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).
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).
Lanista – owner, manager and trainer of gladiators or operator of a ludus, a gladiator school.
Legate – The general in charge of a legion. A man of senatorial rank.
Legatus iuridicus – The Emperor’s legal representative in a Roman province, second in line only to the governor or proconsul.
Legio – Modern Léon, northern Spain, originally a Roman legionary fortress.
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 now southern Portugal and part of western Spain.
Manumission – The act of freeing a slave.
Mars – The Roman god of war.
Mithras – An Eastern god popular among Roman soldiers.
Nomentan – A superior variety of Roman wine, mentioned by Martial in his Epigrams.
Orbis – Circular defensive position practised by the legions.
Ordo – The council of a hundred leading citizens responsible for the smooth running of a Roman town.
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 metallorum – The prefect in charge of the mining administration of a Roman province.
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.
Quaestor – Civilian administrator in charge of finance.
Ruina Montium – Highly destructive Roman gold-mining technique documented by Pliny the Elder.
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.
Spatha – The heavy sword used by Roman auxiliary cavalry. Longer than the legionary’s gladius.
Stola – Long pleated dress worn by a married Roman woman over her tunica intima, or slip.
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.
Vexillation – A detachment of a legion used as a temporary task force on independent duty.
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 and fire prevention and fighting.
Acknowledgements
I’m grateful to my editor Simon Taylor and his team at Transworld for helping me make Saviour of Rome the book it is, and to my agent Stan, of Jenny Brown Associates in Edinburgh, for all his advice and encouragement. As always my wife Alison and my children, Kara, Nikki and Gregor, have been the rocks on which this book has been built. And no acknowledgement would be complete without mention of my beautiful new granddaughter Lily who has brought a different and very special kind of joy into my life. Foremost among the many important sources for research which allowed me to recreate life in Roman Spain were a study on Configuring the landscape: Roman mining in the conventus Asturum by Guillermo S. Reher, Lourdes López-Merino, Javier Sánchez-Palencia and Antonio López-Sáez, Roman gold mining in north-west Spain by P. R. Lewis and G. D. B. Jones, Mines, Territorial organization and social structure in Northern Spain by Almudena Orejas and Javier Sánchez-Palencia and Recent Archaeological Research at Asturica Augusta by Victorino Garcia Marcos and Julio Encinas.
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 series hero, Gaius Valerius Verrens. Five more novels followed, helping to establish Douglas as one of the UK’s foremost historical novelists. Saviour of Rome is the seventh Gaius Valerius Verrens adventure.
An active member of the Historical Writers’ Association and the Historical Novel Society, Douglas Jackson lives near Stirling in Scotland.
Also by Douglas Jackson
CALIGULA
CLAUDIUS
HERO OF ROME
DEFENDER OF ROME
AVENGER OF ROME
SWORD OF ROME
ENEMY OF ROME
SCOURGE OF ROME
For more information on Douglas Jackson and his books, see his website at www.douglas-jackson.net
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First published in Great Britain in 2016 by Bantam Press
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