Ruins of the ancient Greek colony and trading post of Tanais, on the Don River delta.
05:11 (Caucasus Time)
Wednesday, May 18, 69 B.C.E.
Family summer campsite, hills east of the Borysthene River
Territory of the Sarmatian tribe of the Roxolani
North of Lake Meotis (Sea of Azov)
‘’AND DON’T FORGET TO BUY SOME GOOD QUALITY WOOL CLOTH!’’
‘’DON’T WORRY, AMAGE: I WON’T FORGET!’’ shouted back Boraspos to his wife as he started leading a herd of 21 horses towards the Southeast. His nephew Akkas, who was helping him control the herd with his brother Chodios and his cousins Galatus and Nauca, giggled at the exchange.
‘’Aunt Amage really wants that cloth, doesn’t she?’’ said Akkas to Chodios, who was riding near him.
‘’Well, we do need new clothes for next Winter, Akkas, unless you want to ride bare-bottomed in December.’’
In response, Akkas bent sideways and lowered his voice.
‘’Talking of bare-bottomed, I wouldn’t mind seeing Nauca do so. She is growing very nicely indeed.’’
‘’Careful, Brother: Uncle Boraspos could punch you silly if he heard you. Besides, shouldn’t you be looking for an appropriate bride from another group by now?’’
‘’All in due time, Chodios.’’
On her part, Nauca could only contain her excitement with difficulty: this was going to be the first time that she would be traveling well away from the family campsite, with this trip’s destination being the Greek emporium{5} of Tanais, some nine days away on horseback. Members of the family did such trips to Tanais about every three to four years, when they had a significant number of grown horses ready to be sold, along with the accumulated furs and pelts they had caught while hunting. In exchange, the money they would get from the sale of their horses and furs would make it possible to buy things that the family could not produce itself or find in the nature, like woolen cloth, metal tools, weapons and utensils. Rare were the nomads in the region who were raising herds of sheep so, while about every woman and girl knew how to spin wool, getting the raw wool itself was not that easy, unless you lived near a town or a trading post. In the case of Tanais, Boraspos knew from experience that he would find there plenty of wool cloth of varying grades and quality available for buyers with money. Depending on how much money they would get for their horses, they then may well have enough left after buying cloth to spend on a few luxuries. For nomads like them, about anything apart from basic food and clothing could be considered a luxury item. In the case of Nauca, she still had the purse full of coins that she had won as part of the loot taken on the marauders she had killed over two and a half years ago. Her problem was that she had no idea yet about how she was going to spend that money. However, she was resolved to scrupulously follow the counsels of her father on that matter, in view of his experience on what to expect in Tanais.
09:00 (Caucasus Time)
Friday, May 27, 69 B.C.E.
Forest woodline some nine kilometers west of Tanais
‘’Here you are, boys and girl: Tanais, the most northern Greek trading post one can find around and a place where you can find nearly anything, including trouble.’’ announced Boraspos as they emerged in the open after riding through a forest with their herd.
‘’What do you mean by that, Father?’’ asked Nauca, a bit surprised by his last words. Her father gave her a sober look.
‘’By that I mean that you will find all kinds of various people in Tanais. Some are decent and honest people; others will lie to you to trick you and take your money and a few will be ready to attack you and steal outright from you. While the main languages used in Tanais are Greek and Sarmatian dialects, you will also hear dozens of other languages in the taverns, inns, markets and whorehouses of the town. That place is nothing like you have seen to date in your life, Nauca, and as a pretty young girl, you will attract lots of attention, some of it of the unwanted kind. So, while you certainly want to profit from your visit and look for novelties, stay on your guard at all times, don’t flash your money, keep your valuables close to you and don’t trust somebody’s words unless I judge him to be honest. Understood?’’
‘’Yes, Father!’’ replied Nauca, her enthusiasm a bit cooled down. Boraspos next looked at his son Galatus and his two young nephews.
‘’These words of caution apply to you three as well. There are plenty of pretty prostitutes and many not so pretty prostitutes plying their trade in Tanais, eyeing passing nomads, merchants, sailors and caravan handlers to earn a few drachmas. If you ever use some of them during our stay, make sure that you don’t get some disease from them, or either me or my brother may cut your dicks off on our return to the camp.’’
