Scythian Trilogy Book 3: Funeral in Babylon

by Max Overton

  "I cannot remain here, under Perdikkas. I'll leave for Egypt tomorrow." Ptolemy's eyes crinkled at the edges and his gaze softened. "I like Egypt, I felt safe there. Alexander loved it too."

  Nikometros nodded. "I'll be sorry to lose you, sir. I've enjoyed your company these past months."

  Ptolemy glanced at Tomyra and Timon then at Nikometros. He lowered his voice. "Then come to Egypt. There'll always be a place for you."

  "I'd like that. What do you think, Tomyra?"

  "Your decision, my husband. I'll follow you anywhere."

  "What of Perdikkas?" Nikometros asked. "Will he just let me go?"

  Ptolemy sat down on the edge of the bed. "There is another small service you can render, lad, if you're willing to stay in Babylon awhile. You remember the old Egyptian Ket?"

  "Ketherennoferptah!" Tomyra cried, clapping her hands. "I haven't seen him in a long time. How is he?"

  "He's back in Egypt at the moment, making arrangements. They concern you too, should you be willing. Though I must warn you, there's an element of danger."

  Nikometros gave a vague lop-sided shrug, the muscles on his left side not responding well. "Life has an element of danger. You intrigue me, sir."

  Ptolemy smiled. "Just as in life men stayed close to Alexander, drawing on his fire and energy, so too in death. Perdikkas is already benefiting from being the custodian of Alexander's body. When it is properly embalmed and everything in readiness, he plans to take the body back to Macedon and inter it with the ancient kings of Macedon. You know why?"

  "To honour him?" Tomyra ventured.

  "Yes, but for another reason also."

  "A king buries his predecessor," Timon said slowly. "He seeks the kingship."

  "I don't intend to let him do that," Ptolemy said.

  "You want to be king?" Nikometros asked. "I didn't think you were interested."

  "Not the whole kingdom, only Egypt. You remember, Nikometros. You were with Alexander and I in Egypt. You were at Siwah when the god Ammon claimed Alexander as his son. Alexander was pharaoh in Egypt. I mean to take him there and bury him in a tomb befitting a pharaoh."

  "And by burying him, proclaiming yourself pharaoh after him," Timon said.

  "That too," Ptolemy said equably. "However, I believe it's what Alexander himself would want. Ket believes it too; else he wouldn't help me. He's in Alexander's city of Alexandria now, making plans for a glorious golden tomb and temple for his worship. Think of it, a king in a gold coffin carved with his features and laid in a golden tomb for eternity, bringing prosperity to all who worship at his shrine."

  "The Golden King," Tomyra whispered. "It's the prophecy."

  Nikometros felt a shiver of awe at her words. "How...what is my part in this?"

  "The body, when it leaves for Macedon, will be accompanied by enormous riches as burial gifts. A large armed guard will go with it. Now, if I'm to...ah...persuade them to part with this prize, without bloodshed if possible, I must have an advantage. That's where you come in. Perdikkas trusts you; I believe you can be made commander of this funeral procession without too much trouble. The men love you. They'll follow you if you lead them into Egypt."

  Nikometros lay still, trying to digest this possible future. He looked up at his wife and his friend.

  "Follow the Golden King, Niko," Tomyra stated. "It is fated."

  "Aye, Niko," rumbled Timon. "What else is there for you here? Would you follow a man like Perdikkas or like Ptolemy?"

  "You know as well as I, Nikometros..." Ptolemy said softly. "...that an illegitimate son cannot inherit, but I have need of a talented soldier, one trained under Alexander. Come to Egypt, my son. My army needs a trusted and experienced general."

  Nikometros grinned. He leaned forward and gripped Ptolemy's hand tightly. "You have one, sir. I will bring Alexander to you in Egypt."

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  Postscript

  Alexander's funeral cart was reckoned one of the wonders of its age. The embalmed body, encased in gold and precious stones lay in a richly worked temple of expensive carved woods and was transported in a great wagon that required sixty-four mules to pull it.

