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Historical person
85 BCE–53 BCE
Surena was a Parthian nobleman and commander from one of the empire’s great aristocratic houses. In 53 BC he led the army that defeated Marcus Crassus at Carrhae, using horse archers, armoured cavalry and a sustained supply of arrows to destroy the Roman force. Surena captured or killed much of the army and recovered Roman standards. King Orodes II later had him executed, possibly because his prestige had become dangerous.
Surena appears in Ben Kane’s Forgotten Legion trilogy and in historical fiction about Carrhae. Novels often present him as the elegant strategic counterpart to Crassus, demonstrating the sophistication of Parthian warfare. His execution after victory gives the story a political conclusion in which success itself becomes a threat to royal authority.
Ben Kane’s The Forgotten Legion is set in the final years of the Roman Republic. The enslaved twins Romulus and Fabiola are separated when their family is sold.
Series
The Forgotten Legion Chronicles follow the enslaved twins Romulus and Fabiola, the Etruscan seer Tarquinius and the gladiator Brennus during the final decades of the Roman Republic. Their stories stretch from Rome and Gaul to Carrhae, Parthia, Egypt and Asia Minor, intersecting with Crassus, Caesar, Brutus and Mark…
All books in this series
