THE STRUGGLE CHAPTER SIXTEEN - Page 2

IN THE MIDST of Saul's school years, the Roman empire passed through a period of great insecurity. After ruling for forty good years, Caesar Augustus finally died at the age of seventy seven. Never in the history of the world had one man won so much devotion from his conquered subjects. Never had the empire engendered more peace, stability and prosperity throughout the world, than during his reign. So many cities, roads, monuments, bridges and civic buildings had been built by Augustus, that hardly a man, woman or child in the empire could say that they had not benefitted directly from the skilled leadership of The Exalted One. At his death, many began to call him a god.

But in Jerusalem and throughout the diaspora, uncertainty remained. Recalling that five years earlier the Emperor had committed three legions under Varus to a fatal battle in Germany--Jewish elders feared that a new round of civil wars might soon engulf the empire following his death. The German victory over Varus, they feared, signalled an underlying weakness of the Roman will to enforce the civil law throughout its far flung lands.

At this time, Rabbi Benjamin wrote to his son, fearing that a time was at hand, similar to the time of his father Ben-Lemuel. In those days, following the death of the great Julius Caesar, civil war had erupted between the generals, sweeping the whole empire with unpredictable spasms of violence.

Saul quickly wrote a reply to his father, reassuring him that many important differences were to be found between the deaths of Julius Caesar and Augustus. The Emperor had died of old age, Julius Caesar had been assassinated by jealous factions. Better fruit would be born in the wake of the death of Augustus, he assured him. Tiberius, his stepson and successor, Saul wrote, is a noted general who defeated 500,000 Dalmatian rebels with an army of only 50,000. He will know how to preserve the peace of his predecessor.

In the days to come, the world watched Tiberius for signs of weakness that would indicate tribulation ahead. Indeed, robed Essene prophets suddenly appeared in Jerusalem, predicting that the apocalypse grew near. But as the early days of his reign proceeded into months and years, Tiberius proved to be a man committed to the continuance of his stepfather's prosperous legacy. He wisely held the course laid out, adding his own vitality to the task. A huge sigh of relief passed across the world. Perhaps not apocalypse, but peace lay on the horizon. Indeed, relative calm prevailed.