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Category: The Stars in their Courses

  • Siege Warfare, Then and Now

    Image result for siege warfare assyrians

    Historian Barbara Tuchman wrote a book titled A Distant Mirror, about how we can see ourselves in 14th Century politics. I found the same is true when looking at the 9th Century BCE. For example, we’re still engaged in siege warfare.

    From ancient Assyria to modern Iraq, now to Venezuela, and probably next to Iran, the weaponry and some of the tactics have changed, but the basic principles remain the same. Surround your opponents and try to starve them out. Then, when they have exhausted their stores and are in a weakened condition, break through the fortifications, kill anyone who resists (and plenty of those who don’t), take prisoners, loot whatever valuables you can carry off. And if you are building an empire, be really vicious to the defeated. Make an example of them so no one else dares to resist you. I described such an event in the first novel of the Jezebel trilogy, The Throne in the Heart of the Sea.

    Below is the Assyrian king’s account of his destruction of the rebellious city of Halupu (warning—it makes for very unpleasant reading):

    In the valor of my heart and with the fury of my weapons I stormed the city. All the rebels they seized and delivered them up…I built a pillar…and I flayed all the chief men who had revolted, and I covered the pillar with their skins; some I walled up within the pillar, some I impaled upon the pillar on stakes, and others I bound to stakes round about the pillar; many within the border of my own land I flayed, and I spread their skins upon the walls. As for the chiefs and royal officers who had rebelled, I cut off their members…

    But the besiegers don’t always win. If they did, nobody would have bothered to build fortified cities in the first place. Often the attackers are driven off or give up and go home for one reason or another. Sometimes both sides are able to negotiate an agreement. The agreement may require paying tribute to the besiegers and becoming a vassal state. I described a couple of unsuccessful sieges in the second novel of the Jezebel trilogy, The Stars in Their Courses, with two more in my upcoming novel, A Meteor Shower. (It will be published this year.) The passages are considerably less bloody, but too lengthy to quote here.

    Here’s how this works out in the 21st Century. The idea is to expend minimum force to get the maximum result. Let’s say a small nation wants to go its own way rather than allow its resources to be drained as tribute to a more powerful nation (the U.S. in this case, or rather our corporations). When possible, the C.I.A. may sponsor a coup. If that doesn’t work, the empire imposes “sanctions.” That is, instead of deploying our troops to encircle a city, we cut off trade. We deprive an entire nation of food, medical supplies, parts to repair broken equipment, etc. We encourage the inhabitants to blame their suffering on their own government and rebel against it, hoping that they’ll replace it with a puppet administration. Blasting propaganda over the airwaves is much more efficient than having heralds shout demands for surrender. Then, if all else fails, we catapult large rocks over the walls of the city—oops, send in the B-2 bombers—and when these have had the desired effect, follow up with ground troops.

    Propaganda is as important as any other weapon in the arsenal. It works best when aimed in both directions, at the people we’re trying to conquer and at our own citizens, to justify the war. We have to convince our people that the “enemy” is so terrible, so much of a threat, that it’s worth spending our treasure and sacrificing a few (thousand) of our own soldiers to defeat them.

    And this brings us back to Venezuela: a socialist government under Hugo Chavez was elected in 1998. Venezuela began to assert control over its own oil reserves—remember, it has the largest such reserves in the world. Subsequently there were several failed coup attempts, which may or may not have been sponsored by the U.S.; in any case, certain public figures in this country repeatedly called for Chavez’ assassination.

    In more recent years, we imposed sanctions, resulting in widespread hunger. The reason we gave was human rights violations. (Note that we have not imposed sanctions on the nation with the second largest oil reserves, that great champion of human rights—Saudi Arabia.) Now we have an unelected puppet-in-waiting to be named president once the current regime is overthrown.

    Week after week, for many months now, the mainstream media has been publishing articles about how terrible the Venezuelan government is. Occasional op-ed pieces try to justify U.S. military intervention. Various anti-war organizations have spoken in opposition, just as they did prior to our invasion of Iraq. Maybe they will succeed this time. I try to remain hopeful, despite what I know about the history of empire.

     

  • Reviews, and a Holiday Sale!

    hanukkah

    I’ve just had both books reviewed by Amos Lassen, a gay activist and scholar of Jewish history. A somewhat abridged version of the reviews is below. And these came just in time for the holidays! So I’m announcing a special holiday sale of the second volume, The Stars in their Courses. Normally you can buy it at this website for $15 plus postage, but from now until the end of December, it is $10 flat–but only if you send a check for that amount to Ebisu Publications, 9026 N. Syracuse Street, Portland OR 97203. Please note that since I am out of town until November 20, all books will be mailed out starting on November 21. Here are the reviews:

    The Throne in the Heart of the Sea: Tyre was a major maritime empire in the Ninth Century, B.C.E (for those of you who are not aware, Jewish readers of the Bible and history do not use the initials B.C. but rather B.C.E. referring to that period as Before the Common Era). The king’s daughter, Jezebel, feels that the gods have chosen her to rule Tyre. Elijah, an Israelite farm boy, is bitter and swears to avenge his father’s death at the hands of the king [of Israel].

