Fire in the East (58 page)

Introductions to the history of the Sassanid (or Sasanid, or Sassanian, or Sasanian) dynasty can be found in E. Yarshater (ed.),
The Cambridge History of Iran, volume 3 (1): The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian Periods
(Cambridge, 1983, 116-77), R. N. Frye,
The History of Ancient Iran
(München, 1984, 287- 339); and P. Garnsey and A. Cameron (eds.),
The Cambridge Ancient History,
vol. XII (2nd edn 2005, 461-80, by R. N. Frye).

For an overview of the military practices of the Sassanids, see Michael Whitby, ‘The Persian King at War’, in E. Dabrowa (ed.),
The Romanand Byzantine Army in the East
(Cracow, 1994), 227-63. D. Nicolle,
Sassanian Armies: The Iranian Empire: Early 3rd to Mid-7th Centuries AD
(Stockport, 1996) is a splendidly illustrated guide designed for a non-specialized readership. Some of Nicolle’s attributions of images are corrected by St. J. Simpson in a review in
Antiquity
71 (1997, 242-5).

Two well-written and enjoyable ways into Roman paganism are R. MacMullen,
Paganism in the Roman Empire
(New Haven and London, 1981) and R. Lane Fox,
Pagans and Christians
(Harmondsworth, 1986, 7-261).

We have no literary sources to tell us the religious views of an Anglo-Saxon nobleman in the mid-third century AD, so I have drawn material from earlier - Tacitus’s
Germania,
written in AD98 - and later - using both
Beowulf,
composed some time between c. AD680 and 800, and the even later Norse Sagas. For the latter two my guides have been Kevin Crossley-Holland’s wonderful books
The Anglo-Saxon World
(Woodbridge, 1982) and
The Penguin Book of Norse Myths: Gods of the Vikings
(London, 1993). M. P. Speidel’s provocative
Ancient Germanic Warriors: Warrior Styles from Trajan’s Column to Icelandic Sagas
(London and New York, 2004) suggests that such a ‘long view’ has some scholarly credibility.

As with paganism, the two most enjoyable works that I know to begin the study of early Christianity are written by Ramsay MacMullen
(Christianizing the Roman Empire (AD100-400)
, New Haven, 1984) and Robin Lane Fox
(Pagans and Christians,
Harmondsworth, 1986, 7-231; 263-681).

A very brief introduction to Zoroastrianism under the Sassanids is given by R. N. Frye in
The Cambridge Ancient History
(eds. P. Garnsey and A. Cameron, vol. XII 2nd edn, Cambridge, 2005, 474-9). A rather more detailed introduction is J. Duchesne-Guillemin, ‘Zoroastrian Religion’, in E. Yarshater (ed.),
The Cambridge History of Iran: volume 3(2): The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian Periods
(Cambridge, 1983, 866-908).

While Zoroastrianism seems to have been rather more tolerant under Shapur I than is suggested here, the alert reader will have noted that the main characters’ impressions of the religion are totally derived from the views of just one Persian, Bagoas, and Ballista comes to suspect that Bagoas is something of a fanatic.

Based on profound knowledge of the classical sources, J. P. V. D. Balsdon,
Life and Leisure in Ancient Rome
(London, 1969, 17-81), is a superb guide to the ways the Romans thought about time and passed their days. There is no better introduction to Roman social life in general.

Unlike English, Greek and Latin were inflected languages (i.e. the endings of words changed with their case or tense). After some thought and discussion I decided that to mirror this in this novel (e.g.
Dominus
changing to
Domine, Dominum,
etc., depending on its role in a sentence) would be a scholarly affectation which would irritate many English-speaking readers. The only exception to this is the plural (thus a siege engine, a
ballista,
becomes
ballistae
when there is more than one).

Any historical novelist who claims to have used only contemporary sources and modem scholarship is lying. All historical novelists read other historical novelists. In each novel in this series it is a joy to include homages to a few of those novelists whose work has greatly influenced me and given me a lot of pleasure.

