Vespasian: Tribune of Rome (3 page)

A bowl full of warm water had been set for him on the chest in his small bedroom. He pulled the curtain across the entrance, stripped and set about rinsing off the dust accumulated from three long days’ mule-wrangling. That achieved, he rubbed himself dry with a linen sheet and then pulled on and belted a clean white tunic with the thin purple stripe down the front that indicated his equestrian rank. Picking up a stylus and a new scroll he sat down at his desk that, apart from the bed, was the only other item of furniture in the small room, and began to record from notes on a wax tablet the number of mules that they had transferred. Strictly speaking this was the farm steward’s job, but Vespasian enjoyed record-keeping and stock-taking, and looked upon this task as good practice for the day that he inherited one of the family estates.

He had always thrived on estate work, although manual labour by someone of the equestrian class was frowned upon. His grandmother had encouraged his interest in farming in the five years that he and his brother had lived on her estate at Cosa whilst their parents had been in Asia. Throughout that time he had paid more attention to the doings of the freedmen and slaves working the fields than he had to his
grammaticus
or tutor. Consequently his rhetorical skills and knowledge of literature were sadly lacking, but what he didn’t know about mules, sheep or vines wasn’t worth knowing. The one area in which the grammaticus had been successful was arithmetic, but this was solely because Vespasian
had recognised the importance of the subject for calculating profit and loss on the estate.

He had almost finished when his father came in without knocking. Vespasian stood up, bowed his head in greeting and waited to be spoken to.

‘Pallo tells me that we have lost sixteen of our stock in the last month, is this right?’

‘Yes, Father. I’m just finishing the numbers now but sixteen looks to be about right. The herdsmen say that they can’t stop the brigands from pinching the odd one now and again; there’s so much space to cover.’

‘This is going to have to stop. Those bastards will bleed us dry. With Sabinus back we’ll set a few traps for the vermin and hopefully nail some up. We’ll soon see which they prefer, nails through their feet and wrists or keeping their fucking hands off my fucking property.’

‘Yes, Father,’ Vespasian ventured to his father’s retreating back.

Titus paused in the doorway and looked back at his son. ‘You did well, Vespasian,’ he said in a calmer tone, ‘to move all that livestock with so few men.’

‘Thank you, Father. I enjoy it.’

Titus nodded briefly. ‘I know you do,’ he said with a regretful half-smile, then left.

Feeling buoyed by his father’s praise Vespasian finished his calculations, confirming that they had indeed lost sixteen, tidied up the desk and lay on his bed to rest until his brother arrived. When he did so, a half-hour later, it was quietly and Vespasian slept through it.

Vespasian woke with a start; it was dark. Fearful that he was late for dinner he leapt from the bed and stepped out into the torch-lit peristylium. He heard his mother’s voice coming from the atrium and headed in its direction.

‘We must use my brother Gaius’ influence to secure the boy a posting as a military tribune soon,’ his mother was saying. Vespasian slowed as he realised that she was talking about him. ‘He will be sixteen next month. If he is to go far, as the omens prophesied at his birth, he mustn’t be allowed to spend any more time on the estate shying away from his duty to the family and Rome.’

Vespasian edged closer, intrigued by the mention of a prophecy.

‘I understand your concern, Vespasia,’ his father replied. ‘But the boy’s spent too much of his youth putting his energies into the estate, not into learning what he needs to survive amid the politics of Rome, let alone in her armies.’

‘He will have the goddess Fortuna holding her hands over him to ensure that the prophecy is fulfilled.’

Vespasian struggled to contain himself; why was she being so vague?

‘What about Sabinus?’ Titus asked. ‘Shouldn’t we concentrate on him as the elder son?’

‘You spoke to him earlier, he’s a grown man now; ambitious and ruthless enough to make his own way, maybe even to progress beyond praetor, unlike my brother, which would be a great honour for the family. Of course we’ll support him in every way we can, but we only need to support him, not push him. Titus, don’t you see that Vespasian is this family’s route to renown? Now is our time. We’ve used the money that you made as a tax-gatherer in Asia well; you bought this land cheaply and you’ve developed it successfully. With that and what I brought as a dowry to our marriage, we were worth over two million sesterces at the last census. Two million sesterces, Titus. That and my brother’s influence is enough to guarantee our family two places in the Senate; but they must be earned, which they can’t be up here in the Sabine Hills.’

