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The Acts Of Julia Of Brixellum

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PART 8 AD 70

Jerusalem.

Surreal!

Without pity, the high noon sun burned on Malachius’ naked body.

Malachius was exhausted, from the pain, the hunger and thirst, from the endless writhing on the nails in his wrists and his feet. With the sun approaching the zenith, the heat became unbearable; everything was impetuously hot. The ground, the city walls, the nails, the cross. Occasionally there stood a breeze, but it was hardly refreshing. It mainly brought with hot air, irritating dust of sharp sand, and the terrible stench of blood, of human excretions and most of all of rotting bodies of the dead, left to hang on their cross.

Malachius had been underway to Vindobona, when Nero’s power came to a fall and he committed suicide. Although Malachius had already been removed from Nero’s inner circle for months (and Livia had left him since), he escaped the numerous assassinations of Nero’s advisors and supporters in Rome, first in a wave of spontaneous revenge after the Princep’s death and a afterwards on behalf of the new princeps Galba. Malachius saw his goods being confiscated and he was banned from Italy, Gaul and Spain. It had looked like than the banishment would be suspended by Galba’s successor Otho, but before Malachius got confirmation about that, Vitellius was already in power and he had put once more a price on all surviving advisors of the previous rulers. But even after the brief reign of Vitellius, Malachius kept on the run, now chased by the Vespasian administration. He moved further east, following nearly the same trail as Julia of Brixellum more than thirty years earlier. East was the most obvious way, as behind the empire lay Asia, while in the west there was only a vast ocean. Finally Malachius settled in Antioch.

Despite the political unrest in Judea, Malachius had traveled to Jerusalem (there was constantly conflict in that area), just to find himself stuck in the Jewish uprise. Under Vespasian, the Romans had taken back control over most of Judea. There was still unrest, and visiting Jerusalem was still considered as risky, but meanwhile life went on. Malachius arrived at Jerusalem just before Passover and everybody was convinced that all parties would respect a truce during that period.

Malachius tried to get away, but the Zealot rebels had barred the gates of the city. All those present inside the city, Jews and others, became the hostages of the Zealots. And when General Titus, the son of the Princeps, arrived with his legions to besiege the city, there was no more way out at all, because the besiegers did not bother to distinguish between rebel and hostages.

At the end, with upcoming famine in Jerusalem, Malachius and some others had decided to make an attempt to flee the city. It was not only because of the siege. After the Zealots had closed the gates of Jerusalem, they had installed a regime of political-religious terror. The Zealots only recognized their own god as their sole master, hence claiming absolute power, as they saw themselves standing directly under their god. Their terror targeted members of other populations and beliefs such as Christians in particular, but also moderate Jews, Parthians, Egyptians, Romans and ordinary people in general. Bands of Zealots terrorized the streets, they invaded homes, stole the goods and food, abducted women for sexual and other slavery. They arrested habitants they considered suspicious. In the streets, people were scourged, beheaded, thrown from building roofs or from the city walls, lapidified or crucified. All the Zealots needed was a wrong word, mentioning peace or questioning the uprise, or simply, a suspicious act or attitude. Not respecting religious laws (or rather their interpretation by the Zealots), either at home or on the street, was also a ground for severe punishment. Children were encouraged to denounce their own parents. From the beginning of the uprise, Malachius’ life had been constantly in danger. When he and a few others had made up their plans, they knew the risk they took. They knew every escapee caught my Titus’ soldiers got crucified, without exception, just outside the city walls. But the terror inside the city was so real and overwhelming, that they had taken the risk of being caught outside for granted.

Malachius had lost the gamble. Once outside, the confusion due to the darkness, had dispersed the group of runaways. Survival became a matter of everyone for his or her own, as the legionnaires lay in an ambush. Malachius was captured. He saw two of his companions had been killed near him. The rest of the night, he spent laying on the ground, in the Roman camp, tied by his wrists and ankles, together with an increasing number of captives. Malachius knew what would happen to them. He was a Roman citizen. Roman justice exempted citizens from crucifixion, but this was not a normal situation. Malachius realized it would be useless to seek protection from his status of a citizen of Rome (and unveiling his identity would not save his life in his particular case). The legionnaires would not bother checking it. It was all lost.

The next morning, the Romans brought their ‘harvest’ of the night, some twenty naked men and women, to the city walls. Swiftly and professionally the captives were nailed to a patibulum that was put on a hardly six foot high stipes – wood was scarce in the area and the Romans needed it for siege equipment too. They were crucified near victims from the previous days, many of them still alive. The crosses stood very close to each other, often no more than a yard apart. It made the experience horrifying because it brought each other’s suffering so close by. The victims were all crucified facing the city walls, to terrify the rebels.

In the early hours, the crucified still communicated with each other. Relatives encouraged each other or prayed together. The crucified cursed the Romans for abusing their lives and their bodies as an instrument of terror, towards their own townies. But they even cursed the Zealots for having drawn their lives into this gruesome fate. But after hours of enduring their ordeal, hours of pain and exhauster, the crucified had withdrawn upon their own agony, lamenting their own pains and despair.

They had been crucified facing the city walls. From the walls, they were mocked by the Zealot rebels. Runaways were considered as traitors and deserters by these fanatics, who expected that every man and woman in town would be devoted to their cause and without hesitation be prepared for the highest sacrifice. Sometimes, they made their disguise clear, by catapulting a chopped off head of someone executed inside the city, towards the crucified, in order to contribute to the horror and the stench (curiously, although the Romans had to come within firing range of the rebels, both sides respected a truce during the crucifixion of the captured runaways). The Zealot’s attitude was different from the Romans, who had done their dirty job with stoic discipline. They were carrying out orders, nothing personally involved.

(to be continued)
 
Loxuru said:
PART 8 AD 70

Jerusalem.

Surreal!

Without pity, the high noon sun burned on Malachius’ naked body.

Malachius was exhausted, from the pain, the hunger and thirst, from the endless writhing on the nails in his wrists and his feet. With the sun approaching the zenith, the heat became unbearable; everything was impetuously hot. The ground, the city walls, the nails, the cross. Occasionally there stood a breeze, but it was hardly refreshing. It mainly brought with hot air, irritating dust of sharp sand, and the terrible stench of blood, of human excretions and most of all of rotting bodies of the dead, left to hang on their cross.

Malachius had been underway to Vindobona, when Nero’s power came to a fall and he committed suicide. Although Malachius had already been removed from Nero’s inner circle for months (and Livia had left him since), he escaped the numerous assassinations of Nero’s advisors and supporters in Rome, first in a wave of spontaneous revenge after the Princep’s death and a afterwards on behalf of the new princeps Galba. Malachius saw his goods being confiscated and he was banned from Italy, Gaul and Spain. It had looked like than the banishment would be suspended by Galba’s successor Otho, but before Malachius got confirmation about that, Vitellius was already in power and he had put once more a price on all surviving advisors of the previous rulers. But even after the brief reign of Vitellius, Malachius kept on the run, now chased by the Vespasian administration. He moved further east, following nearly the same trail as Julia of Brixellum more than thirty years earlier. East was the most obvious way, as behind the empire lay Asia, while in the west there was only a vast ocean. Finally Malachius settled in Antioch.

Despite the political unrest in Judea, Malachius had traveled to Jerusalem (there was constantly conflict in that area), just to find himself stuck in the Jewish uprise. Under Vespasian, the Romans had taken back control over most of Judea. There was still unrest, and visiting Jerusalem was still considered as risky, but meanwhile life went on. Malachius arrived at Jerusalem just before Passover and everybody was convinced that all parties would respect a truce during that period.

Malachius tried to get away, but the Zealot rebels had barred the gates of the city. All those present inside the city, Jews and others, became the hostages of the Zealots. And when General Titus, the son of the Princeps, arrived with his legions to besiege the city, there was no more way out at all, because the besiegers did not bother to distinguish between rebel and hostages.

At the end, with upcoming famine in Jerusalem, Malachius and some others had decided to make an attempt to flee the city. It was not only because of the siege. After the Zealots had closed the gates of Jerusalem, they had installed a regime of political-religious terror. The Zealots only recognized their own god as their sole master, hence claiming absolute power, as they saw themselves standing directly under their god. Their terror targeted members of other populations and beliefs such as Christians in particular, but also moderate Jews, Parthians, Egyptians, Romans and ordinary people in general. Bands of Zealots terrorized the streets, they invaded homes, stole the goods and food, abducted women for sexual and other slavery. They arrested habitants they considered suspicious. In the streets, people were scourged, beheaded, thrown from building roofs or from the city walls, lapidified or crucified. All the Zealots needed was a wrong word, mentioning peace or questioning the uprise, or simply, a suspicious act or attitude. Not respecting religious laws (or rather their interpretation by the Zealots), either at home or on the street, was also a ground for severe punishment. Children were encouraged to denounce their own parents. From the beginning of the uprise, Malachius’ life had been constantly in danger. When he and a few others had made up their plans, they knew the risk they took. They knew every escapee caught my Titus’ soldiers got crucified, without exception, just outside the city walls. But the terror inside the city was so real and overwhelming, that they had taken the risk of being caught outside for granted.

Malachius had lost the gamble. Once outside, the confusion due to the darkness, had dispersed the group of runaways. Survival became a matter of everyone for his or her own, as the legionnaires lay in an ambush. Malachius was captured. He saw two of his companions had been killed near him. The rest of the night, he spent laying on the ground, in the Roman camp, tied by his wrists and ankles, together with an increasing number of captives. Malachius knew what would happen to them. He was a Roman citizen. Roman justice exempted citizens from crucifixion, but this was not a normal situation. Malachius realized it would be useless to seek protection from his status of a citizen of Rome (and unveiling his identity would not save his life in his particular case). The legionnaires would not bother checking it. It was all lost.

The next morning, the Romans brought their ‘harvest’ of the night, some twenty naked men and women, to the city walls. Swiftly and professionally the captives were nailed to a patibulum that was put on a hardly six foot high stipes – wood was scarce in the area and the Romans needed it for siege equipment too. They were crucified near victims from the previous days, many of them still alive. The crosses stood very close to each other, often no more than a yard apart. It made the experience horrifying because it brought each other’s suffering so close by. The victims were all crucified facing the city walls, to terrify the rebels.

In the early hours, the crucified still communicated with each other. Relatives encouraged each other or prayed together. The crucified cursed the Romans for abusing their lives and their bodies as an instrument of terror, towards their own townies. But they even cursed the Zealots for having drawn their lives into this gruesome fate. But after hours of enduring their ordeal, hours of pain and exhauster, the crucified had withdrawn upon their own agony, lamenting their own pains and despair.

