Thank you so much for reading. I truly hope you will join me for the next chapter in the adventure!
Yours faithfully,
Gordon Doherty
www.gordondoherty.co.uk
P.S. If you enjoyed the story, please spread the word! My books live or die by word of mouth, so tell your friends or – even better – leave a short review online. Anything you can do in this vein would be very much appreciated. Feel free to get in touch too via my website.
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If you enjoyed Legionary: The Blood Road, why not try:
Empires of Bronze: Son of Ishtar, by Gordon Doherty
Four sons. One throne. A world on the precipice.
1315 B.C. the world is forged in bronze, and ruled by four mighty empires. Tensions soar between Egypt, Assyria, the Mycenaeans and the Hittites, and war seems inevitable.
When Prince Hattu is born, it should be a rare joyous moment for all the Hittite people. But the Goddess Ishtar comes to King Mursili in a dream, warning that the boy is no blessing, telling of a bleak future where he will stain Mursili’s throne with blood and bring devastation upon the world. Thus, Hattu must fight against the goddess’ words and prove to his kith and kin that he is worthy. Yet with his every action, the shadow of Ishtar’s prophecy darkens…
Strategos: Born in the Borderlands, by Gordon Doherty
When the falcon has flown, the mountain lion will charge from the east, and all Byzantium will quake. Only one man can save the empire . . . the Haga!
1046 AD. The Byzantine Empire teeters on the brink of all-out war with the Seljuk Sultanate. In the borderlands of Eastern Anatolia, a land riven with bloodshed and doubt, young Apion's life is shattered in one swift and brutal Seljuk night raid. Only the benevolence of Mansur, a Seljuk farmer, offers him a second chance of happiness.
Yet a hunger for revenge burns in Apion's soul, and he is drawn down a dark path that leads him right into the heart of a conflict that will echo through the ages.
Glossary
Adventus; The celebration that accompanies a new Roman Emperor’s formal entry into his capital city.
Aquilifer; Senior standard bearer of a Roman legion and carrier of the legionary eagle.
Auxilium Palatinum (pl. Auxilia Palatina); These elite infantry regiments (or palace legions) of the late Roman Empire served as the emperor’s core guard in his Praesental Army. Each Auxilia Palatina legion would have been distinct in its appearance, with many retaining some unique decorative symbol on their armour that nodded to their origins, e.g. the Cornuti wore horns (or more likely feathers) on the sides of their helmets, just as the barbarian tribe they were originally recruited from did.
Ballista (pl. Ballistae); Roman bolt-throwing artillery that was primarily employed as an anti-personnel weapon on the battlefield.
Belon; A special flag raised on a pole atop the Hippodrome in Constantinople whenever the emperor wanted to summon the populace there to hear important news.
Buccina (pl. Buccinae); The ancestor of the trumpet and the trombone, this instrument was used for the announcement of night watches and for various other purposes in the legionary camp.
Caldarium; A room in a Roman bathhouse with a hot plunge pool.
Campidoctor (pl. campidoctores); Roman drill-sergeant.
Clavii; Long, decorative, coloured arrow-shapes adorning late Roman garments.
Clibanarius (pl. clibanarii); The ultra-heavy shock cavalry of the Sassanid Persian Empire. Rider and mount were encased in iron, with vital areas double-protected with iron plate-armour (clibanarius literally means ‘metallic furnace’). They also wore distinctive iron face masks, greaves and gauntlets. While these riders could only fight for a short time owing to the weight of their armour and the heat inside it, when they were on the battlefield they could often decide the day, tearing enemy ranks to pieces. Their primary weapon was the chained lance.
Chi-Rho; The Chi Rho is one of the earliest forms of Christogram, and was used by the early Christian Roman Empire. It is formed by superimposing the first two letters in the Greek spelling of the word Christ, chi = ch and rho = r, in such a way to produce the following monogram;
Comes; Commander of a field army of comitatenses legions.
Comitatensis (pl. comitatenses); The comitatenses were the Roman field armies. A ‘floating’ central reserve of legions, ready to move swiftly to tackle border breaches. These legions were considered the cream of the late Roman army.
Cornu (pl. Cornua); A ‘G’ shaped horn used in imperial games and ceremony.
Decimatio; A military form of punishment, where one man in ten would be clubbed to death by their comrades.
Decumanus Maximus; The main west-east oriented road in a Roman city.
Diocese; An administrative and geographical division of the later Roman Empire. Each Diocese was subdivided into a collection of provinces.
Dominus (voc. Domine); A respectful honourific indicating sovereignty.
Draco; A type of legionary standard that became popular in the era of our story. It comprised a bronze dragon head that would groan when wind passed through it and a flowing cloth tail that would ripple in the breeze as if alive.
Eques (pl. Equites); Roman light cavalry, used for scouting ahead and screening the flanks of a marching legionary column.
Explorator (pl. Exploratores); Swift, skilled advance scout cavalry, tasked with ranging far ahead of marching armies and into enemy territory to confirm the route was clear.
Foederati; Broad term for the variety of ‘barbarian’ tribes subsidised from imperial coffers to fight for the Roman Empire.
Follis (pl. Folles); A large-sized, low-denomination bronze coin introduced in about 294 AD with the coinage reform of Diocletian.
Hexareme; A Roman galley with six decks.
