Legionary: Land of the Sacred Fire
Page 37
Ballista (pl. ballistae); Roman bolt-throwing artillery that was primarily employed as an anti-personnel weapon on the battlefield.
Beneficiarius; Naval officer responsible for administrative duties on a ship.
Buccina; The ancestor of the trumpet and the trombone, this instrument was used for the announcement of night watches and various other purposes in the legionary camp.
Candidatus (pl. candidati); The candidati were the hand-chosen, personal bodyguard of the Roman Emperor and successors to the old Praetorian Guard.
Cataphractus (pl. cataphractii); The flexible heavy cavalry of the Sassanid Persian Empire. These riders wore tall, plumed helms and scale armour, their mounts wearing scale aprons and headpieces likewise. Some riders are also thought to have worn ring armour on their limbs. They either charged with lances chained to their mounts’ armour (for momentum and stability in the pre-stirrup era) or harried from afar as archer cavalry. In the fourth century, Rome employed many such riders in the imperial ranks.
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;
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.
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.
Comes Domesticorum; The head of the Roman Emperor’s household guard.
Contubernium (pl. contubernia); A grouping of eight legionaries (ten contubernia per century). These soldiers would share a tent and would receive disciplinary action or reward as a unit.
Decurion; Leader of a turma of Roman cavalry.
Dirham; A silver coin of the Persian Empire. Long after Roman coinage had been significantly debased, the dirham remained pure silver – an indication of the changing fortunes of both powers.
Dromedarius (pl. dromedarii); Swift and hardy lightly armoured Roman camel scout cavalry, used primarily in desert regions such as Syria and Egypt. These riders were commonly recruited from the native populace of those regions.
Drafsh; The military standards carried by the Sassanid Persian armies. Groups of one hundred men would march or ride under each banner – each unit referred to as a drafsh also. Comparable to a Roman eagle standard, a drafsh was typically crested by a winged Faravahar and had a vivid banner hanging from the crossbar bearing an image of some fierce creature. The Drafsh Kavian was the Sassanid royal standard, bearing the image of a golden star bursting across a purple background. This was carried before the Persian armies when the shahanshah himself marched to war.
Eques (pl. equites); Roman light cavalry, used for scouting ahead and covering the flanks of a marching legionary column.
Eques Sagittarius (pl. equites sagittarii); Roman horse archers usually well armoured in mail.
Fabrica (pl. fabricae); The workshop of a Roman legion located within the legionary fort or camp. Skilled artisans and craftsmen such as engineers, carpenters, masons, wagon-makers, blacksmiths, painters and other artificers worked in the fabrica, using devices such as smelting furnaces and water cisterns to produce arms and equipment for the legionaries.
Falcata; A curved blade used for slashing down over enemy shields.
Faravahar; The winged guardian angel is the symbol of Zoroastrianism, considered by many to be the oldest monotheistic religion. In Sassanid Persia, the symbol was closely aligned to the royal throne and the power of the shahanshah.
Follis (pl. folles); A large bronze coin introduced in about 294 AD with the coinage reform of Diocletian.
Funditor (pl. funditores); Unarmoured Roman slingers who would take part in the skirmishing before a battle.
Gatha; Sacred hymns of Zoroastrianism. Seventeen of these are thought to have been composed by Zoroaster himself.
Gund; A division of one thousand Persian warriors.
Harpax; A naval catapult-shot grappling hook first used in the late Roman Republic. This would allow imperial galleys to snare fast-moving enemy vessels and draw them in for boarding.
Horreum (pl. horrea); The Roman granary and storehouse for other consumables such as wine and olive oil.
Howdah; A carriage/cabin strapped to an elephants back.
Imperator; Title of the Roman Emperor.
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.
Jashan of Shahrevar; The Zoroastrian Festival of Iron, celebrating minerals and metals, celebrated on the 4th day of the 6 month (21st August in the Gregorian calendar).
Kathisma; A box overlooking an arena, usually reserved for royalty or esteemed dignitaries.
Liburnian; A small, swift and nimble galley with just a single bank of oars.
Limes (pl. limites); The Roman frontiers, studded with forts, military roads, choke points and walls. These borders would be manned by the limitanei legions.