They had been crucified facing the city walls. From the walls, they were mocked by the Zealot rebels. Runaways were considered as traitors and deserters by these fanatics, who expected that every man and woman in town would be devoted to their cause and without hesitation be prepared for the highest sacrifice. Sometimes, they made their disguise clear, by catapulting a chopped off head of someone executed inside the city, towards the crucified, in order to contribute to the horror and the stench (curiously, although the Romans had to come within firing range of the rebels, both sides respected a truce during the crucifixion of the captured runaways). The Zealot’s attitude was different from the Romans, who had done their dirty job with stoic discipline. They were carrying out orders, nothing personally involved.

(to be continued)
Click to expand...

Nicely done, Loxuru, it captures the oppressive terror and inhumanity of the uprising. Terrorising people because they don't believe what you do is not just a 21st century phenomenon....
 
Sometimes, they made their disgust clear, by catapulting a chopped off head of someone executed inside the city, towards the crucified, in order to contribute to the horror and the stench (curiously, although the Romans had to come within firing range of the rebels, both sides respected a truce during the crucifixion of the captured runaways). The Zealot’s attitude was different from the Romans, who had done their dirty job with stoic discipline. They were carrying out orders, nothing personally involved.

Yeah but if they had cruise missiles back then...
 
thehangingtree said:
Yeah but if they had cruise missiles back then...
Click to expand...
According to Avot d’Rabbi Natan, Romans had projectiles that worked just as well.

A catapult was brought to [Vespasian], and drawn up against the wall of Jerusalem. Boards of cedar were brought to him, which he set into the catapult, and with these he struck against the wall until he made a breach in it. A pig’s head was brought and set into the catapult, and this he hurled toward the [sacrificial] limbs which were on the altar. It was then that Jerusalem was captured.
​
In another version of the story, though, the Temple fell after Titus had sex with a Jewish harlot (Berenice?) -- on a Torah scroll.
 
Loxuru said:
PART 8 AD 70

Jerusalem.

Surreal!

Without pity, the high noon sun burned on Malachius’ naked body.

Malachius was exhausted, from the pain, the hunger and thirst, from the endless writhing on the nails in his wrists and his feet. With the sun approaching the zenith, the heat became unbearable; everything was impetuously hot. The ground, the city walls, the nails, the cross. Occasionally there stood a breeze, but it was hardly refreshing. It mainly brought with hot air, irritating dust of sharp sand, and the terrible stench of blood, of human excretions and most of all of rotting bodies of the dead, left to hang on their cross.

Malachius had been underway to Vindobona, when Nero’s power came to a fall and he committed suicide. Although Malachius had already been removed from Nero’s inner circle for months (and Livia had left him since), he escaped the numerous assassinations of Nero’s advisors and supporters in Rome, first in a wave of spontaneous revenge after the Princep’s death and a afterwards on behalf of the new princeps Galba. Malachius saw his goods being confiscated and he was banned from Italy, Gaul and Spain. It had looked like than the banishment would be suspended by Galba’s successor Otho, but before Malachius got confirmation about that, Vitellius was already in power and he had put once more a price on all surviving advisors of the previous rulers. But even after the brief reign of Vitellius, Malachius kept on the run, now chased by the Vespasian administration. He moved further east, following nearly the same trail as Julia of Brixellum more than thirty years earlier. East was the most obvious way, as behind the empire lay Asia, while in the west there was only a vast ocean. Finally Malachius settled in Antioch.

Despite the political unrest in Judea, Malachius had traveled to Jerusalem (there was constantly conflict in that area), just to find himself stuck in the Jewish uprise. Under Vespasian, the Romans had taken back control over most of Judea. There was still unrest, and visiting Jerusalem was still considered as risky, but meanwhile life went on. Malachius arrived at Jerusalem just before Passover and everybody was convinced that all parties would respect a truce during that period.

Malachius tried to get away, but the Zealot rebels had barred the gates of the city. All those present inside the city, Jews and others, became the hostages of the Zealots. And when General Titus, the son of the Princeps, arrived with his legions to besiege the city, there was no more way out at all, because the besiegers did not bother to distinguish between rebel and hostages.

At the end, with upcoming famine in Jerusalem, Malachius and some others had decided to make an attempt to flee the city. It was not only because of the siege. After the Zealots had closed the gates of Jerusalem, they had installed a regime of political-religious terror. The Zealots only recognized their own god as their sole master, hence claiming absolute power, as they saw themselves standing directly under their god. Their terror targeted members of other populations and beliefs such as Christians in particular, but also moderate Jews, Parthians, Egyptians, Romans and ordinary people in general. Bands of Zealots terrorized the streets, they invaded homes, stole the goods and food, abducted women for sexual and other slavery. They arrested habitants they considered suspicious. In the streets, people were scourged, beheaded, thrown from building roofs or from the city walls, lapidified or crucified. All the Zealots needed was a wrong word, mentioning peace or questioning the uprise, or simply, a suspicious act or attitude. Not respecting religious laws (or rather their interpretation by the Zealots), either at home or on the street, was also a ground for severe punishment. Children were encouraged to denounce their own parents. From the beginning of the uprise, Malachius’ life had been constantly in danger. When he and a few others had made up their plans, they knew the risk they took. They knew every escapee caught my Titus’ soldiers got crucified, without exception, just outside the city walls. But the terror inside the city was so real and overwhelming, that they had taken the risk of being caught outside for granted.

