“King Syphax, you are to be congratulated on your choice of wines,” Hasdrubal Gisco purred.

  “You should appreciate them,” Syphax told him. “They’re from Carthage.”

  “Aha, no wonder it’s so refreshing,” the Carthaginian acknowledged, “it’s a taste of home.”

  “Have you been away long?” Syphax inquired.

  “Six long months,” the Carthaginian answered.

  “And you, General Scipio,” Syphax questioned, “how long have you been away from home?”

  Cornelius took a sip from the glass and made a face.

  “My preference is for a full-bodied red. This wine, while tasty, is very sweet,” Cornelius observed. “As far as home, it’s been three years since I’ve seen my wife and children. But there were matters in Iberia that required my attention.”

  Gisco flinched at the meaning of the remark. He’d enjoyed the wine during dinner, and the distance from the Roman. But afterwards, out of some sick sense of humiliation, King Syphax had placed the General from Carthage and the General from Rome on adjoining couches. For Gisco, the wine had gone from a source of enjoyment to a way of drowning his discomfort.

  “At least we aren’t sharing a table,” Gisco thought.

  “What was that Hasdrubal?” Syphax inquired.

  Realizing he’d spoken out loud, Gisco tried but his tongue refused to form a lie. Then the first thing that came to mind, came out, “Why do you Romans care about Iberia?”

  ***

  Cornelius rested the glass on the table, stretched his neck, and gazed at the ceiling.

  “Why do we Romans care about Iberia?” he repeated. “Let me start with the obvious. Twelve years ago, your Hannibal Barca crossed the Alps and invaded our northern territories. He brought spearmen, cavalry, and livestock from Iberia. At the Trebbia River, his light and heavy horsemen routed our Legion cavalry and almost captured a Consul of Rome.”

  “I’ve never heard that,” Gisco admitted. “All we were told was the Legion riders fled in fear.”

  “We did not flee in fear,” Cornelius insisted. “It was an orderly retreat.”

  “You sound as if you were there,” Syphax pointed out.

  “I was in the battle,” Cornelius said.

  “What I should have asked earlier, General Scipio,” the King of Western Numidia proposed, “how long have you been at war?”

  “Almost half my life,” Cornelius answered. “But we were talking about Iberia, not my chosen profession. Iberia, like my Roman Republic, represents opportunity.”

  “In that vein, Scipio, Carthage represents opportunity,” Gisco challenged, “as well as east and west Numidia, and the Greek states.”

  “That General is where you’re wrong,” countered Cornelius. “My test for an opportunity is what countries will flock to your banner, fight alongside of you, and accept payment in promises.”

  “That could be said of any country,” King Syphax insisted.

  “Hannibal Barca is in my Republic commanding mercenaries from other regions,” Cornelius proclaimed. “And in Iberia, I gathered fighters from local tribes as well as from Greece, Numidia, and Macedon. And why did they come? For payment in promises because Iberia is an opportunity for taking land and building settlements. Carthage and Numidia aren’t. If I took my Legions to Carthage, few if any foreign units would join me.”

  “Because Carthage is strong,” Gisco boasted. “And we always find a way to win.”

  A moment after the statement, Sidia stepped close to the couch and touched Cornelius’ shoulder. Silent communications passed between them.

  “Optio Decimia. We’re going to be awhile,” Cornelius told his bodyguard. “Go stretch your legs.”

  “Yes, sir,” Sidia confirmed before marching to the exit.

  “Carthage is like an island. A wealthy, well defended island, but one just the same,” Cornelius described. “After picking through the bones of the city, there’s not enough land to settle nor metals to dig up to pay off mercenaries.”

  “That’s an insult,” Gisco protested. “It’s like saying my wife is ugly.”

  “Is she?” Cornelius asked. Gisco flexed as if to come at Cornelius. But after a moment, he settled back, and smirked. Cornelius offered. “It’s a good thing you remained on the couch. Or we’d have had a replay of the battle at Ilipa.”

  “Generals please,” King Syphax urged, “we’re here for a social evening. Not a knife fight. Let’s talk of other, less arousing, subjects.”

