Chapter 83: The Messenger from the South
Egypt was one of the oldest civilizations in the world, along with Mesopotamia.
Long before Rome was founded, Egypt had flourished with a brilliant culture and possessed the most fertile land in the Mediterranean world.
At that time, North Africa was not fully desertified as it is today.
Egypt was a proud nation with a history as long as its own.
Their king, the Pharaoh, was revered as a living god.
But Egypt in the Roman era was a shadow of its former glory, a sinking ship.
After Alexander’s death, his empire was divided into three parts: Antigonus and Seleucus dynasties had already been annexed by Rome.
The last remaining Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt had also lost its power long ago.
In its heyday, it was one of the strongest powers that expanded to Asia Minor.
But now it was barely surviving as a protectorate of Rome.
This was largely influenced by the distorted governance structure that excluded the natives and ran the country by a privileged minority of immigrants.
They still boasted the highest level of wealth in the Mediterranean, but their military strength could not match it.
Rome was eagerly looking for an opportunity to annex Egypt, but it was not yet time.
Egypt was the most proud nation in the world.
They knew well that a hasty annexation would only provoke the resistance of the Egyptian people.
As long as the Pharaoh, who would become the center of Egypt, was still alive, it was wise not to act rashly.
Rome did not have to intervene anyway, as Egypt’s decline was accelerating.
The current Pharaoh of Egypt was Ptolemy XII Auletes, who was not a very capable king either.
In Egypt, where the Pharaoh was worshiped as a god, the role of the priests who oversaw religion was very important.
A Pharaoh who was not recognized by them could not be a true Pharaoh.
But Auletes did not understand this.
The essence of the Ptolemaic dynasty was an immigrant group from outside.
Their capital, Alexandria, was also a place that the original Egyptians thought of as alien.
The highest priests of Egypt also resided in Memphis, not Alexandria.
Auletes naturally treated the religious sector poorly, and the priests were enraged by his actions.
Once he alienated himself from the priests, Auletes failed to build a support base within Egypt.
His royal authority was so precarious that it overshadowed the fact that he was a god-like Pharaoh.
There was only one way to overcome this situation.
It was to get Rome’s recognition and borrow their power.
For this reason, Auletes sent an embassy to Rome.
They arrived in Rome in early April, after the thanksgiving festival of Ceres.
The Egyptian embassy requested that they guarantee Auletes’ legitimate rule over Egypt for his lifetime.
But the Senate at this time did not have the luxury to respond to Egypt’s demands one by one.
“It’s difficult right now, so please wait a little longer.”
This was the official answer from the Senate.
Because of Auletes’ order not to return to Alexandria until they got results, the embassy was stuck in Rome without being able to do anything.
Eudoras, Egypt’s finance minister and head of the embassy, tried to meet with Bibulus, who was in charge of state affairs at that time.
But Bibulus was greatly depressed by the humiliations he had suffered from Caesar in succession.
He stayed at home and did not even attend meetings properly.
There was no way he would meet Eudoras.
“I’m busy, so see someone else.”
Eudoras, who was turned away at the entrance, was confused.
He even wondered if Rome wanted to oust Auletes.
What good would it do if he had a lot of money to bribe but couldn’t meet anyone?
Eudoras waited for another month and contacted the Senate again, but all ended in failure.
He finally decided to change his course.
He decided to focus on a few powerful people rather than many ordinary senators.
The first person he visited was Pompey.
His fame for subduing the Eastern world completely was well known even in Egypt.
“Can you guarantee Auletes’ lifelong rule over Egypt?”
Pompey showed a lukewarm reaction to Eudoras’ proposal.
It wasn’t because he disliked Egypt’s ruling class.
It was just bad timing.
Pompey was focusing all his attention on making sure his former soldiers settled well on their newly distributed lands.
Besides, he wasn’t good at this kind of political trickery.
He had so much wealth that he could count on one hand in Rome, so Eudoras’ bribe didn’t work either.
“Let me think about it for now. Go away. I’ll give you an answer when I have time.”
The next person Eudoras visited was Crassus, the richest man in Rome.
But he was sick and refused to see the Egyptian envoy.
Eudoras had to turn his back at the entrance again.
Historically, Eudoras should have contacted Caesar at this time.
But Caesar, who was interested in Marcus’ sanitation project, was busy preparing a bill related to it.
Eudoras did not achieve any results until May.
His situation was becoming dangerous.
He was desperate to find someone who could solve this problem, anyone.
Then one of his subordinates brought him some useful information.
“Finance Minister, there are three people who are most famous in Rome right now.”
“Two of them must be Pompey and Caesar. Who is the last one? Crassus? Or Cicero?”
