by David Drake
Another Mede, turned half away, to his right. Belisarius drew his long cavalry sword out of its baldric and hewed the man’s arm off with the same motion. Another Mede, again from the back. The sword butchered into his neck, below the rim of the helmet. Another Mede-facing him, now. The sword hammered his shield down, hammered it aside, hammered his helmet sideways. The man was driven off his mount and fell, unconscious, to the ground. In that mad press of stamping horses, he would be dead within a minute, crushed to a bloody pulp.
The entire Roman cavalry piled into the Persians, caving in the right rear of their already disorganized formation. The initial slaughter was horrendous. The charge caught the Persians completely by surprise. Many of them, in the first few seconds, fell before blows which they never even saw.
To an extent, of course, Belisarius now found himself caught by the same dilemma that had faced the Medes. The thousands of Persian cavalrymen jammed against the Roman camp in the center of the battlefield were not quite a wall. But almost. Combat became a matter of men on skittering horses hammering at each other. Lances were useless, now. It was all sword, mace, and ax work. And utterly murderous.
Yet, for all the ensuing mayhem, the outcome was certain. The Medes were trapped between an equal number of Roman heavy cavalry and thousands of Roman infantrymen. Their greatest strength-that unequaled Persian skill at hard-hitting, fast-moving cavalry warfare-was completely neutralized. As cavalrymen, the average Roman was not their equal. But this was no longer a cavalry battle. It was a pure infantry battle, in which the majority of soldiers just happened to be sitting on horses.
As always under those circumstances, more and more of the men-on both sides-soon found themselves on the ground. Without momentum, it was almost impossible to swing heavy swords and axes for any length of time without falling off a horse. The only thing keeping a soldier on his horse were the pressure of his knees and-if possible, which it usually wasn’t in a battle-a hand on the pommel of his saddle. Any well-delivered blow on his armor or shield would knock a man off. And any badly delivered blow of his own was likely to drag him off by the inertia of his missed swing.
Five minutes into the fray, almost half of the cavalrymen on both sides were dismounted.
“This is going to be as bad as Lake Ticinus,” grunted Anastasius. He pounded a Persian to the ground with a mace blow. Nothing fancy; Anastasius needn’t bother-the giant’s mace slammed the man’s own shield into his helmet hard enough to crack his skull.
Belisarius grimaced. The ancient battle of Lake Ticinus was a staple of Roman army lore. Fought during the Second Punic War, it had started as a pure cavalry battle and ended as a pure infantry fight. Every single man on both sides, according to legend, had fallen off his horse before the fray was finished.
Belisarius was actually surprised that he was still mounted himself. Partly, of course, that was due to his bodyguards. In his entire career, Anastasius had only fallen off his horse once during a battle. And that didn’t really count-his horse had fallen first, slipping in a patch of snow on some unnamed little battlefield in Dacia. The man was so huge and powerful-with a horse to match-that he could swap blows with anyone without budging from his saddle.
Valentinian, on the other hand, had taken to the ground as soon as the battle had become a deadlocked slugging match. Valentinian was possibly even deadlier than Anastasius, but his lethality was the product of skill, dexterity, and speed. Those traits were almost nullified in this kind of fray, as long as he was trapped on a stationary horse.
Valentinian was a veteran, however. For all his grousing about foot-soldiering, the man had instantly slid from his horse and kept fighting afoot. The result had been a gory trail of hamstrung and gutted horses, their former riders lying nearby in their own blood.
With those two protecting him-and his own great skill as a fighter-Belisarius hadn’t even been hurt.
Yet-it was odd. There was something else. Belisarius hadn’t noticed, at first, until a slight pause in the action enabled him to think. But the fact was that he was fighting much too well.
“Deadly with a blade, is Belisarius.” He’d heard it said, and knew it for a cold and simple truth. But he had never been as deadly as he was that day. The cause lay not in any added strength or stamina. It was-odd. He seemed to see everything with perfect clarity, even in the hazy dust. He seemed to be able to gauge every motion by an enemy perfectly-and gauge his own strikes with equal precision. Time after time, he had slipped a blow by the barest margin-yet knowing, all the while, that the margin was adequate. Time after time, he had landed a blow of his own through the narrowest gaps, the slimmest openings-yet knowing, at the instant, that the gaps were enough. Time after time, he had begun to slip from his horse, only to find his balance again with perfect ease.
