Dura’s territory extended south of the city for a distance of a hundred miles and after that came the empty vastness of the Arabian desert; an endless wilderness of sand that the Agraci called the Rub’al-Khali, the Empty Quarter; yet it was far from empty. It was home to the Agraci and the striped hyena, jackal, honey badger, sand gazelle and white oryx. Within Dura’s borders the land next to the Euphrates was fully irrigated and cultivated, but as we marched beyond my kingdom’s southern border the land turned into a red sand wasteland with great sandstone plateaus in the distance. It was as if we had entered a land devoid of life. On the fifth day, however, a group of Agraci riders joined us; black-clad figures mounted on camels armed with long spears. They were led by the hulking figure of Yasser, one of Haytham’s chiefs I had met when the king had brought his army to face Pompey. The day was waning when he and his men appeared and so we invited him to stay with us for the night.
Gallia and I entertained him in my command tent, along with Byrd, Malik, Orodes, Nergal and Domitus. Gallia sat next to Yasser flattering and teasing the grizzled old warrior. His previous suspicion of us seemed to have evaporated, though he saw no reason for our fortified camp.
‘Haytham rules all this land, there is no enemy here.’
‘We have our procedures, Yasser,’ I said, ‘we stick to what is tried and tested.’
‘You march to make war on Mesene?’ he winked at Gallia.
‘You are well informed,’ I replied.
He smiled. ‘We knew that you would strike at Mesene as soon as you had defeated its army.’
‘You approve of my course of action?’
‘Of course, you cannot allow Chosroes to live after such base treachery.’
‘We do not go to kill Chosroes, Yasser,’ said Gallia, ‘we go to show him that Dura is not a toy to be played with.’
I said nothing but Yasser caught my eye and smiled knowingly. I also saw Domitus smile to himself.
Yasser accompanied us south to the ford across the Euphrates some fifty miles from Uruk. Of the enemy we saw nothing, though Yasser told me that after his losses at Dura Chosroes would have few soldiers left.
‘Prince Malik told us of the great fires that were used to turn the dead Mesenians into ashes.’
‘My men counted near nine thousand enemy dead,’ I said.
‘I doubt that there are any soldiers left in Uruk,’ was Yasser’s approving comment.
The next day I summoned Surena to my tent.
‘I want you to ride south to your people and spread the word that the time of Chosroes is over,’ I told him. ‘Take a company of horse archers and recruit any who can carry a weapon. You can start by enlisting that little group of bandits that you belonged to. Bring any that join you north to link up with the army at Uruk.’
Surena was shocked. ‘They will be slaughtered, lord. My people have no weapons aside from what they have taken from the enemy.’
‘I know this, Surena. But it is not my intention to get your people killed.’
‘I do not understand, lord.’
‘Neither do I,’ added Domitus, who was seated nearby.
‘It is quite simple,’ I said. ‘If Chosroes learns that the marsh people are in revolt, he will send troops to crush them. But we will intercept them before they reach your people, Surena. Yasser is wrong when he states that Chosroes has no troops left, so I want to entice some of them out of Uruk where they can be dealt with in the open.’
When Surena had left I called together Nergal and Orodes and worked out how we would spring our trap. I sent Byrd and Malik ahead to scout the land and ensure that there were no enemy forces approaching our location, which was still on the west bank of the Euphrates. We had actually marched south of the Mesenian capital to reach the ford.
At night we set no fires, which meant the men grumbled, wrapped their cloaks around them and chewed on cold food. Their moaning was a small price to pay for our veil of secrecy. For the fires of twenty thousand men would be seen for miles, even by the sentries on the high walls of Uruk. Five days after Surena had left, Byrd and Malik returned to inform me that a large group of marsh people had left the safety of their watery domain and were heading north as requested.
‘They have a collection of old shields, spears, a few swords and long knives,’ said Malik with disdain.
‘They no soldiers,’ added Byrd.
‘That is our job,’ I said.
I told them to return to Surena and inform him that he would be receiving reinforcements shortly, but that he must keep heading in the direction of Uruk. I then ordered Domitus to send two cohorts to support Surena. Domitus was most unhappy.
‘I thought we were here to take Uruk.’
‘And so we are, Domitus.’
‘Then why are we wasting two cohorts of good men playing nursemaid to a bunch of vagrants?’
‘I too do not understand,’ said Orodes.
‘Listen, my friends,’ I replied. ‘Chosroes hates the marsh people, so when he learns that they are marching on his capital he will send troops to destroy them. Only when he does, they will be running into a trap.’
‘If he’s got wind that we are here,’ replied Domitus, ‘he’ll barricade himself inside his city and won’t take the bait.’
Domitus, as ever, saw everything in purely military terms, and he was right. Having lost the majority of his army in a recent battle no commander would further weaken his forces on dispersing a band of marsh people. But I knew that Chosroes despised the Ma’adan and would relish the opportunity to slaughter them. In any case, as far Chosroes was concerned Dura’s army was still in its homeland. My gamble paid off, for Byrd and Malik brought news that a body of horsemen had indeed left Uruk and were riding south to intercept Surena. Chosroes had no system of forts such as existed in Hatra, to pass on information to neighbouring strongholds or watchtowers. Sitting in his capital he was effectively blind.
Mesene is mostly flat, with a highly cultivated strip on the eastern side of the Euphrates, extending inland for a distance of around two miles. As in Hatra there is also another belt of rich agricultural land on the other side of the kingdom, along the River Tigris. Byrd and Malik had reported that there was little activity on the opposite side of the river, no doubt because many of the farmers who had worked the land had been killed at Dura. Their families must have taken refuge in Uruk. It was now time for us to cross the river.
As the Euphrates begins the final leg of its long journey before it enters the Persian Gulf, the depth of the river lessens and there are many fords that will allow an army to cross. Nevertheless, it took two days to transport the men and beasts and the hundreds of wagons over to the other side. Nergal sent parties of horsemen many miles ahead of the crossing to ensure that we were not surprised, but there were no hostile moves against us. When everything and everyone was across the river, Domitus made camp and I rode with Orodes at the head of five hundred cataphracts and their squires to intercept and destroy the Mesenians who had been sent from Uruk. We rode across cultivated land and then arid, featureless desert as we headed south. At midday on the second day of our journey we saw a great dust cloud on the horizon — we had found the enemy.