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Chapter 53: Ruler of the East 2
Marcus led two legions to Syria, where the Seleucid dynasty ruled.
As Pompey had said, the Seleucid dynasty had long lost its control over Syria.
Marcus’s mission was to occupy as many areas as possible until Pompey’s main force arrived.
He was a bit nervous because it was his first time commanding a legion, but fortunately, the resistance in Syria was negligible.
The residents seemed to welcome Rome’s rule rather than oppose it.
It was a moment that clearly proved how powerless and insignificant the Seleucid dynasty had become.
When the ruler is weak, the ruled naturally suffers from invaders.
The people of Syria wanted to be liberated from the foreign enemies who invaded like annual events.
If they became subjects of Rome, they would have to pay taxes, but there would be no more invaders.
That fact alone was more than enough reason to accept Rome’s rule.
“Welcome, liberators from Rome!”
They even received the citizens’ welcome near Antioch, a metropolis comparable to Alexandria.
The Roman army wondered if they had really come to liberate the suffering Asia Minor.
But Marcus moved his legion cautiously.
There was no guarantee that there would be no enemies just because the overall atmosphere was good.
Fortunately, the legion commanders who received Pompey’s orders followed Marcus’s opinions well.
In fact, the legion commanders had no reason to dislike Marcus.
He was the eldest son of a family with the greatest wealth in Rome and a young man whom Pompey favored.
It was a rational decision to make a connection with him who would surely become a big shot in the future.
Moreover, Marcus looked humble and sincere unlike his background.
He didn’t look down on other legion commanders just because he was close to Pompey.
He was also reasonable in commanding, so there was nothing to criticize.
Of course, they liked the glittering silver coins that Marcus gave them as a gesture of asking for their favor more than anything else.
The Roman army cautiously advanced and annihilated a few bands of bandits without encountering any enemy army.
Thanks to this march, the people of Syria welcomed the Roman army even more.
Eventually, Marcus’s army achieved an unexpected success by entering Antioch bloodlessly.
One of the legion commanders looked around at the citizens who cheered them enthusiastically with an incredulous expression.
“I think I understand why Pompey said we had to annex this region.”
Marcus chuckled and nodded his head.
“It was already a dying dynasty. I think his decision to annex this place was not wrong. If we don’t take this place, Parthia might come down as soon as next year.”
“I can only admire Pompey’s foresight.”
“Me too.”
Marcus agreed with a strange tone.
Pompey’s insight was unmatched in Rome when it came to military matters.
He wondered why that ability didn’t work in other aspects.
Anyway, as a result, Marcus performed his mission given by Pompey excellently.
When the main force arrived, he had already subdued all areas except Damascus.
He looked like he had done a great military merit without doing anything much to a third party.
Pompey praised Marcus’s merit once and then led the army into Damascus.
There was no resistance here either.
The king was afraid to confront Rome and the citizens welcomed the replacement of the incompetent king.
The nobles who ruled the region opened the gates themselves after receiving Rome’s promise to preserve their positions.
Eventually, one of the three dynasties that claimed to be Alexander the Great’s successors, the Seleucid dynasty, disappeared from history.
The Antigonid dynasty and the Seleucid dynasty were both destroyed by Rome, so only the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt remained.
The Ptolemaic dynasty was also virtually a vassal of Rome at this time.
That’s why Pompey didn’t have any intention of doing anything with Egypt yet.
Instead, he focused on stabilizing Syria, which became a new subject of Rome.
Pompey first kept his promise and recognized the privileges of Syria’s ruling class.
It was Rome’s policy of ruling its subjects to leave as many existing elites as possible even if they pulled down the king.
Thanks to this method, Rome was able to rule the region while minimizing local resistance.
While Pompey smoothly incorporated Syria into Rome as a subject, unexpected guests came to Damascus.
They were two representatives of the last Jewish dynasty, the Hasmonean dynasty.
Unlike Rome, where there was some separation between religion and state, Israel had a system of rule where religion and state were one.
That’s why it was common for the high priest and the king to fight for power.
Hyrcanus II, the high priest who was the center of the Pharisees, who were famous as Pharisees.
And Aristobulus II, the king of Judea who gathered the Sadducees, who were known as Sadducees.
Israel was in chaos every day because of the fierce power struggle between these two.
At that time, Pompey, the supreme commander of Rome with tremendous power, appeared in Syria.
The two rulers of Israel naturally tried to pull Pompey to their side.
