With fresh recruits and new leaders, things were looking up. Now all Theodosius needed was a victory to cement his place on the throne. One of his first retaliatory strikes against the Gothic horde occupying Thracia was led by General Modares, given a small expeditionary force and tasked with finding and defeating an offshoot of Fritigern’s horde (led by my fictional Reiks Ortwin). Modares had only recently come over into the imperial sphere from the court of the belligerent Goth, Athanaric, and I have portrayed him as very much still a ‘raw’ tribal warrior. But his loyalty to the emperor and his skills in battle were not to be questioned: under cover of darkness, he outmanoeuvred and fell upon Ortwin’s drunken, sleeping warband, descending upon them from a hillside to claim a decisive victory.
News of the triumph was very much welcomed in Thessalonica, but Emperor Theodosius knew it was merely a warband that had been defeated, barely denting the horde. Still, the legions were too few and too thin to consider action against Fritigern’s main force. And so, in search of yet more manpower, Theodosius was forced to turn his eye towards the north, across and beyond the turmoil of Thracia, over the River Danubius and into ‘Barbaricum’.
We know only that, in 379 AD, a tribe of Goths – unattached to Fritigern’s tribal horde and remaining north of the Danubius – was brought into the empire to aid the imperial cause. The identity of these Goths is unknown, and so I have selected the ‘Goths of Arimer’ as they were known – presumably because they were led by a man named Arimer – to fill this role. The Goths of Arimer are attested briefly as residing north of the river during the 380s AD (after my portrayal of them abandoning those parts and entering the empire), but so sparse is the detail and firmness of the attestation that I felt comfortable in taking a small fictional liberty to give them centre-stage in my tale.
Pavo and the XI Claudia’s adventures into the wilds to make contact with the Goths of Arimer are purely imagined, but an important and historically-sound seed is sown there. Starting in 376 AD, and all through the migration and rebellion of Fritigern’s horde, there were some within the Gothic masses who yearned for peace and treaty with the empire, and others who – understandably – maintained a strong anti-Roman sentiment. The mood of this latter group fermented over the years, all the way up to 395 AD when Alaric and his Visigoths emerged as a distinct cultural group. ‘Visi’, or the more correct term, ‘Vesi’, is often interpreted as meaning ‘Western’ as in ‘Western Goths’ – a logical conclusion for the later chronicler, Cassiodorus, who would have witnessed them living and dominating the lands of Gaul in the fallen Western Empire. It is, however, almost certainly a misapprehension. ‘Vesi’ is more accurately the Gothic word for ‘good’ or ‘worthy’. We do not know if the early, pre-Alaric anti-Romans would have described themselves as ‘Vesi’, but in the absence of alternative evidence, it seems a reasonable choice. But this leaves us with a question: when did this ‘sect’ form, how did it rise and who were its leaders? Well, only patches of the trail are attested, and that trail involves a certain Eriulf – a tribesman of some station who migrated into the empire during the Gothic War. We do not know to which tribe he was originally affiliated (and so I have him as the son of Arimer), only that he ended up in the dangerously powerful position of being both anti-Roman (secretively, presumably) and holding a high ranking within Theodosius’ military retinue. His story will unfold in subsequent volumes of the series.
Returning to the timeline of affairs: with the Goths of Arimer trained as legions and added to the imperial fold, the Eastern Army was almost capable of fielding a force strong enough to face or at least fend off Fritigern’s horde. But things were not to go smoothly: the new additions were – perhaps prudently, perhaps harshly – swapped in a troop transfer for a batch of Egyptian legions led by Comes Hormisdas. It seems that the transfer went awry: on the streets of Philadelphia (southwest Turkey, as opposed to my setting of Thessalonica), the two forces passed each other in contraflow. The Goths, headed for Egypt, were accused of stealing as they moved through a market. Fighting broke out between the Egyptian legions and the Goths, who were beaten and sent on their way.
