Otho's Noble End

“Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely” is one of the most misquoted lines in popular culture. Lord Acton's famously declared words were actually "Power tends to corrupt, absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely", changing the meaning considerably. The misquotation is a phrase loudly trumpeted in the 21st century, and after the atrocities of the 20th century, it would seem to be rightly so. However, there is no shortage of a great many individuals in history who undermine this. Here is the story of one man, largely unknown and ignored even by other Roman historians, who deserves our remembrance.

The Emperor Galba
Statue in the gardens of Anglesey Abbey,
Cambridgeshire, England

AD 68. Almost a thousand years after the foundation of the city, the world was thrown into turmoil. Almost a century ago the Roman Republic, which had stood for a half a millennium, was at last dissolved. The young Gaius Caesar Octavianus, through his defeat of Mark Antony, had assumed sole rule of the Roman world. In 27 BC, he took the new name of Caesar Augustus, becoming the first Roman Emperor, giving birth to the Roman Empire, which would last for one and a half thousand years. Now, the last of his line, the Emperor Nero, is dead. Declared an enemy of the Senate and People of Rome, the infamous Emperor has taken his own life. But who should succeed him? The governor of the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis (Northern Spain), Servius Sulpicius Galba, seemed a good choice. 70 years of age, he had held a long distinguished career, serving in Africa, Germania, Hispania and Gaul (known as France today). 27 years earlier, when the Emperor Caligula was assassinated, he had refused calls to take up the Imperial mantle himself. A strict disciplinarian, he was quite a contrast to the extravagant Nero. Earlier in the year, Gaius Julius Vindex, Governor of Gallia Lugdunensis (Southern France), had risen in rebellion against Nero. Legions loyal to the Emperor crushed the revolt, and Vindex was slain. Galba, who had lent his support to the cause, escaped with his life only through the suicide of Nero. On June the 8th, the Senate hailed Galba as Emperor.

The Roman World AD 69 - The Year of the Four Emperors
Map created by the author

An extremely strict and ruthless taskmaster, towns which did not acknowledge Galba on his march to Rome faced stiff fines, and the ringleaders faced execution. Galba arrived in Rome to find the Imperial Treasury nigh on destitute, as a result of Nero’s boundless profligacy. As the year came to an end, the soldiers would need to be paid – a dangerous situation was rising. Sabinus, commander of the Praetorian Guard (the personal bodyguard of the Roman Emperor), promised the Guard a reward in return for supporting him as a new Emperor. The plot was foiled, and Sabinus took his own life. The Guard, however, demanded payment from Galba. An arrogant and aloof man, Galba scorned them, shouting that soldier should not be bribed in return for their loyalty. The Guard was enraged, and with the new hefty taxes the Emperor was forced to bring in, Galba found himself alienated from all classes of the Roman World, including one man who had supported him – Marcus Salvius Otho.

The Emperor Nero
Statue in the gardens of Anglesey Abbey,
Cambridgeshire, England

38 years of age, the young Otho had lead a remarkable life. Born to a distinguished Etruscan family, as a young boy he was known for his mischievous ways, frequently getting himself into trouble. An elderly lady serving the Imperial House found him delightfully charming and amusing, and before long, young Otho became introduced to the young, future Emperor Nero. The two became inseparable friends, often playing practical jokes on each other, and others. Years later, when Nero ruled the Empire, he entrusted to Otho’s care a lady, Poppaea Sabina. An attendant at court and rumoured to be one of the Emperor’s mistresses, Poppaea’s beauty was the talk of the court. Seven years younger, Otho was entranced by her the moment he saw her. Driven near mad with her, the two were soon wed. Otho was eager to introduce Poppaea to his friend, and he brought her before the Emperor, a decision he would ever after rue. Nero too was taken by her gaze, and Poppaea was seduced by the power which she believed she now wielded. Poppaea and Nero began an affair in secret, Otho unaware of their treachery. Poppaea strengthened her hold on the Emperor, and planted vile schemes in his mind. If Nero were to simply execute Otho, the whole scandal might become public, and ruin the Emperor. Poppaea’s whisperings, however, soon gave rise to a heinous plan. When he was twenty eight, the Emperor’s men arrived at Otho’s house. The Emperor declared Poppaea’s marriage to Otho void, announcing his own intentions to wed her. On Poppaea’s insistence, Nero banished Otho to govern the province of Lusitania (Portugal), conveniently one of the furthest provinces in the Empire from Rome. The news fell upon Otho with a terrible weight. Dejected utterly, wracked with the most horrific grief and the fury of injustice and the betrayal of his best friend and his wife, Otho was distraught. For ten years he existed in exile, a shadow of a man, but a new man. News later arrived that Nero, tiring of her, had murdered Poppaea. Otho put his head in his hands and wept. Once an extravagant wastrel and best friend to one of history’s most notorious tyrants, Otho experienced something of a revolution in his character. Through his own terrible suffering, he saw that of others too, and saw the errors of his old ways. His governorship of Lusitania was marked by his extraordinary fairness and virtue, and his willingness to help all who called out to him for help, regardless of social class. He was admired deeply by the legions for his deep generosity. Whenever he attended a banquet, he always stopped to talk to the guards on the door, giving every man a gold piece. Once he judged a case of two men arguing over the boundaries of each other’s territory. Otho bought the land and presented it as a gift to a wounded soldier under his care.