The position Pompey held in the east was virtually close to that of an emperor.
He naturally used the title Pompey Magnus in official documents from some point on.
It was a manifestation of his pride that he was comparable to Alexander the Great, who used the title Megasthenes.
He also acted like an emperor when he met the envoys from Israel.
Marcus took his place next to Pompey like a loyal servant of the king.
“Pompey, envoys from the Hasmonean dynasty of Judea ask to see you.”
“Let them in.”
Marcus signaled and the door opened and two envoys entered.
But one of the envoys’ outfits was quite ridiculous.
He wore flashy clothes and jewelry as if to prove how dignified he was.
Moreover, his walk was also extremely arrogant.
A stranger would think that an envoy of a hegemonic country had come to meet the king of a vassal state.
Pompey’s expression naturally twisted.
Marcus also couldn’t guess the envoy’s intention.
The first envoy, who wore a normal outfit and attitude, first knelt down politely and bowed his head.
“I greet the commander of Rome. I came to convey the will of Hyrcanus II, the high priest of Judea.”
The other envoy, who maintained a haughty attitude, just nodded his head and opened his mouth.
“I came to deliver the words of Aristobulus II, the rightful ruler of Judea.”
Marcus wondered at this point how the envoy could show such an attitude with such confidence.
Pompey felt the same way.
His face was mixed with half disbelief and half displeasure.
“Well, tell me why you requested an audience.”
This time, too, Hyrcanus’s envoy spoke first.
“The high priest is the legitimate ruler appointed by Queen Alexandra, the wife of the late king. But the barbaric Aristobulus attempted a rebellion and forcibly took the throne.”
Pompey tilted his head, not understanding Israel’s political system.
“The high priest is the legitimate ruler? Shouldn’t he have taken the throne if he was the legitimate ruler?”
“The actual ruler was Queen Alexandra, so Hyrcanus only took the position of high priest. According to our law, women cannot be high priests.”
Rome also had a position equivalent to a high priest.
It was Pontifex Maximus, the supreme priest who led the religion. The supreme priest had some influence on politics, but he did not rule directly.
That’s why Pompey still did not stop doubting.
The difference in culture was scary for this reason.
Marcus confirmed that in Judaism, the authority of the high priest was comparable to that of a Roman consul.
Then Pompey finally put away his doubts.
“So, you want to say that the high priest you follow is the rightful ruler and he should take the throne as well because the current king took it unjustly?”
“That’s right.”
The color returned to Hyrcanus’s envoy’s face.
Then Aristobulus’s envoy raised his voice sharply with a sharp tone.
“Nonsense! His Majesty is the great king who received anointment from the Almighty Creator and the legitimate ruler of Israel. Do not listen to the wicked words of the high priest’s faction. His Majesty told me to tell Rome not to foolishly interfere in other countries’ affairs. But if you have to take sides, you should obviously take His Majesty’s side, who is legitimate.”
Pompey sighed softly as if he was holding back a headache.
He shook his head slightly and asked.
“Do you know who I am and are you saying that?”
“Aren’t you a commander sent from Rome?”
“Ha ha, you say that knowing who I am…”
“His Majesty is the glorious king who received anointment from the Almighty Creator. Rome should rightfully take His Majesty’s side and punish those rebellious scoundrels.”
Pompey pressed his temples with his fingers as if trying to suppress a headache.
He was boiling inside, but he felt that it was meaningless to get angry.
Aristobulus knew very well that Rome was much stronger than Israel.
Just recently, he had paid money to Scaurus, Pompey’s subordinate, and asked him to defend the capital.
It was because Aretas II, the king of Nabatea who was rampant at that time, had invaded.
But as soon as Aretas II heard that the Roman army had come, he retreated without daring to fight.
It was from this moment that Israel’s two powers realized Rome’s power.
Hyrcanus chose the strategy of bowing down lowly, but Aristobulus was different.
He thought he couldn’t go out with a humble attitude as the king of a chosen nation by God.
But he still asked for help, which made Pompey speechless.
Marcus knew that Judaism had a strong sense of chosen people, but he didn’t know it was this bad.
He never imagined that there would be someone who would show such an attitude while asking for help.
‘Doesn’t he think that I wouldn’t help him even if I felt bad? He can’t be that stupid…’
As Marcus expected, Pompey had no intention of taking Aristobulus’s side even by a fingernail.
But he also felt a little uncomfortable about helping Hyrcanus.
