Nobody Loves a Centurion (29 page)

“Except for the Druidic embellishments.”

He looked at me sourly. “Oh, sit down, Decius. You’re spoiling my digestion with your righteousness. If you ever hold high office you’ll have to perform some disagreeable tasks. Be grateful if they involve nothing more unpleasant than exterminating a treacherous scoundrel like Vinius.”

I sat. “But why? If you found out what he was up to, why not just denounce him, whack his head off, and confiscate his property?”

Caesar pinched the bridge of his nose, looking suddenly very tired. “Decius, I have here the largest task ever handed to a Roman proconsul. I must use every tool that comes to my hands if I am to accomplish it. Out there”—he released his nose and pointed northeast—“are the Helvetii. You’ve had some experience of the Germans and you know they’re pouring across the Rhine. I cannot afford an alliance between them. I must fight them one at a time. I saw an opportunity to drive a wedge between the Germans and the Gauls and I acted upon it.”

“You interviewed the Druid Badraig concerning their religious practices. That was how you learned of the triple slaying.”

“Exactly. Since I intend to break the power of that priesthood, blaming them for the murder seemed an elegant way to accomplish several of my aims at once. I was sure that Ariovistus would revenge himself upon them and that the Gauls would never ally themselves with someone who killed Druids.”

“But why not just denounce the Druids at once? Why blame the soldiers and leave me to puzzle things out while you went off to find your legions? That is labyrinthine even for you.”

“It certainly made me look innocent of conspiracy, didn’t it?”

“Ariovistus said there are no innocent Romans. Maybe he was right.” I felt as tired as Caesar looked. “How did you learn of Vinius’ treachery? Was it Molon?”

“It was. That ugly little schemer is playing more games at once than I am. He came with information for sale, told me that Vinius was storing away big bribes from somewhere. I find it is often a good idea to retain a slave to spy on his master.”

“I’ll remember that.”

“I told him to find out when Vinius was next to meet with his paymaster. This time it was that German, Eramanzius. He went out with the Provincials, who were too lofty to notice that they had an extra slave following them. I suppose he would have returned at first light and mingled with the peasants coming in to sell their produce. It would have been easy enough. He met with the German out by the lake. Molon knew he would have to pass close by the pond and we were waiting for him there.” He poked at the bracelet on the table before him. “Treasonous
bastard though he was, Vinius retained a bit of his soldier’s sentimentality. He would never take this bracelet off. He covered it with a bandage when he went out.”

I remembered the scrap of dirty white cloth I had found at the murder site. Another little anomaly explained. “And the bracelet was Molon’s pay for betraying his master?”

“Part of it. And I thought it fitting. It offended me to see a traitor wearing a Roman award for valor, even dead. Why not give it to a wretched slave? Of course, I never dreamed that he was working for Ariovistus as well.”

“Do you think he’ll tell Ariovistus?”

“He cost Ariovistus his spy in my camp. It would be death for him to speak of it now. I think he will want to stay in my good graces. He did what he could for you while you were captive.”

Most matters were answered now. “How could you condemn eight innocent men?”

He looked almost ashamed, if that were possible. “I was sure you’d have it pinned on the Druids before I got back. I never dreamed that you would do something as insane as go beyond the rampart on your own and get captured by the Germans.”

“But when I ran in this morning, you were about to have their friends flog them to death.”

“Decius, here in Gaul we are playing the highest-stakes game in the world. When you set a game in motion, you must see it through, however the dice fall.”

I rose. “I will take my leave now, Proconsul. Thank you for answering my questions. I realize that, with your
imperium
, you owe no answers to anybody.”

He stood and put a hand on my shoulder. “I respect your
scruples, Decius. Such are rare in Rome these days. I owe you no less. And, Decius?”

“Yes?”

“I am very pleased that you did not touch the contents of that chest. I inventoried it myself before I had that boy summon you. I would have been most upset if any of it had been missing. Go on and get some sleep.”

So I walked out of the praetorium, satisfied if not happy. I had rather liked Badraig, but a lot of Gauls were going to die soon, and a lot of Romans as well. Oddly enough, I was going to miss Freda. I would even miss Molon, but I suspected I hadn’t seen the last of him.

I went through the darkened camp, asleep now except for the doubled guard. It was a legion fully ready for war. I was determined to get a full night’s sleep at last. A soldier needs his sleep when there’s a war on. The Gauls might arrive tomorrow, and then I might not get a decent night’s sleep for ages.

These things happened in Gaul, in the year 696 of the City of Rome, the consulship of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus and Aulus Gabinius.

GLOSSARY

(Definitions apply to the last century of the Republic.)

Acta
Streets wide enough for one-way wheeled traffic.

Aedile
Elected officials in charge of upkeep of the city and the grain dole, regulation of public morals, management of the markets, and the public Games. There were two types: the plebeian aediles, who had no insignia of office, and the curule aediles, who wore the toga praetexta and sat in the sella curulis. The curule aediles could sit in judgment on civil cases involving markets and currency, while the plebeian aediles could only levy fines. Otherwise, their duties were the same. Since the magnificence of the Games one exhibited as aedile often determined election to higher office, it was an important stepping stone in a political career. The office of aedile did not carry the
imperium
.

Ala
Literally, “wing.” A squadron of cavalry.

Ancile
(pl. ancilia) A small, oval sacred shield which fell from heaven in the reign of King Numa. Since there was a prophecy that it was tied to the stability of Rome, Numa had eleven exact copies made so nobody would know which one to steal. Their care was entrusted to a college of priests, the
Salii
(q.v.), and figured in a number of ceremonies each year.

Aquilifer
The chief standard-bearer of a legion, the “eagle-bearer” The eagle was semidivine, the embodiment of the legion’s
genius
.