Whether the Goths had been angered by their expulsion to the distant south, or alienated by Emperor Theodosius’ recent religious edicts, we do not know. Certainly, the proclamations of Nicene Christianity as the new state religion (calcifying the process started by Constantine the Great some seventy years previously) and decrying Arian Christianity and Paganism would not have served as a warm welcome to the Goths of Arimer (probably pagan, possibly Arian but certainly not Nicene). And on that note, the anecdote of Bishop Demophilus is, sadly, true. For refusing to accept the Nicene Creed, he was stripped of all he had apart from his Arian beliefs, and forced to live the life of a beggar. Formal proscription of Arianism didn’t happen until 381 AD, but by then it was a mere matter of procedure.
But, bumps in the road aside, the Eastern Army was – to an extent – rejuvenated. More, Fritigern’s horde had, some time in 379 AD, split in two, with one half heading northwest into Dacia under the leadership of Alatheus and Saphrax, and the rest turning south into Macedonia. ‘The Black Horde’ and ‘the Sons of Fritigern’ are my fictional names for these two groupings, designed to make them more easily identifiable to the reader.
It was Fritigern’s army who pressed most upon Emperor Theodosius’ door. Lumbering through the hills near Scupi on a path towards the precious stronghold of Thessalonica and the other so-far secure coastal settlements, Fritigern had to be repelled, and so the Army of the East marched out to face him. Detail of the clash is sparse. We know only that it happened somewhere in the Scupi region in spring or summer 380 AD. That same year, possibly during the same campaign, a small remnant of the Goths of Arimer who had not been sent to Egypt, turned upon their Roman comrades. And, again possibly on the same campaign, another group of Goths even broke into Theodosius’ tent, almost slaying the Eastern Emperor. I have conflated these two happenings with the clash versus Fritigern in my ‘Scupi Ridge’ encounter. The outcome was an embarrassing defeat for Theodosius in his first foray into the field as emperor. After retreating to Thessalonica, he could only look on from behind those high turf walls as Fritigern settled into a pattern of looting and taxing the lands of Macedonia as he had done with Thracia in the previous two years. Worse, the Eastern Emperor had no option but to inflate taxes in order to repair his again-battered army and make up for the abrupt disruption to the Macedonian infrastructure.
Another clash was to occur in that same year. The Black Horde pushed through Dacia, then on across the border with the Western Empire and into Pannonia. Now Gratian had to sit up, take notice, and act. Again, detail is thin on the ground, but it seems that Gratian’s forces met and defeated the Black Horde close to Sirmium. The other twists and turns of this clash in my tale are purely imagined. We do not know if eastern legions sped to help, but it is not an unrealistic notion. In any case, this was the end for Alatheus and Saphrax and a bright moment for the empire. At last, a sizeable portion of the Goths had been soundly beaten, and the door was open for Gratian to drive east and tackle Fritigern.
On Gratian: I have certainly cast him in a poor light as an egotistical and unhinged young man. But there is evidence to suggest that he was a dangerous and provocative character. He did, as I described, choose to appear before a gathered crowd shortly after the defeat at Adrianople, dressed as a Goth, and quite understandably this seems to have upset a fair few people. Edward Gibbon praises Gratian, claiming he was a keen hunter, but never spilled the blood of a human. I would contest this, given his blunt and bloody approach to silencing political rivals in the days after his father died and the Western throne was potentially up for grabs. He seemed to thrive upon stoking grievances – his crass removal of the Altar of Victory from Rome’s Senate House was surely a measure designed to goad and weed out opponents as much as to establish religious conformity. Bishop Ambrosius was always close by Gratian’s side. By and large, he seems to have been a very pi
ous and ‘good’ individual… were it not for one later attestation of his willingness to sanction a pagan genocide. Perhaps I am guilty of looking for the worst in certain historical characters, or maybe as a writer I am simply drawn to those sinister and intriguing aspects.
