Dura

by Peter Darman Book 15 in the Parthian Chronicles series.

First published 2021

Amazon

4.5(841)

Set in Dura-Europos and the desert frontier in the later first century BCE, war has been a successful Duran export for many years. But now it is at the gates of my city and strangling my kingdom.
Parthia’s borders are now secure after decades of strife and a general peace has settled over the empire. The prosperous and thriving Kingdom of Dura basks in the glory of a Parthian Empire that is both united and strong. But from the desert bordering Dura comes an enemy that threatens the very existence of Pacorus’ realm, an enemy that strikes like a cobra and disappears like a phantom.
Seeing Dura shrivel before his eyes, Pacorus is forced to take drastic action to defeat a foe that is threatening to reduce his city to an impoverished desert outpost. In desperation, he leads Dura’s army into the vastness of the desert to seek a decisive clash with the so-called Chosen One, a battle that will decide the future of the Kingdom of Dura itself.

Dura-Europos occupied a strategic position above the Euphrates, linking settled Mesopotamia with desert routes and tribal territories. A prosperous frontier kingdom depended on irrigation, trade and the ability to police long stretches of open country. Raiding from the desert could therefore damage a state without offering the defending army the set-piece battle it wanted.