The Eagle and the Dragon, a Novel of Rome and China
Page 73
Aulus went on to describe the shipbuilding in Myos Hormos, and then the voyage of the Asia, Europa and Africa down the Red Sea to the open ocean. These massive ships, of unusual design, had performed flawlessly.
“As you know, this voyage was the victim of treachery from the outset. My shipping master, Hasdrubal of Tyre, conspired with the notorious pirate Ibrahim bin Yusuf to hijack these ships, laden with the treasure of the Roman people. But we were successful in handing Hasdrubal over to Roman authority for execution, and Gaius Lucullus, detached legatus of Legio XII Fulminata, and Antonius Aristides, primus pilus centurion of that same legion, not only thwarted Ibrahim’s plans and recovered the Europa, but also turned him into a valuable ally! I commend their efforts!”
Lucian Septimius Pontus raised his hand to be acknowledged by Senator Scaurus. The wizened old man, white headed and gaunt, nodded his acknowledgement, and Pontus formed his question. “Did not Legatus Lucullus ransom the Europa from Ibrahim?”
“He did, and that was a wise move. Ibrahim’s own plans had been disrupted by Hasdrubal of Tyre, and he had no place to go with his huge treasure. A ransom allowed him and his centurion to continue their mission and eventually rejoin the Asia. I should like to remind you, that a ransom was paid to rescue Julius Caesar from the clutches of pirates.”
“And he came back to crucify them. For clarification, how much was the ransom?”
“One hundred thousand sesterces.”
A shocked murmur went through the Senate at the sum. Aulus Aemilius produced a bag of coins and shook it, letting it jingle. “I have about half that amount, forty thousand or so, returned to us by Ibrahim on his death. Most of that was spent on our journey home, freely by Ibrahim as we had no money. It was Ibrahim’s bequest that we four should share in his ransom, but I will not do so until an accounting has been made of our trip.”
He continued on, discussing the firefight at Galle where the Europa and all her treasure could have been lost to a foreign king, but for the courage and honor of Ibrahim in defending their ship. And likewise their perilous transit through the Straits of Malacca. “That ship was carrying fifteen million sesterces, twenty tons of gold and silver in ballast in her bilges, and the ship was worth that much as well. Ibrahim’s loyalty to us, once brought around by my two companions, was unquestionable, and essential to our success. A few tens of thousands of sesterces to preserve tens of millions? That is a good return on investment, not a shame.”
Senator Aulus recounted the early detachment and return of the Africa, a decision made when the Europa was believed lost, in the hope of achieving some small profit margin, and then the pursuit of the Europa over thousands of miles of sea, to ultimately rendezvous and jointly make landfall in Tianjin, and inland to the capital of Luoyang.
“And there we encountered treachery from the representative of King Pacorus II of Parthia, one Cyrus Mithridates, whom we believed had a hand in delaying our meeting with Emperor He for months. We determined the Hanaeans had an excellent imperial post the rival of our own. It was made available for our use, so we were in constant communications with our ships. When it appeared that we could not make our necessary departure date I directed the two ships to detach on the Ides of April, two years ago, bearing letters on our status. It was our intent to remain and return via Hanaean ship to India.” He paused for effect.
“Marcia Lucia was then the concubine of a member of the Hanaean court, who was our official liaison. But the Parthians played on the jealousy of his weak mind, convincing the man that Marcia was unfaithful to him with Antonius Aristides, a false charge to which we can all attest. He beat her in her chambers, she retaliated, and he claimed she had attempted to kill him. She was brought to trial before the Emperor, just hours before we were to meet with him.” He paused again. The senators were all following this intently.
“An Hanaean trial is not like a Roman trial. One is placed before the judge, in this case Emperor He himself, in an abject position, questioned, and the sentence announced. There was no guarantee of witness, or any opportunity to defend one’s self, except as granted by the judge.