Malachius had lost the gamble. Once outside, the confusion due to the darkness, had dispersed the group of runaways. Survival became a matter of everyone for his or her own, as the legionnaires lay in an ambush. Malachius was captured. He saw two of his companions had been killed near him. The rest of the night, he spent laying on the ground, in the Roman camp, tied by his wrists and ankles, together with an increasing number of captives. Malachius knew what would happen to them. He was a Roman citizen. Roman justice exempted citizens from crucifixion, but this was not a normal situation. Malachius realized it would be useless to seek protection from his status of a citizen of Rome (and unveiling his identity would not save his life in his particular case). The legionnaires would not bother checking it. It was all lost.

The next morning, the Romans brought their ‘harvest’ of the night, some twenty naked men and women, to the city walls. Swiftly and professionally the captives were nailed to a patibulum that was put on a hardly six foot high stipes – wood was scarce in the area and the Romans needed it for siege equipment too. They were crucified near victims from the previous days, many of them still alive. The crosses stood very close to each other, often no more than a yard apart. It made the experience horrifying because it brought each other’s suffering so close by. The victims were all crucified facing the city walls, to terrify the rebels.

In the early hours, the crucified still communicated with each other. Relatives encouraged each other or prayed together. The crucified cursed the Romans for abusing their lives and their bodies as an instrument of terror, towards their own townies. But they even cursed the Zealots for having drawn their lives into this gruesome fate. But after hours of enduring their ordeal, hours of pain and exhauster, the crucified had withdrawn upon their own agony, lamenting their own pains and despair.

They had been crucified facing the city walls. From the walls, they were mocked by the Zealot rebels. Runaways were considered as traitors and deserters by these fanatics, who expected that every man and woman in town would be devoted to their cause and without hesitation be prepared for the highest sacrifice. Sometimes, they made their disguise clear, by catapulting a chopped off head of someone executed inside the city, towards the crucified, in order to contribute to the horror and the stench (curiously, although the Romans had to come within firing range of the rebels, both sides respected a truce during the crucifixion of the captured runaways). The Zealot’s attitude was different from the Romans, who had done their dirty job with stoic discipline. They were carrying out orders, nothing personally involved.

(to be continued)
Click to expand...
excellent! Another great piece of writing today!
 
windar said:
Could someone explain "lapidified". I looked it up and means "turned into stone". How would this be done? Was there really such a thing, other than where God supposedly turned Lot into a pillar of salt?
Click to expand...
Marcius said:
'Lapidated'?
Click to expand...
Sorry folks, translation glitch.:doh::doh::doh:
Right, I think it should be 'lapidated' (or 'stoned' perhaps, although that rather appeals to me as being under influence of drugs).
 
Loxuru said:
Sorry folks, translation glitch.:doh::doh::doh:
Right, I think it should be 'lapidated' (or 'stoned' perhaps, although that rather appeals to me as being under influence of drugs).
Click to expand...

Thanks. After I wrote the post, I figured out that was probably what you meant. Though some of them may have been stoned in both senses of the word.:devil: Now I'm a bit curious of there are any CF stories involving stoning?
 
windar said:
Thanks. After I wrote the post, I figured out that was probably what you meant. Though some of them may have been stoned in both senses of the word.:devil: Now I'm a bit curious of there are any CF stories involving stoning?
Click to expand...

A peril of ?Barb in ?Egypt by ?Tree.

Not much help I know, but we've definitely had at least one.
 
PART 9 : AD 70

Jerusalem.

Malachius had travelled to Jerusalem to meet a man called Nicodemus. Malachius had become curious about Julia’s about Julia of Brixellum’s life in Jerusalem. Julia had talked a lot about this religion, and how it had something to do with a young, apparently rebellious rabbi or scholar, years ago, during the reign of Tiberius. Apparently, the rabbi had been condemned to death and crucified. Malachius had wondered how some sectarian movement from the far province of Judea had found so many followers in Rome itself. Even more curious he was, how someone who had been condemned to the cross, a humiliating and demeaning sentence, applied to such people as thieves, rapists, murderers and slaves, could have gained esteem from such a large population, again, even in Rome. Now that the circumstances had brought Malachius to Asia Minor, and heaving learned that the story of that crucifixion was still an item in the area, and that many followers were writing chronicles about the rabbi’s life, works and death. One of these was a man named Nicodemus, from which he had heard a lot.

As a young mans, Nicodemus had been a witness of ‘that crucifixion’. Nicodemus had gained a reputation of being a gifted, much liked storyteller, whose fame had reached Antioch already. And indeed, when Malachius visited him in Jerusalem, he found out that Nicodemus had the brilliant inspiration to tell the story of the trial and execution in an original literary way, in the format of so called official documents. It was as if the story would have been written by Pontius Pilatus, the Praefect of Judea at the time, informing Tiberius about the events. Nicodemus had worked for many years as a clerk for Pilatus and his successors, so he was very familiar with the formal style of such official documents.

