V. Speys - Princess history

«We are leaving for Ephesus tomorrow.» First to Naples, and then by sea to Ephesus, there I will secretly from Rome receive reports from faithful merchants on the state of affairs in Alexandria. I told Pompey about this, he approved my decision. The troops with cavalry already stand in Antioch under the command of Commander Avla Gabinia. Pompey wrote an order to Avla, whom the senate would appoint the governor of Rome in Syria. Now my task is to persuade Gabinius to invade Egypt, relying on the decision of the Senate to give me troops.

– Something I cannot believe that Rome is on our side? After all, Aulus Gabinius is not yet a consul or a deputy of Rome in Syria. – Cleverly Cleopatra said.

«Oh, my daughter, you’re smart beyond my years.» But I’m sure in Pompeii if this man said that Aulus will become the proconsul of Syria, and then so be it. The power of money and the efforts of the first Triumvirate will do their thing, I do not doubt it. And on the bribery of the senators, in order to get the right decision, I had to borrow a lot of money, which I owed to the usurer Rabiria Postum.

«And where will you take the money to settle with the creditor?» the daughter asked restlessly.

«I promised Rabiria the position of treasurer in my kingdom and more…» Avet hesitated, looked suspiciously at his daughter’s eyes. Cleopatra insisted:

– This robber will rob Egypt and what a good rebellion of commoners will arise.

– This is not true. The treasury of Egypt will cover any costs, the main thing will return to the throne and punish lovers to arrange riots. There will be no instigators, there will be no riots. – noted Ptolemy XII. The daughter agreed with him…

In Ephesus, Pharaoh and his daughter stopped at the church in the temple of Artemis. Ministers, priests of the temple of Artemis, were aware of the deposed pharaoh of Egypt, the high priest, Zeus governor on earth, Ptolemy XII, and had a good reception for him and his daughter…

It was 56 BC, the senate with energetic efforts of Pompey and generous bribes of protesting senators, granted Aul Gabinius consulate and appointed him viceroy of Rome in Syria. This was necessary to bring the restoration of the reign of Ptolemy XII closer. In the minds of the noble husbands of Rome, the idea was to get Egypt as its province with Pharaoh’s return to the throne. And this event could have happened already in this year 56, but the gods of Olympus prevented this achievement, postponing indefinitely the return of the throne to Ptolemy XII. Zeus said his word by striking lightning at the statue of Jupiter in the temple on the Albanian mountain. The priests of the temple turned to the interpretation of this sinister omen to the Sibylline books. Of course, it was not without bribing the priests in favor of opponents of the decision of the Roman Senate on the return of the pharaoh to the throne of Egypt. And the college of priests who kept the Sibylline books, found the interpretation of this: «If the Egyptian king turns for help, do not deny him friendship, but do not give troops, because you will expose yourself to many difficulties and dangers.»

Such an interpretation was in favor of opponents who prevented Ptolemy XII from returning to the throne as soon as possible, and, of course, there was interference. Debates in the Senate were conducted without end, new and new solutions were offered. Lentulle, a few months ago instructed to restore Ptolemy on the throne, has already left for the province Cilicia in Asia Minor and with impatience waited for the final decision. His well-wisher Cicero regularly sent him letters to this remote mountainous country. But no matter how he wanted it, he could not say anything comforting. The situation got confused, there were so many different opinions in the Senate that even this famous rhetorician and philosopher, who was listened to, could not shift the stubbornness of most senators. Meanwhile time moved inexorably forward…

Ptolemy XII woke up early before sunrise. His rays did not yet color the columns of the temple of Artemis when he went out to the seaport of the port. In the morning haze at the pier, there were ships from different countries. Here in Ephesus at the junction of the sea trade routes, which followed the merchants, was a brisk trade. Ephesus in his prosperity was largely due to Rome, and in particular to the commander Gneya Pompey Magnus, who freed the Mediterranean Sea from pirate domination. The whole coast of Cilicia was cleared of this evil and this gave a surge in trade not only in Ephesus but also in the Roman Republic itself, as merchants from all the coastal countries reached Rome. Chinese silks and Persian carpets, jewelry from India, Japanese porcelain and much that is necessary in everyday life appeared here…

Avlet loved to make walks by the port. He wore a snow-white tunic, sandals on his feet, wore constant beads in his hands, an old flute behind him, which he inherited from his father with the secret of her magical sound. Moving through the black large pearls of the beads, it was easier to think and the thoughts came to order. He could not sleep for a long time. He was drawn to Egypt. To your palace.

To my favorite pastime of playing the flute before the singing choir of the singing churches, where amidst the farm buildings of the courtyard, coal pits that burn gold-bearing ore delivered by slaves from the stony desert were smoking. There, gold bars were melted under monotonous chorus choruses and flute chords. In the special mood of the sound of the ancient flute Avleta, and the chorus singing, sound vibrations arose, resonating in the atoms of microscopic particles of gold contained in quartz grains of sand. When melting on charcoal in a kiln of quartz sand, under the sound of the chorus and flute, gold begins to manifest itself from the ether, merging in a resonant interaction with the gold atoms contained in the grains of sand, into a chemically pure alloy, displacing molten quartz, like slag to the surface of liquid gold. Gold from the invisible ether repeatedly increased the microparticles of the inclusions of gold in the sand, producing gold in the melt of ordinary quartz sand into untold riches of Egypt. It’s terrible to imagine what could happen to the Egyptian treasury in case of publicity, this secret of gold mining. But in the world nothing just happens so and Pharaoh Ptolemy XII, the bearer of secret, had to derive the mocking nickname of Avlet (Flute), who idly spent his life amusing himself with playing the flute and singing a choir of singing beautiful maidens with divine voices. Some of the slaves of the chorus girls shared a bed with Avtel. One of these concubines gave birth to Avletu illegally born child, a daughter whom Ptolemy XII called Cleopatra…

Avet missed the palace, playing the flute, singing the choir, in a rhythm that multiplied the gold reserve of Egypt, and, of course, his beautiful choristers-concubines. About the people, About his needs, this ruler did not think…

In 55 BC, ignoring the decision of the Senate on the appointment of the Commander of the troops of Rome, the commander of the proconsul Aulus Gabinius took over and invaded Egypt, restoring Ptolemy XII on the throne. Now all the Romans, who had borrowed money for Avet while living in exile, began to pester the unfortunate Tsar with demands to pay. The main creditor was Rabiri Postum, and to settle with him, Avlet was forced in the spring of 54 to make him a diyoke, that is, head of the entire financial administration of the kingdom…

Cleopatra entered the throne room to her father, when he signed his decisions, which Rubirius gave him. The sums were impressive on the financial papyri, which the pharaoh signed, without going into the content. The daughter entered her patiently waited at the door when her father finally finished signing papyri and Rabiri Postum would leave. It seemed that the infinity was behind the slow movements of the treasurer, and there would be no end to it. Cleopatra could not stand it, she came closer: