The Mad Tycoon of Rome

Chapter 127: The Jewish Riot 2

Marcus returned to Antioch with only one hundred men after his meeting with Antipater.

The official reason was to discuss a new strategy for dealing with the serious riot in Jerusalem, which was worse than expected.

Antipater, who returned to Jerusalem, followed Marcus’s order and spread the news throughout the city.

The rumor spread like wildfire in the tense Jerusalem.

“Did you hear that the Roman governor is furious?”

“He came down with two legions, but he thought it was not enough and went back to Antioch.”

“I heard he’s going to bring six legions this time.”

“He declared that he would destroy Jerusalem and sell all the inhabitants as slaves… Are we doomed?”

Jerusalem plunged into chaos in an instant.

The city walls, which boasted an ironclad defense, had been demolished long ago, and there was no way to stop the army from invading.

The people had started a riot with great momentum, but when they heard that the Roman army was coming, they fought each other to shift the blame.

There was no one to unite and lead the masses, so the confusion only worsened.

Hilkiah and Antipater were unable to resolve the situation and only floundered around.

To a third party’s eyes, Jerusalem was already in a hopeless situation.

But there was someone who looked at this city, soaked in fear and chaos, with a joyful gaze.

‘Good, Rome is more hardline than I thought. At this rate, Antipater will surely lose his position.’

Antigonus, the last bloodline of the Hasmonean dynasty, could not hide his laughter.

The Hasmonean dynasty that ruled Judea had perished when Pompey conquered Syria.

Pompey not only demolished the city walls of Jerusalem, but also the Temple, which was the pride of the Jews.

The last king of the Hasmonean dynasty, Aristobulus, was sent to Rome as a prisoner, and lost his sovereignty over all the lands that the Hasmonean dynasty had conquered.

It was a complete collapse and downfall.

But Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus, was not willing to end the glory of his royal family.

He worked under the radar to free Jerusalem from Rome’s grasp.

Fortunately, the governors who took over Syria after Pompey did not care much about Judea.

They regarded any disturbance as annoying flies buzzing around.

Antigonus contacted Parthia first to regain his power.

Then Crassus came as a new governor and marched with an army funded by the gold he plundered from Jerusalem.

Antigonus hoped and prayed that Parthia would win.

But the result was a great victory for Rome, and Orodes, who barely escaped, was sent to Rome as a prisoner.

“Useless bastards… What descendants of Persia. They are just greedy trash who only care about gold.”

Even though Jews generally looked down on immigrants, they had some respect for Persia.

It was because of Cyrus the Great, who was the first person to receive the title of King of Kings and a great ruler who received Yahweh’s anointing.

In fact, many Jews still thought that Cyrus was the Messiah sent by Yahweh.

Antigonus also felt a kind of admiration and longing for Cyrus’s name.

He found it ridiculous that those who could not do anything against Rome claimed to be descendants of Persia.

“Shahanshah can freeze to death… What king of barbarians. Even if they fought evenly in war, I wouldn’t have to take this risk.”

Antigonus grumbled about the frustrating situation. It was then.

A servant rushed in and announced an unexpected guest’s visit.

“Your Highness, someone who claims to be a royal from another country wants to see you.”

“A royal? The only country near here that has royals is Nabatea. Are you sure it’s not an impostor?”

Antigonus doubted it first.

He had no idea why Nabatea’s royals would secretly visit him.

But when he saw the seal that the servant brought, he opened his mouth wide and checked it several times near the candlelight.

He didn’t need to rack his brain to remember it.

There was not a single royal or noble in the east who did not recognize this royal emblem.

“How come a member of Ptolemy’s royal family is in Jerusalem…”

Antigonus told the servant to prepare the best wine and food and went out to greet the guest himself.

A woman with an orange veil covering her face and two burly men were standing outside the door.

The two men also wore hoods to hide their faces, but they looked very sturdy at a glance.

Antigonus greeted them first in fluent Macedonian.

“Nice to meet you. I am Antigonus. But… are you really from Ptolemy’s royal family?”