‘You’re right, I suppose. Vespasian should start out on his career; and I can see he’ll need to be pushed. But not just yet. I have something
in mind first, for him and for Sabinus now that he’s back. There’s nothing to be done until the next year’s magistrates take up their positions in January.’

Vespasian was listening so hard that he failed to notice the figure creeping up behind him until a hand jerked back his hair.

‘Sneaking around and eavesdropping, little brother? Your behaviour hasn’t improved, has it?’ the familiar voice of Sabinus drawled as his grip tightened on Vespasian’s hair.

Vespasian jammed his elbow back into Sabinus’ belly and wrenched himself free; spinning around to face his brother he ducked under a straight jab aimed at his nose and lashed out a return blow. Sabinus caught his fist and, with an iron grip, slowly forced his arm down, cracking his knuckles, twisting his wrist and forcing him on to his knees. Knowing that he was bested he ceased to struggle.

‘You’ve got some fight in you now, have you?’ Sabinus said, looking down at him malevolently. ‘That almost makes up for your lack of manners; it’s very impolite not to greet an elder brother after four years.’

Vespasian raised his eyes. Sabinus had changed; he wasn’t the podgy sixteen-year-old who had terrorised him four years ago, he had become a man. He had replaced fat with muscle and had grown a couple of inches. His round face had slimmed to become squarer, but his brown eyes still had a malicious glint in them as they peered at Vespasian over the prominent, wide nose that was a characteristic of all the males in the family. It looked as if military life had suited him. He held himself with a haughty dignity that stifled all the sarcastic remarks that Vespasian could think of in reply.

‘I’m sorry, Sabinus,’ he muttered, getting to his feet. ‘I meant to greet you but I fell asleep.’

Sabinus raised his eyebrows at this contrite admission. ‘Well, little brother, sleep is for the night; you’d do well to remember that
now you are close to becoming a man. You’ve still got your country accent – most amusing. Come, our parents are waiting.’

He walked into the house, leaving Vespasian burning with shame. He had shown weakness to his brother and had been corrected and patronised by him; it was intolerable. Resolving never to be so effeminate as to take a daytime nap again he hurried after Sabinus, his mind turning on the intriguing mention of a prophecy. His parents knew of it, but who else? Sabinus? He doubted it; his brother would have been too young at the time and anyway, if he did know of it, he would never let on. So whom to ask? His parents – and admit that he had been eavesdropping? Hardly.

They entered the main house through the tablinum, and passed through into the atrium. Titus and Vespasia were waiting for the brothers, sitting on two colourfully painted wooden chairs, next to the
impluvium
, the pool that collected the rainwater that fell through the oblong opening in the centre of the ceiling. At each corner of the pool was a column that supported the weight of the roof. These were painted deep red in stark contrast to the pale greens, blues and yellows of the detailed stone mosaic on the floor illustrating the way that the family made its living and spent its leisure time.

The October night outside was chilly, but the atrium benefited from both the underfloor heating, provided by the hypocaust, and a large log fire that blazed in the hearth to the right of the tablinum. The flickering light emitted by the fire and a dozen oil lamps illumed the haunting wax death masks of the Flavian ancestors that watched over the family from their recess between the hearth and the
lararium
, the altar dedicated to the household gods. On the walls around the room, just visible in the dull light, were decorative frescos of mythological subjects painted in rich reds and yellows and punctuated by doorways that led to lesser rooms.

‘Sit down, boys,’ their father said cheerily, evidently enjoying having his close family all together again after eight years. The brothers sat on two stools placed opposite their parents. A young slave girl wiped their hands with a damp cloth; another brought them each a cup of warm, spiced wine. Vespasian noticed Sabinus eyeing the girls appreciatively as they left.

Titus poured a few drops of the wine on to the floor. ‘I give thanks to the gods of our household for the safe return of my eldest son,’ he said in a solemn voice. He raised his cup. ‘We drink to your health, my sons.’

The four of them drank, and then set their cups down on the low table between them.

