On 8 June AD218 a fourteen-year-old Syrian boy, egged on by his grandmother, led an army to battle in a Roman civil war. Against all expectations, he was victorious.
Varius Avitus Bassianus, known to the modern world as Heliogabalus, was proclaimed emperor. The next four years were to be the strangest in the history of the empire.
Heliogabalus humiliated the prestigious Senators and threw extravagant dinner parties for lower-class friends. He ousted Jupiter from his summit among the gods and replaced him with Elagabal. He married a Vestal Virgin – twice. Rumours abounded that he was a prostitute. In the first biography of Heliogabalus in over half a century, Harry Sidebottom unveils the high drama of sex, religion, power and culture in Ancient Rome as we've never seen it before.
Greek and Roman warfare was unlike that of any other culture before or since. The key difference is often held to be that the Greeks and Romans practiced a 'Western Way of War,' in which the aim is an open, decisive battle-won by courage instilled, in part, by discipline. Here, Harry Sidebottom looks at how this Western Way of War was constructed and maintained by the Greeks and Romans and why this concept is so prevalent today.
All aspects of ancient warfare are thoroughly examined-from philosophy and strategy to the technical skills needed to fight. Sidebottom examines war in the wider context, showing how wars were able to shape classical society, and how an individual's identity was sometimes constructed by war, as in the case of the Christian soldier fighting in God's name. He also explores the ways in which ancient society thought about conflict: Can a war be just? Why was siege warfare particularly bloody? What role did divine intervention play in the outcome of a battle? Taking fascinating examples from the Iliad, Tacitus, and the Persian Wars, Sidebottom uses arresting anecdotes and striking visual images to show that any understanding of ancient war is an ongoing process of interpretation.
He came home a hero.
But death isn't finished with him yet . . .
145BC - CALABRIA, ANCIENT ROME. After years of spilling blood for Rome, Gaius Furius Paullus has returned home to spend his remaining days working quietly on the family farm.
But it seems death has stalked Paullus from the battlefield. Just days after his arrival, bodies start appearing - murdered and mutilated. And as the deaths stack up, and panic spreads, the war hero becomes the prime suspect. After all, Paullus has killed countless enemies on the battlefield - could he have brought his habit home with him?
With the psychological effects of combat clouding every thought, Paullus must use all his soldier's instincts to hunt the real killer. Because if they are not brought to justice soon, he may become the next victim.
THE RETURN is the breathless, epic new thriller from one of the world's best historical novelists - for fans of Simon Scarrow, Conn Iggulden, Ben Kane and Bernard Cornwell.
Praise for Harry Sidebottom's historical thrillers:
'A storming triumph' - DAILY TELEGRAPH
'An extraordinarily vivid take on the ancient world' - EVENING STANDARD
'Absorbing, rich in detail and brilliant' - THE TIMES
'Relentless, brutal, brilliant' - BEN KANE
From the author of The Last Hour comes another fast-paced thriller, which follows Valens, an inexperienced officer in the Roman Army who finds himself in charge of a desperate rescue attempt deep behind enemy lines .
When Valens, a junior officer in the Roman Army, joins a crack squad of soldiers on a dangerous mission, little does he know what's in store for him. Tasked with rescuing the young Prince Sasan, who has been imprisoned in the impenetrable Castle of Silence, the troops set out across Mesopotamia and into the mountains south of the Caspian Sea. Deep in hostile territory, inexperienced Valens finds himself in charge. And as one by one his soldiers die or disappear, he begins to suspect that there is a traitor in their midst, and that the rescue is fast becoming a suicide mission. Valens must marshal this disparate group of men and earn their respect, before it's too late . . .
Praise for the Author: ''Relentless, brutal, brilliant, this is Jack Reacher in ancient Rome.' BEN KANE
A lone figure stands silhouetted atop the Mausoleum of Hadrian. Behind him, the sun is setting over the centre of the known world. Far below, the river is in full flood. The City of Rome lies spread out before him on the far bank. Footsteps pound up the stairs. He's been set up. An enemy is closing in; he is cornered. He jumps.
Bruised and battered, he crawls out of the raging river. He is alone and unarmed, without money or friends, trapped in a deadly conspiracy at the heart of the Empire. The City Watch has orders to take him alive; other, more sinister, forces want him dead. As the day dies, he realises he has only 24 hours to expose the conspirators, and save the leader of the world. If the Emperor dies, chaos and violence will ensue. If the Emperor dies, every single person he loves will die.
He must run, bluff, hide and fight his way across the Seven Hills.
He must reach the Colosseum, and the Emperor.
He must make it to The Last Hour.
'Absorbing and brilliant ... Game of Thrones without the dragons' THE TIMES
The third book in Sidebottom's epic series set in third century Rome; a dramatic era of murder, coup, counter-rebellions and civil war.
Rome AD238. The Year of the Six Emperors.
The empire is in turmoil. With the Gordiani, father and son, dead in Africa, the tyrant Maximinus Thrax vies to reclaim the throne.
The Senate, who supported the revolt of the Gordiani, must act quickly to avoid the vengeance of Maximinus. They elect two Senators to share the imperial purple. But fighting erupts in the streets as ambitious men call for violent revolution.
