The October Horse: A Novel of Caesar and Cleopatra

  A united Macedonia was already in existence at the time of Philip II, but it was he and his son, Alexander the Great, who thrust Macedonia into world prominence. After the death of Alexander, it was first exhausted by struggles for the throne, then defeated by Aemilius Paullus in 167 B.C. Rome didn’t want responsibility for Macedonia, so tried to convert it into four self-governing republics. When this failed, it was incorporated into the empire as a province in 146 B.C. Construction of the Via Egnatia (q.v.) commenced not long afterward.

  magistrates The elected executives of the Roman republic. They belonged to the Senate by Caesar’s time.

  Malabar coast At the southwestern tip of the Indian Deccan; it was visited yearly by the Nabataean Arab fleet because of its spices, particularly its peppercorns.

  Marius, Gaius The Third Founder of Rome. A New Man from Arpinum, Marius was born about 157 B.C., of a prosperous family. As a young military tribune at Numantia, he attracted the attention of Scipio Aemilianus (q.v.), who encouraged him to pursue a public career in Rome, despite his obscure origins. Backed by the Caecilii Metelli (who were to rue it), Marius entered the Senate as a tribune of the plebs, but his humble birth made higher magistracies unlikely. He scraped in as praetor in 115 B.C. under a bribery cloud, but the consulship eluded him.

  Then in 110 B.C. he married Julia, aunt of the great Caesar, whose patrician birth and connections made him acceptable consul material. He went as Metellus Numidicus’s legate to fight King Jugurtha in north Africa, and used this to secure the consulship in 107 B.C., much to Metellus’s annoyance.

  A disastrous series of Roman defeats had drastically reduced the number of propertied men who made up Rome’s soldiers, so over the next few years Marius began to enlist the propertyless Head Count as soldiers. Rome was threatened by an enormous Germanic migration; this secured no less than six consulships for Marius, three in absentia. The Germans finally defeated, in 100 B.C. Marius retired from public life for some years. What brought him back was the revolt of Rome’s Italian Allies, and another series of Roman defeats. Convinced that a prophecy saying he would be consul seven times was true, he strove to this end, and in 86 B.C. became consul for a seventh time, with Cinna as his colleague.

  He died only a few days into office, amid a slaughter of his enemies that horrified all of Rome. His early ally and faithful legate, Sulla (q.v.), had become his enemy.

  Marius’s story is told in the first two books, The First Man in Rome, and The Grass Crown.

  Massilia Modern Marseilles, in France.

  Master of the HorseMagister equitum. The title of a dictator’s second-in-command.

  Mauretania The western end of North Africa, from about the Muluchath River of modern Algeria through to the Atlantic Ocean.

  medimnus, medimni A dry measure for grains and other pourable solids. It equaled 5 modii (q.v.), and occupied a volume of 10 American gallons (40 liters). It weighed about 65 pounds (29 kilograms).

  Memphis Near modern Cairo, in Egypt.

  mentula, mentulae A choice Latin obscenity for the penis.

  meretrix mascula A mannish female whore.

  Messapii The earliest people of southeastern Italy.

  mete-en-sa Ordinary Egyptian priests, not entitled to wear gold.

  meum mel An endearment-“my honey.”

  miles gloriosus A vainglorious soldier.

  modius, modii The customary Roman measure of grain. It occupied 2 American gallons (8 liters), and weighed 13 pounds. The grain dole was issued at 5 modii of wheat per month per holder of a grain chit. This was enough to provide a large loaf of bread per day.

  Mormolyce A nursery bogey, female and hideous.

  mos maiorum Almost indefinable for us. The established order of things, the customs and traditions of the ancestors. The mos maiorum was how things had always been done, and how they should always continue to be done. It was generally used in a public sense, to describe government and its institutions.

  municipia Districts that did not own full autonomy in Roman eyes. They might be in Italy, or in the provinces.

  murex The shellfish that produced purple-dye.

  murus Gallicus A wall of stone blocks reinforced with frequent long wooden beams; the combination gave it the ability to withstand a battering ram. The Gauls originated it.

  Mutina Modern Modena, in northern Italy.

  Narbo Modern Narbonne, in France.