“It’s a censor named Marcus. He’s the eldest son of the Crassus family and he’s like a rising sun in Rome right now. He has the absolute popularity of the people and he’s also trusted by the Senate.”
“What? How come we didn’t have any information about such a prominent figure in politics?”
Eudoras glared at the embassy around him.
Analyzing the political situation of that country before negotiating was the basics of the basics.
It was a serious problem that the information of the most prominent person in the current political scene was missing.
The embassy did not know what to do and avoided eye contact with Eudoras.
‘What kind of information gathering is this…”
Actually, this was unfair for the embassy.
Marcus’ name only became widely known after the financial reform.
He also gained explosive fame by successfully performing his censor duties.
The time when they collected information in Egypt to prepare for negotiations with Rome was when Marcus’ name was not widely spread.
Of course, Eudoras did not know that.
He frowned and asked his subordinate who brought the information.
“So, this Marcus is the heir of the Crassus family? But a aedile? As far as I know, a aedile is not that high-ranking. Did you hear wrong and mean a praetor?”
“No, sir. He is a aedile. He is a young politician with great abilities. The rumors on the street say that he is like a rising sun in Rome. He has the absolute popularity of the people and he is also trusted by the Senate.”
“Is that so? He seems worth meeting.”
Eudoras politely sent a letter to Marcus.
Unlike other power holders, Marcus immediately replied that he would listen to Eudoras’ words.
Two days later, Eudoras headed to the Crassus mansion again to meet Marcus.
This time, he was able to enter without being rejected at the entrance.
Marcus briefly guided him around the mansion and took him to the reception room.
“I heard you’ve been staying in Rome for over a month. You must have been very upset.”
Marcus offered his condolences and looked at Eudoras’ face.
He had white skin and blue eyes, completely different from the native Egyptians.
He had a typical Greek appearance, as did the current rulers of Egypt.
Eudoras sighed and gave a bitter smile.
“Honestly, I thought it would be simpler at first. I never dreamed that I would be snubbed by Rome’s power holders like this.”
“It was bad timing. The political scene in Rome is now in a tug-of-war between the populares and the optimates. They don’t have time to pay attention to other matters.”
“We didn’t get any reports that it was such a serious situation when we left Egypt. I was shocked when I found out later, but I also felt relieved. The Senate didn’t react so much that I wondered if they didn’t want to recognize the current Pharaoh.”
“Why would they do that? Egypt is a precious ally of Rome. It’s not good for Rome if an allied country is troubled. Maybe I can help you go back to Alexandria a little sooner.”
His face brightened and Eudoras leaned forward slightly.
“I have to go back with an answer that will please the Pharaoh. Can you help me?”
“I’m just a mere censor, so I can’t do anything directly. But I can ask people who can. Of course, they will never refuse my request.”
Eudoras, who did not know about the Triumvirate, mistakenly thought that Marcus was referring to the Senate.
“That’s good enough for us. We just need confirmation from the Senate.”
Getting recognition from Rome meant that Rome’s enormous power backed up the Pharaoh’s authority.
No matter how much the priests complained, they could not match the Pharaoh who had Rome’s power behind him.
Of course, it wasn’t free.
To get a guarantee that they could borrow Rome’s power in case of emergency, they had to pay a corresponding price.
Eudoras, as the finance minister, presented their only card.
“As a token of gratitude for Rome’s kindness, we have brought a large amount of money. How about 6,000 talents?”
6,000 talents was an astronomical amount of over 140 million sesterces.
It meant that they could spend such a huge amount of money as royal maintenance without hesitation.
It showed how wealthy Egypt was.
It was tempting enough money, but there was a problem if Marcus took it.
It could give the impression that he was corrupted by power and greedy for bribes, as he was still young and not even thirty years old.
Of course, he just had to not take it himself.
He devised a plan to have the Triumvirate secretly share this money through Caesar.
“6,000 talents is certainly a lot of money, but it’s not enough to move Rome’s top leaders. That 6,000 won’t go to one person, but will be distributed evenly. So I think you need 8,000 talents.”
“8,000 is too much. How about 7,000?”
“I’m not negotiating with you. I’m just informing you of an objective fact that I need 8,000.”
Eudoras tried to argue back, but he met Marcus’ indifferent gaze.
He felt a chill for no reason.
His intuition as a finance minister who had met many power holders told him not to argue.
Eudoras decided to trust his intuition.
“I’ll pay 8,000 talents. But it’s too much to pay in one lump sum, so please understand that it’s impossible.”
