one of the junior officers in a century, whose duties included commanding the guard. The name originates from the tessera tablet on which was written the password for the day.
Thracian:
someone who originated from Thrace, a region spanning parts of modern-day Bulgaria, Romania, northern Greece and southwestern Turkey. It was inhabited by more than forty warlike tribes.
Trasimene:
the modern-day Lago Trasimeno, in north-central Italy, close to Perugia and Siena.
Trebia:
the River Trebbia.
tribune:
senior staff officer within a legion; also one of ten political positions in Rome, where they served as ‘tribunes of the people’, defending the rights of the plebeians. The tribunes could also veto measures taken by the Senate or consuls, except in times of war. To assault a tribune was a crime of the highest order.
trireme:
the classic ancient warship, which was powered by a single sail and three banks of oars. Each oar was rowed by one man, who on Roman ships was freeborn, not a slave. Exceptionally manoeuvrable, and capable of up to 8 knots under sail or for short bursts when rowed, the trireme also had a bronze ram at the prow. This was used to damage or even sink enemy ships. Small catapults were mounted on the deck. Each trireme was crewed by up to 30 men and had around 200 rowers; it could carry up to 60 infantry, giving it a very large crew in proportion to its size. This limited the triremes’ range, so they were mainly used as troop transports and to protect coastlines.
velites (sing. veles):
Roman light skirmishers of the third century BC who were recruited from the poorest social class. They were young men whose only protection was a small, round shield and, in some cases, a simple bronze helmet. They carried a sword, but their primary weapons were 1.2-m (4-ft) javelins. They also wore wolf-skin headdresses of some kind. It’s unclear if the velites had any officers.
Via Appia:
the main road from Rome to Brundisium (modern-day Brindisi) in the far south of Italy.
Victumulae:
an ancient town in the vicinity of modern-day Piacenza in northern Italy. Its exact location is unknown.
Vulcan (in Latin, Vulcanus):
a Roman god of destructive fire, who was often worshipped to prevent – fire!
Zeus:
the main divinity in the Greek pantheon, and god of the weather. The word ‘Soter’ means ‘saviour’, and was added to many Greek gods’ names by ancient peoples. I have the wonderful author Christian Cameron to thank for the word!
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Copyright © Ben Kane 2014
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Ben Kane, Hannibal 03 - Clouds of War
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