  ***

  In the park, Sidia drifted down a side path. While inhaling the fragrance of the vegetation and enjoying the fresh night air, he stretched his back and swung his arms. A little ways down the garden path, he reached under his chest armor and opened the left side buckles. As he turned around to head back to the banquet, he dropped his helmet and the armor on the side of the path. On the next step, the armored skirt and his under tunic fell to the dirt. Yawning loudly enough to be heard down the center of the garden, he strolled towards the door to the King’s hall. But the Legion bodyguard never reached the threshold. Somewhere between the edge of the park and the doorway, Sidia Decimia vanished.

  ***

  The grape arbor over the central walkway offered good concealment. Between the climbing vines on the tall structure, the narrowing of the path as it passed under the trellis, and the deep shadows, the two assassins felt confident of a quick kill.

  In robes with hoods to break up their silhouettes, the pair stood in the shadows next to a wall of grapes. Their unsheathed sicas held at their sides. To complete their assignment, they required only the Latian victim and his bodyguard.

  A twig snapped and both killers braced while looking around. When nothing followed the sound, they relaxed. Then, a thud on the other side of them caused tension to grip their bodies. But no other noises followed, and their muscles loosened. A twig snapped farther away and one of the killers leaned forward. Either he was attempting to find movement in the dark or to hear better. In either case he didn’t catch sight or sound of a potential foe.

  But while the killer didn’t, Sidia did. And two heartbeats later, a man-beast rushed through the park. As primitive as a mountain cat and bearing the marks of the Goddess Mefitis, the War Chief slashed the throat of one and hammered the other to the ground.

  “The Hirpini people have hunted in mountain forests for a thousand years,” he whispered to the dazed assassin. “The rustling of trees and the crunching of leaves are but ways to track our prey.”

  Reaching down with both hands, he twisted the killer’s neck. Not until the head faced the wrong way and the bones in the neck snapped, did the War Chief release the dead man’s head.

  From around the garden, footsteps disturbed dirt as they converged on the grape arbor. Sidia sheathed his Legion dagger and picked up one of the long-curved knives.

  “Good weapon,” he acknowledged before fading back among the trees and the trellises.

  End of sample

  From Dawn to Death

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  A Note from J. Clifton Slater

  Congratulations on finishing Unlawful Kingdom. Together, we’ve journeyed into the 2nd Punic War through 6 books. The welding of an historical figure, Cornelius Scipio, and a fictional character, Jace Kasia, has been a challenge and an honor. Your support of my storytelling gave me the confidence to continue when the research got too deep and the tale too convoluted. Thank you for reading the books.

  Now, let’s separate fact from fiction with notes on history.

  The Passion of Cornelius

  It’s recorded by some writers that Cornelius Scipio had a reputation for taking lovers. But seeing as he had as many enemies as friends, I wondered if maybe the reports were erroneous. For instance, when Cornelius seized New Carthage, modern day Cartagena in Spain, two events took place.

  Among the Carthaginian hostages he freed was the wife of Mandonius and the daughters of Indibilis. They were the two war chiefs who took part in the battle where his father died. If he had trouble with women, you’d expect him to have abused the hostages.

  At the same time, a beautiful bride and her bridal party were brought to Cornelius. And seeing as her betrothed was a Prince of the Celtiberi, the tribe that deserted his uncle’s Legions, he had good reason to mistreat her. Yet, as history reported, he treated her well and even returned the ransom as a bridal gift.

  Hopefully, you enjoyed the stories of the hostages caught up in the New Carthage situation. For me, it was fun to write the scenes about Cornelius Scipio and the women.

  Algerri, Spain

  The Ilergetes Tribe were an Iberian people who dwelled in the plains area of Lleida along the banks of the river Segre. From foothills in the north, their lands extended south to where the Segre and Cinca rivers joined the Ebro river.