“Don’t you recognize the royal seal? The Hasmonean bloodline is really lacking in discernment.”

The woman answered in a sharp voice and took off her veil, revealing her face.

Beautiful blond hair flowed over her shoulders like a waterfall.

Her blue eyes, reminiscent of a lake, glared at Antigonus with an uncomfortable expression.

Her stiff and arrogant attitude matched her noble appearance very naturally.

It was well known how insolent Ptolemy’s royals were.

Antigonus could easily accept that the girl was a descendant of the Pharaoh.

“Of course I checked. But the situation is chaotic now, so I had to be rude. Please come in.”

The girl nodded lightly without any reply.

She entered the reception room and sat comfortably on a chair, crossing her legs as if it was her own home.

“I have to tell you something secret, so get rid of the people around.”

Antigonus’s eyes twitched slightly.

He was a prince of a kingdom, even if it was a fallen one.

But the girl treated him as if he was an inferior.

He felt annoyed, but he decided to follow along since the Egyptian royal family’s temper was notorious.

Antigonus gestured and the servant left the reception room.

The girl also sent one of her escorts outside, but the other one remained behind her.

Antigonus racked his brain to recall the genealogy of the current Ptolemaic royal family.

As far as he knew, the current pharaoh had three daughters.

The eldest one raised a rebellion and was sent to Rome, and the other two were also taken to Rome as hostages. 

The girl in front of him looked too young to be the eldest one.

“It is an honor to meet the descendant of the great pharaoh in person. But how should I address you, princess?”

The girl arrogantly raised her nose and uttered her name.

“Call me Arsinoe.”

“Yes, Princess Arsinoe. But why did you come to Jerusalem? I heard that you were in Rome as a hostage.”

“I’m not a hostage, I’m just studying there! Who dares to take me, who will be the pharaoh someday, as a hostage? I’m in a situation where I have to follow the Roman governor to Damascus for now, but I’ll return to Alexandria soon.”

It was obvious that she was a hostage if she was dragged to Damascus by the governor, but Antigonus did not bother to point out that fact.

“I heard that the Ptolemaic dynasty has a good relationship with Rome.”

“That’s just appeasing and pacifying those barbaric Romans who are strong but uncivilized. Isn’t it a bit of an exaggeration to call that a good relationship? Anyway, you asked why I came to Jerusalem, right? I took advantage of the governor’s temporary departure to Antioch. So I have to go back quickly after finishing my business.”

“Oh, so that’s why you came here secretly and discreetly.”

“I didn’t hide my face, I just didn’t bother to show it. It would be nice if you used the words properly.”

Antigonus barely swallowed the laughter that was about to burst out. 

Pride without ability was nothing but bluff.

Antigonus hid his true feelings and smiled kindly, nodding his head.

“Then let’s get to the point. You have to go back before the governor returns from Damascus.”

“Yes. Then answer my question honestly. Are you behind this Jerusalem riot?”

“What? What do you mean by that?”

Antigonus did not panic.

He had trained himself to maintain his composure in case something like this happened.

He looked calm and shook his head.

“I don’t have the ability or the will to do that. I don’t know why you came all this way to check on that.”

“Really? Then do you have any idea who is behind it?”

“Of course not. But are you really here to verify that?”

Arsinoe frowned openly and glanced at Antigonus.

‘Just as I heard.’

She felt the sharp blade hidden behind his smiling eyes.

Arsinoe knew this kind of people well.

“It must be you, since you are conspiring with Parthia.”

“!”

This time he couldn’t hide his emotions completely.

Antigonus flinched and his eyes twitched slightly.

He couldn’t understand the situation.

How did an Egyptian princess who was held hostage by Rome know that fact?

“I don’t understand what you are talking about…”

“Don’t annoy me by playing dumb. I heard it directly from a noble who was close to Orodes.”

It was useless to deny it any further. 

Antigonus’s face hardened.

He lowered his arms naturally to hide his trembling hands and asked.

