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by Peter J. Fast (Author)
Conquering the world as masters of an empire was infused into the Roman psyche since the days of Carthage. Yet crushing rebellions in the midst of expansionism would be inevitable. The most ardent against Roman tyranny were the Jewish Zealots in the Province of Judea. Perceived by the Romans as criminals and by many Jews as liberators, the Zealots would finally cast off the shackles of oppression, slaughter the Roman garrison in Jerusalem, and declare war against the most powerful empire ever seen...the stage had been set and the year was 66 A.D. Centurion Gaius Cornelius Antony of the Thundering Twelfth Legion is part of the largest Roman army fielded in over a hundred years, with a mission to take Jerusalem and crush the dying embers of the Jewish rebellion after three years of war. Known as a man of honour, Gaius' skill and leadership in battle is exemplary, yet his intuition to see its bloody outcome always haunts him. As the struggle for Jerusalem commences and crosses fill the landscape, he will lead his men boldly forward for the glory of Rome. Judah ben Yosef is a Jewish man consumed by hate and bitterness at the murder of his betrothed; he will stop at nothing until the Roman responsible is dead, a man simply known as Capito. Judah's faith and desire for God to fill him with peace in the midst of war always stands before him and yet seems impossible. Thus, entangled in a city of starvation, disease, inner fighting, and competing warlords, Judah's loyalty, allegiance, and service will be tested as he yearns to fulfill his vengeance while Jerusalem is threatened by the fury of the legions. Soon, Gaius and Judah, Roman and Jew, will meet and the survival of Jerusalem could be at stake.