Nauca giggled at that, while the two young men nodded their heads, knowing that Boraspos’ threat was not a joke. With that said, Boraspos urged his horse forward, heading for the town and port visible in the distance, along the western shores of the Tanais River Delta.
About one hour before noon, the five mounted nomads and their herd of 21 horses arrived at the limits of the western part of the city. Just outside the narrow and twisting streets and alleys of the agglomeration of modest houses and buildings, they found a number of fenced corrals, some of them already containing horses. Recognizing a man he had dealt with some four years ago and whom he had found to be reasonably honest, Boraspos rode directly to that man, who sat under a small open tent set up next to the entrance of a corral containing seven horses. The Greek man smiled as he eyed the 21 horses brought by Boraspos: all of them looked vigorous and healthy. He greeted Boraspos with a solid handshake and while speaking in Sarmatian.
‘’I see that one of my best providers of horses is back. You are Boraspos, right?’’
‘’You do have a good memory, Polonius.’’
‘’Pah! A good merchant needs to have a good memory. If not, he risks getting robbed blind. So, those horses are for sale, my friend?’’
‘’They certainly are, Polonius. Would you like to inspect them?’’
‘’Of course! I never buy a horse without inspecting it first.’’
The Greek merchant then patted the shoulder of a teenager who had just run up to him.
‘’Demetrios, open the barrier of the corral and be ready to guide in the horses I will select for buying.’’
‘’Yes, Father!’’
As the teenager got busy, Polonius approached the nearest horse of Boraspos’ herd and started examining it, starting with its mouth and teeth. After his short examination, the Greek stepped back by a few paces to evaluate the size and stance of the horse before looking at Boraspos.
‘’I am ready to give you 400 drachmas for this horse, my friend.’’
Boraspos hid his satisfaction then: that was more than he had hoped for at first and was certainly more than he had gotten from the same man four years ago. Maybe something was pushing up the price for horses. Still, he made a show of bargaining for a while, finally getting Polonius to accept a price of 420 drachmas. With both men satisfied, the horse was led in by young Demetrios while Polonius wrote down on a parchment the agreed sum, then went to inspect a second horse.
The whole inspection and bargaining process for the 21 horses took a bit over one hour, with a most happy Boraspos getting a total of 8,600 drachmas for his herd of horses. Of course, Polonius didn’t have such a sum on him or even at the corral, so he led the nomads towards his house in the fortified main city quadrangle, located behind stone walls with towers and surrounded by deep moats. As they went through the narrow streets of the western quarter, which housed the more modest shops of the city and the houses of local artisans, Boraspos couldn’t help ask a question to Polonius.
‘’Am I wrong by having the impression that prices for horses have gone up significantly?’’
While continuing to walk, the Greek merchant gave him a sober look.
‘’You got the right impression, my friend. The war between King Mithridates and the Romans down in the Pontus{6} has gone badly for the King. He recently suffered a number of stinging defeats and basically lost most of his army to the Romans. Mithridates is said to be presently sheltering in Armenia, on the eastern shores of the Pontus Euxinus{7}, where he is trying to rebuild his army. Because of that, the demand for good horses has never been higher. Add to that the fact that a caravan from far to the East has arrived two days ago and is also wanting to buy lots of horses and I should make a very nice profit this year.’’
‘’That caravan, do you know what it was carrying?’’
‘’Of course I do!’’ replied Polonius, smiling in amusement. ‘’I would be a poor merchant if I didn’t keep informed about the opportunities and possible bargains to be had. Basically, it mostly brought silk, spices, jewelry and some weapons from the East. In exchange, I expect those Eastern merchants to return home mostly with horses, furs and slaves.’’
Polonius’ last words soured somewhat Boraspos’ good spirits and he made a bitter smile.
‘’Slavery… To us nomads of the steppes, freedom is the most important thing in life. I would kill myself before allowing someone to enslave me or my family.’’
