Robert Fabbri

1961

Robert Fabbri writes Roman historical fiction centred on imperial politics, military ambition and the dangerous rise of powerful men.

Robert Fabbri was born in Geneva in 1961 and was educated at Christ’s Hospital and London University. Before becoming a novelist, he spent twenty-five years working as an assistant director in film and television. The long days, extensive travel and practical demands of production eventually encouraged him to turn an established interest in ancient history into fiction.

Fabbri is best known for the nine-volume Vespasian series, which follows the future emperor from his early military career through the political violence of the Julio-Claudian period and the civil wars of AD 69. The novels combine campaigning, court intrigue and family rivalry with the gradual development of a man capable of seizing imperial power. He has also written Arminius: The Limits of Empire, about Rome’s struggle in Germania, and the Alexander’s Legacy sequence, set amid the wars of Alexander the Great’s successors. His fiction is particularly suited to readers interested in Roman politics, military command, imperial succession and the unstable relationship between the army and the state.

Periods and events

Julio-Claudian Dynasty Year of the Four Emperors Flavian Dynasty First Jewish–Roman War Reign of Vespasian Reign of Nero Roman Conquest of Britain Boudican Revolt Battle of Watling Street Hellenistic Greece Wars of the Diadochi Reign of Claudius Roman Judaea and Second Temple Society Roman–Parthian Wars

Series

Series by Robert Fabbri (2 series)

Vespasian in Order

by Robert Fabbri 9 books 4.4

The Vespasian series follows Titus Flavius Vespasianus from obscure young nobleman and soldier to the imperial contender who will found the Flavian dynasty. The novels use Vespasian’s career to move through the Julio-Claudian court, frontier warfare, Britain, Armenia, North Africa, Judaea and the civil-war crisis of AD 69.…

Tribune of Rome

4.3

Rome’s Executioner

4.3

False God of Rome

4.3

Rome’s Fallen Eagle

4.4

Masters of Rome

4.4

Rome’s Lost Son

4.4

The Furies of Rome

4.5

Rome’s Sacred Flame

4.5

Emperor of Rome

4.6

Alexander’s Legacy in Order

by Robert Fabbri 5 books 4.4

Alexander’s Legacy follows the violent struggle for power after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE. The sequence is not about Alexander’s conquests themselves but about the generals, royal women, heirs and soldiers left to divide an empire too large for any single successor to control.…