Chapter 3 : Edessa

After almost a day of marching, the Legion will soon be able to see the walls of Edessa. The City of Edessa was one of the cities located on the border between the Roman Empire and the Sassanid Empire. It was founded during the Hellenistic Period by King Seleucus I Nicator, founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became the capital of the Kingdom of Osroene, and continued as the capital of the Roman province of Osroene, and served as a frontier province against the Sassanid Empire.

"Hey! Look at that, It's Edessa!" Shouted one of the Legion

"Whoaa…Finally! We can kick some Sassanian ass!" Shouted someone among the Legions. Those who said this was in fact new recruit who got their morale boosted whilst the veteran did not speak a word and just kept their morale inside and just kept marching.

And in the front of the march was Valerian and the other Legatus and Prefect and some tribunes, all of whom were riding horses, while in the back there were dozens of infantry, the legionnaires who marched on foot, and also the Standard of the Roman Legion, the Aquila (Eagle), could be seen with the Aquilifer holding it high.

"Your Majesty, I've received a report from one of our men inside the city that there is only a small garrison of Sassanian inside." said Succesianus Flavius, the Prefect of the Praetorian Guard.

"And what about our men? "Can he open the gates for us?" asked Valerian to the commander of his Praetorian Guard.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. They said they'd definitely be able to open the gate for us on time" Tiberius replied.

Then, satisfied with the answer, Valerian said, "Alright, that's good." "All the commanders of their respective legions!" Shouted Valerian

""Yes, Your Majesty"" A loud sound followed soon after.

Then Valerian continued, "After the gate is opened, I want all of you to quickly do as planned and also make sure to tell the Legionnaires that plundering or ransacking the city is prohibited, and if there is someone who gets caught doing this, execute them immediately!" said Valerian.

"" As you command, Your Majesty!"" They said it in unison. Then all the commanders saluted their Emperor and began relaying their orders to their respective legionnaires.

There, Julian also went to his Legion's row and relayed the Emperor's order.

"All of you! Hear me! Plundering or ransacking the city is prohibited! We are liberating the city that belongs to us, the Romans! Not the enemy! So for those of you who disobeyed this order, you will be faced with execution by the Emperor's Order! " "Shouted Julian to the Legionnaires of the Legio III Parthica." Hearing no answer, Julian shouted again, "Do you understand!?"

"YES!"" answered the Legionnaires immediately. After that, he summoned his third in command, the First Centurion of the Legio III Parthica, Quintus Helvius Aulus, or Aulus for short.

"After the gate is opened, I want all of you to proceed with the plan. Understood? " Ask Julian.

Although Valerian and the Legions had been able to restore the province of Syria, the province of Osroene had yet to be taken back to Roman hands, and so did Edessa, the capital of the province. The plan is that after one of the Roman spies opens the City Gate from inside, the Legionnaires will immediately storm it and eliminate its garrison, and from there they will immediately occupy all the important and strategic places of the city, such as the Arx (citadel) of the city. And since this is about restoring a Roman city to its Roman hands, that is why plundering and ransacking the city are definitely prohibited.

"Yes, Sir." We understand. I will remind the other centurions too, so that they can keep the men disciplined. "Reply Aulus" "Good, you are dismissed," said Julian.

As soon as Aulus leaves to relay Julian's words, Julian began to move his horse in front of the Legionnaires' row and began to ponder the things that had been burdening his heart in the past few days.

During his reign, Valerian persecuted many Christians. Some Christians even cursed him by saying he would get God's retribution. And as a matter of fact, the Julian family were actually Christians. His grandfather had converted to Christianity in secret and it was passed through his son and his grandson, Julian. And because of all of the persecutions that were happening, Julian's father, Marcus Cassius Ruberus, decided it was better for the family to convert back and worship the Roman Pantheon because Ruberus did not dare risk losing all the family's wealth and property. Julian's family, as its family name suggests, came from the gens (clan) Cassia, and although their family was a plebeian (commoner) family and not a patrician (ruling class) family, their family was still considered as one of the wealthiest plebeian families in Rome. That is also how Julian was able to get a high degree of knowledge by studying under various tutors.