The Emperor Vitellius
Statue in the gardens of Anglesey Abbey,
Cambridgeshire, England

When news came of Galba’s declaration as Emperor in defiance of Nero, Otho offered his support, as the prospect of retribution against his old friend and the murderer of his wife grew strong. Yet when Galba’s support began to dwindle, the legions remembered the man who had cared for them so, and begged Otho to lead them. New Year’s Day, AD 69 arrived. The traditional oath of allegiance that all soldiers across the Empire swore to the Emperor was not taken. The Praetorian Guard bore Otho on their shoulders, and declared him Emperor. The cohort on duty on the Palatine Hill deserted Galba, and the Emperor was ambushed and slain at the foot of the Capitoline Hill. Only one guard, Sempronius Densus, honoured his duty to his Emperor, and fought to the death to defend him. As night fell, Otho stood now as the Emperor of Rome. Coming before the Senate, he declared that he would rule for all Romans, in consultation with all. Unfortunately, urgent messengers arrived in Rome that the Legions stationed on the Rhine had hailed their own commander, Aulus Vitellius, as Emperor. Delegations were sent to Vitellius, urging a restore to order, for an Emperor had been chosen. But the ambitious Vitellius ignored them. Otho, who despised Civil War as a monstrous aberration, exhausted every diplomatic option, before war became unavoidable. The Praetorians and Legions under Otho’s command denounced Vitellius and swore undying loyalty to Otho. Agents sent by Vitellius to were apprehended by the Guard, who dearly cared for the new Emperor. The omens were bad, as Otho set forth from Rome. The Tiber burst her banks and flooded the city, and the auguries boded doom. Ignoring these signs, Otho resolved to end the war quickly, and put an end to all uncertainty, as his men eagerly marched to war. Making camp at Brixellum, in northern Italy, the Othonian troops won three victories at the Alps, and the Emperor took heart. Vitellius sued for peace talks, and Otho’s forces marched out to hear the terms near Bedriacum. Then the full extent of Vitellius’ fell stratagems were laid bare. Springing a trap, the Othonian troops found not an embassy of peace, but the fully armed elite Legions of the Rhine, fresh for battle, arrayed against them. Battle was joined, and the Othonians fought valiantly, but could not hold out the crack Legions.


Back in Brixellum, a lowly soldier ran into the camp, throwing himself before Otho and his generals. With tears in his eyes he looked into the Emperor’s telling of their defeat. Otho’s generals berated the soldier, accusing him of lies and deceit. One called him a coward, who had chosen to desert rather than fight. The soldier, distraught by the allegations, knowing the penalty for desertion, threw himself upon his sword at Otho’s feet. The Emperor was shocked to his very core. The Legions around him shouted encouragements to Otho, and this was no sycophancy - they meant it. News arrived that fresh Legions from Dalmatia (modern Croatia), loyal to Otho, were on their way. Nearby troops clasped his knees, eagerly willing him on, declaring that they would stand with him to the death. But the Emperor could not take his eyes away from the soldier now dying at his feet. Tears welled in his eyes. Moved by the sight, Otho declared he would not expose his men to any further danger, men who had served him so well. The armies pleaded with Otho to lead them one last time against Vitellius. That man had dishonoured the codes of war, and deserved his fate. The Commander of the Praetorians begged him again and again not to give up, and the armies cheered. But Otho, an altruistic man, would hear nothing more of war. But deep down, he knew that there was only one way this war could end, and took a decision of leadership beyond equal in human history. Never before or since has one man commanded such admiration in defeat from his own soldiers. “It is better to die one for many, than many for one”, Otho declared:


         “ We have learned to know each other, Fortune and I… Self-control is
            harder when a man knows that his fortune cannot last… I want neither
            revenge nor consolation… Am I the man to allow the flower of Rome
            in all these famous armies to be laid down once again and lost to the country?
            Let me take with me the consciousness that you would have died for me.
            But you must stay and live. I must no longer interfere with your chance of pardon,
            nor you with my resolve. It is cowardice to go on talking about the end.
            Here is your best proof of my determination; I complain of no one.
            To blame gods or men is the mark of one who desires to live… ” 
                                           - OTHO ADDRESSES HIS MEN ONE LAST TIME

The Emperor Otho
Statue in the gardens of Anglesey Abbey,
Cambridgeshire, England

As the Legions stood, all other woes forgotten, struck dumb by the man before them, the Emperor descended from the dais and embraced each man, calling them by name. He turned to his brother and the two men held the other close. Otho looked down to his brother’s son, seeing the tears in his eyes, and comforted him. Dismissing them all, the Emperor returned to his quarters. All letters and documents which held any praise for himself or ill words for Vitellius he burned, so that none could incriminate others, and he sat down to write a letter to his sister. All the money he had he divided up and gave to his household slaves. A disturbance sounded outside. A few men who had tried to take leave had been suspected of deserting and restrained by Otho’s loyal troops. “Let us add one more night to this life”, Otho thought. He issued an order that force was to be used against no man, and left his door open well into the night for any to come and see him. Taking a drink of ice cold water, he picked up a pair of daggers. Testing the point of each, he chose one and laid it beside his pillow. Laying upon his bed, he enjoyed one last peaceful night, not without some sleep.