    There is another character, Tamar, a poor, dark-skinned young woman who yearned to be a scribe yet who is also a lover to Jezebel.

    I am totally in awe of author Martha Shelley ’s prose and her command of Biblical facts here and I cannot even imagine the amount of research that went into the writing of this book.

    We enter the worlds of Ancient Israel and Canaan as well as the lives of the three main characters. It was a world ruled by men and for men and to challenge required great strength and self-assuredness. What Shelley has done here is create characters that although they lived at a very different time in history, somehow seem to be quite contemporary and whose lives mirror ours to a degree. Jezebel, for example, dared to question her father and, in effect, doing so made her also question the status quo. As readers, we get to watch her development just as we watch Elijah transform from an Israelite farm boy into a prophet. (All I can say is WOW!!!).

    I have spent a great of my life studying the Hebrew Bible (The Five Books of Moses) and Elijah has always been one of the most mysterious characters in it but here he comes to life and seems so real that I believe everything he says and does. The three major characters come across as being very real and there was a moment when I looked up from the pages of the book and expected them to be in my study with me. I also must mention that the prose is gorgeous. This is a book that must be read. It is not often that we get a treat like this and the best news of all is that there are another two volumes to complete the trilogy.

    The Stars in Their Courses: In Book II of her Jezebel trilogy, Martha Shelley gives us a large story of sexual politics and religious wars as well as the clash of empires. Once again we go back to the ninth century; this time to the Levant and once again we see the characters that we read about here much differently than we see in the Bible. Our main characters are Jezebel, Elijah, Tamar and her guard Bez. Bez is a mutarajjul, a woman dressed in male clothing who usually works as a soldier or harem guard.

    At the beginning of the book, Tamar is in Egypt with Bez. She has come to further pursue her studies in medicine. Jezebel who had been her lover is now married to Ahab, king of Israel. She knows that if she wants to keep her position, she must give birth to an heir. She also flirts with the women in her husband’s harem. It seems that Elijah, by accident, has begun a massacre and is now on the hit list as the most wanted and dangerous man in Israel. When Ahab is away at war Jezebel takes over the reigns of government. The characters come together in various ways and eventually they will have to deal with Assyria, the mightiest and strongest empire in the world. We see how the characters came to their places in history as well as how they lived their daily lives. We also learn a bit about how they were psychologically— their loves and their hates, what they thought and how they became part of history.

    This is a sequel but it is not necessary to have read the first book as this stands on its own. The paths of the characters change in this second volume. There is a lot of drama and a lot of adventure here. There is also a great deal of tension that the reader feels as we move toward the war that has been brewing but to which the characters seem oblivious at times.

    Shelley brings history and fiction together and makes it a bit difficult (and a bit fun) to decide which is which. Her research is impressive and she uses it beautifully to weave the stories of these characters. I have one problem with this book is that I have to wait for the third volume and knowing that is a trilogy that will be the end.

    Now I have a bit of confession. I have always considered myself something of a gay activist and I know many others who were far more active and vocal than me. However, I ashamedly admit, that I had not heard of Martha Shelley before and after reading about who she is, I am a bit embarrassed to not have known. But now I know that she has been of the leaders in our liberation movement and an excellent writer to boot. She is a marvel of a person and I am so proud to have met her through her writing.

  • Books for the Holidays

    StarsCoverForKindle

    The holidays are coming. What better present than a book? You can purchase The Throne in the Heart of the Sea and The Stars in their Courses in three ways: if you live in Portland, you can go to St. Johns Booksellers. Both books are also available through the publisher’s website, www.ebisupublications.com. And if you prefer to read that way, they are now available on Kindle—thanks to technical help from Sylvia Allen!

    Here are some recent reviews:

    1) In The Stars in Their Courses Martha Shelley illuminates the world of Biblical figures such as Jezebel and Elijah, leading to great understanding of their places in history and what brought them there. In this captivating series, she vividly portrays their lives (what did they eat? Where did they live? What was the land like, or their art?), their motivations, their loves and hates, and how they become swept up in bigger social and political movements. Shelley’s touch is personal and immediate, fleshing out her characters fully and making the reader care deeply about them. This is a great and thrilling book. – Nadine Fiedler, poet, editor

    2) I received The Stars in their Courses as a gift and it was a while before I picked it up and started reading. What I discovered right away is that, while I had not yet read the first novel in the series, Martha provides just enough background that I was able to connect with the characters and understand and enjoy them even without having read the first book.

