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 Ravenna, thus precipitating the civil war. To ease the plot, I have amalgamated the two characters. The battle of Dyrrachium is documented, including Caesar’s men tossing charax loaves at their enemies, his near escape from the panicked signifer, and his comment about Pompey not knowing how to win. The manner of Caesar’s victory at Pharsalus is also well known, and recorded as the first occasion when infantry were used to attack cavalry in such a daring way. In making Brutus the commander of the legionaries responsible, I have strayed into fiction.

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 annihilated Crassus’ legions. My use of silk coverings on the shields is fiction. After consulting experts in the field, however, I am told that layers of cloth used in such a way – especially if cotton were included – would act like a bullet-proof vest, dispersing the force of the arrow and probably stopping it from penetrating. For simplicity, I chose to use only silk. An unfinished project of mine is to test the theory on a silk-covered Roman scutum, helped by re-enactors who use such recurved bows. The long spears used against the heavy cavalry did exist, and were used successfully against Parthian cataphracts by Roman armies in the third century AD.

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 beginning of The Forgotten Legion). But if those described in Chinese records were Roman legionaries, they would by then have been old men, for it is known that many of Crassus’ soldiers were veterans of the campaign against Mithridates in the 60s BC, and the Chinese description dates from 36 BC. However, the Sogdians and the Scythians were definitely peoples that the Forgotten Legion could have encountered. The Scythians’ practices of beheading, skinning and scalping their enemies are well recorded, as are their penchants for warfare, red (presumably chestnut) horses and poison arrows. I could not resist setting the final battle against the Indians on the banks of the River Hydaspes. This was the site for one of Alexander the Great’s most famous victories, against a superior force which included over a hundred elephants. Although there is no evidence for the encounter described in The Silver Eagle, it could have happened. Invading tribes were sweeping through the area at roughly this time. The practice of coating pigs in grease and setting them alight to frighten elephants is recorded. So too is the use of elephants in ‘musth’ (when bulls are much more aggressive, and liquid streams down the sides of their faces), and of feeding them alcohol before battle.

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 Hannibal’s crossing of the Rhone when referring to the transports used for elephants.

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 manner, without too many errors. For those that might be present, I apologise.

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.