To the Death (13 page)

King Agrippa sent two thousand troops, supported by cavalry, with Darius in command. This encouraged Ananus to send out sorties in company strength which fought hand to hand with the nationalists, with neither side gaining an advantage.

On the eighth day of the battle, Menahem sent a message to Eleazar. He was outside the city with twenty thousand supporters, many of them well armed from the contents of Herod's armoury at Masada. In addition he had gathered up a citizen army of another ninety thousand men and armed them with whatever came to hand. He was offering to enter the city and form an alliance with Eleazar's Zealots. Eleazar, confident that he could retain control, agreed to this and together they launched an all-out attack. Pouring men into the Upper City from all directions in overwhelming numbers, Eleazar and Menahem eventually fought their way onto the rooftops.

Ananus and Agrippa's men were now severely outnumbered. Also, their men were tired, having no fresh reserves to call upon. Slowly but inevitably they began to retreat, contesting every building, every metre of street. This hand to hand combat was savage. Men hacked at each other as though demented. The streets were literally running with blood. Dead and dying men, horribly mutilated from axe and sword, lay in the streets. Others lay slaughtered in doorways. The dead and dying piled against the street walls, the pavements carpeted with bodies. As the frustration of Roman oppression found release, Jew killed Jew with mindless ferocity.

Gradually, by sheer weight of numbers, the defenders of the Upper City were driven out. Darius' horsemen, unable to find room to manoeuvre in the increasingly choked streets, suffered terrible losses, as the Jews attacked the horses' legs with iron bars, bringing them and their riders down to be quickly slaughtered.

Carrying containers of oil, a band of Sicarii selected by Menahem, broke into the records' office and proceeded to burn it. He wanted this done to destroy the money lenders' contracts, thus making it impossible for them to recover their debts. This popular move was designed by Menahem to enlist an army of impoverished debtors to his cause.

The Upper City was Jerusalem's most fashionable residential area. Here were located the houses of the city's richest and most influential citizens. All the chief priests and members of the Sanhedrin lived there, as did the city's councillors, judges and wealthy merchants.

As the insurgents crowded into the Upper City, they were reinforced with thousands of ordinary citizens who were fighting alongside them. Many saw an opportunity to become rich. Looting became widespread. Soon the streets were filled with men staggering out of houses laden down with stolen goods.

Terrified merchants, who had locked themselves in their homes, were tortured to reveal hidden stores of gold and precious stones. Murder became commonplace. For a time the entire fighting force was completely out of control. Wives and daughters were violated in front of their husbands and fathers. Make-shift carts were piled high as the new owners attempted to get away with their prizes, only to be attacked by their comrades!

With the insurgents' attention diverted, many of the leading citizens and chief priests escaped into the city's sewers. A chief priest, Ananias, and a handful of senior priests, judges and city councillors, escaped with the aid of Agrippa's forces back to the Upper palace.

With the gates of Agrippa's palace safely closed behind them, the survivors collapsed exhausted. Even though he was on the point of exhaustion, Ananias demanded an immediate audience with the king. Dirty and dishevelled, his normally beautifully coifed beard an unkempt brush, he knelt trembling with shock in front of Agrippa, who out of pity helped him to his feet and conducted him to a chair.

Before Ananias could speak Agrippa said “Wine” and handed the Priest a goblet with his own hand. Gratefully Ananias drank deeply his bloodshot eyes blinking unfocused over the vessel's rim.

Ananias spoke first, his voice bitter. “My own son has betrayed me, betrayed his people, and betrayed his God”.

Agrippa said gently. “God is above betrayal. We must all answer for our own actions to Him. Leave Eleazar to God and consider the people. God's chosen people. What will become of them?”

Ananias stared into space, his dirt streaked face haggard with the strain of what had transpired. “He foretold this”. It was barely a whisper. Agrippa remained silent. “And his brother Jesus – could he have been right?” The High Priest bowed his head, he was a broken man.

“Jesus the one they call the Christ?” Agrippa asked, incredulous that the high priest could even entertain such a thought.

Ananias pulled on his wine and held the cup out for a refill. He smiled though there was no mirth in it. “I have seen dozens of men who claim to be the Messiah. We are still waiting. This Jesus was no different, but his prophecy of the destruction of the Holy City will bolster his image”.

“But the man is dead; he is of no consequence. His brother James might have threatened the teaching of the Temple but he is gone too. It is over”.

“Maybe, but there is another brother, Simon, and he has a child, a baby named Joshua”.

Agrippa stared thoughtfully at Ananias. The man should have been concerned with the civil war that had engulfed his people and not the relatives of some obscure carpenter's son his predecessor had crucified. The King, determined to take control of the situation, said “The nationalists have stopped fighting to celebrate their gains. We must take advantage of this lull to escape the city”.

Ananias ignored this, saying more to himself than to Agrippa “Why do the people listen to these false Messiahs? They see what happens to them. We crucified Jesus. We crushed James. Could we have done these things to the true Messiah? No. God would have intervened to save His chosen one”.

Agrippa shifted uneasily in his chair. “True” he mused, “the one they call Jesus is dead, but strangely his followers grew in numbers every day. Paul...” The word popped out of him without thinking.

“What about Paul?” grated Ananias.

“He came before me and Berenice for questioning before he was sent to Herod, who sent him to Caesar”.

“You should have killed him when you had the chance”.

“Nero did that, so his blood is not on my hands”.

“What about this Simon, the other brother?”

Agrippa stood up and paced the room. “An unusual man, he owns the largest shipping fleet in the world. He has the contract to provide Rome with grain from Egypt”.

“A Jew”, Ananias was incredulous, “has such wealth, such power?”