Dawn arrived on the 16th of April. As the rays of the sun rose in his room, Otho thrust the dagger into his breast. As the darkness fell over his eyes, his dying sigh was heard by the Guard, who rushed in. With a howl of deep pain they gazed upon their fallen Emperor. The breath of life left his body, and so ended the seventh Emperor of Rome, a man truly worthy of the name. Tears streamed in their eyes as the Guard bore Otho’s body aloft outside. The effect on those who were there was profound. Cries and shouts of grief rent the air asunder as the mightiest armed force in all history all wept as one, for one:


           “ Many of the soldiers who were present wept greatly and fervently
              and kissed his hands and feet as he lay there,
              declaring that he was the bravest of men, the one true Emperor… ”
                                             - THE REACTION OF THE ARMIES TO OTHO'S END


Otho’s body was laid upon the pyre, as his funeral was to be conducted quickly and with little fuss, as per his instructions. More than a few in the mighty array were moved beyond tears. Some could not bear to be separated from so great a man:


            “ It was then that some of the soldiers there took their own lives beside the pyre,
               not through servility or fear, but from love of their Emperor… ”
                                             - THE FINAL SACRIFICE


Never before or since has such devotion been shown to a fallen leader. The army gave him a magnificent funeral, burying him in a simple unmarked grave, for they knew that Vitellius would desecrate it if ever he found it. What happened to Vitellius, you might ask? Rome endured less than a year of his irreverent rule. Vespasian, the commander of the Eastern Legions whom Otho’s supporters called upon, who would one day build the Colosseum, marched on Rome, defeating Vitellius at Bedriacum. Vitellius met a sticky end, and a new era of peace came to Rome and the World.

Power corrupts. Or does it? I’ll leave you to make your own choice. Otho reigned as Emperor for just three months. His name deserves to be known. Many years later, the great historian Tacitus said of him:


                            “ Others may have held the sceptre longer,
                               but no one can ever have laid it down so bravely ”



United Kingdom

The Lives of the Caesars:
The Twelve Caesars (Penguin Classics)
(Biographies of Julius Caesar and the first eleven Emperors of Rome, in full salacious detail, written by the Emperor Hadrian's private secretary)

The History of the Civil War:
The Histories (Oxford World's Classics)
(A detailed account of the Year of the Four Emperors, written by one of the most erudite of ancient Romans - Tacitus)

United States

The Lives of the Caesars:
The Twelve Caesars (Penguin Classics)
(Biographies of Julius Caesar and the first eleven Emperors of Rome, in full salacious detail, written by the Emperor Hadrian's private secretary)

The History of the Civil War:
The Histories (Oxford World's Classics)
(Biographies of Julius Caesar and the first eleven Emperors of Rome, in full salacious detail, written by the Emperor Hadrian's private secretary)

The Holy Lance

It was under a dark shadow that the lords, knights and barons of the West embarked upon the First Crusade in August 1096. The call of Pope Urban II had been answered by lord and peasant alike, but also fanatic. The mass slaughter of Jews in Germany, and the pillaging of Roman towns by the ‘People’s Crusade’ had left an ugly stain on the Crusade (for this story, please click here), but now the true crusaders were on their way to Jerusalem. It was a road that even in 1096 could be done in a matter of weeks. But it would be four gruelling years before the Holy City appeared on the horizon…

The Crusaders cross the Bosphorus
Artist unknown, painted in the 19th century

Beginning their arduous voyage in August 1096, the four leaders of the crusade marched forth for Constantinople. Raymond, Count of Toulouse, Godfrey of Bouillon, Baron of the Holy Roman Empire, Hugh of Vermandois, brother of King Philip I of France and Bohemond, Prince of Taranto, lead four contingents from across Europe to the Imperial City, as an unprecedented truce between the Christian nations of the West was declared. Tens of thousands across the Christian world flocked to their banners. Class and right of birth was no distinction as knight and peasant marched side by side. Ever wary of a collapse of discipline such as had occurred under the People’s Crusade, the Eastern Roman Emperor Alexius I kept a tight watch on the Christians who now flooded his lands. This time, he had even greater cause for concern. For Bohemond, along with his father, Robert Guiscard, had launched an attack on Roman lands some twenty years earlier, driving the Romans from Southern Italy. The Emperor summoned the leaders of the Crusade to him one by one, ordering them to swear an oath of fealty to him, with a solemn pledge to return the lands they liberated to the Empire. One by one they took the oath, some more grudgingly than others, except the cautious Raymond, who simply promised to do no harm to the Empire. Putting his own demons aside, the hot headed Bohemond swore the oath, knowing the disaster it would spell for the Crusade if they were denied the valuable supplies of the Empire. For a brief time, the crusaders embraced the Romans as their brothers once more, and the Emperor declared his blessing for the Crusade, generously gifting them a plethora of supplies, as well as ordering his own general staff to advise the crusaders on what they were up against from the Turks. So, in 1097, the First Crusade cross the Bosphorus straits, and made landfall in Asia.


Bidding farewell to the comforts of friendly nations, the crusaders now trod in hostile territory. Finding the mauled remnants of Peter the Hermit’s crusade, the Christians were under no illusions of complacency this time. The Sultan of the Great Seljuk Empire, Kilij Arslan, confident after his triumph over the People’s Crusade, left his cities with minimal garrisons as he marched to war in the East, fatally underestimating the new threat. The crusaders stormed across Anatolia to the walls of Nicaea, a once great Roman city, now capital of Arslan’s realm. Hardly could they believe their luck as they saw the enemy’s heartland so scantily defended, and they seized the opportunity, placing it under siege. Arslan, roused by the news his heralds brought, made peace with his foes in the East, and rushed to the aid of his capital. The large lake by Nicaea’s walls made the siege difficult for the crusaders, as they could not cut off the city’s supplies completely. Arslan arrived on the scene, expecting another rabble such as that Peter had lead against him. It was with a terrible shock that he laid eyes upon the mighty crusader force as he reached the crest of the hill before the city. The crusaders, emboldened by their fortunes so far, pounced. The Sultan’s force was badly bloodied, and Arslan fled. The garrison of Nicaea, spirit broken, surrendered to the crusaders on the 19th of June 1097. It was with much reluctance on the part of many that the city was immediately handed over to the Empire, honouring their oath. One crusader rejoiced that Jerusalem was only five weeks march away. Little did they all know that it would be two years before the Holy City lay in reach.