Malachius had particularly wanted to see Nicodemus, because he was in the possession of something special : accounts of the same event, written down by Julia of Brixellum. Her version of the story, of which he had a copy for Nicodemus, would throw a totally different view on the events. Nicodemus had been very enthusiastic and both men made plans for a promising cooperation. But during Malachius’ visit, the rebellion broke out and everyone in town got taken hostage by the Zealot militias.

Nicodemus had been in the same escape attempt as Malachius. They had soon lost each other in the dark. Malachius only knew that Nicodemus was not one the two men he had seen getting killed during their escape attempt. Nicodemus was neither among the group of crucified people Malachius was part of. Did he get away alive or had he been killed elsewhere? If he had made it, then also his manuscript, and the manuscript of Julia of Brixellum would have been saved.

Malachius got caught and crucified and terribly suffered from thirst and pain. He knew this was the end. Had it not been better, after all, to offer himself to the merciful thrusts of a gladius by one of Galba’s men? However, during his brighter moments, he considered that, in some way, justice had been done. This was his own righteous fate for having not intervened in favor of Julia of Brixellum, to Nero, four years ago. If he would have had some more guts, he could have saved her from her terrible humiliating death on the cross in the circus. When he had heard the news of Julia’s arrest, Malachius had not gone to ask Nero for clemency, because he was scared of asking him. Malachius had become disgusted of the way the Christians were slaughtered, but he thought Nero had ordered the persecutions and mass murders because he had gone mad. So he had feared for his own life. Later, Malachius had learned that, despite Nero’s harshness against the Christians as a group, he had remained receptive for individual pleads from the men he trusted. Others had intervened, Malachius later heard, to save people from execution, with success. But when he heard about that, it had been long too late for Julia of Brixellum.

Or had he not intervened because he was even more scared of Livia? Livia who had forced him to watch Julia’s agony until late in the night. Until the order was given to break the legs of the crucified in Nero’s circus.

(to be continued)
 
PART 10 : AD 64-66

Near Rome.

In Jerusalem, Julia of Brixellum had discovered that, in general, Christians were nice, hospitable people. It felt like a relief to be among them. They were different from the selfish and stern people in Rome, only thinking about duty and the interest of the family. But for some reason, Julia could never be fully convinced of the idea of salvation. She had a too critical and independent mind to accept that. For her, it remained a hypothesis. Without doubt a very attractive hypothesis, one of eternal life, an afterlife without suffering, living in a paradise, under the glory of God.

“Julia! You have to believe in salvation! You have to accept it! Open your mind and your heart for it, and you will discover eternal happiness under the glory of God!”

But it did not work to open her mind and heart for it. Christianity was to her merely a relief for the hardships earthy life. And her growing disagreements with Christian scholars and priests did definitely not contribute to open her mind at all to the promises of salvation.

Julia was in favor of open discussions about religion. She tried to convey her ideas by referring to her presence at the crucifixion and what she had seen and heard there.

Julia was an advocate of peaceful coexistence between religions. That was however not the opinion of the Christian leaders in Jerusalem.

“Our believe is the truth, the only truth”, they argued. “There is no other one! Only by conversion, people can be salvaged. It is our mission to spread our message, until the whole of mankind is salvaged!”

There was no arguing about that. The priests stuck to their plan. A plan to convert the whole of humanity. By force if needed.

“Do not think that you are a scholar, because you incidentally witnessed His crucifixion, woman!”

Their attitude had worried Julia more and more.

The Christian leaders had already shaped their views into dogma’s.

“Submit, woman…!”

That was it! Clearly, they had already set up a path leading to power, leading to the takeover of society, because their truth was the only thrust. They still claimed it would be a peaceful evolution, a long and difficult march through the institutions. But the prospect of power and future tyranny was already visible, as they were clearly adopting the patriarchic thinking of Roman society into their organization! Julia had found shelter in the Christian society, because they advocated gender equality, in a way unseen in the Roman society, where woman was a possession of the patriarch. But now it appeared that this prospect of equity was slipping away while the patriarchs were shaping their plans.

They were out to power, they were out to power by controlling the state. One day, the Princeps will be a Christian! One day, we will control the Empire! One day, we will implement our rules to it!

“You are betraying Him!” Julia objected.

“How dare you, woman!? That’s blasphemy!”

It came to a rupture, a personal schism between Christianity and Julia of Brixellum. The schism forced her to leave Jerusalem. Finally, she ended up in Rome. Rather than returning to the Pados valley, she sought the anonymity of the big town, as she had done in Jerusalem. In Rome she encountered Malachius, a man from the inner circle of Nero, the new Princeps. Malachius, impressed by her beauty, her character and her intellectual skills, gave her protection in exchange for sexual favors. Malachius was always very enthusiastic about Nero. After the decadency of Tiberius, the madness of Caligula and the impotence of Claudius, there was finally a young and ambitious Princeps who knew what he wanted and who would get what he wanted. And what he wanted was to make the Empire a better place for everyone. Nero was devoted to make that mission succeed. He focused much of his attention on diplomacy, trade and enhancing the cultural life of the Empire. Julia believed in him too. After all, she saw justice, order and prosperity return in the Empire.

