A day after Valerian and the Roman Legion reclaimed Edessa, Valerian, with Fabius, a few Legatus, including Julian, and a few cavalry, went to scout the surrounding area that could be advantageous in the upcoming battle against the Sassanids.
Edessa was situated on a ridge in the middle of a ring of hills surrounded by a fertile plain, and was therefore considered to be favourably situated. The ridge in turn was an extension of Mount Masius, part of the Taurus Mountains of southern Asia Minor.
"This is indeed the best place to defend. " Said Sucessianus, the Praetorian Prefect.
"You're right, but at the same time, due to the terrain, we could not deploy the full force of our cavalry." So said Julian while contemplating.
Valerian, who heard them, also began to think deeply about his plan. He initially wants to confront the Sassanids rather than repel them from inside the walls because he wants a quick and decisive victory to return to the west. Then Valerian began to speak his mind.
"It's alright, we still have our legions and the gallic cavalry that we have is quite skilled, even in a mountainous terrain like this." said Valerian.
"We could place the cavalry on the plains surrounding Edessa to prevent them from retreating." I suggest Julian.
"That's sound plausible, alright, let's do it" Said Valerian
While Valerian and his men went to scout the surrounding area, soon something would happen inside the walls of Edessa.
Currently, Seneca, the Camp Prefect of the Third Parthica, is overseeing the training of the legionnaires of the Third Parthica. Praefectus Castrorum or the Camp Prefect was the third most senior officer of the Roman legion after the legate (legatus) and the senior military tribune (tribunus laticlavius), both of whom were from the senatorial class, and the Camp Prefect was also responsible for training, equipment procurement, and maintenance, and construction of the camp, but he could command the legion when his seniors were absent. The post was usually held by a soldier promoted from the centurionate, having already served as a first centurion (primus pilus) of a legion, and was therefore open to ordinary citizens.
"Look more lively! We are all going to face the Sassanids. If you're going to fight them with this kind of spirit, you might as well die here rather than die uselessly under their hands. " Yelled Seneca.
The Legionnaires who knew Seneca's temper began to tremble and take his words seriously. But among these Legionnaires, there are some men whose complexions look quite terrible, and Seneca also noticed this.
"Hey you!" So said Seneca while approaching the Legionnaire.
"If you are sick, go to the physician. I will permit it. " Said Seneca
The other legions who heard this also began to ask Seneca to be absent from today's practice because they said they were also feeling unwell and needed to see the physician.
Seneca, who saw this, became suspicious. 'There are so many of them that were feeling unwell. Is there a disease within the city?' Seneca pondered. Is this just happening to the Third Parthica or have other Legions also had this? But the tribune and the Emperor have not yet returned. Damn it.' Seneca became confused as to what to do regarding the situation.
He has to report this to his superior immediately, but before that he decided to ask his subordinates and check the other Legions' situation to prove his suspicions.
"Aulus! Aulus!" So said Seneca while approaching Aulus, the First Centurion of the Third Parthica.
"What is it, Sir?" Replied Aulus
"Does the men have been feeling unwell these days?" Ask Seneca
"Oh that, a few of them, yes" replied Aulus
"Damn it!" Seneca cursed
Aulus, who heard his superior cursing, realized something was not right. "What happened, Sir?" Could it be a disease? " Ask Aulus about Seneca
"I'm afraid, Yes it is a disease" Answered Seneca with frustration
"Fuck! Just when we're about to fight the Sassanids!" Albus began to curse after hearing Seneca's answer.
"Alright then, I will go to the other Legions to check the situation first, and I want you to isolate those who feel unwell and separate them from the rest of the Legionnaires to prevent further spread of the disease," Seneca said to Aulus.
"Yes, Sir!" Said Aulus
Seneca immediately checked the other legions' conditions and realized that his fear was true. Edessa had been struck with disease. Just like the men from his legion, the other legion's legionnaires also shared the similar symptoms. He also discovered that some Edessa residents were afflicted with a disease. Seneca then rushed towards the Legatus in charge of the city after the Emperor Valerian went outside temporarily.
Seneca went to Gaius Evasius Albus, the current Legatus of the Legio III Cyrenaica and also a good friend of Julian. Right now, Albus was tasked with taking charge of Edessa while Valerian scouted the surrounding area.
*Knock, Knock*
"You may come in." A voice could be heard from inside the door. Then Seneca proceeded to open the door and went inside.
"Greetings, Sir" Saluted Seneca to Albus.