‘’Well, the whole World seems to use slaves, so who am I to rail against it? Talking of family, who is that stunning young woman rider who came with you?’’
To Polonius’ surprise, Boraspos broke out into laughter at his question.
‘’That ‘young woman’ is my daughter Nauca and she is eleven years old.’’
Polonius abruptly stopped on hearing that and threw a disbelieving look at Nauca, still riding her horse, then looked at Boraspos.
‘’She’s only eleven? But she is nearly as tall as me!’’
‘’I know!’’ said proudly Boraspos, grinning. ‘’She definitely has my blood in her. She is already an excellent huntress and horse rider and proved herself as a warrior as well.’’
‘’Proved herself as a warrior? At eleven?’’
‘’Actually, she was only nine when she killed by herself five marauders who tried to kill and rob us one early morning, some two years ago. She stabbed one man with her dagger, then shot the four other robbers with a bow.’’
‘’Wow! The Spartans would have loved that story. Uh, how long do you plan to stay in Tanais, my friend?’’
‘’I am not sure yet, Polonius. Two or three days, maybe, time to buy a few things around.’’
‘’Then, since you will soon have a lot of gold and silver with you, thanks to your horses, let me give you one piece of advice: go stay at the old caravanserai next to the port area. It has fortified walls and is defended by moats. Since it is used by foreign merchants with lots of precious goods, it is well guarded and has ample facilities for travelers with horses or camels. Also, since the reputation of Tanais as a trading post is crucial for the local economy, the local Archon{8} has been very careful in having the caravanserai run by honest men. You and your relatives will be safe from robbers there, plus you will be living next to the caravan handlers who recently arrived in Tanais. Maybe you will have a chance to buy directly from them some oriental treasures with the gold and silver you will get from me.’’
‘’That definitely sounds like a judicious advice, my friend.’’ replied Boraspos, who understood well the old trade rule which said that eliminating one intermediary in a trade deal always saved money.
On her part, Nauca kept looking left and right from atop her big Akhal Teke horse, fascinated by the new things she was seeing. She had never seen so many people in one place and the kaleidoscope of colors rivaled with that of the vegetation of the steppes. One thing that she didn’t like much, however, was the odors. While she could smell tempting odors coming from various street food vendors and inns, the smell from the local latrines and rudimentary sewers, along with that of the garbage littering the back alleys, violently contrasted with the pure fragrances of the steppes’ pines, firs and other plants. The noise level and cacophony were also a bit unsettling to her. Nauca was quick to realize as well that she would have problems if she ever decided to live here: only a minority of people seemed to speak Sarmatian{9}, the only language she knew. That fact then started to make her reflect on what she knew, or rather what she didn’t know. The only world she had known to date was the steppes and her own people. However, if she ever wanted to explore the rest of the World one day, she would need to learn other languages and study things like geography and foreign customs. Hell, she didn’t even know how to count properly! As for reading and writing, the Sarmatian language didn’t have a written form, so Nauca was in fact a complete illiterate. That was not through any fault of her own, as she knew that she was quite intelligent and could learn new things fast, but she felt frustrated then at realizing how limited her knowledge and horizons were. Maybe she would have to change that…one day.
After passing through the Western Quarter, the group arrived at the main city quadrangle, a fortified sector with moats, stone walls and towers measuring 250 meters by 240 meters. As he guided the Sarmatians towards one of the gates in the walls, Polonius waved a hand at the fort.
‘’This is where the richer people in the city reside, along with Archon Phoros and his top administrators. My own house is inside the main city quadrangle and it is where I keep my gold and silver, as it is about the safest place in Tanais. I will speak to the guards at the city gate, as you would normally not be allowed in by yourselves.’’