Atrium
Once a word for house, in Republican times it was the entry hall of a house, opening off the street and used as a general reception area.

Atrium Vestae
The Palace of the Vestals and one of the most splendid buildings in Rome.

Augur
An official who observed omens for state purposes. He could forbid business and assemblies if he saw unfavorable omens.

Auxilia
Non-citizen units supporting the legions. A full term of service, usually twenty years, conferred citizenship upon the soldier at discharge. Citizenship was permanent and would be inherited by his descendants.

Basilica
A building where courts met in inclement weather.

Caestus
The classical boxing glove, made of leather straps and reinforced by bands, plates, or spikes of bronze.

Caliga
The Roman military boot. Actually, a heavy sandal with hobnailed sole.

Campus Martius
A field outside the old city wall, formerly the assembly area and drill field for the army. It was where the popular assemblies met. By late Republican times, buildings were encroaching on the field.

Censor
Magistrates elected usually every fifth year to oversee the census of the citizens and purge the roll of Senators of unworthy members. They could forbid certain religious practices or luxuries deemed bad for public morals or generally “un-Roman.” There were two Censors, and each could overrule the other. They wore the toga praetexta and sat in the sella curulis, but since they had no executive powers they were not accompanied by lictors. The office did not carry the
imperium
. Censors were usually elected from among the ex-Consuls, and the censorship was regarded as the capstone of a political career.

Centuriate Assembly
(comitia centuriata): Originally, the annual military assembly of the citizens where they joined their army units (“centuries”). There were 193 centuries divided into five classes by property qualification. They elected the highest magistrates: Censors, Consuls, and Praetors. By the middle Republic, the centuriate assembly was strictly a voting body, having lost all military character.

Centurion
“Commander of 100” (i.e., a century) which, in practice, numbered around sixty men. Centurions were promoted from the ranks and were the backbone of the professional army.

Circus
The Roman racecourse and the stadium which enclosed it. The original, and always the largest, was the Circus Maximus, which lay between the Palatine and Aventine hills. A later, smaller circus, the Circus Flaminius, lay outside the walls on the Campus Martius.

Client
One attached in a subordinate relationship to a patron, whom he was bound to support in war and in the courts. Freedmen became clients of their former masters. The relationship was hereditary.

Coemptio
Marriage by symbolic sale. Before five witnesses
and a
libripens
who held a balance, the bridegroom struck the balance with a bronze coin and handed it to the father or guardian of the bride. Unlike
conferreatio
(q.v.), coemptic was easily dissolved by divorce.

Cognomen
The family name, denoting any of the stirpes of a
gens
; i.e., Caius Julius
Caesar
. Caius of the stirps Caesar of
gens
Julia. Some plebeian families never adopted a cognomen, notably the Marii and the Antonii.

Coitio
A political alliance between two men, uniting their voting blocs. Usually it was an agreement between politicians who were otherwise antagonists, in order to edge out mutual rivals.

Colonia
Towns which had been conquered by Rome, where Roman citizens were settled. Later, settlements founded by discharged veterans of the legions. After 89
B.C
. all Italian coloniae had full rights of citizenship. Those in the provinces had limited citizenship.

Compluvium
An opening in a roof to admit light.

Conferreatio
The most sacred and binding of Roman forms of marriage. The bride and groom offered a cake of spelt to Jupiter in the presence of a
pontifex
and the Flamen Dialis. It was the ancient patrician form of marriage. By the late Republic it was obsolete except for some priesthoods in which the priest was required to be married by conferreatio.

Consul
Supreme magistrate of the Republic. Two were elected each year. Insignia were the toga praetexta and the sella curulis. Each Consul was attended by twelve lictors. The office carried full
imperium
. On the expiration of his year in office, the ex-Consul was usually assigned a district outside Rome to rule as proconsul. As proconsul, he had the same insignia and the same number of lictors. His power was absolute within his province.

Contubernium
An eight-man section or squad. There were usually eight
contubernia
(pl.) to each century, although the number varied. Each
contubernium
shared a tent made of cow-hide, and rations were usually broken down and distributed by
contubernia
, making them “messmates” in the army sense.

Cornicen
A large, circular trumpet with a crossbar that rested on the trumpeter’s shoulder. Unlike the
tuba
, the
cornicen
remained with the standards and was used primarily to summon the soldiers to their eagles.

Curia
The meetinghouse of the Senate, located in the Forum.

Cursus Honorum
The chain of offices held by men in public life: Quaestor, Praetor, and Consul. The aedileship was not required by constitution for higher office but was a necessity by the first century
B.C
. The office of Tribune of the People or Plebs could not be held by patricians and Censor was a special office. Therefore these three offices, although prestigious, were not a part of the
cursus honorum
.

Dictator
An absolute ruler chosen by the Senate and the Consuls to deal with a specific emergency. For a limited period, never more than six months, he was given unlimited
imperium
, which he was to lay down upon resolution of the emergency. Unlike the Consuls, he had no colleague to overrule him and he was not accountable for his actions performed during office when he stepped down. His insignia were the toga praetexta and the sella curulis and he was accompanied by twenty-four lictors, the number of both Consuls. Dictatorships were extremely rare and the last was held in 202
B.C
. The dictatorships of Sulla and Caesar were unconstitutional.

Dioscuri
Castor and Pollux, the twin sons of Zeus and Leda. The Romans revered them as protectors of the city.

Eques
(pl. equites) Formerly, citizens wealthy enough to supply
their own horses and fight in the cavalry, they came to hold their status by meeting a property qualification. They formed the moneyed upper-middle class. In the centuriate assembly they formed eighteen centuries and once had the right of voting first, but they lost this as their military function disappeared. The publicans, financiers, bankers, moneylenders, and tax-farmers came from the equestrian class.