Caesar’s Soldier by Alex Gough

Author:Alex Gough
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canelo Digital Publishing Limited
Published: 2023-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

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Aulus Gabinius rode a fine piebald mare at the head of his legions as they paraded into the city. Sisenna and Servilius flanked him, their armour clean and polished, gleaming in the sun. Directly behind, borne high on an open-sided litter by six burly slaves, came Auletes and Cleopatra. Antony waited with a select group of his most respectable-looking men to receive them. Behind them, a selection of hostages – military-age youths, marriageable women and the young children of city officials – were arrayed in chains, heads bowed, their expressions miserable. Crowds lined the streets, some present from morbid curiosity, some because their children were amongst the hostages, and some who had been forced to turn out at the end of a spear.

When Gabinius reached them, Antony saluted.

‘May I present to you the city of Pelusium, sir,’ he said in a loud voice, and Antony’s cavalry and Gabinius’ infantry cheered loudly.

‘I am most grateful, Antonius. You and your men have won a swift and brave victory here. And in turn, I present the city to its rightful ruler, Ptolemy Soter the Twelfth, son of Isis, King of all Egypt.’

At this, the soldiers cheered again, but the crowd was notably silent. It was only to be expected, thought Antony. Why would you applaud the men who had just assaulted your citizens and killed your compatriots?

Auletes did not seem to see it that way, however. Initially beaming with pleasure at Gabinius’ words, his mouth turned down, and his eyes narrowed in a simmering fury. He turned on the crowd.

‘Did you not hear the Roman?’ he yelled. ‘I am your true king.’

He jumped down from the litter, and marched, somewhat stiffly, over to the nearest men and women in the crowd. ‘You should all be on your knees! Prostrate yourselves before your Pharaoh.’ He began grabbing people at random and throwing them to the floor. With some hesitation, the onlookers slowly sank to their knees and bowed, foreheads touching the sandy ground. Antony noticed Cleopatra. She was sitting very still, her lips a tight line, her eyes narrow. She did not seem at all happy with her father’s behaviour.

But the crowd’s obeisance was not enough for Auletes. He marched up to Antony and jabbed a finger up towards him.

‘These people defy me. They show me no respect. Their lives are forfeit. Take your cavalry and kill them all.’

Antony stared down at the King in shock, for a moment lost for words. Obviously it was not unheard of for Romans to slaughter the civilian population of a city they had conquered. Sometimes there was at least an ostensible reason for this, such as the destruction of Carthage to remove an existential threat to Rome. Sometimes it seemed plain vindictive, such as when Lucius Mummius gave in to the pressure of his officers and soldiers, and allowed the slaughter of every adult man in Corinth and the enslavement of everyone else. But it was not generally Roman policy to indulge in senseless or vengeful massacres, for reasons of sound military and economic strategy as much as any moral qualms.

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