  Neapolis There were many towns named Neapolis, but in this book, it refers to Italian Naples.

  Nearer SpainHispania Citerior. That part of the Iberian peninsula lying between the Pyrenees and modern Cartagena, and extending inland about as far as Segovia.

  nefas Sacrilegious.

  Nicomedia Modern Izmit, in Turkey.

  nomarch The administrator of an Egyptian district, the nome.

  nomen A man’s family, or gentilicial, name. Julius, Claudius.

  Nones One of the three enumerated dates in a Roman month. If the Ides (see that entry for the months) fell on the fifteenth, then the Nones fell on the seventh; if the Ides fell on the thirteenth, then the Nones fell on the fifth.

  numen, numina A word used by modern scholars to describe the peculiarly disembodied nature of the original Italian and Roman gods, if god is the right term. Spiritual forces might be better. These numinous old gods were the forces which governed everything from rain and wind to the opening and closing of a door. They were faceless, sexless, and without a mythology. Though it became a mark of culture to subscribe to things Greek, and many numinous gods acquired names, sexes, even sometimes faces, it is incorrect to call Roman religion a bastardized form of Greek worship. Unlike the Greeks, the Romans tied their religion so inextricably to all strata of government that one could not survive without the other. No matter how Greek the outward form, Roman religion was attuned to forces and the pathways of forces, a kind of push-pull, give-and-take relationship between the universe of men and that of the gods.

  Numidia That segment of north Africa between modern Tunisia and the Muthul River of Algeria.

  nundinae, nundinum The Roman week of eight days (nundinum) was counted between market days (nundinae).

  oppidum A Gallic stronghold.

  opus incertum The oldest and most popular kind of Roman wall. A facing of small irregular stones was mortared together on either side of a hollow interior; this hollow was filled with a mortar composed of black pozzolana and lime mixed through an aggregate of rubble and small stones (caementa).

  Oscan A language of the Italian peninsula spoken by Samnites, Apulians, Calabrians, Lucanians and Bruttians. It differed from Latin sufficiently to permit Romans to sneer at Oscan speakers.

  Our SeaMare nostrum. The Mediterranean Sea.

  Padus River The modern Po, in northern Italy.

  Palus Asphaltites The Dead Sea. At this time, it was the source of the world’s asphalt, which rose to its surface and was dredged off; deposits of asphalt around the sea’s margins were sulphurated and too hard to be commercially viable. It was highly prized and highly priced, as it was smeared or painted on the stems of grape vines to prevent mildew and pests, and had medicinal uses. The Nabataeans had the asphalt concession, and guarded it jealously.

  Palus Ceroliae Despite their engineering genius, the Romans of the Republic never managed to drain this swamp, situated where, later on, the amphitheater of the Colosseum stood.

  panem et circenses Bread and circuses. It was Roman policy to feed and entertain the poor to prevent riots and discontent.

  Paraetonium Possibly Mersa Matrûh, in modern northwest Egypt.

  Parthians The reference was never to Parthia, but to the Kingdom of the Parthians, as Parthia itself was an unknown region to the east of the Caspian Sea. Though “Parthians” might suggest similar blood, they were as polyglot as they were far-flung; the Kingdom of the Parthians, a loose military confederacy, incorporated lands and peoples from the Indus River in Pakistan to the Euphrates River in Syria. It was bounded on the north by the mountains and stepp
es of central Asia, and on the south by the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. In Caesar’s time, the Arsacid king was a Mazda-worshiping Parni, who ruled from capitals at Ecbatana (Hamadan) and Seleuceia (Bagdad). Though the largely Parni ruling class could speak and write Greek, they had long discarded their Hellenistic pretensions. Neither climate nor terrain made an infantry army viable. Parthian armies were horsed. The noblemen fought as cataphracts (clad in chain mail), the peasants as scantily clad archers. The latter delivered the famous “Parthian shot.”

  paterfamilias The head of the Roman family unit.

