‘And you will have your triumph.’
Titus managed a wry smile. ‘And you, Valerius? You did as much as any man to bring this about. What will your reward be?’
Valerius stared in the direction of the Huldah Gates and his heart lifted as he watched a diminutive figure pick her way through the carpet of dead towards them. Tabitha’s expression was grave, but her eyes lit up when she recognized him. There was no sign of the leather pouch, but suddenly that didn’t seem to matter any more.
‘I already have my reward.’
Historical note
The siege and destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 is one of history’s greatest cataclysms. It probably cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocents visiting the city to celebrate the Jewish festival of Passover who had no interest in the events which brought it about. It had its roots in the Judaean rebellion – the Great Revolt – that began four years earlier when punitive taxation and Rome’s heavy-handed rule under Nero finally exhausted the patience of the Jewish people.
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.
The short sword of the legionary. A lethal killing weapon at close quarters.
Governor
Citizen o
f 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
61–63 Uxbridge Road, London W5 5SA
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.
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
Table of Contents
About the Book
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Epigraph
Maps
Prologue
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter IX
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Chapter XII
Chapter XIII
Chapter XIV
Chapter XV
Chapter XVI
Chapter XVII
Chapter XVIII
Chapter XIX
Chapter XX
Chapter XXI
Chapter XXII
Chapte
r XXIII
Chapter XXIV
Chapter XXV
Chapter XXVI
Chapter XXVII
Chapter XXVIII
Chapter XXIX
Chapter XXX
Chapter XXXI
Chapter XXXII
Chapter XXXIII
Chapter XXXIV
Chapter XXXV
Chapter XXXVI
Chapter XXXVII
Chapter XXXVIII
Chapter XXXIX
Chapter XL
Chapter XLI
Chapter XLII
Chapter XLIII
Chapter XLIV
Chapter XLV
Chapter XLVI
Chapter XLVII
Chapter XLVIII
Historical Note
Glossary
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Also by Douglas Jackson
Copyright