It didn’t seem very rational for the highest religious leader to rule the country as he pleased.
Pompey fell into a dilemma for a moment and then suggested a compromise.
“It seems to me that Israel’s system is the source of conflict. It doesn’t matter who becomes the leader, but the irrational system of unification of religion and state needs to be reconsidered.”
“That’s absurd! The authority of the high priest is a sacred right guaranteed by the Scripture. No one can infringe on it!”
“Rome is trying to trample on our dignity of Israel!”
Pompey’s mood cooled down as he received a fierce rejection to his proposal.
It wasn’t a problem of whose side he took. He began to seriously question whether he should let Israel exist as a nation.
“If you don’t want to accept my suggestion, there is no need to continue the discussion. Both of you, get out.”
“Ha! They were so barbaric.”
Aristobulus’s envoy kept his sanity until the end and left with a snort.
On the other hand, Hyrcanus’s envoy sensed that the atmosphere was not good and switched to a cautious attitude.
“I, I will convey your opinion to the high priest. I will try to bring a positive answer.”
fter the two envoys disappeared completely, Marcus smiled incredulously and shrugged his shoulders.
“What are you going to do?”
“……”
Pompey looked like he was still angry.
He took a few breaths and then chuckled sarcastically, rubbing his eyes with his index and middle fingers.
“Did you see their attitude? I didn’t see or hear anything wrong, did I?”
“Yes. I guess this is what they call culture shock.”
“Culture shock… Yes, that’s right. You’re right. It’s a very appropriate expression.”
“So, whose side are you going to take?”
Pompey couldn’t decide easily.
“Who do you think is right to take sides with?”
Marcus guessed Pompey’s feelings and gave him the answer he wanted.
“Actually, we don’t have to take anyone’s side. The cultural difference is bigger than we think.”
“Yeah. You’re right. Even those who share a similar culture cause trouble, let alone Israel. We should take care of them once and for all. Or, depending on the situation, we should consider making them our subjects.”
It wasn’t a decision he made because he didn’t like the envoys’ attitude.
It was a conclusion he reached after examining the fundamental cause of why the envoys showed such an absurd appearance.
He couldn’t leave Israel, an heterogeneous country just south of Syria, which became Rome’s subject, alone.
Even from the envoys’ stories, he couldn’t expect stable rule from Israel’s current rulers.
Even if he took someone’s side, the chances of Israel stabilizing were very slim.
It was best to eliminate the seeds that could sprout conflict in advance.
Pompey immediately summoned all the legions and marched south to Jerusalem.
Israel’s weak army had no chance against Rome’s advance.
The legion led by Pompey himself conquered the cities of Israel one by one.
Aristobulus hastily gathered his army and set up a camp at the Alexandrium fortress on the way to Jerusalem.
But as soon as he saw Rome’s army in front of him, Aristobulus felt his fighting spirit rapidly cool down.
The might of the Roman army that conquered the western world was incomparable to Israel.
Even his servants who had opposed the war and forced Hyrcanus into exile changed their minds too late.
They unanimously told Aristobulus that fighting Rome was suicide.
Eventually, Aristobulus changed his mind again and offered surrender.
“I made a mistake when I said I wouldn’t surrender. I meant it would take a little longer to pay the compensation. I’ll pay as much as you want and open the gates of Jerusalem, so let’s not spill blood.”
At this point, Pompey wondered if Aristobulus’s goal was not to win the war but to deceive him.
Of course, he had no intention of listening to someone who had broken his promise once.
Pompey declared that he would hold Aristobulus as a hostage until he fulfilled his agreement.
This time, Aristobulus obediently followed his words.
Pompey finally concluded the Israel issue for now and withdrew with his prisoners.
He thought there was no way he would break his promise when he had secured his king as a hostage.
The lieutenant who received Pompey’s order stayed in Jerusalem with the embassy until the compensation was ready.
But an unbelievable incident happened.
The hardliners in Jerusalem said they couldn’t pay the compensation and kicked out the Roman embassy.
Pompey’s patience reached its limit literally.
He had fought countless wars from his late teens until now, but he had never been so angry before.
“From now on, there is no room for any compromise. I won’t accept surrender either. I’ll take Jerusalem and wipe out all the supporters of the current king who deceived Rome.”
Jerusalem had chosen its own destruction when there was a way to solve the problem peacefully.
It was a good example of what tragedy happened when one had high pride but lacked ability.