Masinissa: Ally of Rome

Rob Edmunds

Description

Masinissa: Ally of Rome resumes the story of the Numidian Prince at a moment when he is beginning to question his alliance with the Carthaginian Empire during the Second Punic War. He has been fighting as a cavalry commander on the Iberian Peninsula for several years but the fortunes of war and his own clandestine meeting with the Roman consul Scipio Africanus, ostensibly his sworn enemy, has led him to reconsider his loyalties. His love for the Carthaginian aristocrat Sophonisba, which had blossomed during his period of exile in Carthage, has remained strong during his absence from North Africa. He is due a period of leave in that city shortly to formalise his engagement to her. At this moment in the war, the Carthaginian forces are attempting to reform their military strength in North Africa and in the strategically important and historically allied southern Iberian city of Gades (present day Cadiz.) For his part, Masinissa has recently retrieved one of the sacred cups of Melqart (Hercules) which had been hidden in a fortress now occupied by the Roman legions. He is presently taking a small contingent of his most loyal troops to the temple dedicated to Melqart which is located close to the city of Gades to return the cup to its proper religious location. The mood of both he and his men on the journey is mutinous.

Sujets

• Historical romance
• Historical fiction
• Spain
• Algeria
• Spain (groupe)
• Algérie

Informations

• Publié par: Troubador Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 28 juillet 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781838596293
• Langue: English

Extrait

Copyright © 2020 Rob Edmunds

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

Whilst some of the characters in this story were real and influential, and some of the events described are documented, this is a work of fiction drawn from historical sources.

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ISBN 9781838596293

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For the A’s
Contents
Historical Context