Bohemond storms Antioch
Painting by Gallait

Emboldened by success, the crusaders roared through Anatolia, as city after city fell to Christendom. Arslan lay in wait, desperate for a weakness to open up. On July 1st, at Dorylaeum, a chance came. The Norman contingent, under Bohemond, had ventured ahead of the crusader force in search of food and water. The sun grew strong. A glint in the distance, and a flash of sunlight on metal caught Bohemond’s eye - Turkish scouts. Barely a moment later, the slopes erupted in a storm of thundering hooves as the Sultan struck. The Normans were cut off, but not for nothing was Bohemond so loathed by the Emperor of the Romans. Leaping from his horse he rallied the Normans, turning them to face their foe. Many fell, yet the Normans held firm. Hours of the onslaught passed and Bohemond refused to break. Just then, when death seemed certain, the sign of the Cross appeared on the horizon, signalling the arrival of Raymond, and salvation. The Sultan retreated once more, and Christendom rejoiced, but not for long. The Crusade advanced, but soon it dawned upon the Christians how little there was to forage here. Not one to risk all in battle, the Sultan had devastated the land, burning its fields and laying waste its pastures. Christian morale, that had been so high, began to dwindle, as the burning sun withered them and lack of food weakened them. Supplies from Constantinople began to ebb away. Desperation sank in the crusader lines:


                  “ We did not dare to go outside; we could find absolutely nothing

                     to eat within the land of the Christians, and no one dared to enter

                     the land of the Saracens without a great army ”
                               - THE SUFFERING OF THE CRUSADERS
 

Well might the Christian plight seem hopeless, as they descended into Syria, and the great city of Antioch lay before them. One of the mightiest cities ever built, with fortifications that rendered its defenders all but invincible, high on a mountain, to say the city was a daunting prospect was an understatement if ever there was one. Once a great city in ancient times, prospering under the Eastern Romans, the Turks had seized it fourteen years earlier. Even worse, the Turkish governor of Antioch knew the crusaders were coming. The Christians moved quickly to surround the city, but so vast were her walls that even they did not have enough men to surround it. Though stopping most supplies entering the city, they were unable to stop riders breaking through, racing toward the Turk’s allies for aid. A galling prospect now arose. A beleaguered Christian force now faced one of the mightiest citadels of all time, and the knowledge that enemy may well be reinforced by further armies to their rear. On the 20th of October 1097, the crusaders dug in for a gruelling siege. “Even if all mankind came against it”, Antioch need not fear defeat, one Christian priest travelling with Raymond declared, as the crusaders stared up in horror at the towering walls.

St. Longinus pierces Christ's side
Fresco by Fra Angelico

Days passed in deepest tension. Every effort the crusaders made toward Antioch was fought off by the garrison, halting the Christians before they even reached the impregnable walls. Raising earthworks, to desperately gain respite from the endless barrage of missiles from the walls, the Christians casualties mounted. The arrival of Christian reinforcements from Europe by sea actually worsened their situation, as food was so scarce. Winter set in. Food ran dangerously low for the crusaders, and still no impact on Antioch, and then, on New Year’s Eve 1097, the crusaders’ failure to stop the Antiochian riders came back to haunt them. Duqaq, the fiery spirited ruler of Damascus, whose bloody rebellion two years earlier had thrown Syria into a brutal civil war, had answered the city’s call and marched to their aid. The crusaders fought valiantly, but it was the appalling weather which spared them this time. So heavy was the rain and so biting the cold that Duqaq soon retreated back to Damascus, but the damage was done. Much of the food the crusaders had foraged for was lost. Fodder for the horses reached such a price that even the knights were forced to sell their helmets and breastplates for even one days rations.1098 arrived, and with it news that yet another Islamic force was on its way, under Ridwin of Aleppo. Men and horses were starving to death every day in the Christian camp, and desertion began to have its ruinous effect. Even Peter the Hermit escaped, though he was soon retrieved by the irate commanders. News that Eastern Roman supply ships were on their way fired the morale of the crusaders, as the Christian knights hurled themselves at the fresh threat. Shocked by the size of the crusader force, and the power of their attack, the Aleppans were routed. To the amazement of all, the Crusade was hanging in, just.

