Fall of Empires

Chapter 4

The Persian encampment sprawled for miles before the city of Antioch. From his vantage point atop the Wall of Justinian, which snaked over the slopes of Mount Silpios on the eastern side of the city, Theophanes took in this second city of tents. He gave a low whistle as he beheld the size of the besieging army. Persian soldiers swarmed over the plain as they busied themselves in the thousand tasks of the camp. A detachment of cavalry had crossed the river by the ford in order to blockade the road to the coast, which led westwards from the bridge gate, cutting off the city from aid. The rumble of their hooves was audible even at this distance as they exercised their mounts. A number of siege catapults were being assembled facing the city wall and carts laden with suitable boulders were trundling slowly up from the nearby river. The rattling of the wheels and the grunting of the oxen added to the cacophony of sound and left the defenders of Antioch in no doubt as to the besiegers’ intentions. With Romanus’ rejection of Shahrbaraz’s demand for their surrender, the city’s fate was sealed.

Theophanes had never beheld a spectacle more terrible than the army that had come to Antioch, nor, he had to admit to himself, one so magnificent.

‘We’ll let them through the wall here.’ His father spoke softly although there was no-one else standing close enough to overhear.

Directly below their vantage point the aqueduct that sprang across the landscape on great bounding arches, bringing fresh water from the mountain springs into the city, passed through the wall. The passageway within the aqueduct was large enough for a man to crawl along when no water was flowing through it. A small inspection shaft in the top of the wall allowed access to the aqueduct from above.
The usual cheerful gurgle of water had been silent now for several days. Shahrbaraz had sent men armed with picks and hammers to breach the aqueduct and to divert the watercourse which fed it. For the time being the city could supply its needs from the reservoir within the walls or from the Parmenios River, although this water was far less clean and pleasant to use. The public baths and the fountains in the Forum of Valens had run dry. Theophanes wondered if any of the disgruntled citizens who thought only to complain about the loss of the baths could suspect that the disruption of the water supply had a more sinister purpose.

‘Everything has been agreed with Shahrbaraz,’ Theophanes’ father continued. ‘Shimon’s man, the Jewish horse trader, got a message through last night. The general has agreed to spare the city all violence, no homes or churches will be damaged, no person will be harmed or enslaved.’
‘Can we trust Shahrbaraz?’ Theophanes asked, well aware of the Persian reputation for perfidy.

‘As much as we can trust any Persian, probably more so than most. His reputation as a man of honour precedes him.’ Bardas gave a shrug. ‘We have no choice but to trust him. This is the course of lesser evil I am certain.’

‘So when will it happen?’

‘Tonight. During the third watch. They will send men along the aqueduct and they will be able to get onto the walls here. This section will be left unguarded. From here they can make their way along the wall and through the Jewish Quarter to seize the Daphne Gate,’ Bardas explained. ‘Once they have taken it, the entire Persian army can march right in and the city will be theirs.’

‘What about the citadel?’ Theophanes whispered conspiratorially. ‘They cannot hold the city without the citadel.’

Bardas turned and shaded his eyes as he looked up at steepest section of the wall as it climbed towards the squat fortification which dominated the highest point of the defences.

‘Shahrbaraz will send a small force of men to climb to the foot of the wall below the last tower there.’ Theophanes followed his father’s gaze towards the final tower jutting from the walls before they met the citadel itself. ‘Ropes will be let down from the tower and the door to the southern guardroom of the citadel will be left unbarred. All of the men on duty along this stretch of wall are unlikely to put up any resistance. Those who will be stationed in the tower are sympathetic to our aims although only a few trusted men know the plan and only one of them knows for sure that it will be tonight. When the moment comes they will make sure that no-one resists.’