The Landlord of Judaea – Vespasian #26

Bassus is mopping up the last Jewish holdouts in Judaea, and things go about as well as you’d expect for everyone who isn’t a Roman. The defenders of Machaerus negotiate a deal to walk free…. turns out the Gentiles living below the fortress weren’t included in that deal. Then Vespasian, ever the pragmatist, declares all of Judaea his personal property and slaps a permanent tax on Jews everywhere in the empire. Not governing Judaea. Owning it.