Fresh supplies from the Romans brought desperately needed food and raw materials for constructing siege engines – now at last the crusaders could cut off the city. The morale of the Crusade grew, only to be dashed once again when an unnerved scout arrived. The crusaders would have to face not one, not two but three relieving armies. This time, however, the force which marched on them was enormous, as the governor of Mosul, Kerbogha, advanced with the combined forces of the Turks, of Persia and Mesopotamia. Near the entire Islamic world now bore down upon the First Crusade with breakneck speed, determined to grind the crusaders into the desert sands. The leaders of the West held urgent council. Now was the endgame. If Antioch did not fall soon, they would be annihilated when Kerbogha arrived. Bohemond stepped forward. If all present agreed that the city would come under his control, he would ensure Antioch’s fall. Near all the other leaders, driven by desperation, gave in to his wish. Raymond, however, an honourable man, was fired with rage, reminding him that it was the rightful property of the Empire, and that Bohemond had sworn an oath before the Emperor. Alas that honour was outvoted that day. By means of utmost stealth, Bohemond had already opened secret lines of communication with a disgruntled Tower Guard of Antioch, a man by the name of Pirus, who was angered by the seduction of his wife by a Turkish officer. The two men agreed a daring plan. The crusaders would break camp and march away, deceiving the garrison of Antioch that they had turned to engage the Saracen forces on their way, and under cover of darkness creep quietly back. A few select men would sneak up to the tower Pirus guarded, who would then throw a ladder over the side. So, on the night of the 2nd of June 1098, the raid began. A few picked men, wielding Bohemond’s banner, dashed up onto the wall. Initially alarmed at how few they were, Pirus feared. But, overjoyed after six months of toil, the crusaders eagerly beckoned their brethren on. The crusaders stormed through the city, though so mighty was Antioch, even this was not enough to take it once and for all. The Turks still held the highest citadel, far up on the mountain, while the Christians cursed. The food situation in Antioch, they discovered to their horror, was little better than their own.

The Crusaders march before the Holy Lance
British Library Manuscript in the Yates
Thompson Collection

Now trapped in the city between the garrison and the armies of the East, the situation for the crusaders was desperate. Only four days later, Kerbogha arrived and surrounded the city. The besiegers had become the besieged. The Emperor Alexius, hearing reports of their plight, decided that the situation was hopeless, and did not send aid. The crusaders were on their own. Days passed, and hellish perdition descended on the Christians, as famine, disease and thirst felled many every day. But then, when all hope had faded, a priest, Peter Bartholomew by name, in the Christian camp awoke with a start after a stunning vision. Seized with urgency, he made haste to his leaders, eager to share a revelation. A stranger had appeared in his dream. Peter asked the stranger “Who art thou?”. Spake the vision “I am St.Andrew, the apostle. Know, my son, that when thou shalt enter the town, go to the church of St. Peter. There thou wilt find the Lance of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, with which He was wounded as He hung on the arm of the Cross”. Raymond, Bohemond and Godfrey were taken aback. Many could not believe it. The Holy Lance, its location revealed? The actual spear of Longinus, thrust into Christ’s side at the Crucifixion? (It is a common mistake to believe that it was the crucifixion itself that killed Jesus Christ – it was in fact the spear thrust into his side by the Roman soldier Longinus while he was nailed to the Cross). Many crusaders, driven to the brink of madness by hunger, prone to hallucinations, hailed Peter as a new prophet. Bohemond was highly sceptical. One of the holiest of relics in Christendom, here at last? Raymond did believe, however, and urged Peter to follow his vision. On the 14th of June, a meteor was seen in the sky, an omen, but good or bad? Peter climbed the heights to the Cathedral of St. Peter, and thirteen men dug from dawn until dusk under the nave. Then, as night fell, Peter climbed into the pit. All present were utterly struck dumb, as Peter reached down into the dirt and his hand closed around a spear point. It was as though seven months of agony had never happened. The fire of zeal burst through the Christian camp. “Joy beyond measure arose in the whole city”, one eyewitness reported. If there were any doubters, they were silenced now. They bodies battered, but their spirits born anew, the crusaders, spurred on by their faith, turned to face their foes. Deciding to risk everything on one great gamble, the entire crusader force burst out of the gates and charged down upon Kerbogha’s vast array. Riding before them was Adhemar, legate of the Pope, bearing the relic of the Holy Lance. Many crusaders saw visions of St. George, St. Demetrius and St. Maurice riding beside them. A great roar rose from the Christians, and Kerbogha feared. Shocked to see a fully unified Christian force before him, he could not believe his eyes. He had been told they were on the brink of utter collapse. Vast were his forces, yet they hailed from all parts of the Eastern world. Many emirs schemed and plotted against him, rumours that he planned to take over all of Syria upon his victory, and division rippled through his lines. Quaking before the armoured knights now thundering towards them, many turned in terror. The Muslim lines were thrown into anarchy, as the crusader knights slammed into them with irresistible force. The Christians rode to a crushing victory, and the garrison high in Antioch, distraught by what they saw, surrendered. Antioch, the great city, had fallen at last. Finally, the road to Jerusalem was open…

United Kingdom

Eyewitness accounts

The First Crusade: "The Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres" and Other Source Materials (Middle Ages)
(A very useful collection of eyewitness accounts of the First Crusade)

United States

Eyewitness accounts

The First Crusade: "The Chronicle of Fulcher of Chartres" and Other Source Materials (The Middle Ages Series)
(A very useful collection of eyewitness accounts of the First Crusade) 

The Monkey Who Would Be King

When we in the West think of the Medieval era, often what comes to mind are armoured knights, courtly ladies, corrupt clergy, devastating plagues and the Crusades. All too easily one can forget that there was a vibrant world beyond Europe. Yet whilst King Henry VIII of England and the Pope were tearing themselves and Christianity apart, an ancient civilisation flourished in the East. For the Ming Dynasty of Imperial China was a force to be reckoned with, riding the wave of an illustrious culture which today is at least three thousand years old. Global trade boomed, religious wars were an alien concept and the arts underwent a Renaissance. Here is one of the many stories hailing from those times, the tale of the Monkey who desired the Heavens.

