‘Quite simple. The Euphrates shall define the boundary between the empires of Rome and Parthia in perpetuity, and Armenia will no longer be a client state of Rome but will be independent, free to make its own destiny.’
She sighed. ‘Even after all these years you still know so little of the Romans.’
‘I do not understand.’
She tilted her head and looked at me lovingly. ‘To you preservation is everything — preserving Hatra, preserving the empire and the ways of your father and grandfather.’
‘What is wrong with that?’
‘Nothing, absolutely nothing, but to the Romans it is anathema. Rome desires to rule the whole world and subjugate all the peoples who live in it to its rule, and it will not rest until it has done so. Twenty years ago we escaped Italy and came to Parthia, and now we sit round a fire after having fought another Roman army, just as we did when we were with Spartacus all those years ago.’
‘Are you suggesting I should march against Rome?’ I asked half-seriously.
She sighed. ‘I am saying that it a waste of time talking to Crassus. He will say anything to secure his escape, and once he is back in Syria will raise a new army to satisfy his thirst for conquest.’
I leaned across and put my arm around her. ‘I think you will find that he will be more than willing to talk to me tomorrow, my sweet.’
But Gallia was right and Crassus stole a march on me, leaving Carrhae as I sat on a stool talking to my wife by a fire.
It was two hours after dawn the following day when I learned from Malik that Crassus had left the town, along with what remained of his army. Byrd and their men had been scouting the area north and west of Carrhae when they witnessed three columns of legionaries leave the town and head towards the foothills of the mountains. My heart sank as I realised that Crassus was on the verge of making good his escape.
I hurriedly saddled Remus and collected together five hundred horse archers, the Amazons and a further thousand of Surena’s men and rode with him and them north. We skirted Carrhae and headed north towards the foothills of the mountains. We left Vagises behind with orders to allocate guards to watch the prisoners, distribute the camel train’s remaining spare arrows among the horse archers and then bring them and the cataphracts north to scour the area.
I cursed my luck as Remus galloped among the scrub and I searched for Crassus. In front of us were the hills of Sinnaca, an area of thick woods, steep slopes and rocky paths, country that was ideal for travel on foot and for eluding horsemen. If Crassus had managed to reach the hills the game was up and he would be back in Syria in two days. A mile north of Carrhae we encountered Byrd and a dozen of his scouts, one of whom was riding a donkey.
‘This is Abgarus, a cousin of Andromachus,’ reported Byrd. ‘He inform me of whereabouts of Crassus.’
I closed my eyes and thanked Shamash for this miracle. The man on a donkey was an unprepossessing sight, with straggly long hair and a lazy left eye. Nevertheless, if accurate his information was invaluable.
The man smiled as Vagises arrived at the head of two companies of horsemen to swell our force.
‘You saw Crassus?’ I asked.
He shook his head. ‘No, lord.’
I gripped my reins tightly in frustration. ‘Then how do you know where he is?’
He smiled submissively again. ‘I saw three groups leave Carrhae last night, lord, but only one contained lictors.’
Surena was confused. ‘Lictors?’
‘Special Roman administrators in plain white togas,’ I told him. ‘On their left shoulders they carry bundles of vine rods bound together by red bands from which an axe head protrudes. These rods are emblems of Roman unity and power but, more importantly, they escort Rome’s consuls and governors on their journeys, the bearers acting as bodyguards.’
‘These lictors half a mile away,’ said Byrd, ‘in a marsh.’
I smiled at Abgarus. ‘My thanks to you. How can I reward you?’
‘I have lived in Carrhae all my life, lord, and made a good living until the Romans came and brought with them their taxes. Now I live in penury.’
From his appearance I knew he was telling the truth.
‘Their expulsion from Carrhae will be reward enough.’
Byrd thanked him and tossed him a bulging leather pouch. Abgarus’ eyes lit up when he looked at the contents and began whistling as he tapped the donkey on the flank and rode back down the road to Carrhae. I had a feeling that he was poor no longer.
Byrd led the way as we left the road and headed in a southeasterly direction, riding over slightly undulating ground towards the hills of Sinnaca. The scrub was getting thicker now with small groups of oak and almond trees dotting the landscape. Byrd slowed his horse as a great expanse of marshland loomed into view, a lush green area of reeds, grasses and low-growing shrubs. The Romans were in the process of extricating themselves from this wetland, to head for the steep slopes of the hills that rose up on our left.
‘Why would they enter such terrain?’ asked Gallia.
‘Get lost in dark,’ replied Byrd, ‘no moon last night.’
Our attention was diverted from the Romans in front of us by the sound of trumpets and I saw a second Roman force appear from those hills and began descending the slope. I estimated their strength to be four cohorts as they marched slowly down the hill to place themselves between Crassus and us.
Surena drew his sword and pointed it forward to signal the advance to his officers behind. We had perhaps two thousand horse archers to throw against two thousand Romans rapidly descending the hill to face us, plus perhaps another three thousand under Crassus. The ground was covered in bushes and we were on the edge of a marsh, which meant we would not be able to outflank the enemy, with the wetlands on one wing and the hills on the other. We would have to charge straight at the Romans, who even though were tired, hungry and deficient in weaponry would still be able to lock shields and halt our advance. We might be able to stand off and shoot down their front ranks but Crassus could still escape into the hills.
‘Surena,’ I said, ‘we cannot destroy them.’
He held up his hand to stay his officers and then turned in the saddle to look at me.
‘We have them, lord. One more charge and we will rid the world of Crassus.’
I smiled though I could have wept. ‘We cannot outflank them and our horse archers are already low on ammunition. After they have used up all their arrows they will not be able to cut their way through ten ranks or more of legionaries.’
‘My other horse archers and your cataphracts will be here soon,’ he insisted, ‘we can hold the enemy’s attention until they arrive.’
I admired his tenacity but the thickening ranks of Romans in front told me our efforts would be futile. Whoever commanded the group of legionaries that had been on the hillside had not only saved Crassus but also his campaign. Now he would escape into the hills, return to Syria and raise another army. I suddenly felt tired and old as the fruits of our great victory withered before my eyes.
‘What now?’ asked Vagises as Surena slammed his sword back in its scabbard in frustration.
‘We watch the Romans withdraw up the hillside,’ I said.
The enemy force that had descended the slope to face us was now fully deployed and presented a shield wall to deter our arrows, with the ranks behind holding their shields above their heads to defeat our missiles. Remus scraped at the ground as more and more of Surena’s horse archers swelled our ranks. It made no difference: we could have fifty thousand men and would still not be able to break the enemy before Crassus escaped. Then I saw a handful of white-robed individuals scrambling up the steep grassy slope and knew they were the lictors, which told me that the governor was with them, though I could not identify him.
I pointed at the small white figures ascending the hill. ‘You see those men wearing white, they are the lictors and Crassus is with them.’