“As Trajan noted earlier, Marcia Lucia’s citizenship was affirmed during her first visit to Rome, as cives sine suffragio, citizen without the vote, but with all other rights which make Roman citizenship valued throughout the world. Gentlemen of this august body, I could not allow a fellow citizen to go to her death without at least ensuring her a fair trial. I interrupted her trial, as her representative, and was immediately joined by Gaius Lucullus, Antonius Aristides, and her brother, Marcus Lucius Quintus.” He paused again, then continuing with increasing fervor, “I could not do otherwise, and would so again today without hesitation.” He paused, then delivered the conclusion in an angry shout echoing in the chamber. “If there was to be one Roman unfairly condemned to death, then we would all die together!”
There was a long silence, and then scattered sounds of approval. But then Lucian Septimius Pontus raised his hand, was recognized, and asked his question. “That was very noble of you, Aulus Aemilius, very noble indeed, but you also had a duty, and duty requires sacrifice. It would seem that the life of a mere woman, five or six generations removed from being a real Roman, would be a modest price to pay for a successful mission to the Hanaean emperor.”
On the dais behind Trajan, both Camilla and Livia, seated on either side of Marcia, each took one of her hands and squeezed it gently. This was the point that it would get ugly.
“I am sorry, Lucian Septimius. Your question?”
Lucian Septimius rose to his feet, his face turning purple, his triple chins waggling as he spoke with vitriol. “It’s not a damned question, it’s a statement! Your foolish ‘honor’ cost the government tens of millions in sesterces! You not only did not meet with the Hanaean emperor and represent us before him, you almost got yourselves killed!”
Apparently this was the feeling of the majority of the body, because Trajan’s ground rules were now quickly forgotten as dozens of senators rose to their feet to decry Aulus, demanding their money back and condemning him as a fool, and worse… the word ‘traitor,’ ‘faithless’ and ‘greedy’ could be heard among the many epithets they hurled at him. Senator Scaurus tried ineffectively to regain control, but the meeting had disintegrated into chaos. Aulus stood silent and impassive… this was the ending he had expected. What fools! How easy to speak of sacrifice for a mission, when someone else must make the sacrifice. Aulus was the only one who noticed that the Princeps had risen, and was calling for everyone to be seated.
Finally, in a commander’s voice intended to heard above the chaos of battle, Trajan roared, “Seats, gentlemen, seats!” As heads turned toward him, he said again in a slightly lower voice, “I have something pertinent to this discussion that I would like to read into the record.”
Everyone quickly returned to their seats. Embarrassed silence reigned over the curia as the Princeps unrolled a scroll. “I received, last year, long before Senator Aulus Aemilius returned with his party, a personal letter from Emperor He regarding his conduct in the court. This letter was sent by Hanaean courier overland thousands of miles, personally to me.
“To Emperor Trajan of Rome, greetings. I hope by now that your faithful servants Aulus Amelius Galba, Gaius Lucullus, Antonius Aristides, Marcia Lucia whom we know and love as Si Huar, and her brother Marcus Lucius Quintus, whom we know and love as Si Nuo, have returned safely to you. I wish to commend these people to you for having such a high sense of honor, that they would cast all things aside to defend the least of their own. Such honor has been an inspiration and a topic in our court since their departure. We look forward to a long and strong relation between our two peoples, if such honor is common among all of you.
“Following their departure, we determined that some belongings and a large quantity of money were left behind. This has been placed in safekeeping, to be returned to your next envoy, whom we look forward to seeing. Be well!”
Trajan remained standing
in silence for over a minute while the curia pondered the Hanaean emperor’s message. Then he turned to Senator Scaurus. “Are we ready to continue, Aemilius Lepidus?”
“We are, your Excellency. Lucian Septimius, do you have a follow-on question?”
Pontus looked like he had eaten something foul. He just shook his head.
“Does anyone else have a question for Aulus Aemilius Galba?” No one responded. “Then you may continue, Aulus Aemilius.”
Aulus looked up again at Lady Victory. Thank you for turning the tide in my favor. He almost felt he saw her wink and give him a secret grin, in a way that reminded him very much of Marcia. He reopened with a joke to relieve the accumulated tension. “You will notice,” he said, “that the good Emperor He, who styles himself as the Son of Heaven, omitted the part about condemning us all to death!”
