[Gaius Valerius Verrens 05] - Enemy of Rome

by Douglas Jackson

  Fortuna –

  The goddess of luck and good fortune.

  Frumentarii –

  Messengers who carried out secret duties for the Emperor, possibly including spying and assassination.

  Gladius (pl. Gladii) –

  The short sword of the legionary. A lethal killing weapon at close quarters.

  Governor –

  Citizen of senatorial rank given charge of a province. Would normally have a military background (see Proconsul).

  Haruspex –

  Soothsayer, sometimes a priest.

  Hispania Tarraconensis –

  Roman province covering a large part of what is now Spain.

  Jupiter –

  Most powerful of the Roman gods, often referred to as Optimus Maximus (greatest and best).

  Legate –

  The general in charge of a legion. A man of senatorial rank.

  Legion –

  Unit of approximately 5,000 men, all of whom would be Roman citizens.

  Lictor –

  Bodyguard of a Roman magistrate. There were strict limits on the numbers of lictors associated with different ranks.

  Lituus –

  Curved trumpet used to transmit cavalry commands.

  Lusitania –

  The Roman province which covered a territory that is now southern Portugal and part of western Spain.

  Magister navis –

  A ship’s captain.

  Manumission –

  The act of freeing a slave.

  Mars –

  The Roman god of war.

  Medici –

  A Roman legionary medical orderly.

  Mithras –

  An Eastern religion popular among Roman soldiers.

  Nomentan –

  A superior variety of Roman wine, mentioned by Martial in his Epigrams.

  Phalera (pl. Phalerae) –

  Awards won in battle worn on a legionary’s chest harness.

  Pilum (pl. Pila) –

  Heavy spear carried by a Roman legionary.

  Praefectus urbi (Urban prefect) –

  The senior magistrate in charge of Rome, with command of the cohortis urbanae and the vigiles.

  Praetorian Guard –

  Powerful military force stationed in Rome. Accompanied the Emperor on campaign, but could be of dubious loyalty and were responsible for the overthrow of several Roman rulers.

  Prefect –

  Auxiliary cavalry commander.

  Primus pilus –

  ‘First File’. The senior centurion of a legion.

  Principia –

  Legionary headquarters building.

  Proconsul –

  Governor of a Roman province, such as Spain or Syria, and of consular rank.

  Procurator –

  Civilian administrator subordinate to a governor.

  Proscaenium –

  The area where plays were staged in a Roman theatre.

  Quaestor –

  Civilian administrator in charge of finance.

  Scorpio –

  Bolt-firing Roman light artillery piece.

  Scutum (pl. Scuta) –

  The big, richly decorated curved shield carried by a legionary.

  Senator –

  Patrician member of the Senate, the key political institution which administered the Roman Empire. Had to meet strict financial and property rules and be at least thirty years of age.

  Sestertius (pl. Sestertii) –

  Roman brass coin worth a quarter of a denarius.

  Signifer –

  Standard bearer who carried the emblem of a cohort or century.

  Testudo –

  Literally ‘tortoise’. A unit of soldiers with shields interlocked for protection.

  Tribune –

  One of six senior officers acting as aides to a legate. Often, but not always, on short commissions of six months upwards.

  Tribunus laticlavius –

  Literally ‘broad stripe tribune’. The most senior of a legion’s military tribunes.

  Urban cohorts –

  Force founded by Augustus to combat the power of the Praetorian Guard. Used for policing large mobs and riot-control duties.

  Vascones –

  Roman auxiliaries from a tribe inhabiting northern Spain. Gave their name to the Basque region.

  Valetudinarium –

  A clinic or hospital.

  Victimarius –

  Servant who delivers and attends to the victim of a sacrifice.

  Victory –

  Roman goddess equivalent to the Greek Nike.

  Vigiles –

  Force responsible for the day-to-day policing of Rome’s streets, for fire prevention and for fighting.

  Acknowledgements

  As always, I’m grateful to my editor Simon Taylor and his team at Transworld for helping me make Enemy of Rome the novel it is, and to my agent Stan, of Jenny Brown Associates in Edinburgh, for all his advice and encouragement. My wife Alison and my children, Kara, Nikki and Gregor, have once more been the rocks on which this book has been built. My love of the Roman era never wanes, but it was rejuvenated during the writing of Enemy of Rome by a walk along part of the magnificent Hadrian’s Wall with my friends and fellow JAFRAs Ben Kane, Tony Riches and Russ Whitfield, accompanied by historian Mike Bishop whose Roman Military Equipment is seldom far from my side. As with Sword of Rome, apart from the primary sources – Plutarch, Tacitus, Suetonius and Dio – Gwyn Morgan’s 69 A.D., The Year of the Four Emperors was my guide to a complicated and sometimes contentious series of events, and any gaps in my ever-advancing knowledge of life in the legions were filled by Stephen Dando-Collins’s Legions of Rome.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  A journalist by profession, Douglas Jackson transformed a lifelong fascination for Rome and the Romans into his first two highly-praised novels, Caligula and Claudius. His third novel, Hero of Rome, introduced readers to his new series hero, the one-armed ex-gladiator Gaius Valerius Verrens. Defender of Rome, Avenger of Rome and Sword of Rome followed and have established its author as one of the UK’s foremost historical novelists. An active member of the Historical Writers’ Association and the Historical Novels Society, Douglas Jackson lives near Stirling in Scotland. To find out more, visit www.douglas-jackson.net

  Also by Douglas Jackson

  CALIGULA

  CLAUDIUS

  HERO OF ROME

  DEFENDER OF ROME

  AVENGER OF ROME

  SWORD OF ROME

  For more information on Douglas Jackson and his books, see his website at www.douglas-jackson.net

  TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS

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  First published in Great Britain

  in 2014 by Bantam Press

  an imprint of Transworld Publishers

  Copyright © Douglas Jackson 2014

  Douglas Jackson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

  This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781448127696

  ISBNs 9780593070567 (cased)

  9780593070574 (tpb)

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