Parthian Dawn (47 page)

When Dura falls I grant you full authority to do with it as you see fit, though I will retain full control of the dues raised from the tolls levied on the trade caravans, and you are additionally entitled to half of the profits from the sale of its citizens in the slave markets, though what price you will obtain for such wretches I do not know.

Your friend

Marcus Licinius Crassus

I stared at the words after I had finished reading them and felt a rage building within me. It was bad enough that a Roman army was encamped before my city, but it was made far worse by the fact that it was led by Lucius Furius, a tribune whom I had met on several occasions in Italy. A red-haired, arrogant individual whom I had bested in battle several times, though he had always managed to escape. And now he was in Parthia, his army no doubt paid for by Rome’s richest man — Crassus. I threw the letter to the ground. Domitus picked it up but he could not read Greek.

‘Lucius Furius, that overbearing bastard we fought in Italy, leads the army laying siege to Dura, financed by the wealth of Marcus Licinius Crassus.’

Domitus walked over and laid a hand on my arm.

‘Do not let your anger cloud your judgement. It does not matter who leads that army or who paid for it. You still have it exactly where you want it.’

He was right, of course, but for the rest of that day and all morning of the next I was sullen and withdrawn, seething that Furius was in my homeland.

‘What difference does it make?’ asked Surena, his bow tucked inside a new hide case on his saddle together with a quiver full of arrows. Being inquisitive, he had been asking questions about my time in Italy.

‘It just does,’ I snapped, not wanting to discuss the matter.

‘The commander of the Roman army is an old adversary of ours,’ remarked Nergal, ‘King Pacorus fought him on many occasions and always defeated him.’

‘But now he is here,’ said Surena.

‘And now he is here,’ I mused.

Surena beamed at me. ‘You visited his homeland and now he is visiting yours.’

I turned in the saddle to face him. ‘Are you trying to be amusing? Because I have to tell you that it isn’t working.’

‘Well, if you had the chance to kill this Furius and let it slip through your fingers, you now have another chance to finish him. Seems simple enough.’

‘Does it!’

‘Well, perhaps this time you won’t be so careless.’

‘Why don’t you go and do something useful, Surena. I grow tired of your voice.’

He dug his knees into his horse and rode away. ‘The truth always hurts.’

My mood improved, though, when the army halted to await the lords and their followers. This time each one brought around three hundred riders, so that by the time I held a muster of the army we had been reinforced by over six thousand horse archers. The legion numbered four thousand men, the men of Pontus gave us an additional three and half thousand foot, Nergal commanded a thousand horse archers and I had my five hundred cataphracts. That night I held a council of war in the legion’s command tent. The lords, Domitus, Nergal, Malik and Byrd all faced me as I explained the plan for the coming battle.

‘We are two days’ march from Dura. Nergal will throw a screen of riders in front of the army as it marches south. I have no doubt that the Romans know that something is amiss, if only because their supply convoys and couriers have not been getting through. So tomorrow we march south and the day after will give battle.’

‘How many men do the Romans have, majesty?’ asked one of the lords.

‘We have counted three eagles, which means three legions. In addition, the Romans have auxiliaries of foot and their own cavalry. I estimate twenty thousand in total.’

‘May be less now, majesty,’ said another lord. ‘We have destroyed their courier bases and killed their garrisons.’

‘It doesn’t matter how many they are,’ I said. ‘I intend to break their battle line before they can make their greater numbers tell.’

They cheered at this statement. I liked my lords; they were like the life they lived — tough and straightforward.

‘A fitting plan for the “pitiless one”,’ shouted one on the right.

‘The pitiless one?’ I said.

He beamed at me. ‘That is what people are calling you majesty — Pacorus the Pitiless. They say that one who uses his wife and infant child as bait to lure his enemies to him makes the devils of the underworld shake with fear.’

My god, is that what people thought of me? I had to admit that I was taken aback, but then they started chanting my name and stamping their feet. Clearly they were impressed by my unintentional ruthlessness.

Having briefed all of the lords, Domitus and Nergal on our plan of battle before we had even caught sight of the enemy, I was confident of victory. I knew the ground we would fight on and I knew the men I commanded.

