Carrhae (74 page)

I embraced him and then Byrd. ‘You two take care of yourselves and don’t try any heroics.’

‘I too old for that,’ said Byrd.

‘I’m not,’ grinned Malik, who looked around. ‘This mist will soon clear. It is going to be a hot day.’

Byrd hoisted himself into his saddle. ‘For some their last. We will return, Pacorus.’

He raised a hand and then wheeled his horse away, followed by Malik and the other scouts, all of them disappearing into the grey mist as they rode west.

The camp became a hive of activity, squires serving their masters meals as they too took the opportunity to fill their bellies with cured meat, biscuits and dried dates, all washed down with tepid water. Each cataphract had two squires and after their meals one youth would saddle his master’s horse and fit it with the scale armour that covered its body, neck and head while the other would assist his master in putting on his scale armour and fixing his mace and axe on the front horns of his saddle. As well as these weapons each of my heavy horseman was armed with a sword made from the Indus steel, a dagger and the mighty
kontus
.

An hour after dawn, mist still clinging obstinately to the landscape, the companies of cataphracts and horse archers filed out of camp at a leisurely pace. Behind them came the beasts of the camel train loaded down with spare weapons and arrows and behind them the squires on their horses leading camels packed with tents, cooking utensils, tools, spare clothing and armour.

As it was still cool every horse archer and cataphract wore his white cloak, while the cloaks of the soldiers of Gordyene were grey. It was eerily quiet, which together with the mist made everyone nervous. Vagises threw out two companies of horse archers as an advance guard and two companies on each flank as we peered into the greyness. After half an hour of slow progress I called a halt to wait for the sun to burn away the vapour. Better that than horses and men falling into a wadi or other unseen natural feature.

Finally the sun, a pale yellow ball, burnt away the mist and we commenced our march, everyone still wearing their cloaks as it was still unusually cool, compounded by an easterly breeze that blew in our faces. The terrain around us was mostly flat save for a few isolated hillocks, giving excellent all-round views. The mood became more relaxed as we trotted west, secure in the knowledge that the enemy would not surprise us in this open ground. Everyone still had their cloaks wrapped round them as Vagises sent out half-companies ahead to search for our scouts who were beyond the horizon.

I rode between Gallia and Surena, Vagharsh and Surena’s standard bearer riding directly behind us, their flags encased in wax sleeves, and behind them the Amazons leading the cataphracts. Dura’s horse archers formed the head of the column and those of Gordyene behind them, with the camel train grouped in the rear, along with Dura’s squires. As the morning wore on the wind increased to kick up dust that enveloped the column. The temperature was rising but in an effort to keep out the dust the cataphracts put on their full-face helmets and everyone else wrapped scarves around their faces. No one discarded his or her cloaks.

Then, suddenly, the wind ceased and the dust abated as the sun beat down on us from a clear sky. We halted and shook the dirt from our cloaks and took the opportunity to drink from our water bottles. It was mid-morning now and I could at last feel the sun warming my body. I patted Remus on the neck. I had decided to wear my leather cuirass and not my scale armour today – there would be no mass charges against the Romans. The cataphracts were in their armour to protect the other horsemen from any attacks from Roman cavalry, nothing more.

We continued the march but had not advanced two miles when a dozen horse archers came galloping towards us with Byrd and Malik in tow. They careered to a stop in front of us as I gave the order for another halt.

Byrd raised his hand. ‘Romani horsemen approaching, five miles to west.’

‘How many?’ I asked.

‘About a hundred,’ replied Malik, ‘but there are other groups of Roman horsemen scouting to the north and south.’

‘We will continue our advance,’ I said.

Byrd and Malik fell in beside Gallia as I saw a dust cloud ahead and knew it presaged enemy horsemen. I gave the order for the cataphracts to deploy into line and called forward Vagises.

‘Bring in all your outriders,’ I told him, ‘we do not want to frighten off the Romans.’

As he rode away to send couriers forward to bring back his scouting parties more of Byrd’s men rejoined us. I sent word to the cataphract company commanders for their men to continue wearing their cloaks, which would hide their scale armour.

