We clasped arms and then he marched off to organise the movement of thousands of men and animals. It would take about three hours for the camp to be dismantled and the tents and palisade stakes to be loaded onto wagons and mules and brought into the city. The squires would be earmarked for the menial tasks while the legions, horse archers and cataphracts marched by the city’s eastern wall to take up position beyond the northern gates. Hatra’s horsemen, meanwhile, would exit the city via the northern gates and join their Duran and Carmanian allies to await the Armenians.
I walked across the square to the steps that led to the entrance of the impressive colonnaded temple, its great bronze-faced doors positioned facing east to welcome the Sun God each day as He made another journey through the heavens. I walked through the doors and into the spacious, airy interior that was flooded with sunlight coming through the many high windows cut in the walls. White-robed priests moved across the white marble tiles in soft slippers in order to make as little noise as possible so as not to disturb the Sun God.
The temple was filled with the aroma of frankincense, which was burned every morning to purify its interior of any malign influences. In the middle of the day myrrh was burned to unite heaven and earth and in the evening the priests always burned kapet, a mixture of cedar bark, juniper berries, cinnamon, wine, honey, raisins, galangal, myrrh and benzoin, to purify the temple. I walked up the central aisle to where the high altar basked in bright sunlight. I took a seat and stared at the silver eagle that was laid before it, the eagle that I had taken all those years ago. As far as I knew it had not been touched since Assur had placed it there as an offering to Shamash, though I suspected that it had been dusted if not cleaned during the past twenty years, since it looked immaculate.
Though one or two priests moved silently around inside the cavernous structure it seemed as though I was alone before Shamash. I closed my eyes and prayed to Him — that He would grant our forces victory over the Armenians and deliver up this, His city, that He would look over and protect my mother and my family, and finally that He would safeguard the empire against its many enemies in its hour of need. I opened my eyes and saw a young girl standing in front of the altar. She wore a simple brown dress; her feet and her arms were bare. She had long black hair that cascaded down her back. She knelt down in front of the altar and extended her arm to touch the eagle.
‘Do not touch that,’ I ordered.
She withdrew her arm and got to her feet, then turned to face me. She had a pretty face with big brown eyes and a mischievous grin. She sauntered over and sat down beside me. She looked at the eagle.
‘Is it yours?’
‘No,’ I replied, ‘it belongs to the Sun God.’
‘Where is he?’
‘He is god; he is all around us.’
‘Why were you sitting with your eyes closed?’
‘I was praying in quiet contemplation,’ I replied. ‘You should try it.’
She looked at me with a quizzical expression. ‘What were you asking for?’
She was an irksome child. ‘Where are your parents?’
She looked at her bare feet. ‘Dead.’
‘I am sorry.’
She giggled. ‘Why? You did not know them. You have not answered my question.’
I sighed and looked around for someone to take the urchin away but could see no one. We were totally alone.
‘If you must know I was asking the Sun God to grant me victory.’
She began swinging her lower legs that dangled from her seat. ‘Victory over who?’
I smiled at her innocence. ‘The Armenians who are approaching the city.’
She suddenly jumped off her seat and ran over to the eagle and stood by it. ‘Where are the other eagles?’
‘Other eagles?’
‘Yes, the other eagles who look like this one.’
I was mildly surprised by this question to say the least but decided to indulge her infantile mind. Someone had obviously told her about the Romans. ‘They are gathering in the west.’
‘You will have to beat them as well and then you can place all seven eagles beside this one.’
I stood up as she once more knelt beside the Roman eagle. ‘How do you know this?’
She giggled. ‘Everyone knows that the Romans are invading Parthia just as they know that you will save the empire.’
At that moment the rays of the sun shone on the eagle and reflected into my eyes, temporarily blinding me. The girl giggled again.
‘You should have faith, son of Hatra.’
I moved aside and looked at the altar but there was no one there. I glanced left and right and then behind me but saw no one and heard only my own footsteps on the tiles as I searched the temple in vain for the girl. She was nowhere to be seen. I saw a priest and was about to question him regarding seeing the child but thought better of it. Perhaps the incense had befuddled my senses and I had dreamt the whole episode. And yet…
I left the temple and walked to the stables to collect Remus who had been brushed and was beginning to return to his original colour. Around me hundreds of squires were assisting their masters into their scale armour while others were encasing horses in thick hide covered with iron scales. Farriers were replacing horseshoes, veterinaries were examining horses and cataphracts were checking their weapons.
I mounted Remus and rode him from the royal quarter and out of the city via the eastern gates. I had to thread my way through a great press of camels that were being brought into Hatra as the caravan parks around it were emptied on Kogan’s orders. The Duran camp was likewise a hive of activity as legionaries gathered in their centuries and cohorts and horsemen in their companies and dragons. Already a long line of wagons was making its way to the city and mules were being loaded with equipment. It was very hot and already my silk vest under my tunic was drenched in sweat. For the cataphracts and their horses in their heavy armour it was far worse but at least they did not have the prospect of a long march ahead of them.
Most of the tents had been stashed on the wagons but Domitus’ command tent still stood and inside he and the others awaited me, the Amazons sitting on the ground around it waiting for their mistress. I dismounted, handed Remus’ reins to Zenobia, took off my helmet and went inside.
‘Ah, the priest returns,’ quipped Domitus. ‘We were beginning to think that you might sit out the battle in meditation.’
‘Very droll,’ I replied.
I looked at Malik and Byrd. ‘Get your scouts out to ensure the Armenians do not detach forces to sweep around our rear.’
They nodded and both left. I turned to Marcus.
‘Are your ballista ready?’
He smiled. ‘The crews are fully briefed.’
I turned to Vagises and Peroz. ‘Vagises, your horse archers will initially be deployed dismounted behind the first line cohorts. The Armenians will endeavour to smash our centre with their overwhelming numbers of foot. Three thousand archers shooting at them will hopefully diminish the force of their initial assault.’
‘What of my men, majesty?’ requested Peroz.
‘You, lord prince, will be positioned on the army’s left wing. King Gafarn will take up position on the right with his horse archers.’
An hour later I was mounted on Remus reiterating my battle plan with Vistaspa and Gafarn to the rear of the army that was waiting for the Armenian host. I suggested that Vistaspa take command of all the cataphracts that were grouped in two large blocks to the rear of our position, every man having planted the butt spike of his kontus in the hard earth and the Durans having shoved their full-face helmets up onto their heads. Vistaspa was most pleased by my suggestion but it made sense: of all of us he had the most experience and was respected by both Hatra’s élite horsemen and my own heavy cavalry.
‘That’s decided, then,’ I said happily.
The ground we would fight the battle on was ideal for horsemen, comprising largely flat terrain with the occasional depression or mound. In the spring rains there is a brief covering of young green grass but this quickly disappears to leave an environment as it appeared now: sun-roasted hard earth with a sprinkling of the only plants that can live in this harsh land — southernwood, wormwood and dragonwort. Domitus had positioned his legions so they faced northeast, which meant that the sun was behind his men’s’ backs as it began its slow descent in the west. We were around half of a mile from Hatra’s northern gates, allowing the army room for manoeuvre and also being close enough to provide an escape route back to the city should disaster befall us. The legions covered a frontage of a mile and either side of them each wing of horse archers presented a frontage of half a mile. Our battle line looked impressive but we were as thin as papyrus and everyone knew it.