The Monkey jumps the Waterfall
Woodblock print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Legend tells of an ancient mountain, rising from the distant Eastern Oceans. Living beings, both mortal and divine, knew it as the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits, for its towering heights were bountiful, lush and green. The denizens of the Mountain, however, were not quite so idyllic. For everywhere one looked, demons ran amok, and order was always far away. Only one cavern in the cliffs was free of them, the Water Curtain Cave, so named for the the roaring waterfall which plunged over its entrance, and no being dared cross it. One day, from the shifting powers of chaos and order in the cosmos, a strange egg of stone was formed at the very summit of the Mountain. The fauna of the land were puzzled by this strange object, and more so when it hatched. For one day, with a deafening crack, the two halves of the shell blasted apart, and from the midst emerged a monkey. An inquisitive creature, the monkey soon found a tribe of others like him on the slopes of the Mountain. The other monkeys were welcoming, and proudly showed their tranquil domain, but were careful to explain to the newcomer that the cavern beyond the thundering waters was where no monkey trod. The newcomer, however, a stranger to the superstitions of the world, merely laughed, and with a spectacular jump, soared through the falls, landing gracefully upon the bare rock within. The other monkeys looked on, shocked, but in awe. Revering the newcomer, the tribe named him as the Monkey King.

Sun Wukong - the Monkey King
Woodblock print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

The Monkey King relished his new station, and soon all the monkey tribes of the Mountain were united under his rule. But after a time, he grew haughty. Calling himself the 'Handsome Monkey King', he soon began to tire of the limits that mortality brings. So, one day, he bundled several sticks together and built a raft, setting off over the horizon of the Great Ocean. Coming at last to the civilised spheres of the world, the Monkey King travelled far and wide, on a quest for knowledge and power. Now there were only a few beings on Earth who wielded the arcane power that linked Heaven and Earth, and these were the Xian (in Taoism, the Xian are a race of immortals). After an age, the Monkey King tracked down one of the Xian, determined to become his disciple and rise above his lowly station as a monkey. At first, the Xian turned the monkey away, again and again, mistrusting the creature and suspecting deceit. But when the monkey implored the Xian for knowledge, that he had travelled across Ocean and land to find him, the great spirit began to listen. Intrigued, the Xian asked him where he had come from, expecting the animal to reply 'the trees'. "All I remember is that there was a magic stone on the top of the Flower and Fruit Mountain, and that one year the stone split open and I was born", the monkey replied. The Xian was amazed at this, declaring "you were born of Heaven and Earth". The Xian took the monkey on as his apprentice, granting him a new name - Sun Wukong - a name which means Monkey Awakened to Emptiness. Soon, Sun began to gain mastery over human speech, and as the Xian grew impressed at his eagerness to learn, began to learn the ways of magic. Sun learned the secret of shapeshifting, and could soon morph his lowly form into seventy two different creatures. He learned, too, how to soar thirty four thousand miles in a single leap. Each of the hairs on his simian body he could bend to his will, transforming each to whatever he desired, even a clone of himself.

Sun Wukong before the Jade Emperor
Woodblock print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi

Before long, Sun began succumb to pride once again. Boasting of his sheer power to the Xian's other disciples, Sun soon earned the scorn of his master. When the monkey's arrogance went too far, the Xian turned him away from his realm, commanding Sun never to reveal to another soul where he had learned his sorcery. Believing himself greater than the Xian, Sun returned to the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits, and enthroned himself once again, this time to be worshipped as a demigod by the creatures of the world. Ravenous for power, Sun could no longer be sated by the Earth itself. Diving to the depths of the Ocean, the monkey turned his hand to thievery, breaking into the watery domain of Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea. For he sought Ruyi Jingu Bang, a magical staff, a weapon of immense power and the very tool by which the gods had pushed the Ocean floor to the depths. The Staff glowed bright when Sun approached, acknowledging its new master. Hungrily, Sun stole it, and made his escape, conquering the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas with the boundless power over the oceans which the Staff brought him. The forces of Heaven, however, began to grow angry with Sun, and after an immense struggle, overpowered the monkey and bound him in Hell. It was then that Sun realised with a jolt that, as a mortal, he could still die. So the monkey broke free of his bonds, slew his guards and tore his name from the pages of the Book of Life and Death. In this tome was recorded the fates of every creature on the earth, and its word was law. Now that Sun's name was absent, the monkey was immortal, and the gods, outraged at his blasphemy, conspired against him.

The Jade Emperor
Image taken from a Chinese painted silk,
Ming Dynasty, 16th century

The Heavenly Spirits appealed to the Jade Emperor, the god who ruled Heaven and the mortal worlds, for help. A peaceful being, the Jade Emperor sought a peaceful solution to the crisis. Summoning Sun to him, he offered the monkey the position of Keeper of Heaven's Horses, believing that a station in Heaven would satiate the creature's ambition. Happily, Sun accepted. It was not long after, however, that Sun discovered that this was the lowliest position in Heaven. Enraged, the monkey threw open the gates to the Stables, and the Horses of Heaven bolted, causing havoc. Fawning and apologetic, the gods made Sun the Keeper of the Heavenly Garden. Satisfied, yet mistrustful, Sun accepted. However, when a vast banquet was held in the Garden, and all the gods and goddesses were invited, and Sun was not, the monkey once again went on the rampage. Turning once again to thievery, the monkey stole the peaches of immortality, the property of the mother goddess Xi Wangmu, and the pills of longevity that were the property of Lao Tzu (the founder of Taoism), and the royal wine that was the property of the Jade Emperor himself, before sprinting back to his island home. The gods, furious, sent the armies of Heaven to arrest Sun. Though a hundred thousand strong, the hosts of Heaven were no match for the arcane might of the Xian that Sun had learned, as the Monkey King conquered them all. Drunk with an unbridled thirst for power, Sun let his guard down, just enough so that the combined power of all the gods could restrain him at last. Angry this time, the Jade Emperor commanded Lao Tzu to seal the monkey into a cauldron and set a fire beneath it, to eradicate Sun once and for all. Lao Tzu, still seething at the thievery he had suffered, obeyed without hesitation. Celebrating, the gods departed, and for a while, peace was at hand in the cosmos.

