the iron gates pass
Tara, Seat of the High King of Hibernia, north-west of Dublin, Ireland.
Rome and the Conquest of Mesopotamia (Book 8 of the Veteran of Rome Series) Page 39