  It left Babylon over a year after Alexander's death and moved slowly through the Persian Empire toward Hellespont and Macedon. Crowds lined the route, eager to catch a glimpse of the Golden King.

  As it passed through Syria, Ptolemy met the procession with his army. Without bloodshed, he persuaded the escort to part with their charge and escorted the embalmed body in its golden temple, south into Egypt. Ptolemy installed Alexander temporarily in the Egyptian city of Memphis while his tomb and temple were completed in Alexandria. When it was ready, the body of Alexander was laid to rest amid great ceremony and rejoicing.

  Nikometros fulfilled his promise by delivering Alexander's body to Egypt. He became General of the Egyptian army and, though he never fully recovered the use of his left arm, lived a full and successful life, defending Egypt against its enemies for many years.

  Tomyra went on to have the son conceived in Babylon's Paradise, as well as several others. The power of the Goddess left her as she had foreseen, but it soon became evident that the power had transferred to her daughter Starissa.

  Starissa became a priestess of the Egyptian goddess, Isis. The worship of Isis altered somewhat under her aegis, taking on overtones of Greek and Scythian customs.

  Timon and Bithyia stayed close. Timon retired from active military life a few years after moving to Egypt and he took on a new role as tutor to Nikometros' first-born son, as well as his own. Bithyia bore no other children. She channelled her energies into guarding the new priestess of the Mother Goddess.

  Tirses remained faithful until his death nearly ten years later. He was killed in battle while protecting his general's back. He was entombed with honour in the family tomb in Alexandria.

  Parates disappeared, though a trader and entrepreneur somewhat reminiscent of the man emerged a few years later in northern Persia, along the borders of Scythia. Here, the similarity ends, however, as this new trader openly followed the teachings of Ahura-Mazda and was known to be fair and honest in all his dealings.

  Caius Valerius Gracchus, the Roman praefect, remained under house arrest in Babylon. Eventually, Perdikkas brought him to trial as an accomplice but Caius evaded justice by falling on his sword.

  The Empire disintegrated after Alexander's death. His successors reverted to the old pattern of tribal and family squabbles that marked the early history of Macedon.

  Roxane, the Sogdian, bore a son who became Alexander the Fourth. She immediately set about killing off her chief rival, Stateira, Alexander's queen, and her unborn child. The young Alexander and Philip Arridaios became joint kings, ruled by the Regents.

  Krateros died early and Kassandros took the throne in Macedon. Philip Arridaios was murdered by Alexander the Great's mother, Olympias, who was in turn murdered by Kassandros. Kassandros also murdered Roxane and Alexander seven years later.

  Ptolemy reigned in Egypt, his dynasty ending three hundred years later when Rome conquered Egypt and Cleopatra (Ptolemy's descendant) committed suicide.

  Perdikkas attempted to recover Alexander's body but failed and his officers killed him. One of his officers, Seleukos, eventually became king in Babylon and left his kingdom to his son Antiochus.

  Another general, Antigonus the satrap of Phrygia, also carved himself out a kingdom, as did other officers such as Eumenes and Leonnatos.

  Peukestas was satisfied to remain as a satrap of Persia. He allied himself with various generals and kings if he perceived them to have genuine Macedonian interests, eventually joining with Eumenes against Antigonus and was defeated. He retired from public life and apparently lived to a ripe old age.

  Following Alexander's death and the dissolution of his empire, the proposed invasion of Europe never took place. Rome grew in power and eventually conquered the scattered remnants of Alexander's empire. The world would be a very different pl
ace if Rome had been conquered by Macedon.

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  About The Author

  Max Overton has travelled extensively and lived in many places around the world--including Malaysia, India, Germany, England, Jamaica, New Zealand, USA and Australia. Trained in the biological sciences in New Zealand and Australia, he has worked within the scientific field for many years, but now concentrates on writing. While predominantly a writer of historical fiction (Scarab: Books 1-6 of the Amarnan Kings; the Scythian Trilogy; the Demon Series; Ascension), he also writes in other genres (A Cry of Shadows, the Glass Trilogy, Haunted Trail, Sequestered) and draws on true life (Adventures of a Small Game Hunter in Jamaica, We Came From Königsberg). Max also maintains an interest in butterflies, photography, the paranormal and other aspects of Fortean Studies.

