The Silver Eagle

Gaius Cassius Longinus was a real person, although he was Crassus’ quaestor (deputy), not a legate. Longinus was the only senior officer to survive with his honour intact after Carrhae. Was this coincidence? After all, he was about the only nobleman who could recount the battle! He became an enemy of Caesar’s and fought against him at Pharsalus, after which he was pardoned. His brother (or cousin) Quintus Cassius Longinus was a tribune in January 49 BC, and was one of those who carried the news to Caesar at Rave

Caesar’s arrival in Egypt a few weeks later was typically rapid, and he very nearly came unstuck when the Egyptians reacted violently to his presence. He had with him the depleted Twenty-Seventh Legion, not the Twenty-Eighth, but the reader will find out in the next volume in the series why I made that change. During the civil war, we do not know how long soldiers had to serve in the legions before they could leave, with opinions varying between six and sixteen years. They carried two javelins on campaign, with some sources reporting that only one was carried in battle. I have stuck with two. The battle in Alexandria’s harbour did take place, but I have slightly altered what we know of it. Contrary to popular opinion, only part of the library burned down – the worst damage to it took place centuries later, at the hands of a zealous Christian mob! I have also delayed the arrival of Cleopatra on the scene.

As readers of The Forgotten Legion will know, the Parthian recurved bows were made of layers of wood, horn and sinew, and were tremendously powerful. Punching through the Roman scuta like paper, their arrows a

Legionaries were possibly first introduced to Mithraicism in the first century BC, although its practice did not become more common until a few decades later. With its origins in modern-day Iran, it is highly likely that the Parthians knew of Mithras, or even worshipped him. And there are two surviving references to women being part of this supposedly men-only religion. See also the entry in the glossary.

Roman surgeons were very skilled, successfully performing operations that would not be repeated in the western world for over fifteen hundred years. Tarquinius’ thoracotomy to remove an arrow, though, is pure fiction, as is his use of penicillin powder from Egypt! It is highly unlikely that even this antibiotic would have saved Pacorus from the effects of scythicon (see glossary). Morphine was commonly used by the Romans, however.

What happened to the survivors of Crassus’ army after Carrhae nobody really knows, although it has been suggested they fought as mercenaries for the Huns (see the note at the begi

Barbaricum was known to the Romans, and by the first century BC the trade to Egypt and thence Italy was already well established. Ships sailed in each direction once a year, following the relevant monsoon. Although the Romans had a presence in the towns on the Red Sea by then, I know of no record of triremes being used in these waters. To supply Rome’s ever-growing demand, wild animals were being caught everywhere they existed, and Ethiopia was one of those places. While exceedingly dangerous, the occupation of a bestiarius was a lucrative one. We know that the animals were moved north by ship and by wagons, but not much more. I have used some of the information from Ha

Thanks to the many holes in our knowledge, much has to be left open to interpretation when describing the ancient world. While I have changed some details, I have also tried to portray the time as accurately as possible. Hopefully this has been done in an entertaining and informative ma

Lastly, my heartfelt thanks to the multitude of authors without whose works I would be lost. First among these is A History of Rome by M. Cary and H. H. Scullard; closely following are The Complete Roman Army and Caesar, both by Adrian Goldsworthy, as well as numerous fantastic volumes from Osprey Publishing. Thanks also to the members of www.romanarmy.com, whose rapid responses to my questions often helped so much. It is quite simply one of the best Roman reference resources there is. Sorry I couldn’t make it to RAT Mainz 2008!

Glossary

acetum: sour wine, the universal beverage served to Roman soldiers. Also the word for vinegar, the most common disinfectant used by Roman doctors. Vinegar is excellent at killing bacteria, and its widespread use in western medicine continued until late in the nineteenth century.

Aesculapius: son of Apollo, the god of health and the protector of doctors.

amphora (pl. amphorae): a large, two-handled clay vessel with a narrow neck used to store wine, olive oil and other produce. It was also a unit of measurement, equivalent to 80 pounds of wine.

aquilifer (pl. aquiliferi): the standard-bearer for the aquila, or eagle, of a legion. To carry the symbol which meant everything to Roman soldiers was a position of immense importance. Casualty rates among aquiliferi were high, as they were often positioned near or in the front rank during a battle. The only images surviving today show the aquilifer bare-headed, leading some to suppose that this was always the case. In combat, however, this would have been incredibly dangerous and we can reasonably guess that the aquilifer did wear a helmet. We do not know either if he wore an animal skin, as the signifer did, so that is my interpretation. The armour was often scale, and the shield carried probably a small one, which could be carried easily without using the hands. During the late Republic, the aquila itself was silver and clutched a gold thunderbolt. The wooden staff it was mounted on had a spike at its base, allowing it to be shoved into the ground, and sometimes it had arms, which permitted it to be carried more easily. Even when damaged, the aquila was not destroyed, but lovingly repaired time and again. If lost in battle, the Romans would do virtually anything to get the standard back. The recovery of Crassus’ eagles by Augustus in 20 BC was thus regarded as a major achievement. My placing of an aquila in Margiana is obviously conjecture.