‘I do not understand,’ said Surena.

‘In this sun the light will reflect off the steel on scale armour,’ I replied, ‘thereby alerting our Roman friends that we have heavy horsemen. That might deter them from assaulting us, which we do not want. With any luck Crassus might be tempted to send his horsemen against us, which we can then destroy.’

But as Vagises’ men returned to the ranks and we continued to trot west the dust cloud in front of us disappeared as the Roman horsemen returned to their commander. After an hour Byrd and Malik once again took their men ahead to discern the Romans’ movements.

‘It looks like there will be no fighting today,’ I announced. ‘The Romans will withdraw back to camp and Crassus will ponder his next move. But at least we know where he is and can shadow him from now on.’

It was getting very warm and so I gave the order that the heavy horsemen could take off their cloaks and also reform into column. They did so and also removed their helmets but they still sweated in their scale armour. The pace was no quicker than a slow walk to save the horses and I was considering ordering a halt when Byrd and Malik returned, their horses sweating and breathing heavily.

‘Crassus approaches,’ said Byrd, his face partly covered by a headscarf.

‘He has crossed the Balikh River,’ continued Malik.

‘Crassus is leading his horsemen?’ I asked with disbelief. Perhaps they were referring to his son, Publius.

Byrd shook his head. ‘Whole Romani army come, spread across plain in a long line.’

‘Horsemen on the wings and the foot in the centre,’ said Malik.

‘The Romans will not fight today, Byrd,’ said Gallia, ‘Pacorus has assured us all they will not, thus kindly go and ask them to return to camp.’

Surena burst out laughing and Vagises smiled.

‘Very humorous,’ I said.

‘What do you want to do?’ asked Vagises.

It was now midday and the sun was at its height roasting everything below. But the men were fully armed and in the saddle and the enemy were only a few miles distant.

‘We might entice their horsemen away from the main body yet,’ I said, ‘where they can be whittled down by our horse archers. We advance.’

But first we halted as officers once again deployed the cataphracts in a long line of two ranks and the horse archers took up position behind them. Surena rode off to take command of his men while Vagises rode at the head of his troops, the drivers of the camel train marshalling their beasts to stay close to their designated companies of horse archers. In total there were ninety one-hundred-man companies of these, each one served by twelve camels loaded with full quivers of arrows. We had an abundance of the latter but I gave orders that the archers were not to be wasteful in their shooting – we might be battling Crassus for many days and would therefore require every missile.

‘And that goes for the Amazons,’ I told Gallia who was securing the straps of her helmet’s cheekguards under her chin.

‘You are becoming very bossy in your old age,’ she said. ‘In any case my women always hit what they aim at.’

‘That may be, but you and they will remain with me today.’

She turned to Zenobia. ‘He’s frightened that all those hairy arsed Roman soldiers will rape him.’

Vagharsh laughed aloud.

‘Is there any hope that you might one day respect your king and lord high general of the empire?’ I remarked sarcastically.

‘Not much,’ he replied.

With the squires trailing well to the rear our outnumbered forces trotted towards the enemy who now filled the horizon: a great line of black shapes slowly getting larger as the range between the two sides decreased. As Gallia and I rode forward the cataphracts put on their helmets to present an inhuman visage of steel to the enemy and then brought down their lances to grip them with both hands lest the Roman horsemen suddenly charged us.

For a third time Byrd and Malik left us to gallop ahead as Vagharsh unfurled my banner and the red griffin spread its wings. I felt a sense of elation sweep through me as I turned to look left and right to see a thousand of the empire’s finest horsemen break into a canter as we closed to within half a mile of the Romans.

I drew my
spatha
and peered ahead and saw that the Roman line was shortening. What trickery was this?

‘They are forming square,’ shouted Gallia, reading my thoughts.

I could discern trumpet blasts now and see Roman soldiers running back towards their centre as the horsemen on the flanks disappeared. I was tempted to order a halt and then a withdrawal as we would not be able to break the Roman square and at this very moment the enemy might be setting up their ballista to shoot at our horsemen. But then Surena appeared by my side. He too could see that the Romans had formed a square.

