Bellatrix

Egypt and Nubia, 25 BCE. Legio XXII moves south as the Kushite kingdom resists Roman control of the Nile frontier under the leadership of Amanirenas. Titus Cervianus remains both soldier and combat medic, responsible for men threatened by heat, disease, inadequate supplies and an enemy at home in the desert.

The campaign exposes divisions among Roman commanders and the political aims behind what soldiers are told is a straightforward punitive war. Cervianus must treat opponents as well as comrades and confront the difference between defending a province and extending an empire. The Twenty-Second’s survival depends on discipline, but also on understanding a conflict Rome has underestimated.