Iudex; The fourth century Goths did not have kings as such. Instead, the tribes – each led by a reiks – would unite and elect a ‘judge’ or ‘iudex’ who would steer them through a period of migration or conflict.
Impluvium; the square basin in the centre of the atrium of an ancient Roman house, which received rainwater from an opening in the roof
Intercisa; Iron helmet constructed of two halves with a distinctive fin-like ridge joining them together and large cheek guards offering good protection to the face. The illustration on the cover provides a good example of this style of helm.
Kalends; The first day of the month in the ancient Roman calendar.
Kam; A Hunnic tribal shaman.
Kathisma; A box overlooking an arena, usually reserved for royalty or esteemed dignitaries.
Labarum; A style of legionary standard that sported a Christian Chi-Rho on top.
Liburnian; A small, swift and nimble galley with just a single bank of oars.
Limitaneus (pl. Limitanei); The limitanei were the empire’s frontier soldiers, light infantry spearmen who served in the legions posted along the borders.
Magister Militum; Roman ‘Master of the Army’.
Medicus; Medical officer attached to a legion, the most senior of which would hold the title Medicus Ordinarius.
Mithras; A pagan deity particularly loved by the legions – probably something to do with the belief that Mithras was born with a sword in his hand! In the late 4th century AD, Christianity had taken hold in most of the major imperial population centres and it was only in remote areas like the limites that the last worshippers of Mithras were to be found. The cult of Mithras is thought to have evolved from the Persian Mithra, the God of Light and Wisdom. Also, although Mithras is often described as ‘Deus Sol Invictus Mithras’, he is not to be confused with Sol Invictus (the god of the official imperial cult established by Emperor Aurelian) whose birthday was celebrated on the 25th December.
Molossian; An ancient and now extinct breed of hunting hounds, bred in southern Europe. Modern mastiffs are probably descended from these large and formidable cr
eatures.
Odeum; A Roman amphitheatre, used to deliver performances of poetry or plays.
Optio Speculatorum; Commander of the Speculatores.
Pallium; A rich man’s robe. In the times of the later empire, this was equivalent to the older-style toga.
Paenula; A poncho-like garment.
Plumbata (pl. Plumbatae); A lead-weighted throwing dart carried by Roman legionaries, approximately half a metre in length. Each legionary would carry three to five of these clipped in behind his shield. They would launch them, overhand or underhand, at their enemy prior to sword or spear engagement. They required some skill to throw accurately, but had a tremendous range of nearly ninety feet.
Pomerium; The outermost road in a Roman city, running just inside its walls. The word originated from the sacred boundary of the city of Rome.
Pontifex Maximus; High Priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome.
Primus Pilus; The chief centurion of a legion. So called, as his own century would line up in the first file (primus) of the first cohort (pilus – a term harking back to the manipular legions).
Principia; Situated in the centre of a Roman fort or marching camp, the principia served as the headquarters. In a standing fort, the principia would be laid out as a square, with three wings enclosing a parade area. The legionary standards, wage chest and religious shrines were housed inside the wings along with various administrative offices.
Pugio; A broad, dagger-like blade.
Quadri; A famous gilt-bronze statue of four chariot horses which once stood above the gates to the Hippodrome of Constantinople. It was plundered by the looters of the Fourth Crusade and now stands above the porch of St. Mark’s Basilica, Venice.
Reiks; In Gothic society, a reiks was a tribal leader or warlord. Whenever the Gothic tribes came together to fight as a united people, a ‘council’ of reiks would elect one man to serve as their Iudex, overall leader of the alliance.
Sacrum Consistorium; The Roman Emperor’s ‘Sacred Council’ or inner circle of advisers.
Sagittarius (pl. Sagittarii); Roman foot archer. Typically equipped with a bronze helm and nose-guard, mail vest, composite bow and quiver.
Sagum; Roman military cloak.
Schola Palatinum (pl. Scholae Palatinae); The elite cavalry regiments of the later Roman Empire. Typically, these crack riders would serve in the Emperor’s Praesental Army.
Shahanshah; The Persian King of Kings.
Signaculum; a leather necklace and pouch bearing two small lead discs with the legion’s name on one side and their own name on the reverse.
Spatha; The Roman straight sword up to one metre long, favoured by the late imperial infantry and cavalry.
Speculator (pl. Speculatores); A shadowy secret police employed throughout the Roman Republic and Empire. They tended to focus on internal affairs and domestic threats, carrying coded messages, spying, and assassinating on command. Similar to, but not to be confused with the Frumentarii or the Agentes in Rebus.
Timpani; Also known as kettledrums, these instruments consist of skin stretched over a copper bowl.
Tribunus (pl. Tribuni); The senior officer of a legion. In the late 4th century AD, a tribunus was usually in charge of one or more legions of limitanei or comitatenses.
Triclinium; Dining room.
Trierarchus; Captain of a trireme.
Trireme; A war galley with three banks of oars.
Via Egnatia; Highway constructed in the 2nd century BC running from Dyrrachium on the Adriatic Sea, all the way through Thrace to Constantinople.
Via Militaris; The nearly 1000km long highway constructed in the 1st century AD running from Constantinople all the way through the Dioceses of Thracia, Dacia and on into Pannonia to the fortress-city of Singidunum. So-called because it was the main road the legions used to traverse the Balkan Peninsula.
The Blood Road (Legionary 7): Legionary, no. 7 Page 35