“Does the Roman governor also… know this?”

“Do you think your neck would still be attached if he knew?”

“Well, that’s true. But how did you manage to have such deep contacts with Parthian nobles? Only a few people know this…”

“Of course it’s for driving out those detestable Romans. Rome may seem to have occupied this region completely now, but in reality it’s not. They are just suppressing the rising discontent with force. I have already established close cooperation with Pontus, Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Parthia.”

She spoke with pride in her voice.

Antigonus felt his heart pounding as he leaned forward involuntarily at Arsinoe’s words.

“Is that true?”

“Of course. If you have a brain on your shoulders, think about it. Egypt is a country that has been ruled by a living god for 3,000 years. Did you think such a venerable country would always be submissive to Rome? Parthia is the same. They claim to be the descendants of Persia, but they don’t always bow to Rome just because they lost a war once. That doesn’t make sense.”

He nodded his head naturally. 

Antigonus had no doubt about Arsinoe’s words.

He was very annoyed by her arrogant tone and her blasphemy of calling herself a god.

But for that reason, he trusted her more.

It must have been humiliating for the pharaoh of Egypt, who lived on pride alone, to obey Rome under their feet.

Arsinoe was not yet a pharaoh, but she showed signs of wanting to break away from Rome before she tasted such humiliation.

Antigonus felt a deep sympathy for her as a victim of Rome.

“Then the reason why you came to Jerusalem is to bring the mastermind behind the riot to your side?”

“Yes. And I thought they would know something if they were conspiring with Parthia, but if not, I can’t help it. I wasted my time.”

As Arsinoe tried to get up from her seat with a click of her tongue, Antigonus hurriedly stopped her.

“Please wait a minute. Don’t you think I’m worth bringing to your side? I’m also from the bloodline of the Hasmonean dynasty that ruled the Jewish kingdom.”

“Really? I don’t feel the need to do that. You said you didn’t have the ability or the will to rebel against Rome and cause a riot. And you’ve been conspiring with Parthia and acting as an anti-Roman faction, but you don’t even have a clue who’s behind this riot.

I don’t need such an incompetent person. It’s obvious that they’ll only get in the way. Oh, and if you go around blabbering about this, no one will believe you anyway, so don’t think about blackmailing me with this.”

“Blackmail? I never had such an intention.”

Antigonus got up from his seat and wandered around the reception room in agony.

He wanted to join the huge anti-Roman alliance that encompassed the East.

No, judging from the situation, it seemed that almost all countries, including the Jewish region, had already formed an alliance.

If he was left out here, there was a high chance that Antigonus’ ascent to the throne of Jerusalem would end up as a mere dream.

He stroked his scruffy beard and sighed deeply.

He soon made up his mind and lowered his voice and whispered.

“I’m the one who led the riot behind the scenes. I couldn’t tell you the truth because it was a confidential matter.”

“Is that true?”

Arsinoe’s face brightened up.

She was about to jump out of her seat, but she sat back down and pushed an empty glass forward.

It meant she wanted to continue the conversation.

Antigonus quickly filled her glass with diluted wine.

She drank a sip of wine and licked her lips with her tongue and smiled.

“I’m glad you found the mastermind after all. But you’re not just spitting out whatever comes to mind, are you?”

“Absolutely not. I’ll prove it with my actions later.”

“Really? But why did you incite people to riot in the first place? To oust Hilkiah and Antipatros?”

Antigonus’ eyes widened.

‘She didn’t look that smart…but sometimes she hits the nail on the head. Is this what they call the bloodline of the pharaoh?’

The reason for causing the riot was as she said, to expel the high priest and the administrative minister.

When the Roman army entered Jerusalem, those two people who were responsible for stabilizing the security had no choice but to take responsibility.

And then Antigonus would appear and calm down the confused people and emphasize that he was the right person to stabilize Jerusalem.

That was his plan.

Arsinoe shook her head as if she couldn’t believe what she heard.

