it would be all lost unless Auletes regained the throne. Rabirius
therefore lent him all he was worth, and borrowed the rest from his
friends; and as soon as Auletes was on the throne, he went to Alexandria
to claim his money and his reward.

[Illustration: 309.jpg VOCAL STATUE OF MEMNON]

While Auletes still stood in need of Roman help, and saw the advantage
of keeping faith with his foreign creditors, Rabirius was allowed to
hold the office of royal _dioecetes_, or paymaster-general, which was
one of great state and profit, and one by which he could in time have
repaid himself his loan. He wore a royal robe; the taxes of Alexandria
went through his hands; he was indeed master of the city. But when the
king felt safe on his throne, he sent away his troublesome creditor,
who returned to Rome with the loss of his money, to stand his trial as
a state criminal for having lent it. Rabirius had been for a time
mortgagee in possession of the revenues of Egypt; and Auletes had felt
more indebted for his crown to a Roman citizen than to the senate. But
in the dealings of Rome with foreign kings, these evils had often before
arisen, and at last been made criminal; and while Gabinius was tried
for treason, _de majestate_, for leading his army out of his province,
Rabirius was tried, under the _Lex Julia de pecuniis repetundis_, for
lending money and taking office under Auletes.

One of the last acts of Gabinius in Syria was to change the form of
the Jewish government into an aristocracy, leaving Hyrcanus as the high
priest. The Jews thereon began to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, that
had been thrown down by Pompey. Among the prisoners sent to Rome by
Gabinius was Timagenes, the son of the king's banker, who probably lost
his liberty as a hostage on Ptolemy's failure to repay the loan. But he
was afterwards ransomed from slavery by a son of Sulla, and he remained
at Rome teaching Greek eloquence in the schools, and writing his
numerous works.

The climate of Egypt is hardly suited to Europeans, and perhaps at no
time did the births in the Greek families equal the deaths. That part
of the population was kept up by newcomers; and latterly the Romans had
been coming over to share in the plunder that was there scattered among
the ruling class. For some time past Alexandria had been a favourite
place of settlement for such Romans as either through their fault or
their misfortune were forced to leave their homes.

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