**Previously Titled 'Kingdom of the Damned: Rebellion in Judea'**In the year 66 A.D. the Roman province of Judea exploded in rebellion. Far from being a revolution of unified peoples, the various Jewish factions of Sadducees, Zealots, Sicarii, and Edomites are in a state of civil war; as anxious to spill the blood of each other as they are to fight the Romans.The Judeans find hope when the Romans commit a serious tactical blunder and allow their forces to be ambushed and nearly destroyed in the mountain pass of Beth Horon. Following the disaster, Emperor Nero recalls to active service Flavius Vespasian, the legendary general who had been instrumental in the conquest of Britannia twenty-three years before.In the northern region of Galilee, a young Judean commander named Josephus ben Matthias readies his forces to face the coming onslaught. A social and political moderate, he fears the extremely violent Zealot fanatics, who threaten to overthrow the newly-established government in Jerusalem, as much as he does the Romans.Soon Vespasian, a tactical and strategic genius who had never been defeated in battle, unleashes his huge army upon Galilee. His orders are to crush the rebellion and exact the harshest of punishments upon those who would violate the Peace of Rome. Lacking the manpower and resources to face the legions in open battle, Josephus knows he will need plenty of cunning, ingenuity, and, perhaps, even the intervention of God Himself, lest the once proud Kingdoms of Judah and Israel should become a kingdom of the damned.**This is the re-release of a title that was previously called, "Kingdom of the Damned: Rebellion in Judea". Please note that the content of the book has not been changed.**
It is July of 67 A.D. The brutal, forty-seven day siege of the rebel stronghold of Jotapata, in Galilee, has ended. The Roman armies of Vespasian destroyed the city and captured the leader of the resistance, Josephus ben Matthias. While being interrogated by the Roman commanding general, Josephus makes a bold prediction; Nero’s reign grows short and, in time, Vespasian himself will rise to become emperor. Intrigued, while also viewing the Jewish general as a great source of intelligence, Vespasian spares his life. He then unleashes a hell storm of fury upon the rest of Galilee and into Judea itself.In Jerusalem, the fall of Jotapata is a tragic loss, with Josephus presumed dead and venerated as a martyr. The moderate government under Hanan ben Hanan is greatly weakened as a result of the defeat, with the various extremists seeking to install their own leaders as head of the Jewish State. The rival zealot factions soon become embroiled in a bitter and extremely violent civil war, oblivious or uncaring about the common enemy that is laying waste to the land.Three thousand miles away, Rome is in a constant state of political turmoil. Vespasian attempts to stay above the fray, intent on finishing off the rebellious zealots, yet with Josephus’ prophetic words ever-echoing in his mind.