If This is a Man
Hercules! Hercules!
Returning to Sophonisba
Our Elderly Children
Teenage Wasteland
When an Itch Becomes a Bitch
Washed Away
Firestarter
Finding Their Way Home
Pardon and Punish
Zama Time
The Lies we Tell Ourselves
Historical Context
Masinissa, the heir to the Numidian kingdom of Massyli, has been fighting as a cavalry commander on the Iberian Peninsula in the service of the Carthaginian Empire for several years. His love for the Carthaginian aristocrat Sophonisba, which had blossomed during his period of exile in Carthage, has remained strong during his absence from North Africa. He is due a period of leave in that city shortly to formalise his engagement to her, as well as to further consolidate his alliance with that empire.
In terms of the present state of the war between Rome and Carthage, the initial Carthaginian successes against the Roman legions have been largely reversed with the arrival in Iberia of the Roman proconsul Publius Cornelius Scipio who has deployed his legions innovatively and successfully. In one of the recent battles, Scipio captured Masinissa’s nephew Massiva but the two commanders arranged a clandestine meeting to exchange prisoners, including Massiva. During the exchange, Masinissa and Scipio formed an extremely favourable impression of one another, leading Masinissa to begin to reconsider his present alliance which was already starting to fray with the demoralising strategic picture for the Carthaginian armies.
At this moment in the war, the Carthaginian forces are attempting to reform their military strength in North Africa and in the strategically important and historically allied southern Iberian city of Gades (present day Cadiz.) Hasdrubal Gisco, one of the senior Carthaginian generals and father of Sophonisba, has assigned Masinissa the diversionary task of roaming the hinterland of Iberia with a guerrilla force, mostly composed of Numidian cavalry. During one such action against the Roman occupied fortress of Xativa, a small band led by Masinissa had infiltrated the fortress and retrieved one of the sacred cups of Melqart (Hercules) which had been hidden there. The recovery of the cup is regarded as a significant boost for the morale of the Carthaginian forces, who revere Melqart as one of the senior Phoenician gods. It is also considered to be an appeasement of the god, which may help solicit some form of celestial intervention to reverse the Carthaginian’s current battlefield predicament. Masinissa is presently taking a small contingent of his most loyal troops to the temple dedicated to Melqart which is located close to the city of Gades to return the cup to its proper religious location.
If This is a Man
Ari looked at Masinissa, a question starting to take shape in his gaze. His tongue was also conspicuously pushing upwards into and around one of his upper canines, giving Masinissa a clear indication that an inquiry of some kind was imminent. The detachment of Numidian cavalry they were leading had been riding for most of the morning and planned to go a little longer before they found a shady glade somewhere in which to pass the hottest part of the day. Maybe they’d take a splash in the Baetis River, which was weaving its serene way nearby for large sections of their journey and whose next intersection wouldn’t be too far ahead.
Masinissa, in the novel and temporary position of being the senior commander of the regiments allied to Carthage in Iberia, had made the decision to suspend his guerrilla harassments of the Roman legions and take almost a hundred of his men with him south to Gades and thence to the nearby Temple of Melqart. It was a journey many, if not all, in the party regarded as a sacred obligation as they had in their possession an ancient chalice with depictions of several of the labours of Melqart represented on it. They had recently retrieved the relic from a raid on the Roman occupied citadel of Xativa, which once, years earlier in the war, had been the residence of Hannibal and his wife. It had been consecrated to the Phoenician god and it was imperative that they returned the relic to its place of origin, to both appease the great lord of Tyre as well as propitiate both Him and his priests who were waiting eagerly for its return home. He had entrusted his senior military deputies, his optio and tesserarius with the bulk of the cavalry in the knowledge that their control of the forces remaining in the Iberian hinterland would be absolute.
He had indulged a little personal preference in the choice of the men he took with him. Naturally, Capuca and Ari, who had both played important roles in their clandestine infiltration of the fortress to rescue the cup, had earned the right to come and would not be rebuffed. His occasionally errant nephew Massiva had to be in the cohort too, as Masinissa would rarely any longer let the impetuous boy leave his side for too long. His other most trusted compatriots Juba Tunic, Soldier Boy and Micipsa also accompanied them. The seven of them formed the vanguard of the group. The Carthaginian officer Hanno, who had been with them on their earlier attack of the Roman fortress, had been recalled by the senior Carthaginian general Hasdrubal Gisco, and he had headed towards Mons Calpe, presumably from there to take a trireme or other galley across the straits back to North Africa.
Of Masinissa’s companions, Ari had proven much the most curious and conversational during the journey. It was quite apparent that he keenly felt the honour in the mission in the erectness and solemnity of his bearing whenever he was near to or carrying the cup himself. He was also quite inquisitive to know Masinissa’s views and intentions and the question that had been percolating in his head for the last few moments finally bubbled its way into the still fresh morning air. “This is no mundane errand we’re making here, is it, sire? Returning the cup to the temple will bring us great favour and blessings from Melqart, more than 1,000 sacrifices and 1 million prayers would achieve, but there is more, isn’t there?” He paused and looked at Masinissa with a more questioning gaze, “Do you seek a vision like Hannibal did when he made a pilgrimage there?”
Masinissa was a little surprised by the directness of the enquiry, but he knew Ari had a quiet insight into his nature that others – except for some of the wise, old lags he’d left behind – lacked, and he readily had made Ari his confidant on horseback and in the inn, although discussions in the latter tended to unravel as they both surrendered their lucidity to the wine.
“I’m not sure, I do to an extent, everyone probably would I suppose, we all want something or someone to point us towards the right way to go, but I’m hoping for something more restorative and spiritual I think” Masinissa responded. “This war has stripped me of many of my convictions. My certainties are not as certain as they were. It’s like my soul has slipped its anchor. I’m drifting, Ari.” He looked at his Libyan adjutant a little imploringly as if the boy had spiritual and moral certitudes to offer and console him with. When none were forthcoming, he added with a forlorn shrug “I, we, just seem to be dancing to the tune of the Carthaginian war machine, day after day, battle after battle. I feel numb. All this killing is stupefying me. I feel like a revenant between the worlds of the living and dead.”
Ari merely nodded, perhaps at a loss about how to respond to his commander’s despair. Masinissa was grateful for the mute discretion, sensing that Ari, perhaps subconsciously, was offering him a sounding board. The young Libyan was a good listener, and had often allowed Masinissa to nourish and shape his own thoughts into words and sometimes actions.
Shaping them again, Masinissa continued. “I’m getting far too much of this senseless, violent world. Before I started campaigning, when I had time for learning and leisure, I used to be able to project out from myself and understand the world from my own perspective, fit it all in place in ways that conformed with my perception of everything. These days, I can’t make any sense of things. I really need a break from it all to try to fix myself a little, and this visit to the temple of Melqart might help. I really hope it will.” He paused, thinking a little of his time with his tutors during his adolescent exile in Carthage. He recalled a dusty, ontological conversation he’d had with one of the eastern scholars who he had occasionally been instructed by and shared it wit