‘Well, Sabinus, the army treated you well, eh? Not cooped up on garrison duty, but a proper war. I bet that you could hardly have believed your luck?’ Titus chuckled, proud to have a son who was already a blooded veteran at the age of twenty.

‘Yes, Father, you’re right,’ Sabinus replied, meeting his father’s eye with a self-satisfied grin. ‘I think we were all disappointed when I was assigned to the Ninth Hispana in Pannonia; with just the occasional cross-border raid to deal with it was going to be hard for me to excel there.’

‘But then Tacfarinas’ revolt in Numidia came to your rescue,’ Vespasia interjected.

‘We should thank the gods for rebellious kings with ideas above their station,’ Titus said, raising his cup and grinning at his elder son.

Sabinus drank the toast enthusiastically. ‘To Tacfarinas, the madman who threatened to cut off Africa’s grain supply to Rome and then sent emissaries to negotiate with the Emperor.’

‘We heard the story,’ Titus said laughing. ‘Apparently Tiberius had them summarily executed in front of him declaring: “Not even Spartacus had dared to send envoys.”’

Sabinus joined the laughter. ‘And then he sent us down to Africa to reinforce the Third Augusta, the only garrison in the province.’

As Sabinus carried on his tale Vespasian, unable think of anyone who he could ask about the omens of his birth, found his mind wandering back to the problem of the mule-thieves. It had far more relevance to his life than martial tales of rebellions and long marches of which he had no experience and very little interest. Although Hieron, his Greek weapons and wrestling master, had left him reasonably proficient with sword –
gladius
– and javelin –
pilum
– and he could also lay most opponents in the ring on their backs, due to his stocky build and broad muscular shoulders, he felt that he was first and foremost a man of the soil; that’s where his battles would be fought, in the day-to-day struggle with nature as he strove to wring a profit from his family’s lands. Let Sabinus make his way in the world and rise up the
cursus honorum
, the succession of military and civilian offices.

‘I remember the feeling of marching to war,’ Vespasian heard his father say wistfully; he turned his attention back to the conversation. ‘Our spirits were high, confident of victory, because Rome will accept no other outcome; the Empire cannot countenance defeat. Barbarians surround us, and they must never be allowed to think of Rome as weak. They need to be shown that if they take Rome on there is only one outcome – and it will be inevitable: death for the men and enslavement for their families.’

‘No matter how many lives it costs?’ Vespasian asked.

‘A soldier must be willing to lay down his life for the greater good of Rome,’ his mother replied tersely, ‘in the sure knowledge that its ultimate triumph will keep his family, his land and way of life safe from those who wish to destroy us.’

‘Exactly my dear!’ Titus exclaimed. ‘And that is the principle that binds a legion together.’

‘And because of that our morale remained high for the two years we were there,’ Sabinus agreed. ‘We knew we would all do everything
thing it took to win. It was dirty war; no pitched battles, just raids, reprisals and small actions. But we rooted them out from their hiding places in the hills and group by group we dealt with them. We burned their strongholds, enslaved their women and children and executed all males of fighting age. It was slow, bloody work, but we persevered.’

‘Ha, what did I say, Vespasian?’ Titus’ face lit up in triumph. ‘Now Sabinus is back we have someone who knows how to deal with the vermin lurking in hills. We’ll have those murdering mule-thieves up on crosses before too long.’

‘Mule-thieves, Father? Where?’ Sabinus asked.

‘In the mountains to the east of the estate,’ Titus replied. ‘And it’s not just mules; they’ve had sheep and a few horses, as well as murdering Salvio two months ago.’

‘Salvio’s dead? I’m sorry to hear that.’ Sabinus paused, remembering with affection the kindly man and the treats that he had given him as a child. ‘That in itself is cause for revenge. I’ll take a party of our freedmen over there and show the scum how a Roman deals with their sort.’

‘I knew you’d be eager to have a go at them. Well done, my boy. Take your brother along as well, it’s time he saw something other than the rear end of a mule.’ Titus smiled at Vespasian to show that he was only teasing him, but Vespasian had not taken offence; he was excited by the prospect of dealing out summary justice to the mule-thieves; it would benefit the estate. This was the sort of fighting that he was interested in, something real, close to home, not battling strange tribes in far-off places that he’d only vaguely heard of.