On the march south towards Dura I was in high spirits, until Byrd rode up in an agitated state.

‘Horses approaching from the north, big dust cloud. They are many.’

‘Romans?’ I was surprised to say the least. I turned to Nergal. ‘Go and find out who they are. If they are Romans you must delay them until the army is ready.’

As he galloped away to collect his companies I cursed my luck. I had mapped out the coming battle over and over in my head, considering every imaginable possibility and how I would take all into account to fight the battle exactly according to my wishes. And now I risked being undone by an enemy force that had suddenly sprung up from the desert. As Nergal and his horse archers cantered north a sweating Domitus ran up.

‘Problems?’

‘Yes, it appears that there may be a Roman army behind us.’

He raised his hand and then raced back to his officers. Then the sound of trumpets resounded across the area as he about-faced his cohorts and their commanders went about marshalling them into battle formation. The cohorts were marched north so that the wagons and mules carrying their supplies would be in the rear of the army if it came to a fight. I deployed the lords on our right flank, next to the Euphrates, while I took my cataphracts out to the left wing. Behind them, the squires struggled with the camels that were burdened with the cavalry’s supplies. The cataphracts hurriedly rode back to the camels to get their scale armour, and then began a race against time to put it on, one squire helping his lord, the other dressing his horse in its armour protection. Surena rode up.

‘Do you wish me to bring you your armour, Pacorus?’

‘No, I will fight as I am.’ In truth I found scale armour heavy and burdensome, preferring my Roman cuirass and helmet. ‘Get back with the squires. Your knife won’t be much use in a battle.’

He rode off. At least that was one less thing to worry about.

I rode out in front of the thousands of men who were deploying for battle to get a better look at what was coming from the north. I could see them, now — horsemen kicking up a vast cloud of dust. Whoever they were they were moving at speed. They obviously wanted to get to us very quickly. Had Furius got wind of our approach and requested reinforcements? I thought it unlikely. Any Roman soldiers in Syria would have to have wings to get here this fast. I was wondering whether it was possible to defeat this new enemy and then fight those in front of Dura, when I caught sight of Byrd galloping towards me ahead of his pursuers. I reached behind me for my bow, pulled it from its case and then strung an arrow. Whoever was chasing him would be felled before they got near him. He was frantically waving his right arm at me and shouting at the same time. I strained to hear his words. I thought he said ‘fiends’. Marvellous, we were about to be attacked by devils! But as he came closer I realised that he was actually shouting ‘friends’.

He arrived panting and covered in dirt. ‘Friends, Pacorus. Orodes and horsemen from Susiana.’

I relayed the news to the army and soon men were standing, cheering and patting each other on the back. The atmosphere, previously tense and uncertain, was now one of elation and relief. Byrd halted beside me and then Nergal and Orodes arrived, and behind them a column of cataphracts in their scale armour. They slowed and formed into a line of two ranks, then halted behind their prince.

Orodes took off his helmet, his sweat-soaked hair matted to his skull, and beamed at me. ‘Hail, Pacorus. Hope we haven’t missed the fun.’

I nudged Remus forward and shook his hand.

‘Welcome, my friend, it is indeed good to see you.’

He looked behind him. ‘Five hundred heavy cavalry, my personal bodyguard. All I could bring, I regret to say. My dear brother ensured that my father prohibited any more of Susiana’s army coming to your aid. But only I command my bodyguard, and where I go, it follows.’

I smiled at him. I raised my voice so his men would hear. ‘I welcome the men of Susiana, and when the enemy learns of their arrival they will tremble, so great is the terror that the warriors of Susa spread before them.’ They raised their long lances and gave a mighty cheer. At that moment a panting Domitus arrived, rivulets of sweat running down his face.

‘Domitus,’ I said. ‘Prince Orodes has brought reinforcements. Behold, the finest men in Susiana.’

Domitus took of his helmet and wiped his face with a cloth, then replaced his white-crested headgear. He pointed at Orodes.

‘It would have helped if you had sent couriers ahead to warn us of your approach, to save us having to piss around changing direction and formation under this bloody hot sun.’

