‘I did not think it was of importance.’
‘Really?’ she said in surprise. ‘And yet you thought it important enough to venture to Judea on the word of a Jew who you have known barely a moment. Clearly you attach a great deal of credence to Claudia’s words, as you should. What else did she tell you?’
‘Nothing,’ I snapped.
‘Your disrespectful reply suggests otherwise.’
I said nothing but stared at the legionary camp in the distance. She shuffled away from me.
‘Have it your own way, son of Hatra. But disregard her words at your peril.’
But the words of Claudia were far from my mind as the weeks passed and the armouries operated at full capacity once the first payment of gold arrived at Dura. Aaron had travelled back to Palmyra and then south through the desert, this time with over a hundred Agraci horsemen acting as his escort, before meeting with Alexander twenty miles east of Machaerus. It had been previously agreed that Alexander would make the first payment before the first shipment of weapons as a sign of his good faith, and so Aaron brought back with him fifty large leather bags full of gold. Once it had been itemised and safely deposited in the treasury, camels were taken to the armouries and loaded with arms.
The armouries needed to manufacture per day twenty-five of each of the following types of weapon: gladius and scabbard, spear, dagger and sheath and helmet. Over a fifteen-month period this would be enough to equip ten thousand men. And Alexander also wanted a thousand mail shirts for horsemen. It was fortunate for Dura that the armouries were staffed by four hundred blacksmiths, each one having an apprentice that had begun his training in metal craft at the age of eight. Even so the pace of production was frenetic and the chief armourer, a squat, barrel-chested man named Arsam, made frequent complaints that the requirements of the army and the monthly shipments to ‘the rich Jew’ were placing an intolerable strain on his ironworks. Arsam had forearms as thick as stone pillars and his name ironically meant ‘possessing the strength of heroes’. I told him to hire additional workers from Babylon and Hatra if he wished, though not from Damascus. I had no doubt that eventually the Romans would discover that I was sending weapons to Judea, but hiring workers from Syria would ensure they would find out sooner rather than later.
Domitus continued to rebuild the legions, finally receiving his five thousand ‘missing’ javelins. Meanwhile the horse archers of Silaces began to fill their quivers as the armouries churned out thousands of arrows. It was fortunate that the arrowheads were made of bronze and were cast rather than forged and then shaped on anvils. This way Arsam could order additional quantities from Babylon and have them transported by camel to Dura.
As a reward for his services to Dura I made Aaron the royal treasurer, as Rsan was now the city governor. As the old year waned Dura slowly became one of the richest kingdoms in the empire as the caravans on the Silk Road passed through the city and Alexander’s gold arrived at the Citadel. The reports I received from Babylon, Uruk and Hatra reported no hostile activity east of the Tigris, and in the west all was quiet in Roman Syria and Judea. No doubt Mithridates and Narses were licking their wounds and preparing a fresh campaign against me, but the longer they delayed the stronger Dura became.
When the new year dawned I once again refused to pay the annual tribute demanded of each kingdom by the king of kings. I received word from Nergal, Axsen and my father that Mithridates had demanded twice the normal tribute so he could deal with the ‘traitorous King of Dura’. Apparently he could not bear to even mention my name in his royal proclamation.
Hatra, Babylon and Mesene declared that they were unable to meet his demands. My father stated that he was dealing with Armenian incursions into the north of his kingdom and invited Mithridates to send an official letter to the Armenian king, Tigranes, politely requesting that he desist his aggressive actions. For her part Axsen stated that her kingdom could not afford the additional tribute as resources were being directed to repairing the damage incurred during the invasion of her lands the previous year. Though she was diplomatic enough to refrain from stating that it was the king of kings and his lord high general who were responsible for the damage. Nergal did not even bother to reply to Mithridates’ demands.
The prospect of war hung over us like thick smoke on a windless day, and we prepared our forces accordingly. The men of Elymais were fully equipped now — eight thousand horse archers divided into eight dragons, each one made up of ten hundred-man companies. Silaces and his men trained every day to turn them into an effective force, though there was not the time to train them to work with the cataphracts, much less the legions. In any case I hoped that in the near future they would be in the vanguard of an army that would liberate the Kingdom of Elymais. They were quartered near the ruins of Mari, forty miles south of Dura beside the Euphrates. It had once been a great city but that was seventeen hundred years ago, and after its destruction by King Hammurabi of Babylon had been largely deserted. The remains of its mud-brick buildings provided adequate shelter for eight thousand horses, though.
Two months into the new year I had the whole army drawn up in front of the Palmyrene Gate and presented Silaces with his new banner: a great white flag upon which was Gotarzes’ symbol of a four-pointed star. I could now call upon over twelve thousand horsemen and ten thousand foot, in addition to the men the lords could raise. Last year I had relied on speed and surprise to achieve success; this year I would assemble greater numbers to ensure victory.
Orodes made yet another trip to Babylon, this time to ensure that the production of arrowheads was progressing smoothly. I told him that he did not need to concern himself with such trivia but he insisted. And to speed his journey he and his bodyguard plus their horses travelled down the Euphrates on rafts.
While he was gone I had a most unexpected visit from my father. He sent word that he was visiting me and arrived ten days later accompanied by Vistaspa and his bodyguard plus their squires, who camped across the Euphrates in Hatran territory while their king and his general were lodged in the Citadel. Gallia and I greeted them at the foot of the palace steps in the company of Domitus, Surena, Rsan, Aaron and my three daughters. My father kissed Gallia and knelt to embrace his granddaughters while Vistaspa bowed his head to everyone stiffly and ignored my children. I think he thought infants were small demons sent to torment adults, a view that was not entirely incorrect.
We took refreshments on the palace terrace as a forest of tents began to spring up across the river as the squires of Hatra’s royal bodyguard erected the shelters of their pampered masters.
My father flopped down in a wicker chair next to the stone balustrade. He looked tired. ‘I wish to make a show of force against the Armenians. I grow weary of their incursions into my kingdom, and the longer I do nothing about them the bolder they become.’
To say I was surprised was an understatement. My father had always been a cautious monarch, always reluctant to seek recourse to conflict.
‘I had no idea the Armenians were proving so bothersome, father.’
He smiled wryly. ‘Vata holds the northern frontier but now raiders are coming from Gordyene. It has become an intolerable situation. I have asked Farhad and Aschek for their assistance and they have agreed that we should arrange a meeting with Tigranes to sort this matter out once and for all. I now ask you, my son, if you will join with me.’
‘Dura stands by you, father,’ I said with pride. ‘When do we attack?’
Vistaspa looked at my father, who frowned. ‘We do not go to make war, Pacorus, but to persuade Tigranes that his recklessness endangers Armenia.’
‘You will be wasting your words.’ Dobbai had walked unseen onto the terrace and took her seat, unconcerned that my senior officers and I were in conference with the King of Hatra. She waved over a servant holding a tray of drinks.