To Build a Nation
Judah has given his all to the Roman legions. Having advanced from being a mere auxiliary to a mighty centurion in the regular legions, Judah has fought his way to glory all over the known world; from the great Romanized bastion, the Syrian-Greek city of Antioch, to the shores of barbarian Gaul. But, now, stationed in the Greek Isles, everything falls apart when his powerful friend and patron turns on him. Abandoned and alone, Judah decides to return to his native land, Judea, where he has been invited by an old childhood friend, he hasn’t seen in years, to join their struggle against the Roman yoke.
The people of his native land have recently rose in rebellion seeking their freedom; a way out from under the thumb of Roman imperialism. Fighters are massing in Jerusalem and the leaders of the movement have even begun to issue their own coin. However, when the Roman campaign of reprisal finally begins, the rebels are proven to be no match for the Roman invaders. Before Judah even arrived, Vespasian and his legions have swept through the land like lightning, retaking the Galilee in under a year. Now, as Judah arrives home amongst his former people, he arrives to find Jerusalem already stands alone. Together with the Jerusalemites, he must revitalize a defeated cause.
The situation he has entered could not have looked more grim. The factions in Jerusalem are eating each other alive, tearing each other apart in their quest for control over their nations course. Grizzled brigands have seized control from those who are reasonable minded. It seems, none of the powerful leaders left, are noble men. Under the looming prospect, of a siege, which surely must come, the quest to quell the brigands and marshal the spirit of Jerusalem is on. Judah will find, a stout sword arm is not enough, nor will his well trained military mind, alone, get him through the siege. He will need to learn local politics, if he expects to survive in Jerusalem and see this deadly struggle through, until the bitter end.
As armed factions vie for power, there are still those in Jerusalem who seek to build a nation. Judah will discover, however, that not everybody in the holy city shares the same vision for what it means to be a Judean. In Jerusalem, they wrestle with important questions? Is shared ancestry enough to unite a fragmented people? Or does it take, a unified identity, or perhaps religion, to keep disparate groups together? however they solve the equation, the citizens of Jerusalem must come up with an answer; what does it take to forge a nation?
Through it all, Judah is personally adrift, practically a stranger in his own country. It is a land bristling with strange habits and customs he hasn’t seen since childhood; brimming with a religious zeal of a kind, Judah hasn’t encountered in any of his many travels. As ever, Judah finds himself alone. Why does he sometimes feel he has neither a nation, nor a home? Will he always be a traveler in life whisking into one place and flying out in an array of violence. Is he destined to stand for nothing, to possess no identity? Read the book and find out How to build a nation but more importantly how to build a man!
Oh, and of course remember, as Long as the great Temple stands how can Jerusalem fall?