"When he broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of all the people who had been killed on account of the word of God, for witnessing to it. They shouted aloud, 'Holy, faithful Master, how much longer will you wait before you pass sentence and take vengeance for our death on the inhabitants of the earth?' Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to be patient a little longer, until the roll was complete and their fellow servants and brothers had been killed just as they had been."          -Revelation 6: 9-11 Zeta Piscium: 572 AD    The Vernal Equinox aligned with the fifth star along the stream of the southern fish of the constellation Pisces in 572 AD. The celestial theme that has thus far unfolded seems to mark important points in the development of Roman history, with an emphasis on periods of social destruction and disintegration. Does the Fifth Seal again fit this pattern?    Ever since Rome's millennium, there was an increasing decline as barbarian invaders kept punching holes in the Roman frontier defenses. As a means of placating these intruders, entire tribes were given land and privileges inside the borders in return for military service. But both internal and external conflicts continued to weaken the Empire, until at last, additional barbarian waves were able to penetrate to and capture Rome by 410.    In another wave in 568, the Lombards invaded across the Julian Alps. Due to previous wars and plagues, they were able to capture all the towns north of the Po River without much trouble. The first concerted effort to resist them was at Pavia, which fell after a three year siege in 572.    The Lombards were neither the first, nor the last of these barbaric waves to sweep across Italy; but there was one decided difference between them and those who had gone before. Albion, King of the Lombards entering Pavia in 572 AD    "It was a thorough conquest. They made no pretense of alliance with the empire, as the Ostrogoths had done, nor did they leave the conquered Italians in possession of their estates. The continuity of Roman civilization, which had survived so many invasions, was at last broken, or at least severely strained... The unity of Italy was completely destroyed, to be recovered only after thirteen centuries had passed."          A Survey of European Civilization, Pt. 1    Albion, the leader of the initial Lombard invasion, was murdered by his wife shortly after Pavia's fall in 572, in revenge for having made her drink from her dead father's skull. His successor's short rule was noted for its ruthless treatment of the Italian landowners. The ten year "reign of the dukes" which followed (574-584) was viewed as a period of violence and disorder. Throughout the entire two hundred years that the Lombards ruled (568-774), they were essentially aliens in Italy, and treated the native Romans as a conquered people.    As the opening of each of the seals indicates, the release of the troubles contained therein brought in its wake sorrow and suffering. For those who were killed for witnessing to the word of God, their soul's purification was the result. Meanwhile, time and the rest of the world waited for final judgment. Next week: The Sixth Seal

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