‘He will be,’ I assured him, ‘for you have created the finest army that Parthia has ever known and its reputation and history will be lauded by generations of Parthians to come.’
Domitus looked at Scarab and then nodded towards me. ‘The king is such a dreamer.’
It took a month for the hill men to reach Dura — two thousand scruffy, poorly dressed and equipped men, many of whom had no footwear. They were led by Gourlay and escorted by five hundred of Orodes’ horse archers to ensure they did not indulge in rape and pillage on their journey. Most of them were armed with a variety of axes, spears and long knives and only Gourlay rode a horse, the same pitiful beast that he had ridden when he had escorted me to Zand’s village. It looked as though it was about to collapse and expire but it must have been hardier that I thought because it had survived the journey to Dura.
It stood next to Remus with Gourlay on its back as I inspected his ragged band the day after they had arrived at Dura. Domitus had insisted that the hill men be quartered in a tented compound erected ten miles south of the city. He did not want them in the city or the legionary camp but in their own enclosure where they could be more easily confined. He was mounted on my other side and wore an expression akin to a father who has just found out that his youngest daughter was pregnant by a travelling salesman. Nevertheless, Gourlay informed me that they were all single men in their late teens or early twenties who were eager to fight and kill so they could return to their tribe as great warriors. I kept silent regarding the fact that most of them would probably meet their deaths at the hands of Roman soldiers.
‘Miserable bunch,’ mumbled Domitus contemptuously, fortunately out of earshot of Gourlay.
‘You have done well, Gourlay,’ I said. ‘They are a fine group of young men.’
Domitus suppressed a laugh.
‘Thank you, majesty,’ said Gourlay. ‘All of them are eager to slit a few throats to show their keenness.’
‘I can believe that,’ muttered Domitus.
Marcus supplied their tents and cooking utensils and sent daily food deliveries to the new camp to bulk up the hill men, many of whom looked as though they had not eaten in weeks. And to prevent boredom setting in while I waited for Alexander to arrive from Judea, each morning they were taken out into the desert on a long route march. This caused an immense amount of grumbling among them at first, but their resentment was assuaged by what awaited them on their return. Domitus complained that I was indulging them but I believed that if they at least looked like soldiers then they might act like them and not a bunch of bandits. So they first received new tunics to replace the flea-infested rags they wore — which was another reason Domitus did not want them mixing with the rest of the army. Next they were issued with two thousand pairs of sandals, which they would need when they were in the barren, rocky hills of Judea.
Dura was fortunate in that its armouries not only produced weapons and armour but also contained equipment that had been captured from the enemy during the army’s campaigns. Thus I was able to issue the hill men with an assortment of helmets, spears and swords that gave them a more martial appearance. In addition, Gourlay selected a hundred of them who had experience of archery to be issued with bows and full quivers. An archery field was built near their camp and each day the bowmen practised shooting arrows at straw targets. A month after the hill men had arrived Alexander came to Dura.
Before I had left for Susa I had asked Aaron to write to Alexander to invite him to Dura where he would receive reinforcements. I gambled that as a Jewish patriot he would be eager to acquire reinforcements for the fight to free his homeland. I did not tell him that I was sending fighters to Judea purely for my own interests, but then Alexander would probably have guessed the motive behind my offer. But he came anyway.
Aaron rode with a party of horse archers to Palmyra to bring him back to Dura and when the party returned I had the army drawn up in front of the city in salute. Alexander Maccabeus may have been a fugitive living in the hills but he was still a prince of Judea and an enemy of Rome and that made him my friend and ally. The cataphracts wore their scale armour with pennants fluttering from every kontus; the colour parties of the Durans and Exiles stood to attention grouped round their sacred emblems; the legionaries had white plumes in their helmets and the mounted horse archers of Vagises and Peroz clutched their bows. Gallia was beside me with the Amazons behind in their full war gear as Aaron and Alexander rode up to us in front of the Palmyrene Gate.
The prince was riding a well-groomed brown mare and was wearing a rich white tunic edged with blue, blue leggings and leather boots. But as he halted his horse a few paces before me I was shocked by how he had aged. His shoulder-length hair was thinning and streaked with grey and there was grey in his beard. His cheeks were sunken and his brown eyes had a world-weary, haunted look about them — clearly the years of fighting the Romans and living in the hills had taken a great toll. When I had first met him I estimated his age to be similar to my own but now he looked like an old man.
‘Greetings, King Pacorus,’ he said. ‘Your army is a most impressive sight.’
‘Welcome to Dura, Prince Alexander,’ I replied, holding out a hand to Gallia. ‘This is my wife, Queen Gallia.’
He bowed his head to her solemnly and she returned the compliment.
‘You must be tired after your journey,’ I said to him, ‘but before we retire to the city I have something to show you.’
I raised my right arm and Gourlay and his hill men, who had been positioned behind the Exiles, marched forward towards the city gates. Alexander turned in his saddle as the fully armed hill men, organised into hundred-man companies, advanced and then halted two hundred paces from us. I had to admit that they looked very different from the threadbare wretches who had marched from the Zagros Mountains. Each warrior now wore a new tunic, a helmet on his head and sandals on his feet. A regular supply of wholesome food had bulked them up so they presented a threatening appearance. Alexander looked at them in confusion.
‘A gift from the Kingdom of Dura to the Jewish people,’ I said. ‘Soldiers for you to take back to Judea to continue the fight against the Roman occupiers.’
A broad grin spread over his face as he admired his new army.
‘You are most generous, majesty,’ he said.
‘Judea’s enemies are our enemies, Alexander, and Dura will never abandon its allies. These men will reinforce your own troops to allow you to take the fight to the enemy.’
He turned back to face me. ‘They will be most welcome for I have few soldiers of my own left.’
His careworn demeanour returned.
‘I hope Ananus and Levi are well,’ I said. They were two of Alexander’s lieutenants whom I had encountered in Judea.
‘They are both long dead,’ he said glumly.
We rode in silence through the city to the Citadel where Alexander was shown to his quarters in the palace. I had toyed with the idea of letting him stay with Aaron and Rachel but that may have been construed as a slight. I wanted to promote the perception that Alexander was a powerful ally rather than demean him, even if the truth was that he was currently no better than a hill man.
Alexander’s mood had improved by the time he attended the feast I gave in his honour at the palace that evening. He sat next to me on the top table along with Gallia, Miriam and Domitus and Aaron and Rachel. I had also invited a Jewish priest, a rabbi, who said prayers before we ate, and who stayed to partake of the lentil stew — a traditional Jewish dish — which the kitchens had prepared, along with roasted beef, goat and mutton. Two days later Alexander left Dura with Gourlay and his hill men, along with two hundred mules loaded with food, spare weapons, clothing and cloaks. After they had left I rode to the Palmyrene Gate, and standing next to the stone griffin I watched the column of men and animals disappear into the west. I prayed to Shamash that He would let the hill men taste victory before they died.