  Patrae Modern Patras, on the Gulf of Corinth.

  patratio According to Dr. J. N. Adams, the word used to mean a man’s achieving orgasm, rather than the act of ejaculation.

  patrician, Patriciate The original Roman aristocracy. Patricians were distinguished citizens before Rome had kings, then served the king as an advisory council; during the early Republic they filled the Senate and all the magistracies. Patricians enjoyed a prestige no plebeian could ever own, no matter how noble he claimed to be. However, as the wealth and power of the plebeians grew, the wealth and power of the patricians inexorably declined. By Caesar’s day, to be patrician was simply to have more distinguished ancestors. Not all patrician clans were of equal antiquity; the Julians and Fabians, for example, were much older than the Claudians. At the end of the Republic, the following patrician families were still producing senators: Aemilius, Claudius, Cornelius, Fabius (but through adoption only), Julius, Manlius, Papirius, Pinarius, Postumius, Quinctilius, Sergius, Servilius, Sulpicius and Valerius.

  patron See the entry on the client.

  pedarii See the entry on the Senate.

  People of Rome All Roman citizens of all social strata who were not members of the Senate.

  perduellio The most serious form of treason. Aman accused of it was tried in the Centuriate Assembly, not in any court.

  Peripatetic An adherent of the philosophy founded by Aristotle, but developed by his pupil Theophrastus. The name originated thanks to a covered walkway within the school; the philosophers walked as they talked.

  peristyle A garden or courtyard enclosed on all four sides, usually by a colonnade.

  persona How a man projected himself. Strictly, a mask, thus how he appeared to others.

  phalerae Round, chased, ornamented silver or gold discs about 3 to 4 inches (75-100 millimeters) in diameter. They were decorations for military valor, mounted in three rows of three upon a fancy harness of leather straps worn over the mail shirt or cuirass.

  Pharsalus A small valley on the Enipeus River in Thessaly, not far from the town of Larissa. Where Pompey the Great met Caesar.

  Picenum That part of the Italian peninsula that more or less formed the calf muscle. It bordered the Adriatic, with Umbria to its north and Samnium to its south. Its people were looked down on as Gauls.

  pilum, pila The Roman soldier’s throwing missile, different from the hasta, or spear. It had a very small, barbed head continuous with a metal shaft for half of its length; this then became a larger, wooden shaft comfortable for the hand. Gaius Marius (q.v.) modified it so that it broke apart at the wood-metal junction as soon as it lodged in an enemy body or shield. Thus it could not be used by the enemy. Artificers recovered them and mended them quickly.

  pinnace A swift, open boat rowed by about eight men.

  Placentia Modern Piacenza, in northern Italy.

  plebeian, Plebs All Roman citizens who were not patricians. It is pronounced with a short “e,” as in February. At the start of the Republic, no plebeian could be a senator, a magistrate or a priest. But as the plebeians accumulated wealth and power, they invaded and eroded traditionally patrician entitlements. To endow themselves with some form of aristocracy, the plebeians invented the nobilis, a man who ennobled his family by becoming consul.

  plebiscite A law passed in the Plebeian Assembly.

  pomerium The sacred boundary of the city of Rome, said to have been laid down by King Servius Tullius. Marked by stones called cippi, it remained unchanged until the time of Sulla (q.v.), who enlarged it because he had added to Roman territory. Religiously Rome herself existed only within the pomerium; all outside it was just land belonging to Rome.

  pontifex A major priest, member of the College of Pontifices. In Caesar’s time it was an elected office (for life).

  Pontifex Maximus The high priest of Rome. A Republican invention, it was brought into being to curtail the power of the Rex Sacrorum, the old high priest who had also been King of Rome. The Pontifex Maximus was elected (for life), lived in one half of the Domus Publica, and had his religious headquarters in the Regia.

  Pontus A large state in northeastern Anatolia, bordering the Euxine Sea and more or less enclosed by the Halys River.

  Portus Itius A village on the Straits of Dover; it is still not known whether Portus Itius was Calais or Wissant.

  praefectus fabrum Technically he was not a part of the army, but a civilian (quite often, a banker) appointed by the general to equip and supply the army. This went from food to clothing to mules to weapons. Because he let out the contracts, he was in a position to enrich himself; this was not considered inappropriate, provided he remained within budget and the quality of his supplies was satisfactory.

  praefectus urbi The urban prefect, appointed by the consuls to man the urban praetor’s tribunal on the day of the Latin Festival-in effect, to look after Rome in the absence of the consuls and praetors. It was a great distinction to be chosen.

  praetor The second-highest Roman magistrate owning imperium. The number of praetors increased over the course of the Republic, as they headed the courts and there had to be enough praetors to keep all the courts open. They were elected by the Centuriate Assembly for one year, and entered office on January 1.

