The Tortoise in Asia Read Online Free PDF Page A

moral capital the Parthians have built up over years of self denial is enough to allow for a little spending.
    To skirt the risk of battle would be the most desirable strategy. But it’s obvious that diplomacy has run its course. What makes matters worse though, is the ascendancy of Surena, a threat even more proximate than the Romans. That ambitious man placed the crown once; he’s sure to want to put it on his own head next time. Having just subdued the rebellion, if he wins a great victory against the invaders his popularity could well shake the throne.
“If it has to be war you have got to make do with the force you have. We need those men you requested for the autumn palace we are building. Why can’t you defeat the Romans with your present strength?”
    Surena is aghast. Not even his contempt for Orodes has prepared him for this. With fury bending his brow, he looks down at the floor, then around to the nobles and priests who’re riveted in apprehension. After a silence of half a minute, he says in a stifled, quiet voice, both arms outstretched,
“The Roman force is forty thousand, Sire. We have only ten thousand horse archers in the regular army plus a few thousand from the local satrap. The odds are overwhelming, especially given the reputation of the Roman army.”
    A hooded look falls over Orodes. It’s useless to argue with the famous Commander. The plan his old friend and mentor, Versaces, suggested last week should be adopted. A nobleman with no independent power base and in need of royal favour after catastrophic losses on his estate, he can be trusted. Besides, he too is jealous of Surena for having superseded him as head of the army before he was ready to retire. If war’s inevitable, then let Surena fight the Romans and lose.
    Before the battle starts he’ll go to Armenia with a second army commanded by Versaces to punish King Artavasdes for helping the Romans. It’ll be an easy campaign and will remove any threat from the north. After his defeat, Artavasdes can be bribed to join forces with Versaces’ army. Then, with Crassus’ army weakened by the battle with Surena, the allies will either defeat the Romans or compel them to leave with threats from a position of strength. Surena can be blamed if he loses and executed. If he wins, another excuse will have to be found, but, given the likelihood of a Roman victory, that may not be necessary. It’s best not to provide more troops.
    He’s about to announce this but before he can speak, the Supreme Magus, a white-bearded and pious scholar, whose hard eyes imply that any compassion he might possess is learned and not felt, enters the debate. He owes his office to a profound knowledge of the
Avesta
text.
“Noble Sire, Ahura Mazda, the one god of the universe, commands us to combat Evil wherever it is found. It is here, now, in our ancestral land. Our holy prophet, Zoroaster, bless his name,” (the assembly mumbles a repetition) “requires constant vigilance in the eternal struggle between Light and Darkness. These Romans, these devils who worship nothing more evolved than images of humans in the sky, come to our country as emissaries of the Evil One. They must be expelled at all costs.
“We cannot endure foreign armies on our sacred soil, especially this one. No loss is too great for us to suffer in expelling them, no horror too cruel; death in this just struggle is a noble sacrifice that Ahura Mazda will reward at the time of judgement.
“The Romans are disrespectful of our culture. They eat our crops and degrade our women. Their air of superiority and intention to dominate the world are an abomination. We must mount a holy war against these people who seek to pollute the purity of our ways. Sire, you must, in the name of the
Avesta
, give Commander Surena what he asks for.”
    As the nobles and priests nod their heads, Orodes shifts on his cushion and grimaces. The only sensible