And finally, a few sundries: The story of a small group of candidati helping the Goths to assault Adrianople’s city gates in the wake of the disastrous battle, only to be thwarted and beheaded, comes straight from the sources. Regarding military practice and supply: In the 4th century AD, the cost of legionary kit would not have been deducted from a soldier’s pay, but I described it as so (‘Libo giveth, Libo taketh away’) because it would have served as a prudent measure to reintroduce the rule given the need for high taxation at the time. And to tie up the demise of one character: Magister Militum Julius – the Butcher of Chalcedon as I have nicknamed him – falls out of history in 380 AD. It is not clear whether he died during the two pivotal battles with the Goths that year or simply retired. It seems fitting though that his end would come at the hands of a Goth.
There is much more detail I could go into, but I think that’s enough for now. Please do drop me a line or visit my website (address below) for more information or to ask me any questions you might have, or just to say hello – I’m always happy to chat.
So that’s all for now. The Gothic War is coming to a head, and I very much hope you’ll be there to march and fight alongside the Claudia lads through the next volume in the series.
Yours faithfully,
Gordon Doherty
www.gordondoherty.co.uk
P.S. If you enjoyed the story, please spread the word! My books live or die by word of mouth, so tell your friends or – even better – leave a short review on Amazon or Goodreads. Anything you can do in this vein would be very much appreciated.
Glossary
Adventus; The celebration that accompanies a new Roman Emperor’s formal entry into his capital city.
Ala (pl. Alae); A unit of Roman cavalry, numbering anywhere between a few hundred and a thousand.
Agmen Quadratum; A four-side marching column or defensive square.
Ambulatum; Legionary ‘manoeuvres’ training in which soldiers would take part in mock missions, marching in full kit over difficult terrain at military or full step. Cohorts would often be pitted against one another, tasked with outflanking or ambushing their comrades in an effort to test and strengthen each unit’s hardiness and readiness for real battle.
Annona; A Roman soldier’s pay. Usually issued three or four times annually. The soldier would use this to buy rations or kit.
Aquilifer; Senior standard bearer of a Roman legion and carrier of the legionary eagle.
Armatura; Basic legionary training with sword, shield and javelin.
Atrium; A spacious skylit chamber commonly serving as the entrance to a Roman home.
Auxilium Palatinum (pl. Auxilia Palatina); These elite infantry regiments (or palace legions) of the late Roman Empire served as the emperor’s core guard in his Praesental Army. Each Auxilia Palatina legion would have been distinct in its appearance, with many retaining some unique decorative symbol on their armour that nodded to their origins, e.g. the Cornuti wore horns (or more likely feathers) on the sides of their helmets, just as the barbarian tribe they were originally recruited from did.
Ballista (pl. Ballistae); Roman bolt-throwing artillery that was primarily employed as an anti-personnel weapon on the battlefield.
Buccina (pl. Buccinae); The ancestor of the trumpet and the trombone, this instrument was used for the announcement of night watches and for various other purposes in the legionary camp.
Camisia; Light linen shirt sometimes worn in bed.
Candidatus (pl. Candidati); The candidati were the hand-chosen, personal bodyguard of the Roman Emperor and successors (in some respects) to the old Praetorian Guard.
Cataphractus (pl. Cataphracti); Roman heavy cavalry who would employ shock tactics, charging into enemy lines and flanks. The riders and horses would wear iron scale and mail armour, leaving little vulnerability to attack, and their primary weapon was a lengthy lancing spear. In the fourth century, many cataphracti in the Roman army were of eastern origin.
Chi-Rho; The Chi Rho is one of the earliest forms of Christogram, and was used by the early Christian Roman Empire. It is formed by superimposing the first two letters in the Greek spelling of the word Christ, chi = ch and rho = r, in such a way to produce the following monogram;
Comes; Commander of a field army of comitatenses legions.
Comitatensis (pl. Comitatenses); The comitatenses were the Roman field armies – a ‘floating’ central reserve of thousand-strong legions, ready to move swiftly to tackle border breaches. These legions were considered the cream of the late Roman army, second only to the palatine legions in the Praesental Army.
Cuneus; The ‘boar’s-head’, a wedge-like formation used to breach dense enemy ranks.
