Judaea (1)

Chapter Seven. JUDAEA

Yet another long sea journey to my new post. This time we
skimmed the coastline, made a supply stop at Tarsus, and at
last reached safe harbor at Caesarea Maritima--the capital
of the Province of Judaea. Tired, I looked out at what seemed
a dusty Imperial town. It had an old, but well protected harbor,
a theatre, the Governor's Palace, and other Greco-Roman
features in the midst of housing. At least it was on the
Mediterranean coast. The sea breezes would insure a
moderate climate.

I wasn't sure about the rest of the terrain in this Province. I was
told that it ranged from hilly to rocky to desert, and in much of
these territories we would be back astride those damned camels!

After settling in at the palace, I met the senior officer I was
replacing. He was as anxious to leave as I was not anxious
to arrive. But we had time together, enough for him to provide
me with a quick history of the place. I had heard things about
Judaea, but was never quite sure of the facts. The facts bared
a very sad story.

Nearly fifty years back there was a major Jewish revolt against
Rome. It was put down aggressively by legions led by both
the Emperor Vespasian and his son Titus, who later became
emperor. In the midst of this campaign Jerusalem was nearly
totally destroyed, at the cost of at least 600,000 Jewish lives.
This included not only men, but also women and children.
Now I understood the meaning of the "Land of Ghosts." All
those dead, destroyed brutally, surely must haunt the land.

But all this happened a long time ago. Though barely qualifying
as a city, Jerusalem--or at least some of its environs--is now
occupied by retired legionaries and Hellenistic peoples. And
the 10th Legion Fretensis is encamped in a surviving part of old
Jerusalem.

Following the destruction of Jerusalem, the destruction of the
Jewish Temple, most of the Jews still left alive scattered.
Some migrated to Alexandria in Egypt, and others traveled
to areas far and wide, even beyond the borders of the Empire.

My fellow officer continued this sad story. After Jerusalem was
burned to the ground, three years later a former palace of a
Tetrarch, Herod the Great, was destroyed--resulting in the suicide
of many other Jewish zealots. Out in the desert, near Lake Asphalt
(which is an oily, dead sea), this palace was atop a high mountain
called "Masada."

Now, in our own time, the Judaea Province consists of "Imperial
Cities" sparsely speckled across the map, such as Neapolis and
Sepphoris. There were still some urbanized, Greek-speaking
Jews living in these places; but, for the most part, in the smaller
towns, in the villages, out in the rural areas, this land now seems
mostly occupied by people of Arabian descent.

I began to feel as unsettled as this poor Province. But I had four
years to face in this place, so I figured that I might as well make
the best of it.