  For the story, I needed a likely location for a fortified city or a fort. After scouring the Ilergetes region, I settled on the town of Algerri, Spain. On the hills above Algerri are the ruins of a fort, the Castell d'Algerri. Also in the hills around the ancient fortifications are three locations marked Els Trullets - basically holes carved in the rocks, some with brick borders at the openings. And here my skills as a researcher failed me. I couldn’t uncover any information on what Els Trullets were or who built and occupied Castell d'Algerri. If you have any knowledge about the history of Algerri or the surrounding area, please email me.

  Using the Ilergetes Tribe

  The Ilergetes Tribe famously had dealings with Cornelius Scipio, and before him, with his father and uncle. The history between them started not with the battle that killed Publius Scipio, but a few years earlier when Indibilis was captured by the Roman governor and freed after negotiations. The personal interactions continued when Cornelius discovered, among the hostages in New Carthage, Mandonius’ wife, and the daughters of Indibilis.

  Greek Historian Polybius wrote, “The poverty of some regions, as well as the reigning oligarchy of their populations, drove them (Iberian men) to seek resources in richer areas, both by mercenary work and banditry, which generated a convulsed national environment where fighting was the main way of living. Hispanic indigenous are described as men who loved war, who preferred death before capitulation, and who professed a strong loyalty to whomever they perceived as their war leaders.”

  We know that it wasn’t until years after Cornelius Scipio that Rome managed to pacify the tribes in the Iberian peninsula. For this book, I focused on the Ilergetes Tribe. But there were other tribes just as desperate and unafraid to wage war with their neighbors, with Carthage, and against the Republic Legions stationed in Iberia.

  Women in Ancient Iberia

  Typically, I don’t have a lot of women in my novels. Mostly because the Legions didn’t enlist women and my books are centered around Roman military history. However, when dealing with Iberia, my research hinted at female warriors, at least to defend the homestead. Considering the poverty and unemployment that comes from a society of aristocrats, it makes sense for women to take up arms to defend their homes from marauders. And possibly to take part in battles. Although, I didn’t uncover any warrior women, as has been recorded in ancient Britain.

  There are hints that point to strong women in ancient Iberia. In The Image of Women in Ancient Iberian Culture (6th - 1st Century B.C.), Archaeology Gender Europe (dot) Org described the necropolis at Baza, Spain. It appears the entire ancient cemetery was centered around the tomb of a young woman who was buried with armor among other earthly items. From the same Iberian period, archaeology finds pointed to cults of women. Considering most ancient cults or sects were for males, I can only guess that women held a high place in the society of ancient Iberia. And of course, I had to use a secret cult of women in the story.

  To reinforce the conclusion that women were valued in ancient Iberia, when Cornelius Scipio captured New Carthage, he discovered a number of women hostages from different Iberian Tribes. In order to be valuable as hostages, the women would need to be important to their tribes and the tribal leaders. From Cornelius’ negotiations and actions, we saw the benefits for him and his Iberian Legions when he returned the women.

  Albarracín, Spain

  Albarracín, Spain, while not an ancient fortress, is located beyond what was Oretani Tribe’s territory. And, a couple of miles inside the Celtiberi land of antiquity. Meaning, Celtiberi spearmen would have been stationed there to guard the mountain route against invaders.

  The Historian Polybius doesn’t say where the wedding between the beautiful former hostage and Allucius, the Celtiberi Prince, took place. Only that Cornelius freed the bride. And next gave the ransom, her father had paid for her freedom, to the bride and groom as a wedding present. In return for his generosity and fair treatment of the bride, Allucius gifted Cornelius 1,500 Celtiberi cavalrymen for the Iberian Legions.

  To help the story, I choose the mountain village of Albarracín as the sight for the nuptials. Although the story never made it into the town. As with all historical fiction writers, we find cool places but can’t always fit them into the story. If you have a chance, look up Albarracín, Spain on earth maps. The town is spectacular. Surrounded by red limestone walls and stone battlements, with picturesque streets and shops, I really wanted to use the location for the wedding.

