The Gates of Carthage: A Novel of Belisarius (The Last of the Romans Book 3) by Havelock William

Author:Havelock, William [Havelock, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Havelock Books
Published: 2022-10-07T00:00:00+00:00

Last Stand of the Imperial Palace

Belisarius flatly prohibited any journey to rescue Perenus from the Hippodrome. Even though Perenus was held less than a few hundred paces from our position at the palace gates, Belisarius reasoned that no fewer than ten thousand armed rioters would make a secretive extraction impossible. When I requested to take a detachment of foederati to retrieve Perenus by force, Belisarius disagreed all the more, arguing that those maneuvers would leave the Palace too weakly defended.

“If Perenus is still alive, it’s because Hypatius’ men have no intention of harming him,” Belisarius explained. “Once Mundus arrives, we will have more options to end these riots and save Perenus.”

After nourishment and rest, Samur agreed with Belisarius. He’d had a difficult time infiltrating the Hippodrome, as Hypatius’ guardsmen had remained vigilant for any Herulians skulking through the streets, yet thankfully my brother had entered the racing stadium undetected.

“It’s pure madness in the Hippodrome,” Samur remarked. “Thousands of people milling about, gorging themselves on food from the Imperial granaries. Hypatius’ senators try to keep some semblance of order, but the only thing that works are hangings.”

“Hangings?” Belisarius echoed.

“Enemies of Hypatius’ revolution,” Samur explained. “There’s at least a hundred bodies rotting along the Hippodrome’s entrances, yet what these people did to deserve execution, I cannot say. The city is rife with rape and murder, and only roving street gangs resolve grudges.”

“Jesus Christ,” Belisarius muttered under his breath, the oath unusual for a man so devout. “And Troglita? The Golden Gate?”

“Still guarded, as are the stables,” Samur said. “I saw Troglita rush to the gate’s guardsmen, and I know he made it at least that far. But if there are any other outposts of loyalists, I didn’t see any.”

Though Belisarius requested that Samur’s insight be kept private, word of Troglita’s escape and the Hippodrome’s horrors infected the Palace at a frenetic pace. The rumors reached Theodora, who demurely insisted that this anarchy would soon be put right and the Emperor’s justice reinstalled, yet many in the Court wondered whether their properties would remain standing after the conflagration, and whether Constantinople would still be habitable amidst despoiled water pipes, thousands of bloated corpses, and a hundred ceaseless fires that fueled the populace’s rage against their government.

Concern only grew as Justinian and his closest advisors kept themselves locked away in separate rooms, emerging only occasionally. Theodora alone served as our conduit to the Emperor, my soldiers brightening as the Empress inquired after their labors. Theodora was frequently seen joking with Herulians, excubitores, Aksumites, and bucellarii alike, granting compliments for faithful service and occasional coins to many. Bearing Theodora’s likeness, these silver coins where not meant for use in markets, for Tribonian’s laws allowed only Roman emperors to adorn precious metals within the Empire. Wazeba viewed the coin as an item of boundless value and sewed a pocket within the leather lining of his armor, where it remained close to his body for the rest of his days.

Both Sindual and Fulcaris independently volunteered to lead

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