  Most of his other published books are available at Writers Exchange Ebooks, http://www.writers-exchange.com/Max-Overton.html and all his books may be viewed on his website:

  http://www.maxovertonauthor.com

  Max's book covers are all designed and created by Julie Napier, and other examples of her art and photography may be viewed at www.julienapier.com

  If you enjoyed this author's book, then please place a review up at Amazon and any social media sites you frequent!

  If you want to read more about books by this author, they are listed on the following pages...

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  Other Books By This Author

  A Cry of Shadows

  {Paranormal Murder Mystery}

  Australian Professor Ian Delaney is single-minded in his determination to prove his theory that one can discover the moment that the life force leaves the body. After succumbing to the temptation to kill a girl under scientifically controlled conditions, he takes an offer of work in St Louis, hoping to leave the undiscovered crime behind him.

  In America, Wayne Richardson seeks revenge by killing his ex-girlfriend, believing it will give him the upper hand, a means to seize control following their breakup. Wayne quickly discovers that he enjoys killing and begins to seek out young women who resemble his dead ex-girlfriend.

  Ian and Wayne meet, and when Ian recognizes the symptoms of violent delusion he employs Wayne to help him further his research. Despite the police closing in, the two killers manage to evade identification as the death toll rises.

  John Barnes, the detective in charge of the case, is frantic, willing to try anything to catch his killer. With time running out, he looks desperately for answers. Will John get them before it's too late?

  Publisher ebook page: http://www.writers-exchange.com/A-Cry-of-Shadows.html

  Amazon (ebook and print): http://mybook.to/ACryOfShadows

  AmazonSmile (US Region): https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00E96DIDM

  * * *

  Adventures of a Small Game Hunter in Jamaica

  {Biography}

  An eleven-year-old boy is plucked from boarding school in England and transported to the tropical paradise of Jamaica. A shy and dreamy boy, he has one great love in his life--butterflies. He discovers that Jamaica has a wealth of these wonderful insects and sets about making a collection of as many as he can find. Along the way, he has adventures with many other creatures, from hummingbirds to vultures, from iguanas to black widow spiders, and through it all runs the promise of the legendary Homerus swallowtail, Jamaica's national butterfly.

  Other activities intrude, like school, boxing and swimming lessons, but he manages to inveigle his parents into taking him to strange and sometimes dangerous places, all in the name of butterfly collecting. He meets scientists and Rastafarians, teachers, small boys and the ordinary people of this tropical isle, and even discovers butterflies that should not exist in Jamaica.

  I was that young boy. I count myself fortunate to have lived in Jamaica in an age very different from our present one. I still have some of the butterflies I collected half a century or more ago, and each one releases a flood of memories every time I open the box and gaze at their tattered and fading wings. These memories have become stories--stories of the Adventures of a Small Game Hunter in Jamaica.

  Publisher ebook page: http://www.writers-exchange.com/Adventures-of-a-Small-Game-Hunter.html

  Amazon: http://myBook.to/AdventuresGameHunter

  AmazonSmile (US Region): https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01AC7HJ2M

  * * *

  Ascension Series

  {Historical: Holocaust}

  Book 1: Ascension

  A small boy discovers that being a Jew in Germany can be a dangerous thing. Fear prompts Konrad Wengler to put his faith aside and he tries desperately to forget his heritage.

  He fights in the Great War and is wounded, becomes a policeman in his tiny Bavarian town, where he falls under the spell of the fledgling Nazi Party. He joins the Party in patriotic fervour and becomes a Lieutenant of Police and Schutzstaffel (SS).

  In the course of his duties as policeman, he offends a powerful Nazi official, who starts an SS investigation of this troublesome police Lieutenant. When war breaks out, he joins the Police Battalions and is sent to Poland where he has to witness the atrocities being committed upon his fellow Jews.