To Julia’s surprise, there had arisen a widespread community of Christians in Rome too. She told Malachius about it, and about her worrying experience in Jeruzalem. But Malachius was not impressed. Rome was a tolerant place. The worship of its gods was not compulsory. Many populations within the Empire had their own gods. Many people veneered deities such as the Egyptian Serapis. As long as they gave to Caesar what belonged to Caesar, and they did not challenge the Princeps’ power, it was a situation of live and let live, and Nero was determined to maintain that tolerance. Malachius was convinced that the Christians would also appreciate the benefits of that policy and he did not see them as a source of trouble. And actually, when Julia made some contacts, she found out that the Christian leadership in Rome was far less fanatic than those in Jerusalem.

In the tenth year of the reign of Nero, Rome was struck by disaster. In a July night of that year, a big fire broke out in the city of Rome, ultimately devastating more than half of the city. Julia was not in Rome that time. She was with Malachius in his villa near the Via Appia. The fire almost lasted a week. During the night she could see the mysterious glow at the horizon. During the day, the smoke pile was clearly visible in the distance. Depending on the wind direction, charred substances sometimes came down near the villa.

Soon, rumors spread that Nero himself had been responsible for the fire, in order to make space for his ambitious urban plans. But Julia did not care. Even if it were true that Nero had ordered the fire, every ruler has his views on urban planning, and every ruler has his own methods to have them carried out. But most likely, it seemed that the fire had simply been an accident with highly flammable materials, that are difficult to extinguish once they start burning. The strong wind over the city that night did the rest.

Malachius had advised Julia to stay in the villa, and not to go to Rome. The devastation was terrible, and the city was a dangerous place because of the numerous people that had lost their home, their income and all they got. Loot, robbery, rape and murder had dramatically increased. Malachius himself was needed there as an advisor to Nero. There was work to do to contain the outbreak of criminality, to provide help and shelter for the homeless and to rebuild the devastated quarters. He regularly reported to Julia when he returned, as always enthusiastic about Nero’s concern for the people, his vigor and his brilliant plans about how to rebuild the city. There would come great new spaces, palaces and temples. And the housings would be built more spaced and in fire-proof materials, ensuring that such a catastrophe as the great fire could never happen again.

Relying mainly on the news Malachius brought her from Rome, Julia only could imagine how it was like there. She received little news from people she knew, but she figured lots of them had more worries restoring their daily life after the disastrous fire. A few weeks after the great fire, Malachius had told her that ‘several Christians’ had been executed in Rome, accused of having started the fire. Julia wondered why they would do so. According to Malachius, the executed had been ‘fanatics’ who wanted to destroy Rome to punish it for its sins, and to purify it. It worried Julia, to hear that the Christian community apparently had been infected already by the same fanatic ideas that had chased her from Jerusalem? Perhaps, she thought, it was not that bad to get rid of these fanatics.

It took six months before Julia would return to Rome. Accompanied by a slave guard to protect her, she went in search for people she knew. It was a real shock to see the devastated quarters, of which many were still in charred ruins. Only the streets had been cleared of the rubble. Other burned down quarters had been flattened already, but apparently, priority had been given to building palaces and temples, rather than new housings. Much of the quarters where her friends had lived, were unrecognizable. No one could say where the former habitants had gone, or whether they had survived the fire or not. Everybody had been on the move. People lived under canvas or in provisional shelters, in cramped situations.

Only the second day, she met some of her former Christian friends. There were only a few left. Were where the other? No one could say. Had they perished, had they found shelter elsewhere, had they fled? Julia got the impression that they had changed. Their openness had gone. They seemed to be scared. They seemed to distrust her. Was it because of the trauma of the fire? When Julia inquired about the executions of fanatics, all she got was silence as an answer. And when she inquired Malachius about it the next day, all she got was silence too.

Julia returned to the villa, completely mentally disoriented. The view of the devastated quarters, of the misery of the survivors, kept haunting her, as did the wall of silence of her Christian friends. And there had been one gruesome rumour she had heard. The rumour that Nero had ordered to execute Christians, ordinary men and women, Roman citizens, and absolutely no fanatics, by rubbing their naked bodies with pitch, tying them on crosses, and having them burned alive as torches during his evening orgies. Others had been wrapped in animal skins, and then got killed in the arena by wild dogs. Malachius asserted that these rumours were absolutely untrue, that Nero would never commit such atrocities, and that it clearly showed how vicious the Christian fanatics were, by spreading such propaganda lies about the Princeps! Julia did not know anymore whom to believe. Meanwhile, in her mind, Rome had become no-go area. More and more her world had narrowed to Malachius’ estate. It came up to her sometimes that she was ending up in a situation similar to the one she had fled for some thirty years ago. Something she was particularly remembered to it, when Mrs. Malachius, the vicious Livia, visited the estate. But Julia did not have the strength anymore to take life in her own hands.

While Julia practically had settled in Malachius’ estate, he was more and longer in Rome. It looked like that the Good Days of Nero’s principate were fading away, as were, she feared, the Good Days with Malachius. When he was home, he seemed to keep a distance. He was absent. He looked stressed. Clearly, there was a crisis. It seemed that Nero was losing support, both from the population and from the legions. The real crisis begun with bad news from a distant province, where massive riots had broken out against Roman rule. Garrisons had been attacked and slaughtered, Roman citizens had been lynched. Entire cities had fallen into the hands of the rioters. The riot was turning into a real rebellion.