The late Mary Renault should need no introduction. Bagoas is named after the hero of her novel
The Persian Boy
(London, 1972).

Mystifyingly, Cecelia Holland seems little read on this side of the Atlantic. Maximus’s original name, Muirtagh of the Long Road, is a combination of two of her heroes, Muirtagh from
The Kings in Winter
(London, 1967) and Laeghaire of the Long Road from
The Firedrake
(London, 1965).

The Anglo-Saxon poetry from his youth that comes into the mind of Ballista, of course, is
Beowulf.
The translation used here is that of Kevin Crossley-Holland,
The Anglo-Saxon World
(Woodbridge, 1982, 139).

The ‘Persian poems’ sung by Bagoas are (gloriously anachronistic) quatrains from Edward FitzGerald,
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
(ist edn, 1859).

When Acilius Glabrio and Demetrius quote sections of Ovid,
The Art of Love,
the translation is that of Peter Green in the Penguin Classics
Ovid: The Erotic Poems
(Harmondsworth, 1982).

The translation of the
Iliad
of Homer is that of Robert Fagles in the Penguin Classics (New York, 1990).

As with all first novels, the list of people whom I have to thank is long. First, my family. My wife, Lisa, for looking after our sons, Tom and Jack, and keeping some normalcy and contemporary fun in our lives when I have been living so much in an imaginary version of the third century AD. My mother, Frances, and my aunt, Terry, for their wonderful faith in the idea and for taking on the roles of tireless unpaid publicity agents. Then, colleagues and friends: Maria Stamatopoulou at Lincoln College, Oxford, and John Eidinow at Greyfriars Hall and St Benets Hall, Oxford, for helping me find the time away from teaching to write the novel. All my students at Oxford - especially Vicky Buckley, Ed Maclennan and Mohan Rao, who managed to take excellent degrees, despite their tutorials often turning into extended discussions of historical fiction. Simon Swain of the University of Warwick for checking the Historical Afterword and the Glossary for any really awful mistakes. Anne Marie Drummond, Senior Tutor at Lincoln College, Oxford, and Michael Farley of Woodstock Marketing, for providing me with two ideal refuges in which to write the thing. All my friends in Woodstock for their encouragement - especially Jeremy Tinton. Last, but crucial, Jim Gill, my agent at United Agents, and Alex Clarke, my editor at Penguin - I could not hope to have a better team around me.

 

Harry Sidebottom
Woodstock

The definitions given here are geared to
Fire in the East.
If a word has several meanings only that or those relevant to this novel tend to be given.

 

Accensus:
The secretary of a Roman governor or official.

Adventus:
An arrival; the formal ceremony of welcome of a Roman emperor or high official.

Agger:
Latin term for a siege ramp.

Agora:
Greek term for a marketplace and civic centre.

Agrimensores:
Roman land surveyors.

Ahriman:
In Zoroastrianism, the evil one, a demon, the lie, the devil.

Alamanni:
A confederation of German tribes.

Angles:
A north German tribe, living in the area of modern Denmark.

Antoninianus,
plural
antoniniani:
A Roman silver coin.

Apodyterium:
Changing room of a Roman bath.

Archon:
A magistrate in a Greek city; in the fictional city of Arete the annual chief magistrate.

Auxiliary:
A Roman regular soldier serving in a unit other than a legion.

Bahram fires:
The sacred fires of Zoroastrian religion.

Ballista,
plural
ballistae:
A torsion-powered artillery piece; some shot bolts, others stones.

Ballistarius,
plural
ballistarii:
A Roman artilleryman.

Barbalissos:
A town on the Euphrates, scene of a defeat of the Roman army in Syria by Shapur I, probably in AD252.

Barbaricum:
Latin term for where the barbarians live, i.e., outside the Roman empire; in some ways seen as the opposite of the world of
humanitas,
civilization.

Barritus:
German war-cry, adopted by the Roman army.

Borani:
A German tribe, one of the tribes that made up the confederation of the Goths, notorious for their piratical raids into the Aegean.

