Iron & Rust (Throne of the Caesars, 1, Band 1) - Hardcover

Sidebottom, Harry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1468310542 ISBN 13: 9781468310542

Verlag: Overlook Pr, 2015

Inhaltsangabe

Blending heart-pounding action and historical accuracy, Harry Sidebottom’s bestselling Warrior of Rome series took readers from the shouts of the battlefield to the whisperings of the emperor’s inner circle. Now, Sidebottom sets his sights on one of the bloodiest periods of Roman history—the Year of the Six Emperors. In spring AD 235, a surprise attack and the brutal murder of Emperor Alexander and his mother ends the Severan dynasty and shatters four decades of Roman certainty. Military hero Maximinus Thrax is the first Caesar risen from the barracks. A simple man of steel and violence, he will fight for Rome unconditionally. The Senators praise the new Emperor with elaborate oratory, but will any of them accept a Caesar who was once a shepherd boy? In the north, as the merciless war against the barbarians consumes men and treasure, rebellion and personal tragedy drive Maximinus to desperate extremes, bloody revenge, and the borders of sanity. Iron and Rust creates a world both sophisticated and brutal, yet firmly rooted in history. Game of Thrones-meets-300: Rise of an Empire, this is a world of intrigue, murder, passion, and war—a world where men will kill to sit on the Throne of the Caesars.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

HARRY SIDEBOTTOM teaches classical history at Oxford, where he is a Fellow of St Benet’s Hall and a lecturer at Lincoln College. He has an international reputation as a scholar, having published widely on ancient warfare, classical art, and the cultural history of the Roman Empire. Iron and Rust is the first book in a major new series, Throne of the Caesars, and follows his acclaimed and bestselling series, Warrior of Rome. He divides his time between Oxford and Newmarket in Suffolk.

HARRY SIDEBOTTOM teaches classical history at Oxford, where he is a Fellow of St Benet’s Hall and a lecturer at Lincoln College. He has an international reputation as a scholar, having published widely on ancient warfare, classical art, and the cultural history of the Roman Empire. Iron and Rust is the first book in a major new series, Throne of the Caesars, and follows his acclaimed and bestselling series, Warrior of Rome. He divides his time between Oxford and Newmarket in Suffolk.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

ALSO BY HARRY SIDEBOTTOM

FICTION

The Warrior of Rome Series

Fire in the East

King of Kings

Lion of the Sun

The Caspian Gates

The Wolves of the North

The Amber Road

NON-FICTION

Ancient Warfare

Copyright

Our history now descends from a kingdom of gold
to one of iron and rust.

CASSIUS DIO LXXII.36.4

There have never been such earthquakes and plagues,
or tyrants and kings with such unexpected careers,
which were rarely if ever recorded before.

HERODIAN I.I.4

CAST OF MAIN CHARACTERS

(A COMPREHENSIVE LIST APPEARS AT THE END OF THE BOOK)

IN THE NORTH

Alexander Severus: The Emperor

Mamaea: His mother

Petronius Magnus: An imperial councillor

Flavius Vopiscus: Senatorial governor of Pannonia Superior

Honoratus: Senatorial commander of the troops detached from Moesia Inferior

Catius Clemens: Senatorial commander of the 8th legion in Germania Superior

Maximinus Thrax: An equestrian army officer

Caecilia Paulina: His wife

Maximus: Their son

Anullinus: An equestrian army officer

Volo: The commander of the frumentarii

Domitius: The Prefect of the Camp

Julius Capitolinus: Equestrian commander of 2nd legion Parthica

Macedo: An equestrian army officer

Timesitheus: Equestrian acting-governor of Germania Inferior

Tranquillina: His wife

Sabinus Modestus: His cousin

IN ROME

Pupienus: The Prefect of the City

Pupienus Maximus: His elder son

Pupienus Africanus: His younger son

Gallicanus: A Senator of Cynic views

Maecenas: His intimate friend

Balbinus: A patrician of dissolute ways

Iunia Fadilla: A young widow, descended from Marcus Aurelius

Perpetua: Her friend, wife of Serenianus, governor of Cappadocia

The die-cutter: A workman in the Mint

Castricius: His young and disreputable neighbour

Caenis: A prostitute visited by both

IN AFRICA

Gordian the Elder: Senatorial governor of Africa Proconsularis

Gordian the Younger: His son and legate

Menophilus: His Quaestor

Arrian, Sabinianus, and Valerian: His other legates

Capelianus: Governor of Numidia, and enemy of Gordian

IN THE EAST

Priscus: Equestrian governor of Mesopotamia

Philip: His brother

Serenianus: His friend, governor of Cappadocia

Junius Balbus: Governor of Syria Coele, son-in-law of Gordian the Elder

Otacilius Severianus: Governor of Syria Palestina, brother-in-law of Priscus and Philip

Ardashir: Sassanid King of Kings

OUR HISTORY NOW DESCENDS
FROM A KINGDOM OF GOLD
TO ONE OF IRON AND RUST.