Odd. The truth was that he was leaving his own trail of gore and blood. It was like a path through a forest beaten by an elephant.
Even his cataphracts noticed. And complained, in the case of one.
“We’re supposed to be protecting you, General,” hissed Valentinian. “Not the other way around.”
“Quit bitching,” growled Anastasius. Chunk. Another Mede down. “I’m a big target. I need all the protection I can get.” Chunk.
Valentinian began to snarl something, but fell silent, listening intently.
“I think-”
“Yes,” said Belisarius. He had heard it too. The first cry for quarter, coming from a Persian throat. The cry had been cut off.
The general ceased his mayhem. Turned to Anastasius.
“Get Maurice-and the others. Now. I don’t want to end the battle with atrocities. We’re trying to win this war, not start a new one.”
“No need,” grunted Anastasius. He extended his right hand, pointing with his blood-covered mace. Belisarius turned and saw his entire Thracian retinue charging toward them on horseback.
Within seconds, Maurice drew up alongside them.
“I don’t want a massacre, Maurice!” shouted Belisarius. “I’ll handle the situation here, but the Huns-”
Maurice interrupted.
“They’re already making for the Persian camp. I’ll try to stop them, but I’ll need reinforcement as soon as you can get there.”
Without another word, the hecatontarch spurred his horse into a gallop. Seconds later, the entire body of Thracian cataphracts were thundering to the east, in the direction of the Persian camp.
Cries for quarter were being heard now from all over the battlefield. Many of them cut off in mid-screech. All fight was gone from the Medes. The light cavalry were already fleeing the field. The Persian infantry had long since begun to run. The heavy cavalry, trapped in the center, were trying to surrender. Without much success. The Roman infantrymen were in full fury. They were wreaking their vengeance on those who had so often in the past brought terror into their own hearts.
Belisarius rode directly into the mass. When he wanted to use it, the general had a very loud and well-trained voice. Anastasius joined him with his own thundering basso. Yet, strangely enough, it was Valentinian’s nasal tenor that pierced through the din like a sword.
A simple cry, designed to rein in the Roman murder:
“Ransom! Ransom! Ransom!”
The cry was immediately taken up by the Persians themselves. Within seconds, the slaughter stopped. Half-maddened the Roman infantry might have been. Poor, however, they most certainly were. And it suddenly dawned on them that they held in the palm of their mercy the lives of hundreds-thousands, maybe-of Persians. Noble Persians. Rich noble Persians.
Belisarius quickly found Hermogenes. The infantry chiliarch took responsibility for organizing the surrender. Then Belisarius went in search of Eutychian.
But Eutychian was not to be found. Nothing but his body, lying on the ground, an arrow through his throat.
Belisarius, staring down at the corpse, felt a great sadness wash over him. He had barely known the man. But he had looked forward to the pleasure.
&
nbsp; He shook off the mood. Later. Not now.
He found the highest-ranked surviving cavalry commander of the Army of Lebanon. Mundus, his name. He had been one of Pharas’ little coterie, and his face turned a bit pale when Belisarius rode up. When he spotted Valentinian and Anastasius he turned very pale.
“Round up your cavalry, Mundus,” commanded Belisarius. “At least three ala. I need them to reinforce my cataphracts at the Persian camp. The Huns’ll be on a rampage and I intend to put a stop to it.”
Mundus winced. “It’ll be hard,” he muttered. “The men’ll want their share of-”
“Forget the ransom!” thundered the general. “If they complain, tell them I’ve got plans for bigger booty. I’ll explain later. But right now- move, damn you! ”
Valentinian was already sidling his horse toward Mundus, but there was no need. The terrified officer instantly began screaming orders at his subordinates. They, in turn, began rounding up their soldiers.
The cavalrymen were upset, Belisarius knew, because the Roman infantry stood to gain the lion’s share of the booty. By tradition, ransom was owed to the man who personally held a captive. It was a destructive tradition, in Belisarius’ opinion, and one which he hoped to change eventually. But not today. For the first time in centuries, the Roman infantry had blazed its old glory, and Belisarius would not dampen their victory, or their profit from it.
