Rome's Sacred Flame Page 36

  Vespasian stared down at the most successful general of the age, as the little life left in him ebbed away, knowing, with a sickening realisation, that the same fate would await him if he was successful in Judaea and also, having displeased Nero, if he were not.

  As Corbulo expired, Vespasian saw the trap and he grew in the certainty that the only way he could come home safely from the Judean revolt would be at the head of an army.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  This work of fiction is, once again, based mainly upon the writings of Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio.

  Nero’s daughter, Claudia Augusta, did die young and was deified; Nero’s grief and the building of the temple did cause him to neglect the business of Rome in ad 63.

  Tacitus tells us that Sabinus’ son-in-law, Lucius Caesennius Paetus, did, humiliatingly, have two legions captured by the Parthians in Armenia and forced under the yoke that same year; the bitter rivalry between him and Corbulo in the prosecuting of the Armenian war made Corbulo less than eager to come to his aid. Nero did forgive him quickly upon his return to Rome on the basis that such a timid man would find the strain of waiting too long to hear his fate unbearable; to me that is the only glimpse of what may be Nero’s sense of humour.

  The Kingdom of the Garamantes must have been a wonder to behold up on a range of hills in the middle of the Sahara: we are told that Garama had fountains and running water in the streets and that an irrigation system, fed by an underground reservoir, kept the land fertile. It was self-sufficient except for olive oil, wine and, of course, the one commodity it really needed to do all the work, slaves. Garamantes skeletons do not suggest that they partook of strenuous activities, giving credence to their living a life of luxury whilst their needs were attended to by a multitude of slaves. The slave revolt is my fiction, although I would not consider it an unlikely event considering the situation.

  It may seem surprising but camels did not start to spread from Egypt into the Roman province of Africa until around this time. However, Vespasian setting up a camel-importing business whilst he was Governor of Africa in ad 63 is my fiction; but someone must have done it.

  Tigellinus’ party on the lake is documented by Tacitus and was pretty much as described. Suetonius also tells us of brothels staffed with ladies of quality set up on the banks of the Tiber; I have combined the two things. As I always say about these things, you cannot make it up! However, Nero ravaging genitals, whilst dressed in wild beast pelts, did not necessarily happen at this particular party, although it was a hobby that he was immensely keen on, as Suetonius confirms.

  Nero did marry his freedman and revelled in being a wife; however, Cassius Dio states that his name was Pythagoras and Suetonius says that it was Doryphorus, so I took my pick.

  When the great fire started in a bakery in the Circus Maximus, Nero was, according to Tacitus, taking part in a competition in Antium. Whether he caused the fire to be set we shall, in all likelihood, never know, although Suetonius states that he did; however, much of the bad press that Nero gets is the result of later writers trying to damn the memory of the last Julio-Claudian to justify the new regime. I tend to the theory that he did and I find it telling that after it had died down once, it flared up again in the Aemilian Basilica, which was owned by Nero’s henchman, Tigellinus.

  There was a prophecy current that a great change would start on the rising of the Dog Star; Paulus telling this to Nero at his trial is my fiction.

  Yosef ben Matthias, commonly known as the historian Josephus, was in Rome as part of a Jewish delegation to plead for the release of twelve priests around the time of the fire, and so it is not beyond the realms of possibility that Vespasian met him.

  The Pisonian conspiracy must be rated as one of the most inept coup attempts ever made. It was uncovered by Scaevinus’ freedman, Milichus, egged on by his wife. Rufus was put in charge of exposing all the conspirators even though he himself was one; he was eventually outed along with the Praetorian tribune, Subrius, and Sulpicius, the centurion. Seneca and Piso were also forced into suicide as was Seneca’s nephew, Lucanus, better known to the English-speaking world as Lucan to prevent schoolboy sniggering every time his name is written on the blackboard. The future Emperor, Nerva, was awarded Triumphal Ornaments for his part in uncovering the plot. Whether Seneca was planning to hijack the plot and become emperor we shall never know for sure, but I like the idea.

  Nero did kick Poppaea in the stomach whilst she was pregnant thus causing her death. However, it was not as a result of his state of mind during the unravelling of the Pisonian conspiracy; I just put the two things together for dramatic reasons.

  Vespasian either fell asleep during one of Nero’s performances or left early; either way he was in fear of his life and did go bravely into hiding, from which he was eventually recalled to put down the Jewish revolt. Corbulo was ordered by a jealous Nero to commit suicide but Vespasian giving him the note was my fiction.

  Once again my thanks go to the people mentioned in the dedication at the front of the book. Thanks also go to Tamsin Shelton for her excellent copy-editing, winkling out the minutiae as well as spotting the mistakes so huge as to be invisible to most eyes! My thanks again to Tim Byrne for yet another fantastic cover. And finally, my love to my wife, Anja, for putting up with me disappearing into my study for six months.

  Vespasian’s story will continue in Emperor of Rome – well, what else could I call it?