Chapter 126: Jewish Riot
The Jewish riots occurred periodically and steadily, but that did not mean they were small in scale.
The Roman polytheists and the Jewish monotheists never understood each other.
This basic difference in ideology sometimes ended in small riots, but it also often escalated into wars.
In fact, Judea had provoked Rome, which was at its historical peak in the early imperial period, to three wars in a hundred years.
As a result, the Roman emperor Hadrianus resorted to the extreme measure of expelling all Jews from Jerusalem.
Knowing this fact well, Marcus could not take the riots caused by the Jews lightly.
Especially, there was no record of the Jews rioting at this time in the original history, so he was even more puzzled.
“Why did the Jews suddenly rise up? What is the reason?”
Septimus opened his mouth in a cautious tone after skimming through the documents submitted by the administrator.
“…It seems that Crassus is involved.”
“Father?”
“When he formed an army for the Parthian expedition, he confiscated all the gold stored in the Jewish sanctuary.”
“So they are protesting to get it back?”
Marcus shook his head as if he did not understand.
It was common for a Roman governor to use the wealth of a province arbitrarily when forming an army.
Sulla had also plundered the treasures stored in the Greek temples to raise military funds.
Of course, Sulla, who was strict with both others and himself, gave proper compensation to the temples after the war was over.
But Crassus was not Sulla.
According to the records, he looted two thousand talents of gold from the Jerusalem sanctuary.
The high priest Hyrcanus was furious at this ruthless act and cursed Crassus in the name of God.
After that, Crassus died in the Battle of Carrhae and there was no chance for the gold of the sanctuary to be returned.
But even then, the Jews did not riot.
He could not guess why they were making such a fuss now.
“Ah, maybe they think they can get back the gold because Rome won the war? That would make some sense.”
“As far as I know, the gold has already been returned. Crassus must have taken care of it before he returned to Rome.”
“Father returned the money he collected? Really… No, then why are they acting like that? It doesn’t make sense.”
Marcus was surprised by the fact that Crassus had returned the gold, but if that was true, there was even less reason for the Jews to rebel.
Septimus handed him the report and told him to read it himself, guessing his confused feelings.
“Let’s see… The area where the riot occurred is Jerusalem as expected and what the rioters demand is… What is this? Are they joking?”
Marcus realized why Septimus did not tell him the reason right away.
The reason that was suspected to be the cause was too ridiculous.
“They omitted the proper interest that should be attached to the principal… This is a blatant discrimination and an insult to them. Are they really shouting this slogan?”
“I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true.”
“I’m speechless.”
He chuckled involuntarily without realizing it.
He had a rough idea of why this interesting nonsense came up.
It was because Marcus had given interest on top of the principal when he rewarded the Syrian nobles who helped him.
The Jews who heard this news must have taken it as discrimination against them.
The Jews tended to be treated as second-class citizens by neighboring countries, contrary to their claims.
He did not know whether they armed themselves with their chosen people ideology or whether they provoked resentment from their surroundings because of that ideology.
The only thing that was certain was that the Jews never tolerated those who ignored them.
It seemed plausible that they could riot if this triggered their trauma, although it was absurd.
But he felt something was not right.
It looked more like a forced anger that was instigated by attaching a plausible reason.
“What do you want to do? Should we send an army to Jerusalem right away?”
“No, we need to find out more about the situation in Judea before we do that.”
Marcus had witnessed Pompey’s process of incorporating Judea into Syria as a province right next to him.
Aristobulus, who had been king of Judea, lost his throne and was dragged to Rome as a prisoner for opposing Rome.
Pompey appointed Hyrcanus, the high priest who surrendered to him, and Antipater, an administrator, as responsible persons for Judea.
These two people followed Rome’s orders fairly well even after a new governor took office.
But until Crassus took office, most of the governors who ruled Syria were not very competent.
Gabinus, Pompey’s lieutenant, was a bit better, but he was more of a soldier than an administrator.
He thought he had done his duty by crushing one of Aristobulus’s sons who rebelled and sending him to Rome.
He assumed that they would calm down from now on.
Most Romans did not have much understanding of the Jews.
Historically, the Jews only subsided for a while.
Unless the fundamental cause is resolved, they will continue to cause problems forever.
This means that they do not assimilate easily into Rome like other peoples.
Marcus first thoroughly organized the situation of the whole Judean region and Jerusalem.