At the Persian camp, they came upon a very tense scene. The camp itself was a shambles. Most of the tents lay on the ground like lumpy shrouds. Those tents still standing were ragged from sword-slashes. Wagons were upended or half-shattered. Some of the wreckage was the work of the Hun mercenaries, but much of it was due to the Persians themselves. Sensing the defeat, the Persian camp followers had hastily rummaged out their most precious possessions and taken flight.
But not all had left soon enough. Several dead Persians were lying about, riddled with arrows. All men. The Huns would have saved the women and children. The women would be raped. Afterwards, they and the children would be sold into slavery.
In the event, the mercenaries had barely begun enjoying their looting and their atrocities before the Thracians had arrived and put a stop to it. More or less.
Very tense. On one side, dismounted but armed, hundreds of Hun mercenaries. On the other, still mounted, armed- and with drawn bows-were three hundred bucellarii.
The Huns outnumbered the Thracians’ cataphracts by a factor of three to one. So, the outcome of any fight was obvious to all. The mercenaries would be butchered to a man. But not before they inflicted heavy casualties on the Thracians.
The general cared nothing for the Huns. But it would be a stupid waste of his cataphracts.
Mundus pointed out to him the three leaders of the mercenaries. As usual with Huns, their rank derived from clan status, not Roman military protocol.
Belisarius rode over to them and dismounted. Valentinian and Anastasius stayed on their horses. Both men had their own bows drawn, with arrows notched.
The Hun clan leaders were glaring at him furiously. Off to one side, three young Hun warriors were screaming insults at the Thracians. One of them held a young Persian by her hair. The girl was half-naked, weeping, on her knees. Next to her, a still younger boy-her brother, thought Belisarius, from the resemblance-was sitting on the ground. He was obviously dazed and was holding his head in both hands. Blood seeped through his fingers.
Belisarius glanced at the little tableau, then stared back at the three clan chiefs. He met their glares with an icy gaze. Then stepped up very close and said softly, in quite good Hunnish:
“My name is Belisarius. I have just destroyed an entire Persian army. Do you think I can be intimidated by such as you?”
After a moment, two of the clan leaders looked away. The third, the oldest, held the glare.
Belisarius nodded slightly toward the three young Huns holding the girl.
“Your clan?” he asked.
The clan chief snorted. “Clanless. They-”
“Valentinian.”
Belisarius knew no archer as quick and accurate as Valentinian. The Hun holding the girl by her hair took Valentinian’s first arrow. In the chest, straight through the heart. The cataphract’s second arrow, following instantly, dropped another. Anastasius, even with an already-drawn bow, fired only one arrow in the same time. No man but he could have drawn that incredible bow. His arrow went right through his target’s body.
Three seconds. Three dead mercenaries.
Belisarius had not watched. His eyes had never left those of the clan chieftain.
Now, he smiled. Tough old man. The chieftain was still glaring.
Again, softly, still in Hunnish: “You have a simple choice. You can disobey me, in which case no Hun will survive this battle. Or you can obey me, and share in the great booty from Nisibis.”
Finally, something got through. The clan chieftain’s eyes widened.
“Nisibis? Nisibis? ”
Belisarius nodded. His smile widened.
The clan chieftain peered at him suspiciously.
“Nisibis is a great town,” he said. “You do not have siege equipment.”
Belisarius shrugged. “I have a few scorpions and onagers. We can let the Persians on the walls of Nisibis catch sight of them. But that doesn’t matter. I have the most powerful weapon of all, clan leader. I have a great victory, and the fear which that victory will produce.”
The clan leader hesitated still.
“Many Persian soldiers escaped. They will flee to Nisibis and tell-”
“Tell what, clan leader? The truth? And who will believe those soldiers? Those defeated soldiers-that routed rabble-when they tell the notables of Nisibis that they have nothing to fear from the Roman army which just destroyed them?”
The clan leader laughed. For all his barbarity, the man did not lack decisiveness. A moment later he was bellowing commands to his men. Without hesitation, the other two clan leaders joined their voices to his.