“A Jew, yes, but also a citizen of Rome and married to the granddaughter of Augustus”.

“Is this Simon a Christian or a Jew?”

“A Jew I think. What does it matter? Our immediate concern is to manage a safe retreat from this place, to my kingdom”.

“I must stay”, said Ananias. “My duty is to the Temple”.

“You will die. Eleazar must be planning to take over the office of High Priest of all Israel”.

Ananias groaned and tore at his beard. “The Romans will surely destroy my people, so what does it matter whether I continue to live for a few more days”.

“You can mediate with Rome on behalf of your people. Expose the nationalists, make them carry the blame. Offer up the life of your son Eleazar in payment for his crimes. Better still, kill him if you get the chance. Rome would accept such a gesture as clear proof of your loyalty”.

For the first time hope flickered in the High Priest's breast. Nobody knew what lay ahead. God might yet deliver the traitorous Eleazar into his hands. “I will send his head to Caesar in a jar of honey”.

Agrippa nodded. “Come, you must rest and I have much to plan. I need to see my captains”.

12

A
grim
faced Agrippa sat with his senior officers. In front of them a detailed map of the Holy City had been unrolled onto a large table. Next to it a second map displayed the countryside of Upper Judaea and Lower Galilee. Berenice sat at her brother's side, much to the discomfiture of a scandalised Ananias, Who would never have discussed anything of importance with a woman.

Philip, son of Jacimus, Agrippa's senior general gestured with a pointer. “Your Majesty, the nationalists are in control of both the Lower and most of the Upper City. Their next target must be the Antonia fortress - then they will sweep through the rest of the city”.

Agrippa studied the map carefully. “At the moment we have two rebel groups in alliance against the authorities - which means Rome. While a great many of the lower classes have rallied to their side, they are scum, untrained and have little military value”.

Philip, who had risen through the ranks, was a man of very few words. He discussed military matters with his King as an equal and frequently forgot to mind his language.

At a nod from Agrippa he offered his advice. “Scum they may be, but there are countless thousands of them. They can come at us and the Romans faster than we or they can kill them. That bastard Menahem is a rabble-rouser. He is inciting the faithful to a Holy war. We have got to get the fuck out of here in double quick time”.

Ananias, who had had no intention of saying anything, cleared his throat. “Among this so called scum are pilgrims, Jews of good family; pious, God fearing, hardworking people. A great many of them are camped outside the city. They are not tainted by this madness. They will listen to the King. He can rally them to our side”.

Philip raised an eyebrow but said nothing. It was worth thinking about, for it was true. Nearly a million pilgrim Jews were camped outside the city. They would rise as one man in defence of the Temple. It mattered not one jot that they were unarmed and untrained. Their sheer weight of numbers would be irresistible. Philip acknowledged Ananias' suggestion with a wintery smile. The King's general knew only too well how unstable such a vast crowd could be. How easily it could be roused into a religious frenzy. How easily it could turn on those who thought they controlled it.

Berenice spoke his thoughts. “Once the pilgrims get word of what is happening here they will go berserk. They will listen to no one”.

“And” finished Agrippa “they will die in their tens of thousands. Menahem has the forces in Masada to attack them from the rear should he choose to, but he won't. He will want to use these people against the citizens of Jerusalem and the Romans in the Antonia”.

Ananias was sweating with anxiety. The talk of leaving, of the city falling to the nationalists, terrified him. He would be penniless. His house had been burnt down. He had been betrayed by his son. He had no idea if his wife was still alive. “We must try to establish contact with the procurator to warn him of what's happened. He has Roman troops at his command. He must return to the city and liberate it”.

The general replied “Yes we must contact Gessius Florus to get a report sent to Rome. However, his forces are insufficient to mount a counter-attack. The Syrian legions are a different matter. Cestius Gallus could launch a successful counterattack - it depends on what is happening in the rest of the country. In any event we must get a message to him”.

Berenice interrupted. “From Caesarea to Antioch is not a problem, but a lone messenger trying to make his was through Galilee wouldn't stand a chance. That's prime bandit country”.

“I agreed with the Queen your Majesty”. Philip had never been slow to acknowledge Berenice's shrewd mind. He knew Agrippa valued her advice. Her incestuous relationship with the King her brother didn't bother him. His sexual preferences were boys, preferably Greek, for their beauty and training. He supported Berenice saying “While Menahem's lot are busy filling their purses we should leave the city, appeal to the pilgrims to form a citizen army and restore the rule of law. Meanwhile, we make our way to Caesarea avoiding Masada and the fanatics who have taken it over”.

Agrippa clapped a hand on Philip's shoulder. “Right as always old friend. Here we are bottled up like rats. Eventually Menahem's dogs will find us and kill us”.

Ananias rung his hands. “Majesty”, his voice trembled, “the Temple. We cannot leave the Temple - God will never forgive us”, he ended pompously.

“The Temple governor, your son, will answer to God for what happens to the Temple and His Holy City”, snapped Berenice.

“Lady, Eleazar is a viper. I have disowned him. I have prayed that he will be punished with everlasting fire for his criminality, for his blasphemy”. Ananias bit his lip. Unable to contain himself, he had acknowledged Berenice's presence by answering her.

The Queen turned to him, her voice ice cold. “James the Just was condemned to death for blasphemy. His brother Jesus also died at the hands of your family”.

Ananias stepped back as though he had been struck.

Agrippa said nothing. There was a light in his sister's eye; he recognised the signs. She was angry. Why? He hadn't a clue. Philip was also baffled. This sudden twist in the discussion was beyond his comprehension so he stayed silent.

“Highness”, stuttered Ananias “James committed the greatest of blasphemies. He claimed his brother Jesus had brought a new covenant to God's chosen people.