Can the new Augusti hold the city together as the empire's farthest territories fight off bloody attacks from the Goths and the Persians in the east?
In the north of Italy, Maximinus descends on Aquileia. Against the odds, Menophilus, an old friend of the younger Gordian, prepares to defend the town. In one of the greatest sieges of the empire, its fate will be decided in a fight for victory, for revenge, for Rome.
Filled with intrigue, betrayal and bloody battle, Fire & Sword creates a magnificent world built on brutality and political games, where no one is safe from retribution - not even those who dare to rule.
A tense and brilliantly dramatic short story from the bestselling author of The Throne of the Caesars Series.
This thrilling short story opens at the end of BLOOD AND STEEL and is the perfect trailer for Harry Sidebottom's new novel FIRE AND SWORD.AD 238. When Gordian the Younger is brutally cut down at the battle of Carthage, his ally Phillyrio and a centurion from his army must make for the hills of northern Africa, to escape Maximinus's army. But their enemy, led by Capelianus, is determined to hunt them down.
A tense and brilliantly dramatic 20-page short story from the bestselling author of The Throne of the Caesars Series.AD238. Emperor Maximinus' reign is under threat as Gordian the Younger and Elder are proclaimed as Emperor.
Julius Burdo, official of the Empire, must accompany the knife-boy Castricius north, to assassinate Maximinus. The order is from the new Augusti; death is a certain fate to both men, whether they succeed or fail.But as the two men journey north, they have plans to survive this deadly mission.A fascinating insight into a scheme that happens offstage in Iron & Rust, this is a taut and thrilling short story.
From the bestselling author of WARRIOR OF ROME comes the second book in an epic new series set in third century Rome; a dramatic era of murder, coup, counter-rebellions and civil war.
In a world of battle and betrayal men will fight - and kill - to sit on the Throne of the Caesars.
Rome, AD238
Emperor Maximinus' reign hangs in the balance. At the helm of an empire that is bleeding manpower and money to sustain his wars in the north, rebellions flare in the far reaches of its territories.
In Africa, Gordian the Elder and Younger are proclaimed as the new Augusti. A family descending from the imperial bloodline, they represent a chance for the establishment to take back the empire.
In Rome, the first blood of the revolt is shed when an assassin murders Maximinus' prefect and announces to Rome that their ruler is dead and the Gordians have taken the throne. Still bitter at having a soldier from the barracks wearing the imperial purple, the Senate endorses the rebellion: the Gordiani are hailed as Emperors.
But as chaos descends on the capital, news reaches Maximinus of the betrayal. A man of war, he acts with decisive brutality and violence. On the dusty plains outside Carthage, bloody battle will determine the fate of the Roman empire.
From the bestselling author of WARRIOR OF ROME comes the first book in a new series set in third century Rome, a dramatic era of murder, coup, counter-rebellions and civil war.In a single year six Emperors will lay claim to the Throne of the Caesars...SPRING AD235Dawn on the Rhine. A surprise attack and the brutal murder of the 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.The Senators praise the new Emperor with elaborate oratory, but will any of them accept a Caesar who was once a shepherd boy? And in the streets of the eternal city, others merely pray to escape imperial notice.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 & Rust, the first book in a major new series, creates a world both sophisticated and brutal, yet firmly rooted in history; a world of intrigue, murder, passion and war, a world where men will kill to sit on the Throne of the Caesars.
In the sixth novel in Harry Sidebottom’s bestselling Warrior of Rome historical fiction series, Ballista returns to undertake yet another epic mission—while the Roman Empire reels in chaos around him.
In AD 264, the Roman Empire has been torn in two. The western provinces—Gaul, Spain, and Britain—have been seized by Postumus, the pretender to the throne. To the east, on the plains of northern Italy, the armies of the emperor Gallienus muster, and he is keen to take his rightful place of power. A war between two emperors is coming, and everyone must choose a side.
On a mission shrouded in secrecy and suspicion, Ballista is sent by Gallienus back to his home of Hyperborea, the place of the people of his birth, to raise an army against Postumus. This means Ballista must journey along the Amber Road to the far north. Along the way Ballista meets a fearsome, masked warlord who attacks, bringing fire and sword against Ballista and his men. And in his home of Hyperborea, not all welcome Ballista’s return. In the battle between Postumus and Gallienus, only one can survive and be emperor.
Renowned for their skilled blending of action and historical accuracy, Sidebottom’s Warrior of Rome novels take the reader from the shouts of the battlefield to the whisperings of the emperor’s inner circle. Rich in detail and punctuated by harrowing action, these books will transport you back to the days of the Roman Empire.
AD 264 - The Roman Empire is torn in two. The latest blazing novel in the Warrior of Rome series
The western provinces - Gaul, Spain and Britain - have been seized; to the east, on the plains of northern Italy, armies muster. War is coming. Everyone must choose a side.
Ballista must journey the Amber Road to the far north to Hyperborea, back to his original home and the people of his birth. Yet not all welcome Ballista's return. Does treachery pose the greatest danger?