    Initially my favorite character was Jezebel—which is surprising for me. As the novel progressed I began to appreciate the authenticity Bez brings to the story and she became the character I identify with the most.

    I don’t want to give away the ending, but let me just say that I am eagerly awaiting the third book in this series. Martha does leave the reader wanting more. In the meantime, I will be ordering the first book because I want to learn the details of how these characters, some of them historical figures, got to the place I found them in The Stars in their Courses.

    Martha Shelley interweaves history with fiction to bring ancient ways to life. She is a skilled researcher and beautiful writer. – Mary Ann Aschenbrenner, President, Waterlink Web

    3) The Stars in their Courses, the second book in Martha Shelley’s historical trilogy, is every bit as superb as the first.  The first, The Throne in the Heart of the Sea, takes us into the 9th century BCE world of her four major characters. We follow the training of Tamar, a would-be physician. We get to know Bez, the palace guard, Tamar’s protector and friend. We understand the fears and longings of young Princess Jezebel, about to become Queen of Israel. And we walk along with Elijah the prophet, lost, scared, powerful, distrustful and distrusting. The adventures and misadventures of these four people are embedded in a rich tapestry of 9th century life.

    The second book, a wonderfully good read, full of amazing historical detail and breathless cliff-hanging moments, draws these four towards each other and almost to their deaths. The King of Israel conscripts Tamar into service as an army doctor, and she and Bez follow the troops into battle. Jezebel competes with the royal concubines in order to produce heirs to the throne. Then, when her husband goes to war, she takes his place, becoming the power in the land.  Finally there is the problematic prophet Elijah, family to Tamar, in and out of love with Jezebel, puzzled by Bez, and unable to stay out of trouble. Dramatic tension builds until the terrible moment when we all realize that war is coming. Always there are wars, but this one is with Assyria, the most dreadfully cruel empire of its day.  Seldom are novels this gripping, its characters so unique and the story so rich.  Read it and be amazed. – Barbara Joans, author, Bike Lust

  • The Mighty Hunters–Now and Then

    Ashurnasirpal II hunting lionsAssyrian king portrayed as a lion hunter

    Many of you have read about the dentist who paid $54,000 for the privilege of luring the lion Cecil out of a wildlife sanctuary, shooting him, and taking his head and skin home as trophies. People were outraged, but it wasn’t a unique occurrence. Just in the last few months a gynecologist parted with an undisclosed sum to kill another lion, also illegally. A Texas millionaire spent $350,000 to shoot an endangered black rhinoceros, and has posted photos of himself smiling over the corpses of his other victims: gnus, ibexes, rams, and bears.

    Most trophy hunters are men, but not all. Another rich Texan took his daughter to Africa and introduced her to the sport. By age 14, she’d shot an African elephant, a lion, a Cape buffalo, a leopard, and a white rhino, the sought after “big 5” game animals. In the face of public criticism, all these hunters protest that they are helping conservation efforts and infusing African economies with much-needed cash.

    In nomadic societies, prestige accrued to individuals who provided plenty of meat to feed the tribe. Hunters took small souvenirs, such as bear claws for a necklace. Nowadays some country boys mount deer antlers over the barn door, but the main purpose of that hunt is still food.

    By contrast, trophy hunters are too wealthy to know hunger, or real danger, or even much discomfort. They hire locals to carry their gear, cook, pitch tents, and stand by with loaded guns in case something goes wrong. Canned hunts risk even less: A caged animal is released, and the buyer shoots it as it emerges from the cage.

    Canned hunts are nothing new, though, and go back at least to ancient Assyria. A king’s neck was too precious to risk, so his servants corralled a big cat and he took the first shot. Then he had his sculptors depict him slaughtering 40 lions from his chariot. Meanwhile, below is a subsistence hunt from The Stars in their Courses. (The same technique is used by modern Bedouin.)

    Elijah found a white willow growing around a tiny spring and a scattering of gazelle dung in the area. He collected some thin branches and the spines of a nearby acacia, and brought them back to the cave where the fugitives were hiding.

    “What’s that for?”

    “You’ll see. Give me two headbands and I’ll bring you more meat than you can eat.”

    Two men loosened their hair. Elijah cut the bands into cloth strips, bound the branches into a wheel the size of his hand, and stitched the acacia spines to the cloth so that they faced inward. Then he tied a rope to a stick that had been blackened in the fire and made a slipknot noose with the free end of the rope. That night he dug a small hole by the spring. He laid the wheel over the hole and the noose over the wheel. Then he covered the trap with sand and slept behind a boulder.