Boraspos nodded his head at that, understanding the situation. While the merchants of Tanais were most willing to trade with visiting nomads, the rough ways of the latter and their habit of raiding each other around the steppes made many merchants uneasy and suspicious of them. Thankfully, Polonius was not among those merchants. With the five Sarmatians trotting behind the Greek merchant, Polonius spoke quickly in Greek with one of the two guards standing at the gate, slipping a silver drachma coin in his hand as well. The guards then let the group pass but Nauca didn’t miss the suspicious looks from the guards as they eyed the panoply of weapons which the Sarmatians were carrying. Keeping her impressions to herself for the moment, she followed Polonius and her father inside the fortified city and down a fairly large street. The group then turned nearly immediately onto a side street, covering another forty meters before entering the walled front yard of a large brick house, where Polonius told them to dismount. With a servant taking care of their horses, the five nomads entered the house behind Polonius, who led them to an open-air atrium situated in the center of the house.
‘’Please, sit on those stone benches, my friends: I will go get your money. Would you like some wine?’’
‘’That would be very kind you.’’ replied Boraspos, who had tasted wine before during previous visits to Tanais. Polonius clapped his hands loudly then, getting a female servant to appear. The merchant gave her a short order, then disappeared inside the house. The servant disappeared as well for a moment, but soon returned with a collection of cups and a ceramic pitcher, then poured a cup of wine for each of the nomads. Getting her own cup of wine, Nauca sniffed at the red liquid and looked at her father.
‘’What is this, Father?’’
‘’That is called ‘wine’, basically fermented grape juice with a fair proportion of alcohol. Wine is a very common drink in towns and cities and I actually like its taste. Just drink it in small sips and let its flavor flow down your throat.’’
Nauca did just that, cautiously taking a first sip. She had to concede then that she did like the taste of that new drink. Up to now, the only liquids she had drank were water and koumiss, fermented mare’s milk.
‘’It is actually quite good, Father.’’
‘’I appreciate it myself, Nauca, but be careful not to drink too much of it or to drink it too quickly: you could easily get drunk with it. For a girl or woman to get drunk in a city like this one would probably invite some troubles.’’
‘’What kind of troubles, Father?’’
‘’Like men trying to abuse those drunken girls, when their judgment is impaired. Things can also get very rowdy when men and women celebrate together and get drunk. Things can then degenerate quite quickly. You may still be young, but many men in this town would try to use you for their pleasure, if given a chance.’’
‘’Oh! I see!’’
‘’Good! Never forget that, Nauca.’’
Thus warned, Nauca kept sipping slowly her wine. Polonius was back before she could drink half of her wine. Putting down a heavy leather pouch, a weight scale and some kind of wood frame with beads strung on wires on top of a bench near Boraspos, he then opened wide the pouch, revealing an impressive amount of gold and silver coins.
‘’I have here both Athenian gold staters and silver drachmas and tetradrachms. The gold stater is worth twenty silver drachmas, while the tetradrachm is worth four drachmas. I will now count out your money by weighing it on this scale and recording the numbers on this Chinese abacus, a very practical item for people like me who have to count and record large sums. I would suggest that, once the whole sum will be counted, you split it around your purses: one big purse full of gold would attract quickly all the thieves in this town, of which there are quite a few, by the way. Then, I would further suggest that you hide your purses inside your tunics. What I will give you actually represents over ten years of salary for a skilled worker: many people would be ready to kill for so much money, so be very careful with it.’’
‘’Hell, five marauders were ready to kill me, my family and the family of my brother in order to steal our horses. I certainly get your point, my friend.’’ replied Boraspos in a sober tone.
‘’Good!’’ said the merchant before starting to weigh the coins, ten gold staters at a time. While Nauca didn’t know how to truly count, having used only her fingers and toes in the past to count things, she closely watched Polonius as the merchant used his scale and abacus. The abacus in particular struck her imagination with its simplicity and practicability. The counting actually went surprisingly fast and Boraspos ended splitting the mass of coins between him, his two children and two nephews after only twelve minutes or so, time that included explanations by Polonius about how he was counting the money. Now very satisfied, Boraspos tied back the cordon of his bulging purse and tucked it inside his tunic, as Polonius had counseled him to do.
‘’It is decidedly a pleasure to deal with you, my good Polonius. I hope that you will be able to resell those horses quickly and at a good profit for you.’’
‘’Oh, don’t worry about that, my dear Boraspos. Between the Archon looking for new war horses for his king and those Eastern merchants, your horses will fetch a very good price, thank you very much.’’
