[Gaius Valerius Verrens 06] - Scourge of Rome

by Douglas Jackson

  Rebel forces had several successes in the initial stages, under the leadership of, among others, Joseph Ben Mahtityahu, and Eleazar Ben Simon, who commanded the rebels in the greatest Judaean triumph, the defeat of the Twelfth legion and the capture of its eagle, a humiliation that would have reverberated through the Empire. The Emperor Nero responded by replacing Cestius Gallus, who’d led the Twelfth’s expedition, with a much tougher prospect in the shape of Flavius Vespasian. Vespasian, who would soon wear the purple himself, responded by sending his soldiers to ravage the area around the Sea of Galilee and destroy the rebel strongholds there. He was interrupted by the small matter of the Year of the Four Emperors, which made him pause while he pondered where his legions might be put to the best use in Rome’s name (as it turned out, placing him on the throne).

  When his soldiers made up his mind for him by hailing him Emperor, he handed over command to his son Titus, who had already distinguished himself and proved an able commander of the Fifteenth legion. With an army of four legions and tens of thousands of auxiliaries at his command, Titus forced the rebels back until they were concentrated in the city of Jerusalem. The fate of the Passover pilgrims is just one area of contention in the Jerusalem story. Roman emperors – and Titus would become one – are not known for their compassion, but starving to death hundreds of thousands of women and children appears out of character for a man whom Suetonius describes as ‘kind and gracious’ (though he does throw in cruel to the mix as well). The likely answer seems to be that Titus regarded the pilgrims as a weapon of war in his campaign to starve the rebels into an early surrender, and used them accordingly.

  In this aim, the rebels, or at least one of their leaders, John of Gischala, went out of their way to help. The three rebel factions in Jerusalem, led by John, Eleazar and Simon bar Giora, were keener on shedding each other’s blood than Roman and were at odds right until the final stages. John’s men burned tons of grain Simon had stored for the siege and raided the temple and killed Eleazar and his key supporters. For narrative reasons I have truncated the events of the siege, particularly the latter part where action that took weeks is compressed into days, but most of the key scenes happened as described here, or as near as my imagination can make them. Hezekiah’s Conduit exists and you can take a tour should you visit Jerusalem, but I doubt it was put to the clandestine use I have portrayed here.

  Of the key figures in the book, Titus, his lover Queen Berenice and King Sohaemus of Emesa all existed and I’ve tried to remain true to the historical record. The one to whom I probably owe an apology – or perhaps not – is Joseph Ben Mahtityahu, later famous as the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus. Virtually everything we know about the siege of Jerusalem and the Great Revolt is a result of his wonderfully detailed account, The Judaean War. But just how reliable a narrator is he? After all, this is a man who led the revolt at the start, survived the siege of Jotapata when no one else did, somehow charmed Vespasian into sparing his life when his compatriots were being butchered or sold into slavery, turned his back on his former comrades, and finally prospered under the Emperor’s patronage. The one thing I think we can say with any certainty is that Josephus didn’t conspire with John and Simon to save the only copy of the Book of Enoch, the purely fictional conspiracy at the heart of this novel.

  Of course, the greatest point of contention is whether Titus deliberately meant to destroy the Great Temple, the centre of the Jewish religion and one of the architectural wonders of the age. Josephus says the burning of the temple was an accident, and that Titus did everything he could to save it. My own view is that the temple was a legitimate military objective, an enormously strong defensive position (a fortress within a fortress, as I’ve described it here) and one that, because of its status, would have been defended to the last. Ancient peoples had plenty of examples of what would happen if a city was taken by siege. What is beyond debate is that Titus’s legions flattened the temple and the rest of Jerusalem with a brutal efficiency which cannot have been anything but premeditated.

  Glossary

  Ala milliaria

  A reinforced auxiliary cavalry wing, normally between 700 and 1,000 strong. In Britain and the west the units would be a mix of cavalry and infantry, in the east a mix of spearmen and archers.

  Ala quingenaria

  Auxiliary cavalry wing normally composed of 500 auxiliary horsemen.

  Aquilifer

  The standard-bearer who carried the eagle of the legion.

  As

  A small copper coin worth approximately one fifth of a sestertius.

  Aureus

  (pl. Aurei) – Valuable gold coin worth twenty-five denarii.

  Auxiliary

  Non-citizen soldiers recruited from the provinces as light infantry or for specialist tasks, e.g. cavalry, slingers, archers.

  Ballista

  (pl. Ballistae) – Artillery for throwing heavy missiles of varying size and type. The smaller machines were called scorpiones or onagers.

  Beneficiarius

  A legion’s record keeper or scribe.

  Boars Head

  (alt. Wedge) – A compact arrow-head formation used by Roman infantry and cavalry to break up enemy formations.

  Caligae

  Sturdily constructed, reinforced leather sandals worn by Roman soldiers. Normally with iron-studded sole.

  Century

  Smallest tactical unit of the legion, numbering 80 men.

  Cohort

  Tactical fighting unit of the legion, normally contained six centuries, apart from the elite First cohort, which had five double strength centuries (800 men).

  Consul

  One of two annually elected chief magistrates of Rome, normally appointed by the people and ratified by the Senate.

  Contubernium

  Unit of eight soldiers who shared a tent or barracks.

  Cornicen

  Legionary signal trumpeter who used an instrument called a cornu.

  Decimation

  A brutal and seldom used Roman military punishment where one man in every ten of a unit found guilty of cowardice or mutiny was chosen for execution by his comrades.

  Decurio

  A junior officer in a century, or a troop commander in a cavalry unit.

  Denarius (pl. Denarii)

  A silver coin.

