Claudia, Wife of Pontius Pilate: A Novel (30 page)

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I
n the tenth year of her husband’s reign as governor of Judea, Jerusalem was at peace, the emperor had not recalled him to Rome, and Lucius, with misplaced smugness, noted his term as governor had been one of the longest of the Roman rule. Claudia, however, sensed that they were foolish to assume they would be in this position for an interminable length of time. She had observed the blunders of her husband on many occasions and his roughshod rule over the Jews. With certainty she felt their time was drawing to a close. Sooner or later her husband would incur the wrath of Rome. She just didn’t know what the final event would be and prayed earnestly for Lucius, for wisdom and peace in Judea.

Hotep responded to a knock on the door and admitted Doros’s tutor, Florian. Chuza had found him, a freedman and a former scholar in Greece, well versed in language and art.

Claudia presented him to Lucius, emphasizing his skills as a teacher, which duly impressed her husband. He was distracted by many things these days and readily agreed to acquiring Florian as his son’s tutor.

“A good morning, Lady Claudia.” Florian inclined his head in respect. “Is my young charge ready for the day?”

Doros, now dressed, emerged from his room. “I am ready, Teacher.”

With another slight bow to Claudia, Florian smiled at his pupil and they left the room.

“What will the boy learn today, Domina?” Hotep asked.

“Doros is very quick of mind. They have progressed to Greek poetry.” Fortunately Lucius did not inquire as to their time spent on the gods of Rome.

Lucius was having problems with Samaria. It was situated in the northern part of his province and populated by what the Jews considered half-breeds—Jews that had long ago intermarried with the pagans of the land. There were many religious differences between the two, and he kept a wary eye on them.

His advisors told him that the Samaritans only recognized the first five books of Moses as their true Scripture, ignoring any other Hebrew books written, including the Psalms. They had built a temple on their own holy mountain, Mt. Gerizim, but it had been destroyed and not rebuilt in over a century. Mt. Gerizim, however, was still their holy mountain and they celebrated their own Passover there.

Now a man had risen up claiming to be the long-awaited Messiah. Lucius had learned the man was quoting from the Scriptures a passage that said, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren; him you shall heed.”

Lucius saw it as a disaster in the making. The Samaritans were accepting this man as the prophet Moses had predicted. Reports poured into Caesarea of mass movements of men following this prophet. He promised to unearth sacred vessels from the ark of the covenant, which he claimed Moses had hidden in a cave on the mountain.

As Lucius consulted his council, he learned that huge gatherings of Samaritans had hailed the man as their deliverer, who would rebuild the temple on Mt. Gerizim. Lucius knew that he did not need a mass gathering of men following a false prophet. His sources revealed that Moses had never even been in the vicinity of Gerizim and thus could
not have hidden anything. Evidently this was not considered by the adoring Samaritans who were blindly following this charlatan.

A date had been set for the Samaritans to assemble at the village of Tirathana, near the base of Gerizim. Lucius learned the prophet had sent out a call to arms. Gerizim straddled a major highway in Palestine, the route from Jerusalem to Galilee, and an armed mass of men could do anything. He had to take action and now.

Choosing two detachments of heavily armed infantry and half of his cavalry, Lucius led them toward Samaria. He also called in his auxiliaries from Jerusalem, knowing the motley mix of men from other lands included Samaritans. Perhaps, he reasoned, they would cause the armed mob to balk at fighting their own people.

As he rode toward the area with his troops, Lucius realized this was the first time he had faced a possible armed resistance in his entire ten years as prefect of Judea. He had dealt with angry multitudes, but never one that was armed.

He thought of appealing to his superior, Lucius Vitellius, the newly appointed governor of Syria. With clever negotiations Vitellius had settled other matters without a drop of Roman blood. What vexed Lucius was that the assistant to Vitellius in the negotiations was none other than Herod Antipas, who had been brought into the matter since he could speak Aramaic. Not wishing to show any weakness, Lucius reasoned he could handle the situation in Samaria himself.

Riding hard, he arrived with his troops the day before the projected gathering on Mt. Gerizim. His herald blew the trumpet to get the attention of the mob. Then Lucius shouted to them, “If you are on a religious pilgrimage, you need no weapons. Lay down your arms at once.”

He was greeted by jeers and angry shouts. Did the crowd believe they needed to defend themselves from the Roman troops?

He shouted again. “You will come to no harm if you lay down your weapons. You are in danger of committing treason and gathering an illegal army.”

The false prophet shouted to the people, “Our army will be victorious! Drive these Roman pagans off our holy mountain!”