Contubernium (pl. Contubernia); A grouping of eight legionaries (ten contubernia per century). These soldiers would share a tent and would receive disciplinary action or reward as a unit.
Cornu (pl. Cornua); A ‘G’ shaped horn used in imperial games and ceremony.
Culina; Kitchen.
Cursus Publicus; The imperial courier system facilitated by state-funded roads, waystations, stables and dedicated riders. The riders were tasked with carrying messages all over the empire.
Diocese; An administrative and geographical division of the later Roman Empire. Each Diocese was subdivided into a collection of provinces.
Dominus (voc. Domine); A respectful honourific indicating sovereignty.
Draco; A type of legionary standard that became popular in the era of our story. It comprised a bronze dragon head that would groan when wind passed through it and a flowing cloth tail that would ripple in the breeze as if alive.
Drafsh; The military standards carried by the Sassanid Persian armies.
Eques (pl. Equites); Roman light cavalry, used for scouting ahead and screening the flanks of a marching legionary column.
Explorator (pl. Exploratores); Swift, skilled scout cavalry, tasked with ranging far ahead of marching armies and into enemy territory to confirm the marching route was clear.
Fabrica (pl. Fabricae); The workshop of a Roman legion located within the legionary fort or camp. Skilled artisans and craftsmen such as engineers, carpenters, masons, wagon-makers, blacksmiths, painters and other artificers worked in the fabrica, using devices such as smelting furnaces and water cisterns to produce arms and equipment for the legionaries.
Foederati; Broad term for the variety of ‘barbarian’ tribes subsidised from imperial coffers to fight for the Roman Empire.
Follis (pl. Folles); A large bronze coin introduced in about 294 AD with the coinage reform of Diocletian.
Funditor (pl. Funditores); Unarmoured Roman slingers who would take part in the skirmishing before a battle.
Hexareme; A Roman galley with six decks.
Iudex; The fourth century Goths did not have kings as such. Instead, the tribes – each led by a reiks – would elect a ‘judge’ or ‘iudex’ who would steer them through a period of migration or conflict.
Impluvium; the square basin in the centre of the atrium of an ancient Roman house, which received rainwater from an opening in the roof
Intercisa; Iron helmet constructed of two halves with a distinctive fin-like ridge joining them together and large cheek guards offering good protection to the face. The illustration on the cover provides a good example of this style of helm.
Kathisma; A box overlooking an arena, usually reserved for royalty or esteemed dignitaries.
Labarum; A style of legionary standard that sported a Christian Chi-Rho on top.
Liburnian; A small, swift and nimble galley with just a single bank of oars.
Limitaneus (pl. Limitanei); The limitanei were the frontier soldiers, light infantry spearmen who served in the legions posted along the empire’s borde
rs.
Magister Equitum; Roman ‘Master of Horse’.
Magister Militum; Roman ‘Master of the Army’.
Medicus; Medical officer attached to a legion, the most senior of which would hold the title Medicus Ordinarius.
Magister Peditum; Roman ‘Master of the Infantry’.
Mithras; A pagan deity particularly loved by the legions – probably something to do with the belief that Mithras was born with a sword in his hand! In the late 4th century AD, Christianity had taken hold in most of the major imperial population centres and it was only in remote areas like the limites that the last worshippers of Mithras were to be found. The cult of Mithras is thought to have evolved from the Persian Mithra, the God of Light and Wisdom. Also, although Mithras is often described as ‘Deus Sol Invictus Mithras’, he is not to be confused with the Sol Invictus (the God of the official imperial cult established by Emperor Aurelian) whose birthday was celebrated on the 25th December.
Odeum; A Roman amphitheatre, used to deliver performances of poetry or plays.
Officium; An area adjacent to a Roman camp or fort’s principia. The record-keeping staff of a Roman commander would work here.
Optio; Second-in-command of a Roman century. Hand-chosen by the centurion.
Pallium; A rich man’s robe in the times of the later empire. Equivalent to the older toga.
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.
EMPIRE OF SHADES Page 40