Polite chortles of laughter rippled through the assemblage. The audience was now his, and this was storytelling now, no longer oratory. He recounted Ibrahim’s and Demosthenes’ roles in their daring escape, the fight with bandits in Tongchuan, the Xiongnu and Hina, Marcia’s transformation, the wedding at Liqian and the Emperor’s pardon, the caravans, the warm welcome in Bagram by King Vima Kadphises, the near-disaster at Aria with the treacherous Hasdrubal and the sad death of Ibrahim. There was the discovery of the remains of the Gan Ying expedition and the evidence of Parthian treachery: he produced the Parthian army arrow and held it aloft for all to see. Finally, the wolves of Hyrcania, then the welcome return to Roman Armenia. The telling took an hour; by the end even Lucian Septimius was paying rapt attention, hand on his ponderous chin.
In closing, Aulus invoked the Parthian nemesis. “At every step of the way, the hand of King Pacorus II of Parthia was set against any relationship between Han and Rome. He misdirected the Gan Ying expedition thousands of miles overwater, stranding them in Eudaemon Arabia, when they had been only a few hundred miles from our border overland. He then treacherously ordered the Gan Ying overland party wiped out on their return through Parthia, after meeting personally with them.” Aulus again held the arrow aloft for all to see. “This arrow is proof of their treachery!”
“But Pacorus II was unaware that some of the people, and a copy of Gan Ying’s most favorable report on Rome, also accompanied us on our mission, and this report was presented to Emperor He, with the able assistance of Marcia Lucia.
“Our unexpected presence in Luoyang disturbed their envoy greatly, and he did everything he could to poison the court against all things Roman. When that failed, he tried to discredit the virtuous Marcia Lucia and Antonius Aristides. Our Roman unity foiled that plan, though we risked all to do so!” He paused rhetorically, to allow murmurs of assent from the curial assembly. He noted that even Lucian Septimius was nodding his approval.
“When we reached the court of King Vima Kadphises, the King of Kings of Bactria, he had received two conflicting request: one from Emperor He, requesting that he extend his hospitality to us and assure our safe passage through his lands, and another from King Pacorus demanding our heads! Fortunately, he chose to grant Emperor He’s request, thereby, as he so aptly put it, ‘poking a finger in Pacorus’ eye!’” The audience, including the staid princeps, erupted in laughter at that. When the laughter died down, he continued.
“King Vima Kadphises made us his official emissaries to Trajan, offering to mediate the emerging dispute over Armenia, and head off a looming war. He made it quite clear to the Parthian envoy that his neutrality in that war, should it come, should not be taken for granted by King Pacorus, if anything should befall us in that transit.” The audience erupted in loud cheering at that.
“We delayed long enough to ensure that King Kadphises’ message was conveyed to Pacorus. So therefore, although we exercised considerable caution in transiting Parthia, the greatest threat we faced were the famous wolves of Hyrcania! With that, my report is complete and I thank you for your attention. Are there any questions?” The curia was silent.
Aulus continued. “As there are no questions, then I should like to introduce two motions before this august body. Aemilius Lepidus?”
“Proceed,” said the old Senator.
“One is a motion for full Roman citizenship for our traveling companions, Yakov bin Ibrahim of Petra, and Shmuel bin Eliazar of Galilee. These men, though of lowly stature, were steadfastly faithful in ensuring our safe return. They have given great service to Rome, and deserve Rome’s greatest reward, citizenship.
“The second is rather pro forma. And that is a posthumous pardon, and full citizenship, for our dear and valiant friend Ibrahim bin Yusuf of Jiddah, may his newfound god grant him peace.” Aulus choked back his tears, but his eyes still burned and blinked fiercely. “I only wish he could stand by us in this body. He may have been a pirate, but he was a man of noble honor, and I am proud to call him my friend. Is there any discussion on these motions?”
There was none, and both carried. Then the Princeps Trajan stood. “Aemilius Lepidus, I wish to introduce a motion.”
“Certainly, Your Excellency.”
“I would like nominate Aulus Amelius Galba to be consul beginning in January of next year, his fellow consul to be Titus Flavius Petronius. Is there any discussion?”
There was none, and that too was carried.