The Roman troops were surprised at the sudden ferocity of the attack. Lucius had expected no resistance to his order. There was suddenly a clash of swords and cries of pain as the Samaritans attacked his soldiers. Caught off guard, Lucius ordered his men to fight and he himself wielded his Roman broadsword. He then signaled to his cavalry and infantry to move in quickly. After an intense battle and many casualties on both sides, the Roman soldiers were victorious. The remaining Samaritans were chased down, and though some got away, many were captured.

Lucius declared martial law and set up a tribunal. Justice was meted out swiftly with death by sword to the ringleaders and the false prophet. The uprising was over.

As he observed the sentences being carried out by his men, Lucius could not help but compare this prophet and his followers to the followers of Claudia’s Jesus. There had been no armed rebellion or threat to Rome, only the jealousy of the Jewish priests.

As he rode with his remaining troops back to Caesarea, Lucius felt triumphant. He had faced an armed rebellion and ended the revolt. As he rode, he mentally composed a letter to Tiberius, detailing the conflict and how the conflict had been handled. He was sure the emperor would agree that he’d done the only thing possible in the light of the Samaritan’s attack on his men.

The letter was sent and Lucius looked forward to dinner with his wife and son and a recount of his actions in the matter.

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s Claudia listened to her husband recount the scene leading up to the battle and the ensuing fight, her heart thudded in her chest. Lucius could have been killed.

“I’m sure you did what you had to do, Lucius. Wouldn’t the emperor agree with how you handled this rebellion?”

“He should. I didn’t ask for a fight and told them if they laid down their arms, no harm would come to them. They wouldn’t listen, and since they attacked first, we had no choice but to engage in battle.”

“Were there many soldiers, Pater?” Doros was captivated by the tale of the battle and proud of his father for being victorious over the enemy.

“Yes, my son, there were many soldiers. As a matter of fact, we were outnumbered, but my troops were better trained in battle. I hope the Samaritans will eventually appreciate being saved from that false prophet who deceived them.”

Claudia let relief sweep over her spirit. It was over and Lucius was alive. A letter had been sent to the emperor.

Claudia had grown in her faith and it was what sustained her in times of difficulty. Doros, because Jesus healed his foot, had believed
in him from a small boy. At his mother’s word of caution, he no longer brought up the subject in front of his father.

Claudia had Hotep add an extra blanket on the bed as the coldness of the castle by the seashore in winter chilled her bones.

One month later, while having dinner with Claudia and Doros, Lucius was informed that a special envoy by the name of Marcellus was waiting to speak with him. He carried a message from the governor of Syria.

Lucius rose and told the servant he would meet the man in his study. He bent down to touch Claudia’s face. “I have been attempting to arrange a meeting, a state visit. Perhaps this is his reply. See to the boy, I’ll be up later.”

She took Doros by the hand and together they went up the stairs. Doros, at nine, had balked months before at having a nurse. “I’m not a baby, Mater. I do not need a nurse. I can sleep by myself.”

Hotep was moved back to the servant’s quarters in the castle, coming to Claudia’s room in the morning to tend to her mistress.

Claudia made arrangements for another set of rooms nearby for Doros to share with a young male slave, Otho. Lucius felt it was time his son had his own servant. It had been difficult to let go, for Doros seemed to be growing up so very fast before her eyes.

When she had bid Doros good night and left him in the care of Otho, she turned to her own quarters where Hotep was waiting.

“Domina, the palace is whispering about this courier who has arrived. He is no ordinary courier. Very pompous, a senator perhaps?”

“I don’t know, Hotep. My husband wanted a meeting with the governor of Syria and perhaps that is what this is all about.” She bid Hotep good night and wandering around the room, absent-mindedly picked up the copper mirror and studied her image in it. She was a Roman matron, with a child, and nearly twenty-seven. The years had taken their toll on her; the worry over the various incidents in Jerusalem and how Lucius had handled them. Then there was the rebellion in Samaria. Some days she felt older than her years, though she had kept her figure and had the love of her husband. At this time she could only be grateful for that.

When Hotep had bid her good night and gone, she wandered over to the window and listened to the sounds of the waves hitting the breakwater. The steady crash and swish as each wave broke seemed timeless to her. She leaned toward the window, inhaling the pungent sea air.

She was still at the window when she heard the door open and close softly. Turning with a smile to greet her husband, one look at his face caused her heart to turn to stone. His face was pale and he appeared stricken. He moved as if in a daze, and when she reached him she saw he was near collapse.

“Lucius, what has happened?”

