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A Day of Blowing the Shofar
Now only four Jewish strongholds remained independent in the Galilee; Tarichae, Mount Tabor, Gamla, and Gischala. Of those residual bastions, Tarichae was closest to the Romans, and was an especially promising target for the Roman army could recycle the nascent navy it had built to take Tiberias, as Tarichae was also located on the Sea of Galilee.
Another benefit, unknown to the Romans, was that the Tarichaean defenders had not coalesced around any significant leader. The late Joseph ben Mattiyahu's most trusted deputy Jeremiah commanded some of the men, but his upper class pedigree and Sadducee leanings made him suspect to the overwhelming mass of Pharisaic Galileans who populated the city. Despite no one person gaining unequaled prominence, Tarichae was no hotbed of anarchy. It had transitioned rather smoothly into revolution, supported by the existing power structure of traditional elders and rabbis who were remained respected enough to lead. Though these men will no less prone to bickering amongst themselves, the cities fortifications were more solidly built than Jotapata and its populace more stoutly defensive then the waffling Tiberians, as there was no fifth column that undermined the security of the city.
The Romans paraded to the marked city. They meticulously organized their camp on the gentle lapping shore of the Lake. The Roman’s expected a prolonged siege, as Vespasian’s harshness toward Tiberias only further motivated the fanatical populace, and the martyrdom of the Jotapata's still provided an illuminating motivation. By the Ides of September, the first Roman assault was launched by Cerilias, temporary commander of the army. Vespasian had left to meet with his nominal superior, the new governor of Syria.
Emperor Nero, recognizing the need for a governor of Syria to replace the deceased and disgraced Cestius Gallus had appointed a man by the name Gaius Licinius Mucianus. Mucianus was an experienced military officer who had served under the great Corbulo during the recent Parthian war alongside Trajan. He was a little cocky, but respected Vespasian, and was generally well intentioned. Even though in an novel precedent, the governor of Syria did not technically outrank the Prefect of Judea, Vespasian still felt it prudent that he make the journey to Antioch to congratulate Mucianus and confer with him. The siege of Tarichae would have to go on without Vespasian’s personal presence. Vespasian would have liked to leave Titus in command, but even six weeks after narrowly escaping an untimely demise, Titus was not fully recovered. Vespasian thus only had one true choice, as Trajan still was scouring the coast for pirates. Cerialias was the legate left in charge of the majority of the Roman forces.
The Tarichaean defenders did not need to be as fanatically devoted. Tarichae was the center of the Galilee fishing industry, and as such had an ample supply of boats that could expedite retreat. To prevent the dispersal of Jewish irregulars, the Roman’s would have to attempt to take the city in one fell swoop, or risk gaining an empty husk. Cerialias’ first two assaults on the city were repulsed strongly, as Cerialias had strategically used his green native auxiliaries, attempting to conserve trained men. Throngs of disorganized militiamen carrying ladders had attempted to scale the walls, only to be repelled by enemy projectiles and prepared defenders. After those two failed attempts, the determined Cerialias was prepared to attack again. King Agrippa's men informed him off of a holiday when Rome might at truly attack because of lax Jewish security. He would attempt to utilize the defenders stringent Jewish observance of this "Day of the Shofar", this"Rosh Hashanah" to increase his odds of victory.
The Temple in Jerusalem was the apex of Jewish ritual. Every Jewish male was obligated to visit it thrice each year for holidays and to bring various offering for life events and for some transgressions. This was a big hassle, especially for Jews who didn’t live close by, like the Galilean Jews of Tarichae. In the outlying areas of the diaspora and Judea, a new institution called the synagogue had been developed which become a local center of Jewish life. In it, the Torah was read, the Sabbath was observed, and the local rabbi’s taught their interpretation of the bare text to new generations. Tarichae had a particular grand synagogue. It was large with vivid impressionistic mosaics, and imposing carvings of Temple artifacts.
Some of the decorations at the Synagogue in Tarichae
Cerialias had been informed that of the minor Jewish holiday, the Feast of Trumpets. This imminent holiday was supposedly when world was created and the Jews would abstain from working on the holiday, as per every Sabbath. He hoped that enough defenders would be distracted by religious duty that he could finally overcome the walls. If not, Cerialias would finally have to hunker down and perform the painstakingly boring minutiae of conducting a siege, something that he had absolutely no patience for.
The clarion call of the shofar warbled. Jews were almost done davening the morning service. The heartfelt cry was directed to God in heaven above, but was also heard by Romans doffing their arms outside the gates. God showed no indication of stirring, but Cerialias’s men knew the significance of the shofar call. Right now, the walls looked almost abandoned, but that window of opportunity would soon pass. Services were concluding, and the Jews would return to the wall momentarily.
