‘No,’ I replied. ‘I want you to attack the Roman supply lines once the main army has passed. They will establish fortified camps along their route of march to safeguard their lines of communications with Antioch. We offer no resistance until their main force has arrived before the walls of Dura, then I will send word for you to attack.’
‘Majesty,’ spoke one of the lords, a wiry man with a pointed jaw and eyes bereft of emotion, ‘you have your own legion, a formation bloodied in battle and undefeated. Why do you not use it against the Romans?’
‘I intend to,’ I said. ‘But I want the Romans to suffer a grievous defeat here, at Dura, one that will make them think twice before they invade my kingdom again and tangle with its lords.’
They growled their approval of my plan. A thin smile creased Domitus’ lips.
‘What about the citizens of the city?’ said Godarz. ‘If there is a siege they will eat up the food quicker than a plague of locusts strips a field of crops.’
‘Bring in as much food from the outlying areas, and purchase food from across the river. Once you have done so the city’s population will be evacuated across the river to Hatran territory. The city will be populated by its garrison only. The merchants and caravans will disappear quickly once they get wind that the Romans are approaching, so we will not have to worry about them.’
‘What about the workers living in tents to the north of the city?’ asked Rsan.
‘Pay off those who want to leave, the rest will go with the civilians. There are enough oases across the river to water a few thousand people until we can defeat the Romans and get them back to their homes. Godarz, you will have to organise tents to house the civilians.’
Godarz nodded. ‘We should have enough, though people won’t be happy about having to evacuate their homes.’
‘They will be happy enough when they know an enemy army is coming to kill or enslave them,’ I replied.
‘What of the army?’ queried Domitus.
‘It cannot remain in the city. Domitus, you will take the legion and the men from Pontus across the river and there wait for my orders. Nergal, you will do likewise with all the horse. Gallia and my daughter will be leaving for Hatra and will be escorted there by the Amazons.’
With hindsight it was foolish of me to presume that my wife would do as she was instructed. When roused to anger, her jaw set solid and her eyes burned with defiance. This was the visage that now confronted me.
‘The queen,’ she said slowly and deliberately, ‘will remain in Dura. She will not flee before a few Romans, to become a fugitive in her own kingdom.’
The lords rapped their knuckles on the table to indicate approval of her words, as did Nergal and Domitus. Godarz smiled wryly and Rsan looked helpless.
‘Silence!’ I shouted. I turned to Gallia. ‘Perhaps we should discuss this further in private.’
She raised an eyebrow at me. ‘Further discussion on the matter is useless. I and my daughter will be staying here. The day I flee from my home will be the day that the stone griffin on the gate flaps its wings and flies away.’
I decided that it was futile to argue further, and it was also unbecoming of a king to cross words with his queen in public.
That night I tried to convince Gallia to leave the city but she would have none of it.
‘But think of our daughter,’ I implored her, to no avail.
‘Stop whining, Pacorus. Our daughter is safe behind Dura’s walls. Have you not invested heavily in strengthening the city?’
‘Yes, but it’s not the same.’
Gallia held Claudia in her arms on the palace terrace, while Dobbai remained to one side observing us both.
‘Oh, Pacorus, the Romans will never breach these walls.’
‘I wish I could share your certainty.’
‘I have told her so,’ interrupted Dobbai, ‘and it will be so.’
I had to confess that the old woman’s words, irrational as it may seem, calmed my nerves and reassured me. So I said no more on the matter.
‘When the griffin no longer sits upon these walls,’ said Dobbai, ‘then Dura will fall, but not until then, and certainly will not fall to a red-haired manservant.’
She was speaking in riddles again but I was not listening to her words. There were things to attend to. As I left the palace the next morning to ride to the Palmyrene Gate, Praxima and the Amazons were striding up its steps and then disappearing into the interior. I shook my head. For individuals supposedly under my command they were a law unto themselves.
Domitus must have read my thoughts, because when I tethered Remus at the gatehouse and climbed the stone steps to the battlements my legion commander was already there. He stood beside the griffin talking to a dozen centurions, who snapped to attention when they saw me. I told them to carry on. I stood to one side listening to the words of Domitus. He was looking west, towards the legion’s camp and the vastness of the desert.
‘Now remember, they can only attack the walls from this direction. The wadis on the north and south sides of the city are too deep and their sides too steep for ladders or siege towers. And they can’t attack from the river because it’s a sheer cliff face. So that leaves the west.’ He gestured with his right arm at the area in front of the city.
‘Therefore this is the direction they will attack from. First of all they will line up every soldier they have in front of the city, like a giant parade, trying to intimidate you. Expect lots of flying flags, red cloaks and trumpets blasting. Then their commander will send an emissary to demand the city’s surrender. Governor Godarz will politely refuse. Resist the temptation to use the emissary for target practice. It is considered bad manners to kill messengers under a flag of truce. There will be time enough for killing. Besides, you need to conserve your missiles for later.’
‘Don’t give them any easy victories. Keep your men off the walls and inside the towers. Their slingers and archers will be hired professionals from Crete and Greece most likely, and they can shoot. So keep the walls clear until the fighting begins. And watch out for their ballista. They will use them against individual targets on the walls. Taking the head off some poor daydreaming sentry boosts the morale of the besiegers and reduces it among the garrison. Above all do not underestimate your enemy. The Romans have conquered half the world by being determined, disciplined and professional, and they know how to conduct a siege.
‘First they will try to soften you up with ballista, both to demoralise you and clear the walls of defenders. As they can’t storm the walls on the riverside, or to the north and south, they will concentrate their efforts here. But all the firing with engines, slingers and archers is just a preliminary to an assault, and again it will come from this direction. They may employ a battering ram to smash in the gates or build siege towers to storm the walls, or both. Either way they will not try to starve you out. They don’t know the size of the garrison, and in any case as far as they are concerned Dura is garrisoned by Parthians who don’t know how to defend a city. All this you can use to your advantage. And finally, remember that you are not alone. The army is just across the river. You are the bait, but you are not expected to fight the Romans on your own.
‘Dismissed.’
They saluted and left us, and I noticed that every one of them, now battle-hardened veterans, laid a hand on the griffin as they trooped away.
‘So,’ I said to Domitus, ‘the trap is set. Let us hope they take the bait.’
‘Oh, they’ll take it all right. You think Crassus is with them?’
‘I do not know. Byrd will tell us more when he returns.’
Domitus stared into the distance, across the yellow baked ground that had become his homeland.
‘You need to deal with the situation in the north, Pacorus. Otherwise there will be two Roman armies in Parthia, one on each side of the Euphrates.’