‘Let my archers attack them, lord,’ he begged, his eyes aflame with excitement.

‘They may have ballista,’ I cautioned.

‘If they do then we will withdraw, but they are stationary and we are mobile and should take advantage of the enemy’s mistake.’

He was right, of course. ‘Very well, Surena, may Shamash go with you.’

He smiled and peeled away as we continued to canter towards what was now a huge hollow square of locked Roman shields. As we neared the enemy I noticed a hillock on the right and gave the order for the cataphracts to make for it. I heard a succession of horn blasts behind me and the heavy horsemen slowed and then changed direction to head for the hillock, while six thousand of Surena’s men spread into line and prepared to engulf the Roman square.

We rode to the hillock where the horsemen thrust the butt spikes of their lances into the earth, shoved back their helmets on the top of their heads and watched the spectacle unfolding before them. Vagises arrayed his dragons of archers into three groups to the north, east and south of the square, well out of the range of any ballista bolts. He then rode with a company to join me on the hillock as Surena’s horsemen swarmed round the square like angry hornets. The air was filled with a constant hissing noise as if a giant snake was above us as Gordyene’s men shot at the enemy.

‘I don’t see many saddles being emptied,’ he remarked.

‘Perhaps they have no ballista or have left them in camp,’ I said.

The companies of horsemen from Gordyene continue to rake the sides of the Roman square with arrows, loosing some at the locked shields but most over the heads of the legionaries, hoping to hit unprotected heads and torsos of Syrian auxiliaries taking cover behind them. Judging by the size of our own squares that we had formed in training and on the battlefield I estimated that each side the square in front of me was made up of twelve cohorts – around six thousand men – which meant that inside the square were a further twenty-eight thousand men, including horsemen.

A group of horsemen galloped towards us, the silver lion banner of Gordyene fluttering behind its king. Surena brought his horse to a halt and raised his hand in salute.

‘No ballista, lord,’ he grinned. ‘The Romans are standing there like dumb animals.’

Vagises pointed past him. ‘Not all of them.’

Surena turned in the saddle as the cohorts on the north side of the Roman square parted and hundreds of horsemen and foot soldiers flooded onto the plain.

‘Syrian auxiliaries,’ I said.

Crassus was no fool and knew that his legionaries could not get to grips with our light horsemen, but his similarly armed and equipped Syrian horse archers were ideal for dispersing the hundreds of enemy horsemen who were loosing missiles at his square. And so the legionaries moved aside to allow his Syrians to attack Surena’s men. The horse archers thundered out of the square shooting their bows and immediately emptied dozens of saddles as their arrows hit both men and horses, the latter rearing up in pain before collapsing on the ground and writhing around in agony. And behind the Syrian horsemen came foot archers in light brown tunics, red leggings and wearing helmets, who sprinted in all directions, shooting more arrows at Surena’s horsemen. Accompanying them were spearmen on foot who wore white tunics, white leggings and carried large, round wooden shields along with their short stabbing spears. Groups of spearmen followed the foot archers as the Syrians on horseback chased after Surena’s men.

But the soldiers of Gordyene were well trained to deal with enemy attacks and they instinctively retreated out of the way of the Syrians, galloping away from the square and shooting arrows over the hind quarters of their horses at their adversaries as they did so. The Syrians, having seen how their charge had easily scattered the Parthians, gave chase in expectation of hunting down and slaying their prey. But they knew little of Parthian tactics.

The Syrian archers galloped directly north straight into a hail of arrows shot by the dragon of Duran horse archers that was positioned in front of them. Discovering this large body of horsemen the Syrians came to a halt, to be attacked on both flanks and in the rear by Surena’s returning soldiers. Having a short time before been pursuing a seemingly defeated enemy, the Syrians now found themselves under a deluge of arrows as Surena’s soldiers shot the densely packed Syrian block of horsemen to pieces. Having far outpaced their supporting foot soldiers, the Syrians had no answer to the rapid, accurate shooting that Surena’s men subjected them to and soon individuals were fleeing for their lives, attempting to escape from the trap they had unwittingly galloped into. The majority failed to do so.