The rebellious province was Judea. The center of the rebellion was Jerusalem. The rebels were Jewish fanatics. The news of the rebellion reached Rome, and sparked riot among the thousands of people still homeless after the fire. Angered that Nero had not kept his promises to rebuild the city, while after the fire he had spent lots of money to prestigious palaces and temples. The news had spread that Nero would cut back the housing program and the support to the homeless, because he needed money to crush the Judean rebellion – or was it to buy support from the legions? It was said that meanwhile, the work at the palaces and temples would continue. Seeing no way out of their misery, hunger and poverty, the plebs came out of their shelters and marched up to the seat of the government.

To Nero’s surprise, army units seemed to hesitate when they were ordered to march against the rioters. It needed Tigelinus to restore order, in the army first, then in the streets of Rome. Actually Tigelinus understood that in the worst case, the available forces in Rome would be no match for what could become a bloody street guerilla in the ruins of the devastated quarters. Maybe it could be won ultimately, but it would take time and it would maybe need reinforcements from legions whose commanders Nero preferred to keep far away from Rome, commanders like Galba and Otho for example. So, Tigelinus played on persuasion. Nero made promises. He promised the plebs the building materials that were destined for the temples and palaces. He promised logistic support for a program of reconstruction by the homeless themselves. He promised increased food support.

It worked, and the riots subsided. Certainly as it appeared that Nero was keeping his promises. The first visible result of the deal, however, concerned another point of it. It concerned the Christians. The prolonged living in provisional housing had created tensions with the Christians. Their weird rites, their mutual solidarity, their asocial, segregational attitude, had sparked tensions. For Nero, this tension was a gift. He had a case now to draw off the attention from the problems of the reconstruction. The issue of the great fire was brought up again. Speculating on the fact that most of the population of Rome did not bother discerning between the radical Jews in Judea and the Christians in Rome, Nero let proclaim that it was now clear that the Christians had set fire to the city two years earlier, as a part of a conspiracy against Rome and that they had acted on orders ‘from Jerusalem’. The population believed it. This time, Nero would not end up with executing a few tens of radical Christians. He would eradicate the whole Christian community in Rome. This would allow him to keep his promises to the others – housing and more food, without having to increase the efforts, simply by eradicating a part of the population. But ultimately, Nero and many of his advisors got more and more convinced by their own propaganda, that the Christians in Rome were really a vanguard of the Judean ‘terrorists’ from Jerusalem. For the security of Rome, it would be better that they would be exterminated. All Christians were declared enemies of the state and they were rounded up by numbers. And with more news of massacres of Romans in Judea reaching the city, Nero got more and more approval of his harsh policy. For the first time since the fire, his popularity rose again.

The persecution became so massive, that it did not take a long time before the news reached Malachius’ estate. It definitely looked like the tolerance so praised by Malachius, had become an illusion. The Christians seemed to have drawn a strong dislike upon themselves from a population that distrusted their religious practices and their growing rejection of the powers in Rome. Julia found it a bad idea to persecute the Christians. It only would strengthen them and radicalize their thoughts. Moderate elements would be put aside. She argued about it with Malachius, but he did not seem to listen to her at all any more. He warned her to be careful, because very quickly, the persecution and the suspicions had become so strong, that speaking on behalf of the Christians became a risk on its own. Malachius had instructed her to bring it up to no one.

Then, a few people appeared on the estate. It was a family of Christians. They were clearly scared, and on the run. Julia heard atrocious stories of mass killings of Christians in Nero’s newly completed circus. Men and women, children and elderly, entire families, were driven into the circus and killed by being thrown to animals, by being burned alive, by being crucified. Hundreds of people at the time, regardless whether they were Roman citizens or not. The killings drew thousands of spectators, who lustfully witnessed the extermination of the enemies of Rome. The entrance was free and Nero had ordered to distribute free food, allowing the homeless to witness that Nero was taking their security concerns seriously. For Julia, it did not matter whether they were Christian or not, it was about innocent people being persecuted by blind state terror.

(to be continued)
 
Loxuru said:
PART 8 AD 70

Jerusalem.

Surreal!

Without pity, the high noon sun burned on Malachius’ naked body.
They had been crucified facing the city walls.
Click to expand...

Facing the city walls of Jerusalem

ph296.jpg
 
PART 11 : AD 66

Near Rome. The estate of Malachius.

“Where are they!?”

“Where are whom…optio?”

“Those filthy Christian terrorists!?”

“Christians? In Rome, I guess, if there are any left, I presume. Can you leave me now, Optio, I have work to do?”

Angry, the optio stepped to Julia, rudely grabbed her upper arm and hit her in her face, so violently that she fell on the ground.

“Christians are hidden on this estate! Bring me to them, or you will regret it, woman!”

“I have nothing to hide! This is the estate of Praetor Malachius! Property is protected by law! You will regret this unlawful trespassing”!

“It is war in the Empire! There is a state of emergency! Enemies can be everywhere! Martial law gives me this authority! Take her!”

Two legionnaires grabbed Julia by her arms and forced her to follow the optio.

“Search every building! Every barn!”

It did not take long before the soldiers found the hidden family. They were rounded up in the courtyard and were put on chains, fearfully awaiting their fate.

“Well!?” the optio turned to Julia “nothing to hide, you said!?”

“What makes you accuse me!?” she replied.

“According to a slave, you…”

“The word of a slave against the word of a Roman citizen, Optio!?”

“Roman citizen, huh? We shall see!”

“What do you mean!?”