  Numbering Within a Legion

  The Republic didn’t number their Legions until after the Marian reforms in 107 B.C. Before then, they took the name of their General and he distinguished each of his 2 legions by placing a specific God or animal on the Legion’s standard. This also changed during the reform when Marian declared the eagle would represent every Legion. While the Legions during the 2nd Punic War weren’t numbered within a Legion, they did have a numbering system. But like the ancient quinquereme warships, the actual maneuvering of the maniples, or the corvus boarding ramp, the system and designs were lost to antiquity.

  I’ve explained my understanding of the Roman Legion maniple formation before. I think in a Clay Warrior Stories book. If you have read this already, I apologize.

  Greek historian Polybius (200 B.C. - 117 B.C.), “The order of battle used by the Roman army (Legion) is very difficult to break through - since it allows every man to fight both individually and collectively. The effect is to offer a formation that can present a front in any direction. The maniples that are nearest to the point where danger threatens can wheel (pivot) in order to meet the threat.”

  Each Legion at its core had three maniples, or three triple lines of combat infantrymen. The first maniple was composed of unbloodied Legionaries. Next, the second contained the experienced Legionaries, and the third maniple was reserved for veterans. Up through the First Punic War, the Legionaries brought their own armor and weapons. This was reflected in the composition of the maniples. By the 2nd Punic War, with the addition of landless recruits, the requirement was relaxed but not official until the Marian reforms.

  Now we get into my research and understanding. Often when I don’t have facts or a written description, such as Polybius’ dissertation on the warfighting benefits of the maniple, I reverse engineer the topic.

  The 1st Century of a Legion was oversized with 120 veterans. They formed the core of a Roman General and his staff’s guards. This we know from records. Beyond that, no one thought to write down what number the rest of the maniples used. To write historical adventure, I needed a numbering system to keep track of a Century’s location in a combat line, which maniple, and their level of experience. Here are the numbers of the 36 Centuries of Legionaries in a Legion, and their location in a battle formation.

  First Maniple, inexperienced Legionaries: left side Centuries #2 thru #7, right side Centuries #8 thru #13.

  Second Maniple, experienced Legionaries: left side #14–#19, right side #20-#25.

  Third Maniple, veteran Legionaries: left side #26-#31, right side #32-#37.

  Because none of the other units in a Legion were as regimented, I don’t have specific numbers for any units beyond the heavy infantry. The number of Centuries of Velites (light infantry & skirmishers), archers, bolt thrower crews, and cavalry changed with each campaign. But the heavy infantry was consistent. Each Century had 80 Legionaries, a Centurion, an Optio, and a Tesserarius.

  In my books, I used this convention to maintain order during battles and to select Centuries for assignments. Just as I used the Twenty-fifth Century to guard the bridal wagon in Unlawful Kingdom. I trust, you can see the reasoning behind my system of numbering within a Legion.

  Lleida on the Segre River

  We don’t know the details of the release of Indibilis’ daughters or the wife of Mandonius. However, one of the results of returning the hostages can be inferred from a report by Livy. A few years after the return of the hostages, there were rumors that Cornelius Scipio had taken ill and died. Upon hearing the news, Indibilis and Mandonius revolted against Roman authority. Cornelius recovered, returned to Iberia, and defeated the brothers in battle.

  Surprisingly, they had honored the agreement while Cornelius Scipio lived. But promptly broke the treaty when they thought they were beyond the reach of the General. We can only surmise that Cornelius demonstrated his vengeance as a warning to the brothers before he allowed the hostages to go free. I chose Lleida on the Segre River as the site where Cornelius possibly showed Indibilis and Mandonius the consequences of breaking a treaty with him. And, as you can tell, I changed the timing of the rumor about Cornelius’ health for Unlawful Kingdom.

  Aemilia Tertia Paullus

  Cornelius Scipio’s wife, Aemilia Tertia, was the daughter of Consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus, who died at the Battle of Cannae. Historian Polybius noted Aemilia enjoyed displaying her wealth and using her connections. These ostentatious displays of wealth reflected high levels of status among the female members of the elite class in the middle Roman Republic. Aemilia was known to travel with a large entourage when she attended events, and she traveled in a gold and silver adorned carriage.