The Romans swarmed forward. They encountered no resistance climbing the walls, dodged no heavy rocks tumbling toward prone bodies, no javelins whistling through the air. The first legionaries peeked over the ramparts eagerly, already savoring the spoils that awaited them. Tarichae was no Rome, nor even a Jerusalem, but it certainly was large enough to plunder quite satisfactorily.
Wrapped up in hedonistic fantasies, the first of the overconfident ambushers climbed onto the wall. Their bloodthirsty brethren below listened attentively for any signs of trouble. The chaotic sounds of war ruined the hopeful soldier’s dreams of a relatively peaceful pillaging. Somehow, the Jews had prepared for the impeding attack.
Jeremiah and his men professed complete apathy toward the celebration of the Day of Trumpets in any locale outside the holy Temple. Time was better spent on the more pressing matter, the siege. Jeremiah reckoned that Cerialias would be primed to attack on a day when he thought the Jewish garrison would be almost non-existent. Jeremiah had commanded his partisans to move stealthily and to make it appear that the wall was not garrisoned, in order to lull Cerialias into a false sense of security. It had obviously worked.
The few Romans who had climbed onto the rough stone ramparts, found themselves slaughtered by passionate defenders. The hitherto missing projectiles whizzed downward, and boiling oil poured on the lines of men climbing up on ladders, as the organized assault rapidly fell into disarray.
Defeat appeared certain, and many of Cerialias’s deputies, notably Placidus and Nicanor, urged him to withdraw for another day, to prevent the embarrassing specter of yet another rout. Why not wait until Vespasian returns to rally the troops? Cerialias refused to listen. He shrugged off their advice, feeling the awesome responsibility of commanding illustrious Roman legions. His men were already on the offensive, already attempting to open the gates of the city, which was half the work of any campaign. Even if thoroughly rebuffed, the Jews in the city could not exercise any retributory abilities, as everyone involved knew the Jews would be annihilated in any outright battle. Ignoring apparent common sense, Cerialias commanded even more soldiers to mount the assault. Even men on guard duty were instructed to enter the fray. This was no time for hesitating indecision, nor cowardly retreat. The city was on its last legs.
On the walls, slickened with blood, more and more legionnaires clawed their way up past determined Jewish resistance. Despite their best effort, individual Jews could simply not vie equally with the Romans. Wearing heavier armor, wielding better weapons, endlessly drilled to be inhumanly disciplined, the Romans just needed some slim foothold onto the wall to seal the fate of Tarichae.
What had saved Tarichae during the previous two assaults had been the plain truth of sheer numbers. When faced with an endless throng of defenders, the rickety assailants had no choice but to resentfully retreat. Now, despite Jeremiah’s sensible precautions, the walls were just lightly manned enough to allow the one sided defeat to transition into a bloody clash. Tarichae would be decided by pure logistics, whether the Jews leaving the synagogue could don their gear and arrive to turn the tide before the gates of the city were opened.
It was a close thing. It was ultimately futile. Cerialias entered the city a conqueror, assured of a glorious triumph. His victory was incomplete, as the panicked Jews fled to the lakeshore, to their gently bobbing ships, hoping to escape the doomed city, departing in the thousands to abscond to scant shelters.
Cerialias forbade his men from sacking the city right then, as they would customarily do, instead ordering them to pursue the Jews. A naval victory now would virtually wipe out all resistance in the Galilee, allowing Vespasian to finally march on the Judean heartland itself. It would also incidentally burnish Cerialias’ reputation by a not inconsiderable amount.
His tribunes gathered their reluctant cohorts, and plodded towards the motley Roman armada. Billowing clouds of smoke and steam greeted them, as charred rafts disintegrated in the blue waters. The arsonists had an easy job. Most of the guards who had been assigned to protect the boats had been ordered to join in on the final assault, and the paltry few that remained on duty had been Syrian auxiliaries, who abandoned their posts so they could loot the city.
Watching as any chance for a total victory burned away, as the fleeing Jewish flotilla became a distant smear on the lake, holding jaded men ready to cause more trouble for the Roman, Cerialias angrily ordered Tarichae razed to the ground. Any native left within had the most unsavory choices of death, slavery, sadism, or an unpleasant medley of the three. In the square outside the ornate synagogue, an impromptu slave market was assembled, as the wailing woman and children were divvied up among Roman soldiers. Eventually, when the city’s wealth had been taken, and it lay bare, Cerialias signaled to his men for the outlet of any latent pyromaniacal tendencies. They neither knew nor cared about the irony of destroying a city on the head of the year, on the anniversary of creation. The synagogue was the first building to be set aflame, and the ravenous fire raced across the city, consuming all.