Akkas, who had been mostly silent up to now, then asked a question to the merchant.
‘’What about that war with the Romans, Polonius? Would King Mithridates be looking for mercenaries, by chance?’’
While that question made Boraspos snap his head to look severely at his 22-year-old nephew, Polonius took his time to think his answer carefully.
‘’Well, King Mithridates is certainly looking for new soldiers to rebuild his army in Armenia. However, you should realize two things. First, King Mithridates was forced to flee his palace in Sinope as the Romans advanced and defeated his army, thus is now nearly penniless. Second, as much as I hate the Romans, with their limitless greed and brutal ways, I have to say that the Roman war machine is a truly formidable one, highly disciplined and made up of experienced soldiers. If you ever enrolled in King Mithridates’ new army, young man, then chances are that you will not return alive from the war. I in fact anticipate that the Romans will eventually take over the whole area of the Pontus Euxinus and may even come all the way to here. Now, don’t get me wrong: I have no love for those Romans, who took and sacked my beloved Greece in the past, but I know how to recognize losers and winners when I see them. King Mithridates is now fighting his third war against the Romans and I expect him to lose again. The problem is that he is dragging down to defeat and destruction his allies and his own soldiers with him. Enrolling in his army would not be wise, young man.’’
To Boraspos’ satisfaction, Polonius’ words seemed to thoroughly douse Akkas’ enthusiasm. Boraspos then spoke to the merchant.
‘’Thank you for your wise words, my friend. Would there be a particular merchant who you could recommend to us for his honesty? We will need to buy a number of things before returning to our camp in the steppes.’’
‘’You are in luck, my friends!’’ exclaimed Polonius at once, grinning to Boraspos. ‘’My brother Thanos administers the caravanserai for the Archon and would be most happy to help you. He is nearly incorruptible, speaks a godly amount of languages, knows everything that happens in town and deals all the time with visiting caravan handlers. He will be able to both lodge you at a reasonable cost and help you find good deals. I will write a quick note for him right away.’’
Boraspos smiled to his children and nephews as Polonius disappeared again, carrying inside his house his depleted money pouch, weight scale and abacus.
‘’Decidedly, Polonius is a good man to know here in Tanais. Now, before you start spending the gold and silver filling your purses, my nephews, remember that those coins belong to your father, who will split them with you once back at our camp. If you have to spend coins here, be parsimonious, unless you are buying items that Irganos has asked you to find in Tanais. Understood?’’
‘’Yes, Uncle!’’ replied in unison Akkas and Chodios, sounding and looking obedient.
‘’Good! Once I will have that note from Polonius, we will go to the caravanserai and find lodging there.’’
‘’Could we go eat soon, Father?’’ asked Nauca as her stomach produced an audible gurgling sound. ‘’I am starving!’’
Boraspos, who was himself getting quite hungry, nodded once.
‘’We will, Nauca, as soon as we have rooms at the caravanserai.’’
A few minutes later, Polonius was back with a rolled piece of parchment, which he gave to Boraspos. The nomads then left the merchant’s house after a last handshake. Getting back on their horses, which included three horses carrying bundles of furs and pelts, the product of three years of hunting, plus two other horses carrying their tent and food supplies for their trip, the five Sarmatians trotted out of the main fortified city and went towards the port area. Armed guards at the gate of the caravanserai challenged the group but, thankfully, at least one of the guards could speak Sarmatian and they were allowed to easily enough enter the walled, sprawling compound. Nauca’s eyes immediately fixed on a group of the strangest beasts she had ever seen, prompting her to ask a question to Boraspos.
‘’Father, what are those things with two humps on their backs?’’
Boraspos eyed the beasts in question for a second before smiling.
‘’Those things, my dear daughter, are Bactrian camels. They are used a lot by merchants from the Far East because they survive well in desert areas. They accumulate water in their humps and can go many days without drinking. Don’t ride too close to them, though: horses don’t like their strong smell. Now, let’s find this ‘Thanos’.’’
