Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 821 The more the Jews spoke ill of Cleopatra, the more it proved she was right.

In classical times, writing was very popular. Besides professional scholars, many other people also wrote for various purposes.

A prime example of these authors is Julius Caesar, one of Rome's most famous figures. During his campaign in Gaul, Caesar diligently kept records and wrote, documenting his conquests and his observations of the local landscape, geography, and customs, which resulted in the famous "Commentaries on the Gallic War."

The original purpose of this work was Caesar's annual report to the Senate. Therefore, although Caesar himself wrote it, recounting his personal experiences, he did not use the first person. Wherever he mentioned himself, he used the third person pronouns such as "Caesar" and "he," ensuring that the entire book remained free of subjective tone and personal emotion, maintaining its objective narrative and calm analysis. For the same reason, the volumes of *The Gallic Wars* are also arranged chronologically, with each year's events compiled into a separate volume for serialization.

However, although it was a work report, Caesar's writing was clear and precise, demonstrating his skill in narrating various political and military events, and he was already quite famous at the time. Even his political enemies had to admit that the book was well-written. Moreover, Caesar was the first Roman to personally venture into western and northern Outer Gaul, and even to Britain and Germanic regions. He witnessed firsthand the local landscapes and customs, providing the Romans with invaluable firsthand information.

Therefore, although not a professional author, this masterpiece still left a huge reputation. Caesar himself astutely seized this opportunity to use the work's influence to counterattack attacks from his political enemies. So, besides its narrative, the book also serves as a political commentary.

Although he deliberately maintained a third-person perspective to make the narrative appear objective and neutral, Caesar would occasionally interject with a few words to express his own views. Or rather, it was precisely because these narratives appeared calm and impartial that they were more conducive to his political propaganda. He constantly used "storytelling" to remind everyone that, although some in the Senate were spreading rumors and slandering him, he was Rome's most important protector, always in the north helping them resist the troublesome barbarians and maintaining peace and tranquility in the heart of Rome.

Therefore, in describing various events, Caesar was actually constantly presenting readers with a carefully crafted image of himself. Furthermore, he was adept at controlling the pace, always using concise and memorable strokes at crucial moments to mention his vital role in these arduous battles. This can be seen as a form of propaganda skill, successfully garnering him widespread support.

During his seven years in Gaul, Caesar wrote seven books. Later, preoccupied with preparing to return to Italy, he had no time to continue writing, leaving his deputy to complete the eighth year's serialization. Some even suggest that Caesar himself considered continuing the series due to the success of this propaganda method. However, the Gallo-Pacific War had barely ended when Caesar began preparing for the civil war. Shortly after defeating Pompey, he himself was assassinated. Therefore, because the author was effectively killed after a prolonged period of inactivity, the subsequent serialization was never resumed…

This shows that, whether driven by interest or practical purpose, such writings at the time had a considerable impact and influence. Caesar's lover, Cleopatra, also engaged in a series of writings, but she primarily documented her research, writing relatively little about politics and military affairs.

Contrary to the Roman perception, Cleopatra was primarily seen by the locals as a highly intelligent figure, renowned for her contributions as a physician and apothecary. Furthermore, unlike Caesar, her works continued to be updated even after her death…

There are at least several "pseudo-Cleopatras" that have been verified by contemporaries. Among them is a "Physician Cleopatra," who lived roughly in the late first century and may have been a local Egyptian female physician. She was quite famous at the time, and even the renowned physician Galen cited her research findings. There is also a "Cleopatra the Alchemist," and a physician who wrote a treatise on gynecology and also claimed to be Cleopatra, and so on.

The timeframe and scope of these individuals' activities were also very broad. Moreover, since Cleopatra herself, or "Pharaoh Cleopatra," also studied pharmacology and medicine, the true authors of some works are actually quite difficult to identify.

Later apothecaries compiled numerous prescriptions attributed to Cleopatra for perfumes, beauty treatments, and hair dyes, some of which scholars believe to be the queen's own creation. For example, several prescriptions are claimed to have been developed by her for treating baldness. Classical Roman scholars firmly believed this, while later generations have expressed doubts and cannot reach a consensus. Perhaps later scholars have better research capabilities, while the ancient Romans understood better why baldness needed to be treated…

In fact, Cleopatra's negative image is closely related to these studies. Guo Kang reported that a popular story said Cleopatra would experiment on women sentenced to death. First, she would give them poisonous drugs to "empty their uteruses." After this pretreatment, she would have her male servants, such as Rep, impregnate these women and, using her medical knowledge, predict the sex of the fetus. After a period of time, around 40 days, she would cut open the female prisoner's abdomen to confirm the prediction. It is said that she was quite skilled in this, almost never making a mistake, thus projecting the image of a "mad scientist."

However, Egyptian Islamic scholars did not believe this account. After research, they discovered that the earliest records of this story originated from the Jewish people. The main plot was also narrated in the Jewish classic, the Talmud.

During Cleopatra's reign, the Jewish kingdom was also flourishing. Under King Herod, the Jewish kingdom expanded in all directions, entering Syria to the north, crossing the Jordan River to the east, and vying with Egypt for control of the Sinai Peninsula to the south. These actions created irreconcilable geopolitical conflicts with Egypt, leading to numerous clashes. Therefore, it's understandable that the Jews wouldn't like Cleopatra. These strange claims are clearly fabricated.

