Masinissa — (c. 240–148 BC) Long-lived first king of Numidia in North Africa, foe and then ally of Rome during the Second Punic War (218–201 BC) whose conflict with Carthage over disputed territory led to the Third Punic War (149–146 BC).
Metellus — Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus (born c. 210 BC), praetor in Macedonia in 148 BC who defeated the upstart Andriscus and then went on to serve under Mummius in the siege of Corinth in 146 BC; in the novel he is the rival and enemy of Scipio, and husband of Julia.
Perseus — Last king of the Antigonid dynasty in Macedonia, defeated by Aemilius Paullus at the Battle of Pydna in 148 BC.
Petraeus — Gnaeus Petraeus Atinus, fictional ‘old centurion’ who trains the boys in the academy at Rome.
Petronius — Fictional tavern-keeper near the Gladiator School in Rome.
Polybius — (born c. 200 BC) Greek cavalry commander and historian, famous for his Histories, who became a close friend and adviser to Scipio; present at the siege of Carthage.
Porcus — Porcus Entestius Supinus, fictional servant and adviser to Metellus.
Ptolemy — Ptolemy VI Philometor (‘mother-lover’), a contemporary of Scipio Aemilianus and scion of the Ptolemy dynasty who became king in Egypt in 180 BC, marrying his sister Cleopatra II.
Quintus Appius Probus — Fictional centurion at Intercatia in Spain.
Rufius — Fabius’ hunting dog, present with him and Scipio in the Macedonian Royal Forest.
Scipio — Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus, the ‘Younger’ Scipio (born c. 185 BC), second son of Aemilius Paullus and adoptive grandson of Scipio Africanus; what is known of his historical career up to 146 BC forms the framework for the novel.
Scipio Africanus — Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the ‘Elder’ Scipio (c. 236–183 BC), of the Scipiones branch of the gens Cornelia, outstanding Roman general of the Second Punic War who defeated Hannibal at the Battle of Zama in North Africa in 202 BC.
Sextius Calvinus — Gaius Sextius Calvinus, a senator who is an enemy of Scipio; of the Calvini branch of the gens Sextii, father of a man of the same name who was consul in 124 BC.
Terence — Publius Terentius Afer (c. 190–159 BC), playwright of North African origin (hence his cognomen Afer, from Afri), brought from Carthage to Rome as a slave by the senator Terentius Lucanus (hence his nomen Terentius, adopted on being given his freedom); one of Scipio’s literary circle in Rome.
PROLOGUE
On the plain of Pydna, Macedonia, 168 BC
Fabius Petronius Secundus picked up his legionary standard and stared out over the wide expanse of the plain towards the sea. Behind him lay the foothills where the army had camped the night before, and behind that the slopes that led up to Mount Olympus, abode of the gods. He and Scipio had made the ascent three days previously, vying with each other to be the first to the top, flushed with excitement at the prospect of their first experience of battle. From the snow-covered summit they had looked north across the wide expanse of Macedonia, once the homeland of Alexander the Great, and below them they had seen where Alexander’s successor Perseus had brought his fleet and deployed his army in readiness for a decisive confrontation with Rome. Up there, with the glare of the sun off the snow so bright that it had nearly blinded them, with the clouds racing below, they had indeed felt like gods, as if the might of Rome that had brought them so far from Italy was now unassailable, and nothing could stand in the way of further conquest.
Back down here after a damp and sleepless night the peak of Olympus seemed a world away. Arranged in front of them was the Macedonian phalanx, more than forty thousand strong, a huge line bristling with spears that seemed to extend across the entire breadth of the plain. He could see the Thracians, their tunics black under shining breastplates, their greaves flashing on their legs and their great iron swords held flat over their right shoulders. In the centre of the phalanx were the Macedonians themselves, with gilt armour and scarlet tunics, their long sarissa spears black and shining in the sunlight, held so close together that they blocked out the view behind. Fabius glanced along their own lines: two legions in the middle, Italian and Greek allies on either side of that, and on the flanks the cavalry, with twenty-two elephants stomping and bellowing on the far right. It was a formidable force, battle-hardened after Aemilius Paullus’ long campaigns in Macedonia, with only the new draft of legionaries and junior officers yet to see action. But it was smaller than the Macedonian army, and its cavalry were far fewer. They would have a tough fight ahead.
The night before, there had been an eclipse of the moon, an event that had excited the soothsayers who followed the army, signalling a good omen for Rome and a bad one for the enemy. Aemilius Paullus had been sensitive enough to the superstitions of his soldiery to order his standard-bearers to raise firebrands for the return of the moon, and to sacrifice eleven heifers to Hercules. But, while he had sat in his headquarters tent eating the meat from the sacrifice, the talk had not been of omens but of battle tactics and the day ahead. They had all been there, the junior tribunes who had been invited to share the meat of sacrifice on the eve of their first experience of battle: Scipio Aemilianus, Paullus’ son and Fabius’ companion and master; Ennius, a papyrus scroll with him as always, ready to jot down new ideas for siege engines and catapults; and Brutus, who had already fought wrestling matches with the best of the legionaries and was itching to lead his maniple into action. With them was Polybius, a former Greek cavalry commander who had the ear of Paullus and was close to Scipio — a friendship that had been forged in the months since Polybius had been brought as a captive to Rome and been appointed as an instructor to the young men, even teaching Fabius himself how to speak Greek and some of the wonders of science and geography.
That evening, Fabius had stood behind Scipio, listening keenly as he always did. Scipio had argued that the Macedonian phalanx was outmoded, a tactic from the past that was over-reliant on the spear and left the men vulnerable if an enemy got within them. Polybius had agreed, adding that the exposed flanks of the phalanx were its main weakness, but he had said that theory was one thing and seeing a phalanx in front of you was another: even the strongest enemy would baulk at the sight, and the phalanx had never been defeated before on level ground. Their chief hope was to shake the phalanx out of its formation, to create a weakness in its line. From his vantage point now, looking across at the reality, Fabius was inclined to side with Polybius. No Roman legionary would ever show it, but the phalanx was a terrifying sight and many of the men along the line girding themselves for battle must have felt as Fabius did, his breathing tight and a small flutter of fear in his stomach.
He looked at Scipio now, resplendent in the armour left to him by his adoptive grandfather Scipio Africanus, legendary conqueror of Hannibal the Carthaginian at the Battle of Zama thirty-four years before. He was the younger son of Aemilius Paullus, only seventeen years old, a year younger than Fabius, and this would be their first blooding in combat. The general stood among his staff officers and standard-bearers a few paces to the left, with Polybius among them. As a former hipparchus of the Greek cavalry, experienced in Macedonian tactics, Polybius was accorded a special place among the general’s staff, and Fabius knew he would be wasting no time telling Aemilius Paullus how he should run the battle.