Domina Victrix

Chapter 89: 36 AD, Antioch and Rome

Lucius picked up Flavius' letter, sealed with the Messalas' raven emblem and not the capricorn of the Italian Band. Flavius had written.

....Excellency, by now you must be aware of an incident in Nablus recently, where a crowd gathered on Mount Gerizim was ridden down by cavalry of tbe Augustan Band, and executed by them. I have no idea why, as I receive no courtesy briefings of their movements. I am sure there were concerns of an uprising, but I understand that few weapons were found with them. Based on a conversation with His Excellency here, I believe he was aware of it....

Severus had also been investigating.

...I am sure Pilate and Gabinius were concerned about an uprising, given the size of this crowd, but appeared to have taken unnecessary preemptive action, being that the people were unarmed and were mostly women and children....

Antipas was upset.

...These were unarmed peassnts, on a fool's errand, yes, but not engaged in rebellion. They were ridden down by cavalry under Gabinius' command and hundreds of mostly women and children destroyed...

Caiaphas was not happy.

...Albeit these were Samaritans, but given that this has happened twice before, I have reason to believe these people meant no harm and were needlessly killed...

Lucius opened Pilate's report.

..Prefect Gabinius received intelligence of a large gathering near Nablus of followers of Osemus. His intentions were to declare himself a messiah and commence an uprising. Gabinius' men, on approach to the group on Mount Gerizim, came under attack and defended themselves. They suffered no casualties but inflicted punishment on a few hundred Samaritans...

Lucius knew Pilate was shading the truth, and it pissed him off as much as the massacre itself. How could mounted cavalry come under attack by an unarmed crowd of women and children? He wrote back to Severus, requesting further information. Meanwhile, he had ordered an audit of the provincial treasury, and it was a mess. Pilate had appropriated public funds to build the Tiberium, despite the Emperor's repeated instructions that the cost of the building was private. The accounts showed receipts and expenditures that were unexplained. Lucius called his two best math minds into the room.

"Marcus! Epona!"

They came and Lucius explained his suspicions.

"It was common knowledge that he was taking money under the table," Bolt said. "Severus and I knew it, but we could never prove it."

"Maybe you can provide some context to this, then," Lucius said, gesturing to the ledgers.

Bolt took the documents and went to the tablinum with Epona to sort them out. Vorenus and Layla both came looking for Epona and saw her sitting beside her giant of a cousin, scratching figures on a tablet.

"I think she's been commandeered," Vorenus said.

"Which means you get an invite to supper," Layla said.

They moved on as Lucius wrote to Pilate.

..I am not convinced the people gathered at Gerizim meant to rebel. What intelligence did you have of their intentions?...

....

Marcus tackled another pile of documents on his desk. He had three portfolios. One was the Eastern frontier, including Armenia, Syria, Judea, and Asia Minor, another was military affairs, and the other was internal investigations and intelligence. Tiberius was as quick as Sejanus had ever been to order arrests and investigations of Senators and other ranking government officials. Suicides among these men were almost a daily occurrence, leaving family networks and government offices in turmoil. Strangely, though, all sides seemed to trust him. He spent much of his time pacifying the Emperor and persuading frightened colleagues not to harm themselves and helping them stave off trouble. He was aware that Tiberius was not long for the world, and hoped to mire down as many investigations as he could and ride this crisis out. Julius tapped on the door and let himself in.