CHAPTER 1

The Northern Frontier
A Camp outside Mogontiacum, Eight
Days before the Ides of March, AD235

Hold me safe in your hands.

The sun would be risen, well up by now, but little evidence filtered through to the inner sanctum of the great pavilion.

All you gods, hold me safe in your hands. The young Emperor prayed silently, his mouth moving.Jupiter, Apollonius, Christ, Abraham, Orpheus: see me safe through the coming day.

In the lamplight the eclectic range of deities regarded him impassively.

Alexander, Augustus, Magna Mater: watch over your elect, watch over the throne of the Caesars.

Noises, like the squeaking of disturbed bats, from beyond the little sanctuary of the domestic gods, beyond the heavy silk hangings, disrupted his prayers. From somewhere in the further recesses of the labyrinth of purple-shaded corridors and enclosures came the crash of something breaking. All the imperial attendants were fools – clumsy fools and cowards. The soldiers had mutinied before. Like those disturbances, this one would be resolved, and when that happened the members of the household who had deserted their duty or taken advantage of the uproar would suffer. If any of the slaves or freedmen were stealing, he would have the tendons in their hands cut. They could not steal then. It would serve as a lesson. Thefamilia Caesaris needed constant discipline.

The Emperor Alexander Severus pulled a fold of his cloak over his bowed head, placed his right palm on his chest, composed himself again into the attitude of prayer. The omens had been bad for months. On his last birthday the sacrificial animal had escaped. Its blood had splashed on his toga. As they marched out from Rome an ancient laurel tree of huge size suddenly fell at full length. Here on the Rhine, there had been the Druid woman.Go. Neither hope for victory, nor trust your soldiers. The words of the prophecy ran in his memory.Vadas. Nec victoriam speres, nec te militi tuo credas. It was suspicious she had spoken in Latin. Yet torture had not revealed any malign worldly influences. Whatever her language, the gods needed propitiating.

To Jupiter an ox. To Apollonius an ox. To Jesus Christ an ox. To Achilles, Virgil and Cicero, to all you heroes …

As he made every vow, Alexander blew each statuette a kiss. It was not enough. He got down on his knees, then, somewhat encumbered by his elaborate armour, stretched full length in adoration before thelararium. Close to his face, he noticed the gold thread in the white carpet. The fabric smelt slightly musty.

None of this was his fault. None of it. The year before last in the East he had been ill. Half the troops with him had been sick. If he had not ordered the retreat to Antioch, the Persians would have destroyed them all; not just the southern force which was left behind, but the main Roman field army as well. Here in the North the frontier had been breached in numerous places. Opening negotiations with some of the barbarians was not weakness. There was no profit in fighting them all at once. Judicious promises and gifts could induce some to stand aside, maybe even join in the destruction of their brethren. It did not mean their punishment was waived, merely deferred. Barbarians had no concept of good faith, so promises to barbarians could not be considered binding. Such things could not be stated in public, but why did the soldiers not see these obvious truths? Of course, the northern soldiery, recruited from the camps, were little better than barbarians themselves. Their comprehension was equally limited. That was why they could not understand about the money. Since Caracalla, the Emperor who may have been his father, had doubled the pay of the troops, the exchequer had been drained. Veturius, the treasurer appointed by his mother, had taken Alexander to thefiscus. There had been nothing to see except rank after rank of empty coffers. As Alexander had tried to explain more than once on various parade grounds, donatives to the army would have to be extracted by force from innocent civilians, from the soldiers’ own families.

A rush of light as a hanging was pulled back. Felicianus, the senior of the two Praetorian Prefects, marched in. No one announced him and no one closed the curtain. Through the opening, past the Prefect, flew innumerable tiny birds. They darted everywhere around the chamber, flashing bright yellow, red and green as they passed through the band of light. How many times had Alexander told their keepers about the trouble and expense in collecting them? At every dinner when they were released to hop and flutter about entertainingly one or two were lost or died. How many would be left after...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Overlook Pr
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2015
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1468310542
• ISBN 13: 9781468310542
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 404
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar