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talent; this occasion was only one more in a long list. So we began packing for the march as our cohorts came streaming into our camp over the next few days.
    As for Caesar’s missing nephew, Octavian, I gave that poor fellow hardly a second thought. I had no time to worry about him. Truth is I soon forgot his name. Why not? I counted him lost at sea. There were so many casualties of war in those days one grew used to hearing about death. Even Caesar’s kin were not immune. But of course our precious Octavian was far from finished with the worries of this world.

III
RONDA
Ronda: 15 th March, 45 BC
    Ronda, which Romans generally refer to as Munda, was a fortress town fifty years ago. It lay midway between Oculbo and Cordoba forty miles to the south. The way there was mountainous and hard going. Before the town lay a great undulating plain leading up to a nest of high rocks, where the city stood. With steep ravines at his back and covering his flanks, young Gnaeus Pompey had picked his site with care. Caesar might come at him in force from only one direction. Pompey had meat, grain and fresh water in abundance. More importantly he had time. Caesar was the one desperate for battle. Caesar had spent the winter fighting skirmishes, taking towns, and negotiating with potential allies. None of the fighting had value except as it persuaded certain wavering allies to commit fully to him. What really mattered was defeating Pompey’s army at Ronda. All the rest was propaganda.
    We arrived on the broad plain below the fortress in the early afternoon of the Ides of March and proceeded to build eight interconnected legionary camps. These Caesar fortified with a staked ditch and high palisade. I was not privy to Caesar’s battle plan; I only knew that Dolabella’s cavalry was supposed to wait in reserve with our forces spread out evenly before the ditch. When called forward, we might come in smaller units and be expected to support a folding line. If the battle was going well we might arrive in force, hoping to break through the enemy line at its weakest point. At the start, however, our only job was to wait. This allowed me the chance to watch Caesar’s army take the field.
    Caesar anchored his line with Legio X at the far right wing, where he would fight as well. This legion Caesar trusted beyond all others, and they loved Caesar as men love their fathers. Why not? He had turned them all into heroes with his book, Caesar’s Conquest of Gaul . What man, once named and lauded for his courage in a famous book, can ever back down from a fight? No, he will die before he will run. The same as Caesar would do. Leaving aside Dolabella’s reserve cavalry, Caesar amassed five thousand horsemen evenly at either end of the line. When the army had settled into formation, each legion was clearly marked out on the field. Eight legions, each with its own reserve cohorts behind it.
    After his army had formed for battle Caesar rode across the frontline. We could see Caesar’s scarlet cloak even from our camp. Caesar’s inspection was a leisurely one. He called out to men in every legion, officers and infantry alike. As I learned later, he made light of the high ground Pompey commanded. He said when a man has filled his army with slaves and untried boys they’ve only enough courage to run downhill. He also made the point that their great numbers meant Pompey had plenty of gold in his camp to pay them. ‘That’s our gold, friends!’
    When he had finished his survey, Caesar took his position with the cavalry on the right flank, just behind Legio X. An hour passed, and Pompey still remained in his camps. After that Legio X started with the catcalls. Soon enough some of the more animated fellows began running out before their frontline. Turning their backs to the rebel camp, they lifted their tunics to expose their arses.
    When it was clear that Pompey’s son had no intention of coming out that day, Caesar ordered the flagmen to signal the