And he judged that this riot could develop into a more serious situation than expected.
“It seems that Hyrcanus and Antipater are not able to control Jerusalem properly. I need to summon them first and have them report the whole story.”
“I will issue an immediate summons order.”
A letter with the seal of the Syrian governor was sent to Jerusalem.
Marcus did not wait idly in Antioch for them to come.
The current situation in Jerusalem was quite serious.
A considerable number of Syrian merchants lost their lives, and even merchants with Roman citizenship were beaten.
The voices demanding immediate punishment of the Jews were spreading like wildfire.
Marcus needed to show that he was solving this situation as a governor.
He formed two legions immediately and left Antioch for Damascus in the south.
He had already planned to make Damascus the center of the province, so he brought his entourage with him.
In fact, this was more important than the problem of the Jewish riots.
But other people who were satisfied with Antioch did not easily understand Marcus’s decision.
“Antioch is fine, why do you need to move the center of the province to Damascus?”
“Antioch is not a good place. I can’t keep important facilities there forever.”
“What do you mean by not a good place?”
“It means exactly what it says. It means that it is a place where disaster is likely to come in the future.”
“Is that some kind of revelation?”
“It’s more of an objective fact derived from rational grounds than a revelation.”
Julia tilted her head as if she did not understand, but she did not argue.
The meaning of religious signs was very important in this era.
And Marcus was recognized as a person who received the blessings of the twelve gods in Rome.
Julia also believed that he was a person loved by the gods without a doubt.
Arsinoe, who was familiar with deifying living people, even recognized Marcus as a god of the west.
He had shown actions that were hard to understand easily several times so far, and each time he proved that his actions were right.
“But will the privileged class of Antioch follow your words easily? They must have a strong pride in being the center of Syria until now.”
“I have to prepare practical support measures to move their base near Damascus.”
According to the records, Antioch suffered almost devastating damage from a great earthquake that occurred in 115 AD.
The death toll was said to be close to 260,000, which showed how big the damage was.
After that, the Roman emperors tried hard, but they could not stop the decline of the city.
After Antioch regained its prominence after Rome split, another earthquake occurred and caused nearly 300,000 casualties.
In addition, the value of Antioch’s existence, the Orontes River, would become higher and higher over time, making it impossible for large ships to enter.
No matter how sturdy buildings were built with this era’s architectural technology, they could not prevent earthquakes that overturned the ground.
Especially, Rome, which had mostly stone buildings, suffered even more damage from earthquakes.
As long as this impending disaster was clearly recorded, it was foolish to insist on Antioch.
Of course, no one would believe it if he said that a great earthquake would happen 150 years later.
Marcus intended to use this timely Jewish riot as an opportunity to reorganize the eastern provinces.
Damascus was only the center of the south.
He already had candidates for major cities that would be bases for the east, north, and west in his head.
Anyway, he had to solve the problem at hand first.
After working in Damascus for a few days, Antipater and his two sons came to see Marcus.
“Greetings to the great governor. I am Antipater, who has been granted the excessive role of administrator of Judea. These are my eldest son Phasael and second son Herod.”
Two young men who looked about ten years younger than Marcus bowed their heads politely.
Parsael had a rather aggressive impression because of his sharp eyes and fairly tall height.
On the other hand, Herod had a relatively small stature and a weary atmosphere despite his young age.
Marcus was more interested in Herod than Parsael.
He was the famous Herod who appeared in the Bible.
The story of how he ordered the slaughter of the babies in Bethlehem to prevent the appearance of the baby Jesus was very well-known.
There are different opinions on whether he actually gave such an order, but anyway, this episode was so popular that even people who were not interested in Christianity had heard of it at least once.
Marcus looked at Herod with a curious feeling and asked in a dry tone.
“I thought I had summoned you and Hilkhanus together, but why don’t I see the high priest?”
“The high priest cannot leave Jerusalem for religious reasons. It is a religious taboo, so please kindly grant him mercy.”
“Then I can’t help it.”
Marcus accepted it easily.
Rome also strictly observed religious customs, but Judaism was even more different.
Besides, in a situation where the Jews were rioting, there was no need to make trouble.
“Then let’s get to the point. You and Hilkhanus have been granted the right to rule Judea in the name of the Roman Senate. But that also means that you have a duty to maintain peace in Judea. If southern Syria is unstable, Rome will have to pay unnecessary attention.”