“Of course. You can pay 6,000 as soon as the resolution is passed. And the rest can be paid in installments over two years. And please hand over 3,000 of the 6,000 talents you paid at once to the Senate.”
“Then I have no complaints. I agree to all the conditions you proposed. I’ll pay 3,000 to the Senate out of 8,000 talents.”
“Oh, and by the way, I’m just a mediator. The person who receives the rest of the money will not be me, but someone else. It goes without saying that my name should not be mentioned in any way during the process of transferring the money. If that happens, all the agreements will be nullified and I can’t guarantee what will happen next.”
“I understand. I swear by the name of Pharaoh that I serve that this transaction will be secret.”
Marcus smiled satisfactorily and handed over the contract.
There was nothing in the contract that mentioned Marcus’s name or anything that could imply a bribe.
Eugoras signed it with a bitter smile.
“Well, then I guess your business is done now. Let me tell you what I want.”
“Wasn’t the deal over?”
“Oh, don’t worry. I’m not asking for more compensation. The negotiation for securing Pharaoh’s authority is over. I want to discuss something else with you. To put it simply, I want to do business in Alexandria and I want to get permission for that.”
“Business? What kind of business are you talking about?”
“It’s related to banking. If you accept this proposal, you don’t have to pay me the 2,000 talents that we agreed to share earlier.”
Eugoras’s eyes widened.
He couldn’t understand why he would give up such a huge amount of money for just getting permission for a business.
Of course, Marcus thought so too.
If he really had 2,000 talents in his hands, he wouldn’t give them up.
But he didn’t believe that the Ptolemaic dynasty would pay him the money without any hassle.
They would surely make all kinds of excuses and delay paying him.
In that case, it would be better to give up the uncertain money and make a profit elsewhere.
And if he could establish a bank branch in Alexandria and expand his banking business there, he could earn several times more than 2,000 talents.
He thought of it as an investment for the future and didn’t feel too bad about it.
He had raised the negotiation amount from 6,000 to 8,000 in the first place for this purpose.
Eugoras, who had no idea what Marcus was thinking, nodded his head immediately at the thought of saving 2,000 talents.
“I think I can grant your request without any trouble, but I’d like to hear an explanation first. If it’s a business that threatens Egypt’s security, I can’t allow it.”
“There’s no need to worry at all. It’s a business that I do in Rome and almost all the provinces. It’s beneficial for both Egypt and me.”
Eugoras, who was a finance minister, could not foresee how much impact the bank would have.
The concept of a bank itself was too unfamiliar to him.
But he thought it wouldn’t be a problem since it was a new system that was implemented in Rome and the major cities of the provinces.
Still, there was always a possibility of something going wrong, so Eugoras decided to make one thing clear.
“It has to be exactly the same as the conditions in Rome or other provinces. That is, you can’t operate in a way that exploits Egypt more because it’s a foreign country. Do you have any problem with adding that clause?”
“Of course not. I’m a person who knows business ethics.”
Eugoras and Marcus concluded an agreement that satisfied both parties.
Marcus immediately persuaded the Triumvirate and Caesar to draft a resolution that recognized the authority of the Egyptian Pharaoh.
The pretext was the stability of the Egyptian regime that was responsible for supplying food to Rome.
Caesar proposed the bill and the Senate reluctantly approved it.
The stability of Egypt was a matter of livelihood and they could not oppose it without any reason, because they feared another backlash.
As a reward, Marcus announced that he would pay 3,000 talents to Rome’s treasury.
The remaining 3,000 were divided equally among Caesar, Pompey, and Marcus.
But then Ptolemy XII sent an unexpected offer.
He was so grateful for Rome’s kindness and wanted to express his gratitude personally to Marcus, who led this resolution. He also secretly added that he wanted to talk about the banking business.
Marcus, who already had a lot of work to do, wondered whether he should accept the invitation or not.
But he didn’t need much time to make a decision.
Egypt had infinite strategic value, even if he lost some money on his current work.
If he could establish a base in Egypt at this opportunity, he could endure losing a few months of profit.
And maybe he could see Cleopatra VII Philopator, the daughter of the current Pharaoh Ptolemy XII.
She was so famous that in later times, the name Cleopatra became synonymous with her as a proper noun.
There was a saying that if her nose had been a little lower, the whole surface of the earth would have changed. It was so well-known that any modern person would have heard it at least once.
‘I wonder if I should check if that’s true?’
He could come back by next July, when the election that would decide Rome’s politics for next year would be held, so there wouldn’t be any fatal problems.
Marcus accepted Egypt’s invitation as a representative of the Senate.
A new wind from Rome changed its direction for a while and headed towards Alexandria in Egypt.
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