With that he turned and ran back to his officers.

‘My apologies, Orodes, Domitus can be a little brusque.’

‘Nonsense, he’s right. I’m just glad that he’s on our side.’

It took an hour before the army was ready to commence its march south once more, during which time the horsemen from Susiana rested and took off their scale armour, also stripping their horses of the cumbersome protection. Then it was loaded onto the backs of the thousand camels that Orodes had brought with him, ill-tempered, spitting beasts that carried tents, thousands of arrows, spare weapons and armour, food and medical supplies. There were also a thousand squires, each one riding a horse and armed with a bow, quiver and sword. It was actually a small army that Orodes had brought. In temperament he was much like Nergal, being carefree, cheerful and trusting, in fact everything his step-brother was not. You liked Orodes on sight, and when you got to know him better you realised that your initial impression of him was correct. He was also one of life’s optimists, which made him popular among his men and people. And, in stark contrast to Mithridates, he was fair-minded and absolutely trustworthy.

Once the army had recommenced its journey south, Orodes rode beside me with Nergal on my other side.

‘I heard about your demotion,’ he said, ‘and then word reached me that you had been killed.’

‘Well, one of those rumours was true, and if Narses and Chosroes had had their way my head would be adorning one of the gates into Uruk by now.’

Orodes shook his head. ‘I cannot believe that Chosroes has betrayed us.’

‘I can,’ I replied. ‘Narses is clever. He has promised Chosroes great wealth and power in return for his aid, and Chosroes, being eaten away by jealousy and greed, most probably did not take much persuading.’

‘Narses must know that he has no chance.’

‘I’m afraid, my friend, that he has every chance. The Roman incursions into Hatra and Dura must have seemed like a gift from the gods to him, especially as Media and Atropaiene lie weakened and unable to assist us. What news of Media?’

‘The Romans have made no attempt to lay siege to Irbil, but Farhad and Aschek lack the will and soldiers to trouble them. Events in Hatra and Dura will decide Media’s fate, I fear.’

I did not look at Orodes when I asked him the next question. ‘And what of Mithridates?’

Orodes spat on the ground. ‘He and my step-mother control my father, and thus control Ctesiphon and Susiana. No aid will be sent to you or your father, or for that matter to Vardan.’

‘So Babylon still defies Narses?’ I asked.

‘For the moment, yes, but if no aid arrives then Narses will starve it into surrender.’

After that we rode on in silence, but we all knew that Mithridates was still an ally of Narses. He was playing the long game, waiting to see how events would unravel. I had no doubt that he was behind my attempted murder, but the fact that I still lived did not necessarily negate his plans. He knew that I had to defeat the Romans before I could aid Hatra or Media, and that my father was occupied with dealing with the Roman invasion of his own kingdom. I would not put it past Mithridates to have been in communication with the Romans, perhaps even Crassus himself. It all seemed very convenient, too convenient. I should have killed him as well as Narses. At that moment the world seemed full of people that I should have killed but who were still in arms against me. Useless thoughts. I dismissed them from my mind. One battle at a time.

The night was clear and warm, and Domitus had sited his camp near the river so men and animals could quench their thirsts. It had been a hard day’s march, and everyone was glad to have the opportunity to rest at the end of it. Malik and Byrd rode into camp late in the evening and reported to my command tent. Domitus was stretched out on the floor, his eyes closed, his
gladius
beside him. I was sitting in a chair opposite Orodes, whose men and animals were camped two miles to the north. We were now approximately ten miles from Dura.

More of Malik’s warriors had arrived during the past two days and he had used them to aid the cavalry screen Nergal had established in front of the army, both to report on the enemy’s movements and to keep Roman eyes away from Dura’s army. Byrd, true to form, kept his own counsel and went where he wanted, though he always returned with valuable intelligence.

‘Romani getting ready to fight you,’ he said, filling a cup with water from a jug on the table. ‘Much activity in their camp. Romani soldiers not happy.’

I was surprised at this. ‘How do you know that they are unhappy?’

He looked at me as if I had asked a ridiculous question. ‘I speak to them, of course.’