  The praetor urbanus or urban praetor was the senior; he dealt with civil lawsuits and decided whether a case should be tried in one of the standing courts established by Sulla.

  The praetor peregrinus or foreign praetor heard cases that involved non-citizens; unlike the other praetors, who remained in Rome, he traveled throughout Italy hearing cases as well as hearing cases within Rome.

  privatus Aprivate citizen. Used in this book to describe a member of the Senate not holding any magistracy.

  pro: promagistrate, proconsul, propraetor, proquaestor One who served with the status and imperium of those magistrates, but after his elected term of office was finished. A promagistracy was supposed to last for one year only. If proconsul or propraetor, he probably governed a province, though he might be serving as a senior legate of some general in the field. He lost his imperium the moment he stepped over the pomerium into Rome.

  proletarii The lowliest of Roman citizens, too poor to give the State anything except proles, children (See Head Count).

  Propontis The modern Sea of Marmara, between the Aegean and the Black Seas.

  proscription The Roman name for a practice not confined to Roman times: namely, the entering of a man’s name upon a list which stripped him of everything, often including his life. There was no process of law involved, nor did the proscribed man have the right to trial or any kind of hearing in which to protest his innocence. He was nefas. Sulla (q.v.) was the first to use proscription widely; after him, the mere mention of proscription sent Romans of the First Class into a panic.

  provinceProvincia. The sphere of duty of a magistrate or a promagistrate holding imperium. By extension, the word also came to mean the place wherein its holder wielded his imperium.

  publicanus, publicani Tax farmers. These were men organized into companies that contracted to the Treasury to collect taxes in the provinces; implicit in their agreements with the State was the right to extract more money from the provincials than the Treasury demanded, thus creating profits. These could be very large, as the State did not care how much was extracted provided the Treasury got what it had stipulated.

  Public Horse A horse belonging to the Senate and People
of Rome. During the reign of the Kings of Rome war horses were scarce and expensive, so the State donated each of its knight cavalrymen a horse. The practice survived until the end of the Republic, but was confined to the men of the Eighteen. To own a Public Horse was a mark of distinction.

  Puteoli Modern Pozzuoli. A busy, efficiently run port on the Bay of Naples, it was also famous for its glass.

  quadriga A chariot drawn by four horses, poled abreast.

  quadrireme See quinquereme.

  quaestor The bottom rung of the cursus honorum, the ladder to the consulship. Though adlection by the censors had been a way to enter the Senate, and it was still in use during Caesar’s time as dictator to fill the Senate quickly, by his time the usual way to enter the Senate was to be elected quaestor. This happened in a man’s twenty-ninth year, so that he entered at thirty. He served for one year, and entered office on December 5. His chief duties were fiscal. He might be seconded to the Treasury within Rome, or to the governor of a province, or to some important Italian port city, or to the grain supply. If serving in a province, his term might be extended as a proquaestorship.

  Quinctilis Modern July. Its name was changed during Caesar’s dictatorship, as a mark of honor to him.

  quinquereme Avery common ancient war galley, generally thought too slow and clumsy to be maneuverable, but having the advantage of massive size and weight. It was also known as a “five.” Like its smaller sisters, it was much longer than it was broad in the beam, and was designed for no other purpose than war on the sea.

  It used to be thought that the quadrireme contained four and the quinquereme five banks of oars, but it is now almost universally agreed that no galley ever had more than three banks of oars, and more commonly only two. The “four” and the “five” most likely got their names from the number of men on each oar, or else this number was divided between the banks of oars on the same level on either side. The top oar bank was always lodged in an outrigger; if the ship was a three-banker, then the middle-bank oars poked through ports well above water level, while the bottom-bank oars poked through ports so close to the water that they were sealed with leather valves.