Boraspos had to ask three men before the last one proved to speak Sarmatian and offered him to get the caravanserai administrator. Dismounting with his companions, Boraspos waited patiently near one of the stables built along the inside faces of the perimeter wall. That gave Nauca more time to look around her, fascinated by all those new sights. The variety of languages spoken and outfits worn was nearly dizzying to her. In turn, many of the people present in the caravanserai, most of them obvious foreigners, eyed with curiosity the five Sarmatians. However, the stares a few men fixed on Nauca made her feel uncomfortable, being clearly lecherous. Boraspos noticed those stares and moved closer to Nauca, so that he and his horse would be between the foreign men and his daughter.
‘’You will have to be on your guard here, Nauca. Those foreigners have probably been traveling for months and may have been without women for quite a while. Make sure that one of us is always with you when such men are around you.’’
‘’Understood, Father.’’
The young man who had offered to go get Thanos for them then returned, accompanied by a lean, medium height man with short curly black hair. The latter wore a fine short tunic and had a couple of gold rings on his fingers. Going to Boraspos and stopping one pace from him, he politely bowed his head to him and spoke in fluent Sarmatian.
‘’Hello! I am Thanos! What may I do for you, mister?’’
Boraspos returned his bow and gave to the man the small rolled parchment he had received from Polonius.
‘’My name is Boraspos and we just sold 21 prime horses to your brother Polonius. We were looking for a place to stay for a couple of days in Tanais, time to sell our furs and buy a few things, and he recommended that we go to this caravanserai and ask for you. Here is a note he gave me.’’
Thanos took the parchment and quickly unrolled it, reading the short text written in Greek. He then tucked the parchment inside his tunic and smiled to Boraspos.
‘’My brother did well to send you here. Welcome to the caravanserai. Before we do or say anything else, let’s get a few stalls for your horses. Follow me!’’
Walking to a series of still empty horses stalls some thirty meters away, Thanos spoke quickly with a stable boy, who then started opening the gates of two of the stalls as the caravanserai master smiled to Boraspos.
‘’Those two stalls will be yours for the duration of your stay, my friend. The fee, which includes water and feed, is one drachma per stall per day. You said that you wanted to stay for a couple of days?’’
‘’That’s correct! We need to sell our furs and buy a few things before returning to our family camp in the steppes.’’
‘’May I see those furs of yours, friend?’’
‘’Of course! Akkas, Chodios, Galatus, take down our bundles of furs!’’
The three young men obeyed him at once and lined up the bundles on the ground in front of the stalls, as the stable boy and Nauca led their horses inside the stalls. Thanos quickly proved to Boraspos to be an expert on furs and pelts by the way he examined them and asked questions about them. After a good ten minutes of careful examination, Thanos smiled to Boraspos.
‘’Your furs and pelts are of high quality indeed, my friend. In my opinion, this lot is easily worth 3,800 drachmas. I would be ready to buy them from you or, if you prefer so, I could put you in contact with one of the merchants of the recently arrived caravan, who is looking specifically for furs. However, I must warn you that the man in question is a hard bargainer indeed.’’
That left Boraspos thinking furiously for a moment. According to his own past experience at selling furs, the price quoted by Thanos seemed quite fair, plus the man had been recommended to him by a merchant he trusted. On the other hand, choosing to deal with a foreign merchant he knew nothing about sounded like a risky proposition to Boraspos.
‘’I will accept your offer of 3,800 drachmas for my furs, mister.’’
‘’Excellent! Wait here while I go get that sum and arrange for two rooms for your group at the inn. I should be back shortly.’’
As Thanos walked quickly away, Akkas approached Boraspos and whispered in his left ear.
‘’You think that this was a truly fair price for our furs, Uncle?’’
‘’I do! Those foreign merchants may look quite exotic and colorful to you, but they are first and foremost very experienced and savvy merchants bent on making the maximum profit possible from trading their goods. They could probably addle our brains with all kinds of excuses and stories meant to lower the price they would offer us for our furs. Besides, I trust Polonius’ word and he did recommend Thanos to us. By showing goodwill in this first meeting with him, we may well prepare the grounds for an even more profitable meeting next time we come to Tanais.’’
Apparently won ove