“Are you sane? You’re going to leave this chaos as it is until Rome comes? Then at least tens of thousands of people will die and be sold as slaves. Maybe even the roots of Jerusalem itself will be pulled out.”

“I have no choice if I want to regain my rightful place. And if they go through that, won’t their hatred for Rome grow stronger? I think it’s a damage that has to be accepted.”

His voice was calm and sincere even when he heard that tens of thousands of people would die.

Arsinoe swallowed the words that came up to her throat.

Instead, she gave him advice that was different from her true intentions.

“You’re too optimistic about the situation. You don’t seem to know how seriously the current governor of Rome is taking this issue. Think about why he’s going back to Antioch to discuss forming additional legions. What if you regret it after Jerusalem is completely destroyed and all the residents are sold as slaves?”

“Could it be that bad…”

“Did you forget which country wiped out Carthage from the map? And they’re also parading the king of Parthia around Rome like a dog this time. Do you really think the chances of them crushing Jerusalem and marching you as a prisoner in Rome are low? I don’t think so.”

Antigonus’ face turned pale.

He thought some sacrifice was inevitable, but it was a different story if the whole of Jerusalem was annihilated.

His voice became anxious as he imagined the worst case scenario.

“Then what should I do?”

“You have to calm down the riot before Rome comes. And have you represent them and negotiate with the governor. I’m also keeping a close relationship with the current governor, so I can help you from the side.”

“Do you mean I should step forward from the beginning?”

“That’s the only way to resolve this situation smoothly.”

“…”

Antigonus couldn’t answer right away.

He had planned not to show himself until Hilkiah and Antipatros were ousted.

Arsinoe shook her head impatiently and gulped down the remaining diluted wine.

Then she gestured to Janghan, who was standing behind her.

The man took out a large scroll of parchment from his bosom and handed it to Arsinoe.

When she unrolled it, she saw many names and family seals on it.

“Sign here to show your willingness to join us, whatever you decide.”

“Do I have to sign?”

“How else can we trust you and work with you?”

“But there’s a risk of leakage…”

“I’ll lose my head if this leaks out. Do you think I’m careless with this? If you don’t want to, fine. Let’s pretend this never happened.”

As Arsinoe turned to leave without looking back, Antigonus hastily signed and stamped the scroll.

She got up from her seat with a satisfied expression and left Antigonus’ mansion with a haughty attitude.

Antigonus followed her to the front gate and bowed deeply.

In the carriage heading back to Damascus, Arsinoe took a deep breath and stroked her chest.

“Did I do well?”

“You were brilliant.”

He took off the hood that covered his face and nodded with a smile.

“Marcus told me to act as arrogant and reckless as possible…”

“I was reminded of the first time I met you. You were full of pride like a royal.”

Arsinoe’s face turned red with shame as she remembered meeting Marcus for the first time.

“That was when I was immature…”

“Anyway, didn’t you achieve a great result thanks to that?”

“I just repeated what I was told beforehand. My sister would have done better at this role.”

“Maybe he would have been more suspicious if it was her. Anyway, you’ve done your part perfectly by fooling that cautious man.”

“That’s because mentioning Parthia was decisive. He didn’t seem to trust me until then. But how did Marcus know that Antigonus was conspiring with Parthia?”

Spartacus shrugged nonchalantly.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew anything. I’m not surprised by anything he does anymore.”

Yes.

Arsinoe felt the same way.

He was always like that.

She felt a strange heat in her heart just by thinking of his face.

She shook her head vigorously to clear her emotions and looked back at the fading view of Jerusalem.

“…It’ll be a bloodbath soon. It serves them right, but still.”

“They’re paying the price. Marcus is basically a merciful person, but he never hesitates when punishment is needed.”

Even though it was night, the Jews with torches were still roaming around the city, shouting loudly.

The chaos in the streets had not subsided, and violence was still breaking out everywhere.

To Arsinoe’s eyes, the crumbling walls of Jerusalem seemed to foreshadow their bleak future,

< 127. Jewish Riot 2 > End