Huns with clan status took their leaders seriously. Those without clan status took the slaughtered corpses of three of their fellows seriously. Within two minutes, a small group of women and children were clustered under the shelter of the cataphracts. Some of them looked to have been badly abused, thought Belisarius, but it could have been worse. Much worse.
The Huns even began piling up their loot, but Belisarius told the clan leaders that the mercenaries could keep the booty. He simply wanted the survivors.
“Why do you care, Greek?” asked the old chieftain. The question was not asked belligerently. The man was simply puzzled.
Belisarius sighed. “I’m not Greek. I’m Thracian.”
The chieftain snorted. “Then it makes no sense at all! Greeks are odd, everyone knows it. They think too much. But why-”
“A thousand years ago, chieftain, these people were already great with knowledge. At a time when your people and mine were no better than savages in skins.”
Which is just about where you are still, thought Belisarius. But he didn’t say it.
The clan chieftain frowned.
“I do not understand the point.”
Belisarius sighed, turned away.
“I know,” he muttered. “I know.”
Two weeks later, Nisibis capitulated.
It was not a total capitulation, of course. The Romans would not march into the city. The notables needed that face-saving gesture to fend off the later wrath of the Persian emperor. And Belisarius, for his own reasons, did not want to risk such a triumphant entry. He thought he had his troops well under control, but-there was no temptation so great, especially to the mercenaries who made up a large part of the army, as the prospect of sacking a city without a siege.
No, best to avoid the problem entirely. Persians, like Romans, were civilized. Treasure lost was simply treasure lost. Forgotten soon enough. Atrocities burned memory into the centuries. The centuries of that stupid, pointless, endless warfare between Greek and Persian which had go
ne on too long already.
So, there was no march and no atrocities. But, of course, there was treasure lost aplenty. Oh, yes. Nisibis disgorged its hoarded wealth. Some of it in the form of outright tribute. The rest as ransom for the nobles. (Whom Nisibis would keep, in reasonably pleasant captivity, until the nobles repaid the ransom.)
The Romans marched away from the city with more booty than any of its soldiers had ever dreamed of. Within three days, as the word of victory spread, the army was surrounded by camp followers. Among these, in addition to the usual coterie, were a veritable host of avid liquidators. The soldiers of Belisarius’ own army immediately converted their booty into portable specie and jewelry. They had learned from experience that their general’s stern logistical methods made it impossible to haul about bulky treasure. Like the great Philip of ancient Macedon, Belisarius used mules for his supply train. The only wheeled vehicles he allowed were the field ambulances and the artillery engines.
Observing, and then questioning, the Army of Lebanon quickly followed their example.
A great general, Belisarius, a great general. A bit peculiar, perhaps. Unbelievably ruthless, in some ways. Tales were told, by campfire, of slaughtered Persian cavalry, and a decapitated chiliarch. The first brought grins of satisfaction, the last brought howls of glee. Strangely squeamish, in others. Tales were told of women and children returned, reasonably unharmed, to the Persians in Nisibis-and spitted Huns. The first brought heads shaking in bemusement, the last, howls of glee. (Even, after a day or so, to most Huns, whose sense of humor was not remotely squeamish.)
A peculiar general. But-a great general, no doubt about it. Best to adopt his ways.
Adding to the army’s good cheer was the extraordinary largesse of the general’s cataphracts. Fine fellows, those Thracians, the very best. Buy anyone a drink, anytime, at any place the army stopped. Which it did frequently. The great general was kind to victorious troops, and the host of camp followers set up impromptu tabernae at every nightfall. They seemed to be awash in wealth, the way they spread their money around.
Which, indeed, they were. As commanding general, Belisarius had come in for a huge percentage of the loot-half of which he had immediately distributed to his bucellarii, as was his own personal tradition. The tradition pleased his cataphracts immensely. It pleased Belisarius even more. Partly for the pleasure which generosity gave his warm heart. But more for the pleasure which calculation gave his cold, crooked brain. True, his cataphracts were devoted to him anyway, from their own customs and birthright. But it never hurt to cement that allegiance as tightly as possible.