“Yes, you are right.”
“But you and the high priest seem to be failing to fulfill your duty. Three Romans were seriously injured and more than twenty Syrian and Greek merchants lost their lives in this riot. Many women were violated, and the property damage was also serious. Do you have any excuses?”
The faces of Antipater and his two sons hardened at Marcus’s cold question.
The title of Judean governor meant nothing in front of the Roman governor.
Antipater was just someone appointed by Rome to save them from paying attention to Judea.
If he was deemed useless, he could be dismissed on the spot.
He recognized that the governor in front of him was the young man who had visited Jerusalem with Pompey ten years ago.
He quickly knelt down and bowed his forehead to the ground, shouting in a pleading voice.
“First of all, before I explain the reason, I admit that we failed to fulfill our duty and apologize. As you know, Jews are difficult and have different customs from neighboring countries. The minority radicals led this riot, and their radicalism is beyond imagination, so we are having trouble controlling them.”
“Is it because your sons are not pure Jews?”
Parsael’s eyes twitched momentarily.
On the other hand, Herod maintained a calm expression without breaking down.
Antipater sent a signal to his eldest son not to be provoked and nodded vigorously.
“That is undeniable. My wife Cyprus is a princess of Nabatea, so there are many conservative Jews who do not accept our children. But this riot has nothing to do with that.”
“Then what is the reason for making such a fuss about not paying interest?”
“They don’t really want to get interest. They are inciting people that this is evidence of Rome’s discrimination against Judea, and that this phenomenon will worsen in the future.
Moreover, since Jerusalem became a vassal of Rome, Syrian and Greek merchants suddenly flooded in.
Especially Greeks and Jews are too different, so small clashes are constant. But then… It’s true that Romans treat Greeks better than Jews…”
Marcus did not deny Antipater’s words.
It was not necessary to deny that Rome favored Greeks over Jews.
At the same time, he understood why such a conflict occurred.
Marcus had established trade routes in the eastern provinces through Tadius for ten years.
The amount of money that came and went using Parthia and Silk Road was beyond imagination.
Naturally, commerce flourished much more than in history, and merchants’ movements became more frequent.
It was easier for Jews, who were hostile to other ethnic groups, to accumulate resentment.
“I get what you want to say. So this riot was somewhat prepared and there is a force that is fanning it.”
“Yes. I don’t know what their intention is. They should know very well that there is nothing good about provoking Rome’s anger.”
The walls of Jerusalem, which Jews were proud of, were completely destroyed by Pompey and left neglected.
Rome did not allow them to rebuild the walls and fortify Jerusalem.
Without walls, Jerusalem could be trampled by Rome at any time.
But Marcus did not act rashly.
The force that led this riot seemed to be trying to provoke him.
“There must be some forces that can benefit from the escalation of Judea’s riots. You and the high priest will lose your positions, so there must be some who enjoy the side effects.”
“…That, that’s true.”
“Isn’t one of Aristobulus’s sons still in Jerusalem? What is he doing?”
“Antigonus? He claimed to be a direct descendant of the Hasmonean dynasty and often questioned the legitimacy of me and Hilkhanus. But he hasn’t said a word since this riot broke out.”
Marcus sneered.
“That’s strange. The person who always criticized you has the perfect opportunity to tear you apart, but instead he became quiet? Shouldn’t this be the time for him to raise his voice and condemn your incompetence and demand you to step down?”
“Come to think of it, you’re right. Then, do you suspect Antigonus, Governor?”
“No. I just wanted to say that he is one of the possible candidates that I can think of. But I think he is worth considering.”
Antipatros licked his dry lips with his tongue and cautiously asked.
“Antigonus is a very cautious person. It won’t be easy to catch him hiding and scheming.”
“Don’t worry. I have a good idea.”
Marcus answered nonchalantly and took his eyes off Antipatros.
He then turned his head towards the annex where Arsinoe was staying.
They were known to have a pride that was incomparable to even the Jews, who were the royal family of Alexandria.
There was no better bait than them to lure out the fox from its den.
‘It’s not enough to just catch the instigator of the riot and solve it. If I don’t root out the fundamental problem, something similar could happen anytime. I have to take this opportunity and deal with them for good.’
As Marcus looked at the annex, his eyes moved to the place where Jerusalem, the promised land that would be praised as the holy land of the three major religions in the future, was located.
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