“There is a state of emergency! Terrorists and those helping them can lose their rights as Roman citizen! You are lucky you are under the protection of Praetor Malachius!”

“I appreciate your caution, Optio, but there is no reason to protect HER!” A woman had stepped out the crowd that had gathered and stepped next to Julia.

“Liv…auh…Livia!? What are you doing…here?”

“What does that mean : ‘Livia, what are you doing here’? Perhaps, dear Julia, reminding you that this is my husband’s estate here!? I am the domina of this place!”

“Leave me…alone, will you?”

“You are talking bold for a simple concubine! But I forgive you! You just gave a good show I enjoyed it very much! But, Optio, did you know this woman has lived for more than ten years in Jerusalem? In the Christian community there? She still has contact with them!”

“Is that true, woman, are you a Christian!?” the optio shouted to her.

“Nooo! I am not!”

“Is it true you have lived in Jerusalem!?”

‘But…”

“Optio! I never said she is a Christian!” Livia said. “But I am sure that she is on their side. People like her are the real danger to the security of the Empire! They are the concealed moles of the enemy!”

‘In that case, I take her away too!” the optio ordered.

“Optio! Perhaps you can first give a demonstration of law enforcement here, to make everybody clear that who is not at the side of Rome, is against Rome!” Meanwhile she winked to the optio.

“That is a good suggestion, Mylady! Decurion! bring her to that stake! We shall teach her a lesson in patriotism!”

Two legionnaires grabbed Julia and drew her to the stake. Underway, her eyes crossed those of the slave who apparently had denounced her! She saw fear in his eyes! Julia understood he had been put under pressure, most probably by Livia!

Arrived at the stake, the legionnaires took off Julia’s tunica, tied her wrists together and attached them to the stake above her head. One of the legionnaires stood ready with a bullwhip. It suddenly frightened Julia as she realized what they were up to, that she forgot her nakedness for a moment. But Livia stepped towards her.

“Don’t be so shy, Julia!” she said, while she ripped off Julia’s loincloth.

“Go! Away! You monster! All you wanted is to take profit of Malachius' wealth!”

“Listen, you little whore! You know, and I know, that my marriage with Malachius was a an arranged deal! It was business! That we have an open relationship! There is nothing wrong with that, many wealthy families do, as long as one keeps up appearances in public life! You should have stayed out of our estate, Julia! Humiliating me in my own place! For Jupiter’s sake, how did you dare!? You got me humiliated by a woman five years older than me! But now everybody can watch what only Malachius had the privilege to see. I wonder by the way what he saw in you, with those sagging tits and all these wrinkles and fat rolls around your bottom!”

Julia did not have the courage to reply anymore. She stood naked, tied to a post, in front of all the slaves, servants and employees of Malachius. In front the cohort of legionnaires, in front of the Christians she had given shelter, in front of the sardonically smiling Livia!

“One!”

Julia screamed loudly from the first lash! The legionnaire hit hard on her buttocks, her waist and her thighs. Every lash, she screamed loud of pain. She knew everybody saw her pain and humiliation, but she had no force to resist the pain. At eleven, she started crying, at fifteen, she begged to stop.

“Twenty!”

Julia could hardly stand on her feet. She was hanging by her weight to the rope, cutting into the flesh of her wrists. Her whole backside was on burning by pain. Then, she saw Livia taking over the whip.

“Noooo…please!”

“Dear Julia! You disappoint me!”

Livia gave her five more lashes. She aimed Julia’s breasts. Hitting that sensitive area, these lashes felt even more painful than the legionnaire’s. After each blow, Julia had to grab for air, as it looked like that the pain of each lash would never stop spreading and increasing. Then it was over.

“Decurion!” the optio ordered.

“Yes, Sir!?”

“Untie her, put her tunica on and chain her to the others. We bring them to Rome!”

“Very well, Sir!”

Julia’s march to Rome was a hell. Every step of the about ten miles long, four hours during march was pain. All her body did hurt from the whipping. Being chained in a coffle forced her to a pace difficult to follow. Finally they reached the gates of Rome. When they marched through devastated quarters, she experienced the anger and the hate of the still homeless inhabitants. She had to run a gauntlet of insults and dirt thrown to her and her companions. Exhausted, she reached Nero’s circus.

That was… three, or four weeks ago. Julia had lost notion of time. The time she had spent incarcerated. All that time there had been no further interrogation, to trial, no verdict, nothing. She had seen tens of people come and go in the basements of the circus. Christians, of all kinds. From ordinary, moderate people to fanatics. But also people guilty by the suspicion of sympathizing with Christians. Or people like her who, out of pity, had hidden Christians. And also political opponents of Nero or people falsely accused by others, just to get rid of them….

Finally, Julia terribly suffered on her cross in the circus. Her crux dance in the hot circus exhausted her. But the most terrible was the presence, in the stands in front of her, of Livia. She was sitting next to Malachius. Dressed up in a her best stola over her best tunic and her hair elaborately made up, she had waved to Julia with the most sardonic smile ever. She did not keep her eyes from Julia. Every time when Julia had made the painful effort to rise up, Livia applauded. Livia continuously drew the attention of her nearby spectators to Julia. Malachius tried to ignore her, by starting talks with the men around him, but time after time, Livia tapped his shoulder and insisted he should look at the naked and suffering Julia. Not only Julia was humiliated by Livia, Malachius also was.

(to be continued)
 
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