Boukolos:
A Greek official supervising the entry and exit into a town of herds of animals.

Boule:
The council of a Greek city, in the Roman period made up of the local men of wealth and influence.

Bouleuterion:
The council house in a Greek city.

Bucinator:
A Roman military musician.

Caestus:
Roman boxing glove, sometimes with metal spikes.

Caldarium:
The hot room of a Roman bath.

Caledonia:
Modem Scotland.

Campus martius:
Literally Field of Mars, a Roman parade ground.

Cantabrian circle:
A Roman cavalry manoeuvre.

Caracallus:
A northern hooded cloak.

Carpi:
A barbarian tribe on the Danube.

Centuriation:
Roman system of marking out land in squares or rectangles.

Clibanarius,
plural
clibanarii:
heavily armed cavalryman; possibly derived from ‘baking oven’.

Cingulum:
A Roman military belt, one of the symbols that marked out a soldier.

Coele Syria:
Literally ‘Hollow Syria’, a Roman province.

Cohors:
A unit of Roman soldiers, usually about 500 men strong.

Cohors XX Palmyrenorum Milliaria Equitata:
A double-strength Roman auxiliary unit, consisting of about 1,000 men, part mounted, part infantry; historically part of the garrison of Dura-Europos; in
Fire in the East
part of the garrison of the city of Arete.

Commilitiones:
Latin term for
‘fellow soldiers’,
often used by commanders wishing to emphasize their closeness to their troops.

Concordia:
Latin term of harmony, concord; in
Fire in the East
the name of a Roman warship.

Conditum:
Spiced wine, sometimes served warm before dinner.

Consilium:
A council, or body of advisors, of a Roman emperor, official or elite private person.

Conticinium:
The still time of the day, when the cocks have stopped crowing but men are usually still asleep.

Contubernium:
A group of ten soldiers who share a tent; by extension ‘comradeship’.

Curule:
A chair adorned with ivory, the ‘throne’ that was one of the symbols of high Roman office.

Cursus publicus:
The imperial Roman posting service, whereby those with official passes,
diplomata,
would be given remounts.

Denarius:
A Roman silver coin.

Dignitas:
Important Roman concept which covers our idea of dignity but goes much further; famously, Julius Caesar claimed that his
dignitas
meant more to him than life itself.

Diplomata:
Official passes which allowed the bearer access to the
cursus publicus.

Disciplina:
Discipline; Romans considered that they had this quality and others lacked it.

Dominus:
Lord, Master, Sir; a title of respect (Latin).

Draco:
Literally a snake or dragon; name given to a windsock-style military . standard shaped like a dragon.

Dracontarius:
A Roman standard-bearer who carried a
draco.

Drafsh-i-Kavyan:
The battle standard of the Sassanid royal house.

Dromedarii:
Roman soldiers mounted on camels.

Dux Ripae:
The Commander, or Duke, of the Riverbanks; a Roman military officer in charge of the defences along the Euphrates river in the third century AD; historically based at Dura-Europos, in this novel based at Arete.

Elagabalus:
Patron god of the town of Emesa in Syria, a sun god, also name often given to one of his priests who became the Roman emperor formally known as Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (AD218-222).

Epotis:
The ‘ear timber’ of a
trireme
projecting out from the side of the vessel just behind the ram.

Equestrian:
The second rank down in the Roman social pyramid, the elite order just below the Senators.

Equites singulares:
Cavalry bodyguards; in Rome one of the permanent units protecting the emperors; in the provinces ad hoc units set up by military commanders.

Eupatrids:
From the Greek, meaning the ‘well-born’, aristocrats.

Exactor:
The accountant in a Roman military unit.

Familia:
Latin term for family, and by extension the entire household including slaves.

Franks:
A confederation of German tribes.

Frigidarium:
Cold room of a Roman bath.

Frumentarius,
plural
frumentarii:
They were a military unit based on the Caelian Hill in Rome; the emperors’ secret police; messengers, spies and assassins.