  Domus

  The house of a wealthy Roman, e.g. Nero’s Domus Aurea (Golden House).

  Duplicarius

  Literally ‘double pay man’. A senior legionary with a trade or an NCO.

  Equestrian

  Roman knightly class.

  Fortuna

  The goddess of luck and good fortune.

  Frumentarii

  Messengers who carried out secret duties for the Emperor, possibly including spying and assassination.

  Gladius (pl. Gladii)

  The short sword of the legionary. A lethal killing weapon at close quarters.

  Governor

  Citizen of senatorial rank given charge of a province. Would normally have a military background (see Proconsul).

  Haruspex

  Soothsayer, sometimes a priest.

  Jupiter

  Most powerful of the Roman gods, often referred to as Optimus Maximus (greatest and best).

  Legate

  The general in charge of a legion. A man of senatorial rank.

  Legion

  Unit of approximately 5,000 men, all of whom would be Roman citizens.

  Lictor

  Bodyguard of a Roman magistrate. There were strict limits on the numbers of lictors associated with different ranks.

  Lituus

  Curved trumpet used to transmit cavalry commands.

  Mansio

  State-operated lodging house.

  Manumission

  The act of freeing a slave.

  Mars

  The Roman god of war.

  Mithras

  An Eastern religion popular among Roman soldiers.

  Nomentan

>   A superior variety of Roman wine, mentioned by Martial in his Epigrams.

  Onager (pl. Onagri)

  Small portable catapult designed to hurl rocks.

  Orbis

  Circular defensive position practised by the legions.

  Phalera (pl. Phalerae)

  Awards won in battle worn on a legionary’s chest harness.

  Pilum (pl. Pila)

  Heavy spear carried by a Roman legionary.

  Praefectus castrorum

  Literally ‘camp prefect’. Former centurion who served as a legion’s third in command after the legate and senior military tribune.

  Praetorian Guard

  Powerful military force stationed in Rome. Accompanied the Emperor on campaign, but could be of dubious loyalty and were responsible for the overthrow of several Roman rulers.

  Prefect

  Auxiliary cavalry commander.

  Primus Pilus

  ‘First File’. The senior centurion of a legion.

  Principia

  Legionary headquarters building.

  Proconsul

  Governor of a Roman province, such as Spain or Syria, and of consular rank.

  Procurator

  Civilian administrator subordinate to a governor.

  Quaestor

  Civilian administrator in charge of finance.

  Scorpio (pl. Scorpiones)

  Bolt-firing Roman light artillery piece.

  Scutum (pl. Scuta)

  The big, richly decorated curved shield carried by a legionary.

  Senator

  Patrician member of the Senate, the key political institution which administered the Roman empire. Had to meet strict financial and property rules and be at least thirty years of age.

  Sestertius (pl. Sestertii)

  Roman brass coin worth a quarter of a denarius.

  Signifer

  Standard bearer who carried the emblem of a cohort or century.

  Testudo

  Literally ‘tortoise’. A unit of soldiers with shields interlocked for protection.

  Tribune

  One of six senior officers acting as aides to a legate. Often, but not always, on short commissions of six months upwards.

  Tribunus laticlavius

  Literally ‘broad stripe tribune’. The most senior of a legion’s military tribunes.

  Vexillation

  A detachment of a legion used as a temporary task force on independent duty.

  Victimarius

  Servant who delivers and attends to the victim of a sacrifice.

  Victory

  Roman goddess equivalent to the Greek Nike.

  Vigiles

  Force responsible for the day-to-day policing of Rome’s streets and fire prevention and fighting.

  Vineae

  Hide-covered shelter used by Roman engineers when they were building siege ramps within range of enemy slings and arrows.

  Acknowledgements

  I’m grateful to my editor Simon Taylor and his team at Transworld for helping me make Scourge of Rome the book it is, and to my agent Stan, of Jenny Brown Associates in Edinburgh, for all his advice and encouragement. As always my wife Alison and my children, Kara, Nikki and Gregor, have been the rocks on which this book has been built.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  A journalist by profession, Douglas Jackson transformed a lifelong fascination for Rome and the Romans into his first two highly-praised novels, Caligula and Claudius. He confirmed his place as one of the UK’s finest historical novelists with his third novel, Hero of Rome, which introduced readers to his series hero, Gaius Valerius Verrens. Four more acclaimed novels followed – Defender of Rome, Avenger of Rome, Sword of Rome and Enemy of Rome. Writing as James Douglas, he is also the author of four top-selling adventure thrillers featuring art recovery expert Jamie Saintclair – The Doomsday Testament, The Isis Covenant, The Excalibur Codex and The Samurai Inheritance.

  An active member of the Historical Writers’ Association and the Historical Novels Society, Douglas Jackson lives near Stirling in Scotland.

  To find out more visit www.douglas-jackson.net

  Also by Douglas Jackson

  CALIGULA

  CLAUDIUS

  HERO OF ROME

  DEFENDER OF ROME

  AVENGER OF ROME

  SWORD OF ROME

  ENEMY OF ROME

  For more information on Douglas Jackson and his books, see his website at www.douglas-jackson.net

  TRANSWORLD PUBLISHERS

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  www.transworldbooks.co.uk

  Transworld is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com

  First published in Great Britain in 2015 by Bantam Press

  an imprint of Transworld Publishers

  Copyright © Douglas Jackson 2015

  Douglas Jackson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

  This book is a work of fiction and, except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologize for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  Version 1.0 Epub ISBN 9781448127702

  ISBNs 9780593070581 (cased)

  9780593070598 (tpb)

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

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