In His Authority, Nissim survives the Battle of the Teuteborg Forest, the massacre of three Roman legions he plotted to bring about. Despite his hatred of Rome, he is a friend to the General Gemanicus, who has him guide him through the same forest unaware of his place in the scheme of things.
Nissim ben Aramiah, a speaker of many languages, including Latin, is a Judean member of Herod the Great’s inner circle where he is, among other duties, his spymaster. When he failed to find the Christ Child in Bethlehem where he had accompanied the Magi for that express purpose, he is ordered to lead the raid that became known as the slaughter of the innocents. Although accustomed to Herod’s deadly violence, he is mysteriously stricken when the Roman commander tells him “The child is dead.”