  The SS investigators have discovered Konrad's origins and follow him into Poland. He is arrested and sent to Mauthausen Concentration Camp. Suddenly, Konrad must face what it means to be a Jew and fight for survival. He has friends on the outside, a wife and a lawyer, but will they be enough to counter the might of the Nazi machine?

  Publisher ebook page: http://www.writers-exchange.com/Ascension.html

  Amazon (ebook and print): http://mybook.to/Ascension1

  AmazonSmile (US Region): https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00DPGT4QM

  Book 2: Maelstrom

  Konrad Wengler has survived his brush with the death camps of Nazi Germany, and has been reinstated as a police officer in his home town despite being a Jew. He throws himself back into his work, seeking to uncover the evidence that will remove a corrupt Nazi party official, but underestimates his enemy. The Gestapo have their own agenda, and despite orders from above to eliminate this troublesome Jewish policeman, they hide him in the Totenkopf (Death's Head) Division of the Waffen-SS.

  Now Konrad must fight to survive in the snowy wastes of Russia as the tide of war turns against Germany. He experiences tank battles, ghetto clearances, partisans, and death camps (this time as a guard), as well as the fierce battles where his Division is badly outnumbered and on the defence.

  Through it all, he must try to live by his conscience and resist taking part in the atrocities happening all around him. He still thinks of himself as a policeman, but his desire to bring the corrupt official to justice now seems far removed from his present reality. Konrad must first survive if he is to find the necessary evidence.

  Publisher ebook page: http://www.writers-exchange.com/Maelstrom.html

  Amazon (ebook and print): http://mybook.to/Ascension2

  AmazonSmile (US Region): https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01M64ZQMD

  * * *

  Fall of the House of Ramesses

  {Historical: Ancient Egypt}

  Book 1: Merenptah

  Egypt was at the height of its powers in the days of Ramesses the Great and the young king confidently predicted that his House would last for a Thousand Years. Sixty years later he was still on the throne and one by one his heirs had died and the survivors had become old men. When he at last died, he left a stagnant kingdom and his throne to an old man - Merenptah. What followed laid the groundwork for a nation ripped apart by civil war.

  The northern tribes rebelled and joined forces with the Sea Peoples, invading from the north; while in the south the king's eldest son, angered at being passed over in favour of the younger son, plotted to rid himself of his father and brother. An ageing king takes to the field to fight for the House of Ramesses.

  Publisher ebook page: http://www.writers-exchange.com/Merenptah.html

  Amazon (
ebook and print): http://mybook.to/FOTHR1

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  Book 2: Seti

  Merenptah is dead after only nine years on the throne and his son Seti is king in his place. He rules from the northern city of Men-nefer, while his elder brother Messuwy, convinced the throne is his by right, plots rebellion in the south.

  The kingdoms are tipped into bloody civil war, with brother fighting against brother for the throne of a united Egypt. On one side is Messuwy, now crowned as King Amenmesse and his ruthless General Sethi; on the other, young King Seti and his wife Tausret. But other men are weighing up the chances of wresting the throne from both brothers and becoming king in their place. The House of Ramesses crumbles under the onslaught.

  Publisher ebook page: http://www.writers-exchange.com/Seti.html

  Amazon (ebook and print): http://mybook.to/FOTHR2

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  Book 3: Tausret

  The House of Ramesses falters as Tausret relinquishes the throne upon the death of her husband, King Seti. Amenmesse's young son Siptah will become king until her infant son is old enough to rule. Tausret, as Regent, and the king's uncle, Chancellor Bay, hold tight to the reins of power, and vie for complete control of the kingdoms. Assassination changes the balance of power and Chancellor Bay attempts a coup...

  Tausret's troubles mount as she also faces a challenge from Setnakhte, an aging son of the Great Ramesses who believes Seti was the last legitimate king. If Setnakhte gets his way, he will destroy the House of Ramesses and set up his own dynasty of kings.

  Publisher ebook page: http://www.writers-exchange.com/Tausret.html

  Amazon (ebook and print): http://mybook.to/FOTHR3