southeastern India.
Nehar Malka: the ancient canal connecting the Euphrates and Tigris rivers; scene of a battle between Belisarius and the Malwa.
The Pass: a pass in the Zagros mountains separating Mesopotamia from the Persian plateau; site of a battle between Belisarius and Damodara; called The Battle of the Mongoose by the Rajputs.
Peshawar: located in the Vale of Peshawar, between the Punjab and the Khyber Pass.
Punjab: the upper Indus river valley.
Rajputana: the land of the Rajputs, one of India's major nationalities.
Sind: the lower Indus river valley.
Sukkur: a major city on the Indus; north of the city is the 'Sukkur gorge' which marks the boundary between Sind and the Punjab.
Suppara: a port city on India's west coast, to the north of Chowpatty.
Tamraparni: the island of Ceylon; modern day Sri Lanka.
Vindhyas: the mountain range which marks the traditional boundary between northern India and southern India.
Terms
Anvaya-prapta sachivya: members of the Malwa royal clan.
Aqabe tsentsen: literally, 'keeper of the fly-whisks.' The highest ranked official in the Axumite government.
Azadan: literally, 'men of noble birth.' Refers to a class of people in the Persian empire roughly analogous to medieval European knights.
Cataphract: the heavily armed and armored mounted archer and lancer who formed the heart of the Roman army. Developed by the Romans as a copy of the dehgan.
Dawazz: a slave assigned as adviser to Ethiopian princes, specifically for the purpose of deflating royal self-aggrandizement.
Dehgan: the Persian equivalent of a cataphract.
Dromon: a Roman war galley.
Kushans: originating as a barbarian tribe from the steppes, the Kushans became civilized after conquering Central Asia and were the principal support for Buddhism in the early centuries of the Christian Era; later subjugated by the Malwa.
Negusa nagast: 'King of Kings.' Ruler of Axum, the kingdom of the Ethiopians.
Nika: the name of the insurrection against Justinian and Theodora engineered by the Malwa.
Peshwa: roughly translates as 'vizier.' Top civilian official of the Empire of Andhra.
Sahrdaran: the highest ranked nobility in the Persian empire, next in status to the emperor. Traditionally consisted of seven families, of which the 'first among equals' were the Suren.
Sarwe: a regiment of the Axumite army. The plural is 'sarawit.' Individual soldiers are called 'sarwen.'
Spatha: the standard sword used by Roman soldiers; similar to the ancient Roman short sword called the gladius, except the blade is six inches longer.
Vurzurgan: 'grandees' of the Persian empire. Noblemen ranked between the azadan and the sahrdaran.
Ye-tai: a barbarian tribe from central Asia incorporated into the Malwa governing structure. Also known as 'Ephthalites' or 'White Huns.'
Maps