Forty nine days later, when many of the gods had even forgotten about Sun, they broke the seal on the cauldron. Spitting with deranged fury, out jumped the monkey with not so much as a singed hair. For the gods had forgotten that, since the monkey had torn his name from the Book of Life and Death, he could not be killed. Howling with frustration, the gods despaired. Desperate, and no longer able to contain Sun, the weary Jade Emperor turned to the very power behind the cosmos - the Buddha himself.

The Buddha
13th century Bronze statue in Kamakura, Japan

Meanwhile, such was the boundless reach of his ambition, Sun had fashioned yet another name for himself - the Great Sage, and now sought to be sole ruler of Heaven. Then, the voice of power sounded in the Great Sage's mind, the voice of the Buddha. The Buddha chastised the monkey for desiring to seize the Heavenly Palace. The Great Sage retorted with boasts of his prowess, how he could transform into seventy two shapes, and travel thirty four thousand miles in a single jump, doubting even that the Buddha could match him. Calmly, the Buddha responded with a wager. If Sun could, with a single jump, outleap the Buddha himself, the Jade Emperor would abdicate and the throne of Heaven would be his. If, however, he did not, he would be cast below the Earth, to meditate on his loss for eons. The proud monkey accepted at once. Bracing, Sun breathed in deeply, crouched down, and eyed the horizon, poised for the jump of his life. With a shout he was off, and what a leap it was! The monkey was but a blur, soaring through the sky. It was with such power that he kicked off, he even left the atmosphere, hurtling through the cosmos. Soon, the monkey saw the five great pillars which marked the boundaries of the Universe, as he began to lose speed and came back down again, landing atop the central pillar. The pillar was curiously round, and the drop terrifying, but all the same, Sun marked his name where he landed, howling with triumph.

Turning back, he jumped back to where he started from, and found the Buddha awaiting him there. "Tell the Jade Emperor to hand the Heavenly Palace over to me", Sun declared. "You wretch!" the Buddha angrily retorted "You never left the palm of my hand". Bemused, Sun described that he had reached the very pillars of the Universe - "do you dare come and see it with me?" There was no need, the Buddha replied, all he had to do was look down. When the monkey looked down, he felt a pang of horror. For the Buddha had held out his hand, and there on the top of his middle finger, were the words Sun had written. The pillars he had seen were the Buddha's own fingers! So the monkey saw the full extent of his vanity at last, and could not believe it. Turning to run, he saw those great pillars closing in on him until he was in their grip. In a flash, they became mountains, and the monkey was now buried beneath them, left to ponder the price of his arrogance...

United Kingdom

Journey to the West:
Monkey (Penguin Classics)
(One of the four great Classical novels of China, the story is surprisingly easy to read)

United States

The Journey to the West:
Monkey (Penguin Classics)
(One of the four great Classical novels of China, the story is surprisingly easy to read)

November 27th 1095: A day that shook the world

"Then Jesus said to his disciples ‘If any would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever seeks to spare his own life shall lose it; but whoever shall lose his life for my sake will find it”

                                                                      - CHRIST ADDRESSES HIS DISCIPLES (MATTHEW 16:24-25)

At the turn of the eleventh century Anno Domini the Eastern Roman Empire, the last great remnant of the Ancient Roman Empire, was in decline, slowly worn down by relentless attack at the hands of the Turks. Yet even then, it was the great Christian superpower of the world, and Constantinople was by far the largest and richest city on Earth, the great bastion and defender of Christendom in the face of the rising power of Islam in the East. Though the days when the Caesars ruled from Rome were a distant memory, the power, prestige and the dream that was Rome lived on. Until the fateful day of the 26th of August 1071. For on that day began a chain of events culminating in a day which changed the world forever, and whose effects are felt stronger today than ever, on the 27th November 1095.



Gold Solidus of the Emperor Romanus IV
Constantinople Mint.

The Emperor Romanus IV, determined to take vengeance on Alp Arslan - Sultan of the Great Seljuk Empire - for his siege of the city of Manzikert (near the Eastern border of modern Turkey, then under Roman control), set off with a large army to confront his foe. On the road from Constantinople, the Romans were constantly harassed and demoralised by the arrows of the Turkish horse archers, yet the army held together. The Emperor reached Manzikert and took it easily, causing the Sultan to sue for peace. Determined to end the ‘Eastern threat’ once and for all with a decisive victory, Romanus refused and battle was joined. But the Turks were masters of the hit and of the run. Wherever the Roman charged, the Turk fled, showering his pursuer with arrows as he did so (A tactic known as the Parthian Shot, the bane even of the Ancient Roman Legions at their height.) Frustrated and demoralised, the Romans gave way, and the Turks pounced. The Roman soldiers, the great defenders of Christendom, were now men fleeing for their lives. The Turks captured Romanus and hurled him at the feet of Alp Arslan, who could not believe that this dirty and bloody wreck of a man before him was the mighty Emperor of the Romans. It was the worst Roman defeat since Adrianople, over six hundred years earlier, and worse was yet to come. A crippling financial crisis struck the Eastern Roman Empire, and the Imperial throne was sought by avaricious and selfish men. In the West, the Empire’s dominions in Southern Italy were the prey of the Normans. Not until the rule of the Emperor Alexius I Comnenus began in 1081 did the Empire begin to stabilise again.

