CARAVAN TO PATALIPUTRA by Michel Poulin - HTML preview

{1} Pontus Euxinus : The ancient name of the Black Sea.

{2} Bactra : Modern-day Balkh, in Northern Afghanistan.

{3} Kophen : Modern-day Kabul, in Afghanistan.

{4} Purushapura : Modern-day Peshawar, in Pakistan.

{5} Alexandra Caucaso : Modern-day Bagram, in Afghanistan.

{6} Purushapura : Modern-day Peshawar, in Pakistan.

{7} Gorytos : Combination quiver and bow carrier used by ancient steppe nomads.

{8} Stadium : The Greek Attic Stadium was a measure of length equivalent to 185 meters.  A Roman mile was worth 1,480 meters, while the Chinese Li was worth between 350 and 550 meters, depending on the time period.

{9} Lochagos : Ancient Greek military rank for the commander of a company of soldiers.

{10} Archon : Old Greek title for a local governor or ruler.

{11} Arakan : Ancient name of the west coast region of Myanmar/Burma.

{12} Kshatriyas : Caste in the Hindu system that comprised rulers and warriors.  It is the second-highest caste, while the Brahmin caste, comprising priests and scholars, is at the top of the system.  Below the Kshatriyas are the Vaishyas, or merchant class, followed by the Sudras, which includes laborers, servants and peasants.  At the bottom, excluded from that system, are the Dalit, or Untouchables.

{13} Oxus River : Ancient name of the Amu Darya River.

{14} Oxus Sea : Ancient name of the Sea of Aral.

{15} Cybele : Goddess of rocks, wild animals and birds of prey in the Sarmatian pantheon.

{16} Emporium : Greek name for a trading post.

{17} Hypanis River : Ancient name of the Southern Bug River.

{18} Tyras River : Ancient name of the Dniestr River.

{19} Alae : Roman cavalry unit counting between 512 and 768 men and subdivided into 32-men squadrons.

{20} Procursatore: Roman cavalry scouts charged with close-in patrolling around a Roman advancing unit.  Typically stays well within a distance of one-day’s marching.

{21} Exploratores : Roman cavalry scouts charged with long-distance patrolling and screening ahead of a Roman advancing unit.

{22} Speculatores : Roman spies employed by advancing Roman armies.  They typically were disguised with civilian clothes or even enemy uniforms.

{23} Teiwaz: The Germanic God of War.  Later known as ‘Tyr’ in the Viking sagas.

{24} Hypatis : Ancient name of the Southern Bug River.

{25} Porata : Ancient name of the Prut River.

{26} Tyras : Ancient name of the Dniestr River.

{27} Istula : Old pronunciation for the Vistula River.

{28} Cotini : Ancient Celtic tribe of the Hallstatt Culture which lived along the Baltic Coast and which gained a Germanic warrior leadership after the Goths started migrating south from Sweden to the Baltic shores at the start of the First Century B.C.E.

{29} Seeress : Old Germanic type of priestess who was reputed to be able to predict the future and could invoke the favors of the gods.  They were often equated in later Christian times with witches.

{30} Valkyrjur : Plural of Valkyrja, the Old Norse word that correspond to ‘Valkyrie’, the warrior women of Norse mythology who chose among the warriors killed in combat and then brought them to the Valhalla, the paradise for Norse warriors.

{31} Thunaraz : Ancient Germanic name of Thor, God of Thunder.

{32} Belgae : Main ancient Celtic tribe which lived along the coast of the North Sea, in modern Belgium and the Netherlands.

{33} Frijjo : Old Germanic name for the Norse goddess Frida.

{34} Hinduwani steel : A type of high-carbon steel originally produced in India in Antiquity, later to be called ‘Damascus steel’ once it started to be exported to the Middle East.

{35} Taiga : Name given by locals to the boreal forests of Russia and Siberia.  The Taiga often intermixes with the grassy plains of the steppes.