EPILOGUE
Aulus Aemilius Galba had a successful though uneventful term as consul with his friend Titus Petronius. Though the position of consul in the Principate was now largely ceremonial, it was still the high point of the cursus honorum, the Roman career path. He declined several post-consular governorships to return to sea with the Asia, Europa and Africa for a second trip to the land of Han, and a much more cordial meeting with Emperor He.
Antonius and Marcia, now happily pregnant, returned to his home town of Aquileia, and with the assistance of Lucius Parvus, temporarily on loan from Aulus, and some of Aulus’s clients there, opened his schools of philosophy and languages, dedicated to his father.
Gaius Lucullus had a distinguished command as legatus of Legio II Traiana, which engaged in a number of battles in the final war against Decebalus in Dacia which broke out the following year. He returned to the long-suffering Camilla, who had waited out the war in nearby Byzantium, to find himself elevated to Senatorial rank.
Yakov opened an orphanage in Petra, seeking out street urchins as he had once been, to raise and educate in the tradition of his adopted father.
Shmuel settled down to a quiet life in Galilee, tending to his mother Devorah.
And far away in the Altai mountains, Hina and Galosga conceived another child, a boy whom they named Attila. His descendant and namesake would make that name resound through history.
The Journey
DEDICATION
AND
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book is dedicated to my wife Karen, who has steadfastly supported this effort for twenty years. She has been tireless as a source for new ideas, a fearless editor and critic, without whom, this book would never have been completed.
I wish to acknowledge the many people who helped me through this long effort, particularly the help and guidance of Prof. Nicholas Sims-Williams, Emeritus Research Professor of Iranian and Central Asian Studies at the Department of the Languages and Cultures of Near and Middle East, the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, UK, who helped me capture an accurate picture of Central Asia of the time.
I also wish to thank my very professional editor Hildie Block, my cover designer Fiona Jayde, and my fellow alumni and authors Gary Knight, George Galdorisi, Cap Parlier and David Poyer, who guided me through the pitfalls of first-time authorship.
Others helped in many ways and small: Vinny DiGirolamo, my carpool partner of many years ago who brainstormed the beginning of this book with me while stalled in innumerable traffic jams on the Washington, DC Beltway; Carol Mattingly, whose enthusiasm for my first draft spurred me on to finish this; Jan Foley, a most enthusiastic beta reader who contribute
d many small pieces to make this story flow; Dave Becker, Jim Watters and all of my many other “beta” readers whose kind and enthusiastic comments kept me going through the long publication process.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This is the first full-length novel by Lewis McIntyre. His first work, a short story Come Follow Me, a Story of Pilate and Jesus, was released in January 2017. Lewis McIntyre was born in Asheville, NC, and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1970, serving as a Naval Aviator until his retirement as a commander in 1990. He continues to serve the Navy as an engineer at Patuxent River Naval Air Station. He lives with his wife of thirty seven years, Karen, and three cats, in La Plata MD.
Table of Contents
The World of 100AD
THE PAST IS PROLOGUE: CARRHAE, 53BC
CHAPTER 1: ROME, 98AD
CHAPTER 2: THE JOURNEY BEGINS, 100AD
CHAPTER 3: THE BULL AND THE DOVE
CHAPTER 4: THE LIBRARY
CHAPTER 5: A SIMPLE COUNTRY TAVERN
CHAPTER 6: A DEATH IN THE CAMP
CHAPTER 7: THE DOCKS OF ALEXANDRIA
CHAPTER 8: THREATS AND COUNTERTHREATS
CHAPTER 9: MYOS HORMOS AND A VERY BAD DREAM
CHAPTER 10: SUSPICIONS
CHAPTER 11: A CAMP IN THE DESERT
CHAPTER 12: A CASE OF DYSENTERY
CHAPTER 13: A CHANGE OF PLANS
CHAPTER 14: TRAINING THE CREW
CHAPTER 15: UNDERWAY AT LAST
CHAPTER 16: TO THE OPEN SEA
CHAPTER 17: HIJACKED!
CHAPTER 18: RECOVERY
CHAPTER 19: CROSS AND DOUBLE CROSS
CHAPTER 20: A STORM AT SEA
CHAPTER 21: STORM’S AFTERMATH