“I’m being recalled to Rome. The council of Samaria has formally accused me of a needless massacre of their countrymen on Mt. Gerizim in my province. They stated that the assembly intended no rebellion against Rome, they were merely there as refugees from my violence. Furthermore, the council has affirmed their allegiance to the emperor.”

“What? But that is untrue, Lucius. That is not what happened.”

He shook his head, “No, it isn’t, but I must account for the incident before the emperor. Vitellius is my superior, he could have heard my case and judged it, but for some reason he’s passed the matter on to Tiberius. I must defend myself against a delegation of Samaritans who will travel to Rome as
accusatores
.”

Claudia felt a chill go down her spine. This is what she had dreaded for a long time and it had finally come.

Lucius went on, “The courier, Marcellus, is none other than my replacement. He will serve as acting governor during my absence.” He gave a harsh laugh. “I am to spend the next week acquainting him with the functions of my office. Vitellius himself will arrive in late December to assist him in his new duties.”

“How much time did they give you?”

He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. “It is winter, and there are no ships traveling to Rome. We will have to travel overland through Antioch. I’ve been given three months to make the journey.”

Now he stood suddenly and his eyes flashed with anger. “He had the
nerve to state that he hoped I would not delay my journey and that a guard will not prove necessary! What does he think I’m going to do?”

Tears formed in Claudia’s eyes and she struggled to hold them back. “Are you under arrest?”

His shoulders slumped again. “No, but I might as well be. It is the end of my tour here, Claudia. I know I shall not be returned as governor. I only hope I can convince the court of Tiberius of the truth in the Samaritan matter.”

“Is Marcellus still in the palace?”

“Yes, I provided rooms for him and his aides. Tomorrow I will start briefing him on my duties as governor.”

“Do you know what prompted this?” They sat on a small couch in the alcove where she had led him.

“The Samaritan Council was outraged at the executions that took place after the rebellion was over.” He waved a hand and spat sarcastically, “The fools are probably grieving over their great prophet who was going to lead them to victory over the Roman Empire.”

Claudia understood the Samaritan Council to be similar to the Jewish Sanhedrin, the ruling body of the Jews. As such, they held absolute sway over their people. They also had the authority to challenge Lucius over this matter.

“Did Marcellus tell you this?”

He shook his head as he began to remove his uniform. “My tribune—he knew one of Vitellius’s aides. They had served together at one time. He managed to gather some information for me. I don’t know how he did it, but he knew of some matters before I did. It seems that Herod was bragging to Vitellius that I did not understand the Jews like he did. The aide also divulged the information that Tiberius had asked Vitellius to keep a watch on my activities in Judea.”

So Tiberius had not forgotten about Lucius. Had there been spies, swiftly bringing the emperor news of all that went on in Judea? Claudia was not surprised. She had thought the emperor out of touch, living on Capri, but she should have known better. Her grandfather,
Augustus, was the same. Little went on in his vast empire that he did not know about, from the highest magistrate to the poorest peasant.

When Lucius had undressed and stretched out wearily on their bed, she put an arm across his chest and he covered it with his hand. “When we reach the road to Rome, I want you and Doros to go to the Villa Ponti. The worst that should happen is that my rank will be stripped and I will be released from the emperor’s service.”

She was sure he could feel her heart beating erratically as she leaned her head on his shoulder. “That is the worst, truly, Lucius?”

“I have done nothing worthy of death, beloved. Of that I am sure. I believe I can successfully defend my case before the emperor.” He was silent for a moment, then swore softly. “Strange, what the Jews have been threatening to do for years has been accomplished by their hated rivals.”

His hand tightened on her arm. “There are things I must take care of before I turn the governorship over to Marcellus. Tomorrow morning, early, I want you to go to my study and remove any letters of communication that Marcellus should not see. My aide, Vitus, will help you. I spoke with him tonight. He knows what needs to be destroyed. I will distract the new governor for the morning and my tribune will see that the aides remain with us.”

“I will do whatever you tell me to do.”

“When you have done that, have the servants pack whatever gifts we have been given over the years and anything else that is transportable that you wish to keep. I will arrange for several carpentums for transport. We will need to send to Jerusalem to have the servants pack what we have left there. We will leave from here in a week’s time.”

“Joanna will help me. I will send her word of what to pack. Sleep now, my Lucius. We will go through this together and that is the most important thing. I will do what you have requested in the morning.”

He murmured something and then she heard soft snores as the weariness of the day claimed him. She lay awake for a long time, her mind turning with all that was ahead of them and what she must do first.