Gabinius tingled with excitement. Three thousand talents amounted to a hundred tons of gold. He licked his lips. A campaign in the east was suddenly very appealing.
‘I think, King Mithridates,’ replied Gabinius, ‘that you can look forward to being back on your throne very soon. All that remains is to finalise the details. I will send one of my officers to inform you of the date of our departure when all the arrangements have been made.’
The couriers broke into applause at this news while the queen laid a hand on her son’s arm and smiled at him. Mithridates raised a hand to still the noise.
‘You will not forget about King Pacorus?’ he said.
‘No, sir,’ replied Gabinius, ‘you can be certain that he is high on the list of my priorities.’
‘He needs to be dealt with,’ said Aruna.
‘He has a sorceress,’ added Mithridates seriously.
Mark Antony laughed and Gabinius bit his lip trying not to. These eastern types! How ridiculous they were in their brightly coloured robes with their long hair, beards and effeminate ways. No wonder Pompey had conquered this area with such ease.
The same fat courtier who had shown them into the room fussed around them as they took their leave of the royal guests. In the corridor outside Gabinius halted to question him.
‘What is your name?’
‘Ashlen, highness,’ replied the fawning courtier.
‘Who was that sour-faced young man dressed in the yellow tunic? He appears not to like Romans.’
Ashlen looked momentarily alarmed. ‘No, highness, not all at. That is Nicetas, highness, the youngest son of King Narses who was most tragically recently killed at Susa. He thirsts for revenge against King Pacorus.’
‘That is the second time we have heard that name today,’ commented Mark Antony.
Later that afternoon, after Gabinius had returned to his spacious villa, he relaxed on the balcony taking wine with his cavalry commander where they were joined by the tribune Marcus Roscius, one of the rising stars among his legionary officers. The mood of the proconsul had brightened considerably since earlier.
‘So this King of Dura Europos, this Pacorus, has been supplying weapons to the Jews,’ said Mark Antony.
Gabinius nodded. ‘It would appear so.’
‘Such a thing cannot go unpunished.’
He looked at Mark Antony, who was anticipating the prospect of war and glory with relish.
‘Before we embark on a war with the Parthians,’ said Gabinius, ‘we need to know more about our enemies. Marcus, you have travelled to Dura and met with this Pacorus. What are your impressions of him and his kingdom?’
‘The walls of his city are very strong, governor,’ replied Marcus.
‘Walls can be breached,’ sniffed Mark Antony dismissively.
‘He also has soldiers equipped like our own and there appear to be many of them,’ continued Marcus.
‘And what of the king himself, this Pacorus?’ pressed Gabinius.
‘We know that he was taken as a slave and shipped to Italy where he fought alongside Spartacus during the slave revolt,’ replied Marcus, ‘and that since his return to Parthia has won many battlefield victories. Many talk of his army with awe.’
Mark Antony waved a hand in the air. ‘Idle gossip for old women. We must bring him to account. The fact that has he been aiding the Jewish rebels is itself a declaration of war against Rome.’
Gabinius nodded. ‘It is as you say, Mark Antony. We cannot allow a foreign power to interfere in Rome’s affairs without punishment. As I was planning a strike against Palmyra anyway we will expand the area of operations to include the domain of King Pacorus, which with Palmyra will be absorbed into Roman Syria.’
‘And what of Mithridates, governor?’ asked Mark Antony.
‘I think we may be able to turn his appearance at Antioch to our advantage. After we have captured Palmyra and Dura there is no reason why we cannot cross the Euphrates and reinstall Mithridates back on his throne.’
‘As a client king,’ said Marcus.
Gabinius smiled. ‘Naturally. I intend to do to Parthia what Pompey did to Armenia and Pontus.’
No Roman had attempted to subjugate the Parthian Empire, but Gabinius knew that there would never be a better opportunity to conquer it. Parthia was exhausted by years of bloody civil war and he had received word that Armenia was about to commence hostilities against the Parthians on their northern borders. He knew that Crassus aspired to conquer Parthia and extend Roman rule as far as the Indus, but Crassus was not here and it would take him months to march his army overland from Italy. Gabinius’ two legions, thousand horsemen and the auxiliaries he would raise would be more than enough to deal with a motley band of Agraci nomads and the decadent troops of Parthia. He remembered reading the reports of the war waged by Lucullus in the Parthian Kingdom of Gordyene and the ease with which Roman troops had defeated the enemy.
By the time Crassus arrived Gabinius would have defeated the Agraci and the Parthians, installed Mithridates as a client king of Rome and emptied the royal treasury at Ctesiphon of its contents. By doing so he would become as rich as Crassus himself and a grateful Rome would shower him with further gifts when he brought the Silk Road under Roman control. Circumstances had conspired to give Aulus Gabinius the opportunity to conquer both the Arabian Peninsula and the whole of the Parthian Empire in one fell swoop.