"Hmmm, if I'm not wrong, you are the camp prefect of the third parthica, Right? " Ask Albus
"Yes, sir. I am" Replied Seneca
"What is your name?" Oh, never mind, I remembered it had to be Seneca, right?" Albus to Seneca.
"You're right, Sir" Seneca answered.
"Tell me, what is it that you want to discuss with me?" Ask Albus
"About that, I'm afraid there is a disease that is currently spreading inside Edessa." Said Seneca
Hearing his words, Albus' face began to frown and he asked Seneca with seriousness in his words.
"Are you sure?" Ask Albus
"Yes, Sir. I have checked other legions too and some residents of the city, and it is true that many of them have been struck with the disease. " Said Seneca
"Alright, I want you to inform the medic to begin fixing the situation and tell them to do whatever it takes to prevent further spread of the disease, whether it's isolation or what." So said Albus to Seneca. Then Seneca exited his room.
'Fuck! disease at a time like this! Did the gods really abandon us? or is it the Christians' god who did this!?' Albus thinks about the dire development of the situation.
Then Albus immediately sent some men to relay the information regarding the disease within Edessa to the Emperor, Valerian. Albus sighed. Only the gods knew how this would end for the Romans.
After a while, Albus summoned the head Medicus (physicians) of the legion, Balbus Avilius.
"To be honest, Legatus, the situation right now is dire and the disease has been spread too far among the legions and the citizens of Edessa as well," said Balbus.
Albus, who heard this, began to get frustrated about what had happened but managed to regain his calm and began to ask about the disease.
"And do you know what disease is this?" Is this curable? " Ask Albus of the Medicus
"My apology, but currently there is no cure for this disease." Answered Albus
"Fuck.." said Albus with frustration, but currently there was nothing he could do about the situation.
"Loss of appetite, diarrhea, stomach pain, headache, headache, weakness, and fatigue. All of these are the symptoms, if I'm not wrong, that also happened to the Athenians, A widespread plague in Athens in 430 BC, which proved fatal for one-third of the population." Balbus explained.
"So there is really no cure to this disease?" Ask Albus once again.
"No, Sir but we could at best prevent it to spread further and limit the casualty" Said Balbus
"You do that, and you also have to explain this to the Emperor after he returns." Albus dismissed him and began to reflect deeply on the current situation, remaining in his room because he, too, did not want to become infected with the disease.
While Albus racked his brain to do everything he could to fix the situation within Edessa. The current Roman Emperor, Valerian, and a few Legates and Julian were on horses and were on their way to go back to Edessa after choosing the place suitable to fight the Sassanids.
Not long after that, they could see someone riding a horse at such a speed toward them, and everyone immediately knew that person was a messenger.
"Greeting, Your Majesty!" The messenger saluted the Emperor.
"What happened?, Does something happen at Edessa?" Ask Valerian
"I have been tasked by the Legatus, Gaius Evasius Albus, to inform you that the Legions within the city of Edessa have been struck by disease." reported The messenger to the Emperor
The Emperor, Valerian, and the high-ranking officers that heard this were surprised, and some of them began to curse and panic about the new crisis they had to face, especially Valerian.
"Damn it! What a fuckin' era! There must always be something that prevents us from stopping this madness! " Valerian shouted in anger.
Then Valerian asked the messenger again. "And has Albus issued some measures to be taken about the disease?"
"Before I depart, the Legatus and the Medicus have indeed taken all measures possible to prevent further spread of the disease." Reply to the messenger
Julian, who heard this too, was both surprised and confused about what to do. They had only limited time before the Sassanids arrived, and now with the Legions being struck by disease, it meant that they could not fight them with their full force. The worse part is that they might lose a large number of soldiers even before going to battle.
'Fuck! What a cursed development! We currently have no time to deal with the disease, and even if we could stop the disease from spreading further, it would take time before we could recover. Before we realize it, the Sassanids will definitely attack us after knowing our situation. Just as the Emperor had said, this is really a messed up era for us, the Romans. Have the gods really abandoned us? Wait, is it because of what the Emperor did towards the Christians? Is this the Christian's god retribution to him?' Julian pondered about the current situation.
'Fuck it. Whatever it is, there is no need to think about this more. What we need to do is just to prevent this situation from becoming more fatal' said Julian in his heart.
Wasting no time, Valerian and the others immediately sped up their horses and rushed towards Edessa to handle the situation.
Author's Note :
I did some changes to the praetorian prefect name. I changed it to Succesianus because after further research I found out Succesianus is a real person that was recorded as a praetorian prefect during Valerian's reign
Based on Roman sources it was said that the Romans were struck by disease but did not clearly tell us what disease. So in this case, I chose Typhoid to be used in this story.