Limes Arabicus; Rome’s eastern frontier, bordering on Armenia, Persia and the Syrian Desert. This limes incorporated the Strata Diocletiana and ran north-south from Syria all the way to Arabia.
Limitaneus (pl. limitanei); The limitanei were the frontier soldiers, light infantry spearmen who would serve in the legions posted along the empire’s borders.
Median; The Median dynasty once ruled all Persia, but by the late 4th century, their lands were but another satrapy of the Sassanid Empire. However, they continued to supply the Sassanid armies with a finely armed and skilled wing of spear-infantry.
Mahout; An elephant rider, seated on the beast’s neck to drive it with a series of vocal commands and an iron-tipped cane.
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 Persian god of light and wisdom.
Optio; Second-in-command of a Roman century. Hand-chosen by the centurion.
Paighan; These peasant-infantrymen were the dregs of the Persian army, used mainly to swell numbers on the battlefield or to act as a cluster of spears around which the Savaran could drive an enemy. They were afforded no armour, fighting with just cane shields and spears. It is thought that some of the paighan were even shackled as they marched to war with the armies.
Phalera (pl. phalerae); A gold, silver or bronze sculpted disk worn on the breastplate during parades by Roman soldiers who had been awarded it as a kind of medal.
Plumbata (pl. plumbatae); A lead-weighted throwing dart carried by Roman legionaries, approximately half a metre in length. Each legionary would carry three 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.
Primus Pilus; The chief centurion of a legion. So called, as his own century would line up in the first file (pilus) of the first cohort (primus).
Propontus; The modern Sea of Marmara.
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.
Pushtigban; The cream of the Savaran riders were selected to serve as the personal bodyguard of the Persian Shahanshah and his spahbads. These men would be armoured like clibanarii, and wore distinctive winged helms.
Quadriburgium (pl. quadriburgia); Sturdy, square Roman forts that became prevalent towards the end of the 4th century AD. Characterised by their protruding corner towers, these structures indicated the increasingly defensive stance of the empire in these times.
Savaran; This mighty cavalry force was the beating heart of the Sassanid Persian army. It is thought to have comprised four divisions of over ten thousand riders, each division commanded by a spahbad. The strength of the Savaran was in the diversity of its riders, including light, speedy scouts, nimble and skilled horse-archers, ironclad and powerful cataphractii archer/lancers and the near-invincible clibanarii shock cavalry.
Shahanshah; Literally, the ‘King of Kings’. This was the title of the Persian emperors, signifying their dominion over all Persia, including the various satrapies and client states.
Shamshir; The Persian straight sword up to one metre long – not unlike the Roman spatha.
Spatha; The Roman straight sword up to one metre long, favoured by the Roman infantry and cavalry.
Speculatore (pl. speculatore); 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.
Strata Diocletiana; Rome’s eastern frontier was marked by a great desert road sweeping north to south through Syria, built in the time of Emperor Diocletian. The road marked the end of the empire and the beginning of the treacherous no man’s land that was the Syrian Desert. The road was studded with quadriburgia forts every twenty miles or so. The once-great desert trading city of Palmyra also sat on this road, although by the late 4th century AD it was a shadow of its former self and served mainly as a headquarters for the eastern comitatenses legions.
Tesserarius; Each legionary century had one man who served as a tesserarius. They would be answerable to the optio and their chief responsibilities were organising night watch and protecting watchwords.
Thermae; Roman bathhouse, comprising a dressing room (apodyterium), cold room (frigidarium), warm room (tepidarium) and hot room (caldarium).
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.
Turma (pl. turmae); The smallest unit of Roman cavalry, numbering thirty riders.
Valetudinarium; A medical building in a Roman camp or fort.
Vexillatio (pl. vexillationes); A detachment of a Roman legion formed as a temporary task force.
Via Egnatia; The highway constructed in the 2nd century BC running from Dyrrachium on the Adriatic Sea, all the way through Thrace to Constantinople.
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Table of Contents
Maps & Military Diagrams
Prologue: Mesopotamia, Western Persia 25th June 363 AD
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
Author’s Note
Glossary