A Christian Knight departs for the Crusades
Taken from the Westminster-Psalter.

Fourteen years later, Pope Urban II, a charismatic and energetic Pope, held council at Piacenza in northern Italy in 1095. Urban II was keen to follow in the footsteps of his illustrious predecessor, Pope Gregory VII, and restore the moral integrity of the Roman Church. He soon got his chance. Attending the council were representatives of the Emperor, who called upon the Bishop of Rome for aid. The Seljuk leadership was in disarray, now was the time to strike back at God’s enemies! The desperate plea struck deeply within the Supreme Pontiff’s mind, who called a Council to be held in Clermont (modern day Clermont-Ferrand) for monk and lord alike to consider the Emperor’s words. Little did the Emperor know that his call would be answered on a scale beyond his wildest dreams...


When the clergy and laymen gathered on the 18th of November 1095, all were expecting further discourse on ecclesiastical affairs and discussion of healing the rifts caused by corruption in the Church. So the Council progressed, until it came to the last item on the agenda. All assembled were struck dumb by Urban II’s closing speech. The Vicar of Christ rose and launched a scathing attack on his flock:

“Listen and learn! You, girt about with the badge of knighthood, are arrogant beyond great pride; you rage against your brothers and cut each other asunder. This, which rends asunder the sheep-fold of the Redeemer... This is not the soldiery of Christ!... You, the oppressors of children, plunderers of widows; you, guilty of homicide, of sacrilege, robbers of another’s rights; you, who await the pay of thieves for the shedding of Christ’s blood!”

                             - POPE URBAN II DENOUNCES VIOLENCE AGAINST FELLOW CHRISTIANS

Never before had a Pope so masterfully struck at the conscience of his subjects, tearing forth their guilt from the depths of their depravity. His words turned to the plight of Christendom in the East:

Pope Urban II preaches the Crusade
Taken from the Livre des Passages d'Outre-mer.

“From the confines of Jerusalem and the city of Constantinople a horrible tale has gone forth... a race from the kingdom of the Persians, an accursed race, a race utterly alienated from God... has invaded the lands of those Christians and has depopulated them by the sword, pillage and fire... it has destroyed the churches of God!”

          - POPE URBAN II TURNS TO THE PLIGHT OF THE EAST


Here Urban refers to the destruction of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, torn down at the orders of the Caliph Al-Hakim in 1009. It does not take a stretch of the imagination to see already the beginnings of the violent tensions between East and West right now in 2010. The Bishop of Rome turned his cry to Jerusalem, the land which ‘floweth with milk and honey’, given by God to the children of Israel in the Old Testament. He implores the men of Christendom to liberate the land from the infidel:

“Nay, more, the sorrowful here will be glad there, the poor here will be rich there, and the enemies of the Lord here will be His friends there!”

                                                            - POPE URBAN II SPEAKS OF THE REWARDS OF THE CRUSADE

Doubtless, even the most materialistic of those present’s ears would have pricked up at the mention of untold riches in the East. Europe was a desolate land in the 11th century, a land dominated by the right of primogeniture – a law that decreed that only the firstborn son would inherit. This left a great deal of sons destitute and envious, and ready to cause trouble at a moment’s notice. If what the Pope said was true, even a peasant here could be a lord in the Holy Lands. Then came Urban II’s dramatic finale:

“Let therefore hatred depart from among you, let your quarrels end, let wars cease, and let all dissensions slumber. Enter upon the road to the Holy Sepulchre; wrest that land from the wicked race, and subject it to yourselves...Undertake this journey for the remission of your sins, with the assurance of the imperishable glory of the Kingdom of Heaven!”

                                                               - POPE URBAN II CALLS CHRISTENDOM TO THE CRUSADE

 

The Archangel Michael casts Satan down from Heaven
Artist unknown. Taken by author in Pinacoteca Gallery
of the Vatican Museums.

Here, and now, God’s representative on Earth was offering to all who answered his call the forgiveness of Christ and a place in Heaven! One can only wonder at the intensely powerful effect this would have on the deeply pious Christian knights present. Tears flowed from many an eye, and as one, the gathered crowds bellowed what would become the famous war cry of the crusaders; “God Wills It!”

One must always leave modern ethics behind when looking at this. Life was mostly a grim affair in the 11th century. Life expectancy seldom stretched past 30, death, plague, war and famine surrounded all. Is it any wonder that men turned to God? Urban II’s speech is dramatic enough today, let alone nine hundred years ago. Not even Urban II himself was prepared for the scale of the response to his plea. Tens of thousands across the nations of Europe answered the Pope’s call, and flocked to the sign of the cross, calling upon the valour of Saint Michael the Archangel. The First Crusade had begun.

Due to the incredible importance of the First Crusade I shall, in future posts, follow the course of the great ‘armed pilgrimage’, to its cataclysmic finale. The text of Urban II's mighty speech was recorded by many authors, many of whom were actually present at the Council. A collection of all these is easily available at Amazon, which also includes material for the whole of the Crusade:

United Kingdom

The First Crusade: The Chronicle and other Materials
(Highly useful and nicely organised, containing original texts for events across the whole crusade)

United States

The First Crusade: The Chronicle and other Materials
(Highly useful and nicely organised, containing original texts for events across the whole crusade)