And his family also managed to befriend Gallienus, the Caesar and the son of the current emperor, and through them, Valerian was able to notice Julian's talent. With his family supporting Valerian with a large sum of donations and considering Julian's talent, Valerian appointed him as the tribune of the Legio II Parthica and not the Legatus, because he is still too young to take such a position, but it actually doesn't matter because he is still the overall commander of the Third Parthica.

Julian will always be indebted to Valerian. Julian himself, when he was still a Christian, was not a very devout Christian and only cared about studying history, philosophy, and military tactics, but deep down he felt that the persecution was getting far worse day by day and he currently had a conflicting faith between the Christian and the Roman Pantheon.

Do the gods really exist? And if so, what about Christians? Does God also exist? Despite being persecuted, there were a significant number of Christians who survived. them is really the right answer. All of this was currently going on in Julian's mind, and he did not know. One thing he knows is that he has to set aside all this thinking and prepare for the upcoming battle.

It was already night. The Legions were hiding outside of Edessa and waiting for the gate to be opened from inside. After almost thirty minutes of waiting, The Gate suddenly opened, and the Legionnaires under their respective Centurions immediately charged through it and quickly seized the strategic places of the city, including the main Arx and the city square, where the Sassanian garrison, which numbered only a few thousand men, was quickly overpowered by the Legionnaires and surrendered. In only 3 hours, the Legionnaires were able to seize the whole city. And the Roman legions were renowned for their discipline, and after getting ordered not to plunder or ransack any house or building, the Legionnaires definitely followed their superior's command.

Within the Arx of the city, Not long after seizing Edessa, Valerian held a meeting with all the high-ranking officials.

"Do not get happy first. Shapur and his army will definitely come here to stop us. And rather than being stuck here within the walls, as I've said before in Antioch, it's better for us to confront them outside and defeat them in one fell swoop. " After that, Valerian asked his men again, "Before I continue, do any of you want to suggest something?" asked Valerian.

"Your Majesty, How about we send some scouts to check which places are suitable and advantageous for us to fight the enemy? " Said Julian.

Not long after Julian made his suggestion, Antoninus Aurelianus Calvus, Legatus of the Legio IV Scythica, also supported the idea. "It was a good idea. Your Majesty and I suggest that it is better that we fight the Sassanids under our terms," said Calvus.

"You are right," said Valerian, then continued, "Your cavalry is one of the most skilled horsemen, so I ordered some of your cavalries to scout the area with me tomorrow." So said Valerian to Fabius Horatius Florus, the Legatus of the Legio I Minervia.

"As you wish, Your Majesty." Reply Florus

"Alright, also send some scouts to inform us later if there are any Sassanians army marching here. " said Valerian.

"Well, I suggest that we give this mission to my nephew, Marcus Horatius Phillip. I am not trying to help my nephew or anything, but I really believe that his skills with horses are more than sufficient and he definitely can inform us faster if the enemy is coming. "Suggest Florus to the Emperor.

Valerian, who also knows about the talent of Florus' nephew, immediately approved this. "Alright, let's give it to him," said Valerian.

After that, Valerian then dismissed them. "Let's continue this talk tomorrow after I decide which place is better to fight the Sassanids. All of you are dismissed," said Valerian. Then all of the officers saluted the emperor and left the room one by one.

All of them are confident in the upcoming fight against the Sassanids, especially Valerian, who is more than eager to defeat the Sassanids and return the humiliation the Roman Empire had faced during the campaign under Emperor Severus Alexander decades prior and immediately return to the West to help his son, Gallienus, and prevent some usurpers from claiming the throne and rebelling against him in the future. But little did he know that something far more dangerous than any of that which was currently within the walls of Edessa and, if not handled quickly and correctly, would definitely be Valerian and his troops' biggest obstacle in this campaign against the Sassanids.

Author's Note :

the Plebeians or Plebs are the ordinary citizens or commoners of the Roman Republic and later Empire

the patricians on the other hand were the ruling class or the upper class of Roman society.