The Blade of Gilgamesh. Jeff Edwards
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the little that is known about what has gone before we can assume that the legends are correct because from the time of Julius Caesar there are regular, if sometimes only passing mention of the existence of the sword. Plutarch and later Josephus wrote of it in their histories, and I believe that whoever possessed the sword made sure his heir was made aware of the swords great power and could relate its history, word for word.’
Ilmann was not convinced, ‘Continue,’ he said sharply.
***
‘Cleopatra VII, Pharaoh of Egypt, had a serious problem. She held that title along with her brothers but was in fear of her life. They wanted her out of the way and her options of obtaining support were almost non-existent.’
‘A normal ruler would be able to make an alliance, usually through marriage, to a more powerful king who would use their combined forces to destroy her foes. But a pharaoh was regarded as more than a mere ruler to their subjects. To the people of Egypt their pharaoh was the living conduit between mortal man and the gods themselves. As such they were thought to be immortal and divine.’
‘As a god Cleopatra could not be permitted by law to lower herself and form and alliance with any mere mortal. Only the union between herself and another god would be allowed.’
‘Unfortunately, the only other gods available at that time were her brothers, and as they were plotting her downfall at that very moment, an untimely death would be her only reward for such a union.’
‘All seemed lost for Cleopatra until word reached her of another who might prove to be her saviour.’
‘Julius Caesar’s armies had swept across the European landscape bringing all before him under the heel of Rome. An ivory likeness of this great general had been placed in the temple of Quirinius and was inscribed with the message, “To the invincible God.” He was the first Roman to replace the image of their gods upon the empire’s coins with his own likeness. Caesar took to wearing red shoes, a symbol of the ancient Roman kings and a temple had been dedicated to his family. The man had risen to the status of a god and now Cleopatra had a decision to make.’
‘If she formed an alliance with Caesar it would mean that her family would lose Egypt. After three hundred years the Ptolomy dynasty would cease to be the pharaohs and all control would be in the hands of the Roman government.’
‘However, she knew that Caesar had not produced a son, and if she were the one to do so then that son might one day rule not only Egypt but as Cesar’s heir, the entire Roman Empire.’
‘The choice for Cleopatra was clear, to remain where she was and suffer certain death at the hands of her brothers, or go to Caesar with the chance of one day ruling the world.’
‘And as a result, she used her feminine wiles to gain access to Caesar. Along with her went the Sword of Gilgamesh, which she duly presented as a gift to the man who was to become her lover.’
***
‘For his part Julius Caesar was far more interested in the vast area of fertile soil that the beautiful Cleopatra presented to him in the shape of the kingdom of Egypt than any sword of dubious history.’
‘Rome was ever expanding under his rule and Caesar had much need of the grains produced along the Nile River.’
‘The sword was a mere trifle. What use did the most powerful man in the world have for such a thing? He was, after all, omnipotent, a god.’
‘Unknown to Cleopatra, in a moment of good humour he called for his sister’s son Octavius, and passed the sword to the boy while telling the intelligent youth the history of the weapon. “You may need its power one day,” he said laughingly.’
‘Without an official son of his own, Caesar had already nominated Gaius Octavius as his heir in 45BC and the boy had been renamed Gaius Julius Caesar to reflect this honour’
‘As his heir Caesar realized that if he couldn’t overcome the forces that were rallying against him at that time, the boy’s life might be at risk.’
‘However, Caesar was confident that there would never be a man in Rome who was strong enough to stand against him.’
***
‘True to her plans, Cleopatra gave birth to a son whom she named Caesarion, and set out to raise him as the future Emperor of Rome.’
‘Caesar and Cleopatra had married but the Senate refused to recognize the marriage because Cleopatra was already married to her brother in the Egyptian fashion. Besides which, the leaders of Rome had no wish to accept a mere foreigner into the ruling classes of their society.’
‘This was a setback to Cleopatra’s plans but she had confidence that, in time, she could overcome the difficulties and that her son would eventually take his rightful place as leader of the Roman Empire.’
***
‘Unfortunately, all her scheming came to a sudden halt in 44BC with the assassination of Caesar, and the elevation of his nephew to the leadership as the newly named Caesar Divi Filius Augustus.’
‘Cleopatra, attempted to regain her position in Roman society by taking as her lover one of Caesar’s closest confidants and best generals, Mark Anthony.’
‘The split in alliances between the forces loyal to Mark Anthony and those led by Caesar Augustus erupted into all-out war, and years of fighting followed.’
‘The end finally came with Mark Anthony’s naval forces being defeated at the Battle of Actium. Facing certain capture, he took his own life, followed soon after by Cleopatra.’
‘To ensure that there would be no other attempts to place a person of Caesar’s bloodline on the throne Caesar Augustus ordered the slaying of Caesarion.’
‘If Cleopatra had been made aware that Augustus possessed the Sword of Gilgamesh perhaps she would have chosen her allies more carefully, and who knows how history might have changed,’ smiled Heidi Schmidt.
‘What if,’ nodded Ahmed Samal, ‘the bane of a historian’s existence.’
‘And a totally useless exercise,’ snorted Ilmann, ‘Get on with the story.’
Chapter 8
Heidi Schmidt consulted her notes.
‘The Roman Empire continued to grow and prosper, and the sword was passed down through the centuries.’
‘Eventually the Empire became too large and cumbersome. Orders from Rome were taking months to reach the frontiers and be enacted, usually too late to be effective.’
‘It became apparent that something had to be done, and in 284AD the Empire was split in two, with the Latin half continuing to be led from Rome and the Greek half adopting a new capital in Constantinople.’
‘Emperor Diocletian had the sword in his possession by this time and when he took up his posting in the east it became a part of the vast hoard of treasure in Rome’s newest capital.’
***
‘While the Empire in the west eventually fell and was sacked by the Vandals, the eastern empire continued to flourish and grow, outliving Rome by hundreds of years.’
‘One of the ingenious ways in which Constantinople managed to survive was that whenever an army appeared at its gates the leaders sought not to fight the enemy but to take them in and shower their leaders with gifts and titles. Such titles and the valuable properties that came with it gave the enemy good reason not to continue with the assault and cunningly ensured that they would be subservient to the person who had bestowed those titles upon them. So it was that Constantinople turned them from an enemy to an ally and as such became beholden to support the rulers in any future conflict.’
‘No better example of this happened in the period of the 10th to the 14th centuries when the rampaging Vikings from Northern Europe came to the east seeking war and treasure, and remained in Constantinople to become known as the Varangian Guard,