The Dance of Time

literally, "keeper of the fly-whisks." The highest ranked official in the Axumite government.

Azadan:

literally, "men of noble birth." Refers to a class of people in the Persian empire roughly analogous to medieval European knights.

Cataphract:

the heavily armed and armored mounted archer and lancer who formed the heart of the Roman army. Developed by the Romans as a copy of the dehgan.

Dawazz:

a slave assigned as adviser to Ethiopian princes, specifically for the purpose of deflating royal self-aggrandizement.

Dehgan:

the Persian equivalent of a cataphract.

Dromon:

a Roman war galley.

Kushans:

originating as a barbarian tribe from the steppes, the Kushans became civilized after conquering Central Asia and were the principal support for Buddhism in the early centuries of the Christian Era; later subjugated by the Malwa.

Negusa nagast:

"King of Kings." Ruler of Axum, the kingdom of the Ethiopians.

Nika:

the name of the insurrection against Justinian and Theodora engineered by the Malwa.

Peshwa:

roughly translates as "vizier." Top civilian official of the Empire of Andhra.

Sahrdaran:

the highest ranked nobility in the Persian empire, next in status to the emperor. Traditionally consisted of seven families, of which the "first among equals" were the Suren.

Sarwe:

a regiment of the Axumite army. The plural is "sarawit." Individual soldiers are called "sarwen."

Spatha:

the standard sword used by Roman soldiers; similar to the ancient Roman short sword called the

gladius

, except the blade is six inches longer.

Vurzurgan:

"grandees" of the Persian empire. Noblemen ranked between the azadan and the sahrdaran.

Ye-tai:

a barbarian tribe from central Asia incorporated into the Malwa governing structure. Also known as "Ephthalites" or "White Huns."

Back | Next

Contents

Framed

Back | Next

Contents

Maps

THE END

For more great books visit

http://www.webscription.net/

This page uses frames, but your browser doesn't support them.

 Click here for frameless version