Destiny's shield

theatrical commanders! — stranded his army without a supply line. Marched them to surrender from starvation, after losing his own life.'

He shook his head. 'Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Yes, it ended well for you Persians. You got Nisibis and five other provinces in ransom, for allowing the Romans to march out of Mesopotamia.'

The satisfaction on Baresmanas' face ebbed.

'Not so well as all that, my friend. The towns were still destroyed, and the countryside ravaged.' He rubbed his scarred shoulder, pensively. 'In the end, it was just another of the endless wars which Aryans and Greeks seem obsessed with fighting. How many times has Nisibis changed hands, over the centuries? You have sacked Ctesiphon, and we, Antioch. Is either Empire the better for it?'

Belisarius shook his head. 'No, Baresmanas. I, for one, would like to see an end to the thing.' A crooked smile. 'Mind you, I suppose I could be accused of unworthy motives. Ending a millennium-long conflict with a victory at Mindouos, I mean.'

Still rubbing his shoulder, Baresmanas smiled.

'I will allow you that personal triumph, Belisarius. Quite cheerfully. I hope never to meet Romans on a field of battle again.'

Belisarius laughed. 'I, too! You Persians are just too damned tough.'

He eyed the sahrdaran slyly. 'That was Justinian's main argument for accepting your proposals, you know. He said that making a hundred years' peace would cement the Roman army's allegiance to the dynasty. Anything to avoid another clash with those damned Persian dehgans!'

Baresmanas, for all his scholarly nature, was too much of a dehgan himself not to be pleased. But he did not linger over the gratification. He pointed at the book.

'Why are you reading it, then?'

Belisarius scratched his chin.

'I brought it with me-borrowed it from a bibliophile friend named Irene-just on speculation. I thought it might contain some useful material. As it happens, I think it does. Quite useful, in fact.'

He gave Baresmanas an amused look.

'Have you had enough rest and relaxation in Peroz-Shapur? Does the thought of two days' travel in the countryside appeal to you? It'll be scorching hot, of course. On the other hand, there will be certain subtle pleasures. You know, things like quiet, solitude, serenity-'

'Enough!' laughed Baresmanas. 'Anything to get away from this insane revelry! The bleakest desert in the world sounds like paradise to me, at the moment.'

'It won't be all that bad, actually. I just want to retrace our route. Go back up the river to the old canal we passed by on our way here.'

Baresmanas frowned. 'The Nehar Malka? The Royal Canal?'

Belisarius nodded. The sahrdaran's puzzlement deepened.

'Whatever for? That canal's as dry as a bone. It hasn't been used since-' He stopped. Belisarius completed the thought:

'Since you Persians blocked it off, two centuries ago. After the Roman Emperor Julian used it to float his ships from the Euphrates to the Tigris, in order to besiege Ctesiphon.'

Baresmanas blew out his cheeks. 'Yes, yes. That little episode-not so little, actually. Julian failed to take Ctesiphon, but it was a close thing. Anyway, after that we decided the irrigation and trading value of the canal was not worth the risk of providing Romans with a perfect logistics route to attack our capital.'

He cocked his head quizzically. 'But still-I ask again? Why are you interested in a canal which is empty of water?'

'That's precisely the reason I am interested in it, Baresmanas.'

He held up his hand, forestalling further questions.

'Please! At the moment, I am simply engaged in idle speculation brought on by reading an old book. Before I say anything else, I need to look at the thing. I was not able to examine it closely on our way into Peroz- Shapur.'

Baresmanas rose. 'As you will. When do you wish to depart?'

'Tomorrow morning, as early as possible.' A little frown appeared on his brow. 'I hate to drag any of my troops away from their celebration, but we'll need an escort. Some of my bucellarii will just have to-'

'No, Belisarius! Leave the lads to their pleasures. My household troops have been awaiting me here for almost a month. We can take our escort from among their ranks. I insist!'

To Belisarius' surprise, the expedition which set out the next morning turned out to be quite a major affair. A full two thousand of Baresmanas' household troops showed up outside his tent, at the crack of dawn. Even if he hadn't already been awake, the sound of those horses would have tumbled him from his pallet. Half-expecting a surprise cavalry raid, the general emerged from his tent with sword in hand.

After dismounting, Baresmanas grinned at the Roman general's wide-eyed stare.

'It seems I am not the only one who seeks a bit of peace and quiet,' he remarked. 'Almost all of my household troops clamored to join the expedition, once the word got out. But I didn't think we needed six thousand men.'

'Six thousand?' asked Belisarius.

The sahrdaran's cheerful grin widened.

'Amazing, isn't it? I was expecting three thousand, at the most. It seems the news of our great victory at the battle of Anatha has caused dehgans to spring up from the very soil, desperately seeking to share in the glory. Truth is, I think it was the faint hope that we might encounter another party of Malwa raiders that inspired this great outpouring of enthusiasm for our little expedition.'

One of the general's servants approached, leading his horse. As he took the reins, Belisarius remarked:

'They are not all troops from your household, then?'

The sahrdaran gave his shoulders a little inscouciant shake.

'Who is to say? The majority are from my province of Garamig. The rest? Who knows? Most of them, I suspect, are from Ormazd's own province of Arbayistan.'

Belisarius nodded, and mounted his horse. As they began to ride off, he mulled over Baresmanas' last words.

For all their similarities, there were some important differences in the way the Roman and Persian Empires were organized. One of those differences-a key difference-was in their military structure. The Roman army was a professional army supplemented by mercenary auxiliaries, usually (though not always) drawn from barbarian tribes. The Persian army, on the other hand, was a much more complicated phenomenon.

Feudalism is always complicated, came Aide's interjection. Most convoluted system you-we humans have ever come up with. And we're a convoluted folk. Especially you protoplasmic types.

'So it is,' murmured Belisarius. He did not inquire as to the meaning of 'protoplasmic.' He suspected he didn't want to know.

Each nobleman of sahrdaran and vurzurgan rank maintained a private army, made up of soldiers from their province or district. Some of those-the 'household troops'-were financially supported by their lord. The rest were dehgans, whose obligation to provide military service was a more nebulous affair.

The dehgans were village and small town knights, essentially. The lowest rank in the aristocracy, but still part of what Aryans called the azadan. Though they were officially under the command of the higher nobility, the dehgans were economically independent and not, as a class, given to subservience. When it came to rallying the support of 'his' dehgans, a high lord's prestige counted for more than formal obligation.

For their part, each dehgan maintained a small body of retainers who would accompany him on campaign. Not more than a handful, usually. Well-respected men of their village or town-prosperous farmers and blacksmiths, in the main-who had not only the strength, fitness and skill to serve as armored archers but could afford the horse and gear as well.

The Persian Emperor himself, beyond his own household troops, directly commanded nothing but his personal bodyguard-a regiment of men who still bore the ancient title of the Immortals. For the rest, the Shahanshah depended on the support of the great nobility. Who, in turn, depended on the support of the dehgans.