    At first light one of the gazelles stepped into the hole. It ran and ran, spines irritating its leg, noose tightening, the blackened stick making a tell-tale trail, until the stick caught between two rocks and Elijah was able to catch up with the gazelle and slit its throat. The dead beast was heavy across his shoulders but when he arrived back at the cave he couldn’t help strutting.

  • Medusa Coils review

    MedusaCoilsReviewScreenCapMedusa Coils has reviewed The Stars in their Courses! An excerpt: “Yes, the second book in this trilogy is as good as the first. I look forward to the publication of the third.”

  • Surgery in Ancient Egypt

    Last week I blogged about how copper, known to the ancient Egyptians as a means of fighting infection, is being revived now as an antimicrobial agent in hospitals. The Egyptians were good at surgery as well. You were more likely to survive an amputation in that time and place than in Medieval Europe, because the Egyptians tied off the vessels to stop the patient from bleeding out. The Europeans cauterized the stump with hot irons, controlling bleeding but causing extensive tissue damage.

    Ancient Egyptian prosthesisAncient Egyptian prosthetic toe

    This leads me to an incident in The Stars in their Courses. In the ninth century BCE, my character Tamar is a medical student at a temple school in northern Egypt, and Wa’bet is her instructor:

    A peasant trudged in, carrying his son on his back. Tamar guessed the boy was around fifteen. He was tall and slender, with a prominent nose like a steering oar in his narrow face. His lashes were long, his eyes dull with pain. His foot had been crushed between two uprooted trees. Splinters of bone protruded from the flesh; the sight made Tamar’s skin crawl.

    “We can’t save it,” Wa’bet whispered. “We’ll have to take it off. Have you ever amputated a foot—?”

    Tamar shook her head.

    “Sometimes it works,” Wa’bet said. “Sometimes it doesn’t. If we don’t try, corruption will set in and kill him anyway.”

    They sent the father to the main temple to pray and made the son drink wine. When Wa’bet judged that her patient was sufficiently inebriated, she asked three brawny men to hold his good limbs. Then she and Tamar tied the injured leg to a plank. “Watch and remember,” she exhorted her student, “because you’ll have to do it by yourself some day. Make sure the end of the plank is above where you’re going to make your incision. You want a clear view. Sit across his knee, just in case—don’t let him move around. When I cut one of the metu—”

    “Metu?” Tamar asked.

    “The long vessels,” Wa’bet explained. “The white ones don’t bleed, so you can ignore them. When I cut a red one, press down as hard as you can to stop the bleeding.”

    The boy shrieked at the first cut and then lost consciousness. Tamar leaned all her weight into his calf while another assistant toweled away the blood so Wa’bet could see the red metu and tie them off. The world seemed to be going black. Tamar thought she would pass out so she shut her eyes, just for a moment, and then forced them open again. She made herself breathe deeply, slowly, while Wa’bet sawed through the bones, tucked the ends of all the metu, red and white, up inside the boy’s flesh, and sutured a skin flap around the stump. Together they wrapped it with linen, packing the bandage with lint, powdered pomegranate, and sage.

    When they were done Tamar straightened her back and rolled her shoulders. She walked up and down a few times until her body stopped trembling.

    They gave the amputated part to the father for proper burial.

  • Medusa Coils mentions Stars in their Courses

    The Stars in their Courses by Martha ShelleyMartha’s The Stars in their Courses was mentioned in Medusa Coils. “I have started reading Martha Shelley’s latest novel, The Stars in their Courses. I hope to have a full review in a month or so after I have recovered from carpal tunnel syndrome. But I wanted to let you know that if what I’ve read so far is any indication it’s at least as good as the previous novel in this trilogy, Throne in the Heart of the Sea, which I reviewed here.”

  • Martha Shelley reading in Portland

    Martha Shelley, feminist author
    Martha Shelley, feminist, researcher, and author of historical fiction.

    Martha Shelley is doing a reading at the St. Johns Booksellers of her book, The Stars in their Courses. There’s not a huge crowd but they’re very lively and interested. Martha just read a scene where a Canaanite medical student and priestess of Anat assists in an amputation in Sais, Egypt.

    Martha is happy to be reading at the bookstore in her own little town. St. Johns Booksellers is a comfortable local bookstore crammed with thousands and thousands of great books.

    Map of Battle of QarQar, The Stars in their Courses
    Map of Battle of QarQar, The Stars in their Courses

  • Martha reading right now! in Santa Cruz

    Martha Shelley, feminist author
    Martha Shelley, feminist, researcher and author of historical fiction.

    We’re in Santa Cruz where Martha is reading from her new novel, The Stars in their Courses. The energy in the room is great! People keep asking Martha to read more so she keeps reading more. Right now she’s reading a passage where Bez, the female guard, takes down four drunks who attacked her in public. The reading is at the home of Barbara Joans, author of Bike Lust and others.