On the other hand, Egyptian Islamists generally liked this person, with some even viewing her as a positive figure. Even during the centuries of Islam's occupation of Egypt, female physicians continued to publish works under this pseudonym from time to time. Some books even appeared to be written by male authors. Perhaps because it was considered somewhat shameful for men to research gynecology and cosmetics, they simply used this name to publish anonymously…

Therefore, many people don't believe this story, and some may even harbor resentment, implying that "the more the Jews say bad things about her, the more it proves she was right"... Guo Kang's report also disagrees with the Jewish perspective. He believes that while Cleopatra's experimental procedure in the story is quite rigorous, the result is definitely incorrect. Because she acted too early, it would be impossible to determine the sex of the fetus at that stage. Clearly, this story was fabricated by someone who doesn't understand the subject.

Moreover, these kinds of stories seemed familiar to him, because there were similar tales of "wicked noblewomen tormenting pregnant women" in Seris. He didn't know why, despite being so far apart, even the themes were so similar, insisting on targeting pregnant women…

According to Guo Kang's investigation, this Nefisa had also published some mathematical works under the name "Cleopatra." Guo Kang was somewhat surprised by this and reported to the church, wondering how, after so many years, "Cleopatra's" research scope had continued to expand…

However, despite the complaints, Guo Kang didn't object to this aspect; on the contrary, he thought it was a good thing, and even seemed to have improved his impression of her considerably because of it. As for the church's biggest concerns—whether the woman had any ulterior motives or was being instructed by someone—Guo Kang simply stated that there were no problems.

He told the church that he had been through the Li Xuanying incident and was therefore experienced. According to his extensive investigation, Tuohuan's situation this time was much simpler than Li Xuanying's. He believed that as long as things took their natural course, there wouldn't be any problems.

In his letter, he also said that we shouldn't be so sensitive because of an Egyptian woman. Whether Cleopatra was there or not, Caesar would have broken with the Senate anyway; she herself didn't actually have that much influence on the situation at the time—whether positive or negative. Similarly, someone like Antony, whose actions were inherently absurd, could create problems that Caesar and Cleopatra didn't. Essentially, he lacked both power and the right character; he would have caused the same trouble anywhere else.

Furthermore, upon closer analysis, Cleopatra wasn't Egyptian, but rather Greek in a broader sense. It would be more accurate to say we should be wary of Greek women than Egyptian women. On this matter, I doubt he needs to elaborate further.

Some in the church, following classical ideas, believe that we should be wary of "Eastern" women. But this concept is both too broad and too narrow.

If we're looking at the concept of "Eastern," then Seres could be considered part of the East, making the concept too broad and vague, and ultimately meaningless. But if we're referring to "beware of women," then only being wary of Eastern women is too narrow a scope—it's not just Greek, Persian, or Seresian women who cause trouble and harm the country; are there few "Western" women among them?
Putting everything else aside, recently, the French here have been pessimistically telling him that as long as Queen Isabella remains in power, the country is doomed. This issue, it seems, transcends geographical and ethnic boundaries…

Guo Kang concluded by stating that he has always maintained that, if conditions permit, it is best not to grant anyone power beyond their capabilities. This issue is even more pronounced for women. In those days, many men climbed the ranks through war and examinations; while women gained status primarily through lineage and marriage, with little to do with their own abilities.

In Rome, many men benefited from their birth and attained higher positions. But even a scion of a noble family like himself could not hesitate for a moment when war was needed; he had to fight to the death against the enemy. In his family, every branch and generation had members who died for their country on the battlefield, and often more than one. It may sound harsh, but in Rome's current environment of constant warfare, if one lacked ability, it was better to relinquish the right to inherit a noble family and become a wealthy man—would women face such severe tests and selection?

Guo Kang argues that, from this perspective, the vast majority of women are unhappy. This unhappiness lies in the fact that they are surrounded by almost irresistible temptations. They are not required to strive upwards, but only encouraged to slide down to bliss. By the time they realize they have been fooled by a mirage, it is too late; their strength has been exhausted in the failed adventure. Therefore, these women have effectively lost a considerable portion of their sociality and the capabilities they should possess as citizens—in other words, as Aristotle and others described them, they are merely "big children," unable to become complete citizens capable of fulfilling their responsibilities.

Why are women in this situation? It's because at the current stage of social development, the various technologies and sociological tools developed by humankind are insufficient to provide adequate assistance to compensate for women's inherent disadvantages compared to men. Therefore, society cannot assign them truly challenging tasks and thereby grant them genuine civil rights; otherwise, society as a whole would suffer unbearable losses.

He specifically reminded everyone that being a woman is not just a gender, but a "state," a person's position in society. Therefore, according to this theory, it is reasonable not to grant women full civil rights. Because their position is not that of a normal citizen, they should not receive corresponding treatment.

If some women, like men, demonstrate abilities beyond those of ordinary women and approaching those of men through war or trials, then in a sociological sense, they have already escaped the situation of women and are essentially men—such people can be regarded as men, what philosophers call "honorable men."

So, who can decide whether these women receive fair treatment or cause chaos? In Guo Kang's view, it's ultimately up to the men. Ultimately, regardless of East or West, women causing these problems stems from men's excessive indulgence. However, Guo Kang has great confidence in Tuohuan. He believes there's no need to worry about these things, because Tuohuan understands how to manage people even better than he does. With these women in his hands, there won't be any trouble.

(End of this chapter)