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Historical person

Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo

7–67

Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo was a Roman senator and general whose long military career reached its height under the emperors Claudius and Nero. Born early in the first century CE, he commanded in Lower Germany under Claudius and restored discipline among frontier troops while campaigning beyond the Rhine. Under Nero he received the crucial eastern command connected with Armenia, where Rome and the Parthian Empire competed to determine who would occupy the Armenian throne.

Corbulo captured Artaxata and Tigranocerta and installed a Roman-backed king, but the wider settlement remained unstable. After another Roman army suffered a humiliating defeat at Rhandeia, Corbulo was given broader authority and negotiated a compromise under which Tiridates, a Parthian Arsacid, received the Armenian crown from Nero while acknowledging Roman supremacy ceremonially. Corbulo’s military prestige later became dangerous in Nero’s increasingly suspicious court. Summoned to Greece in 67, he was ordered to die and committed suicide, reportedly meeting the command with disciplined acceptance.

In Douglas Jackson’s Avenger of Rome, Nero sends Gaius Valerius Verrens to Antioch with secret authority to judge the loyalty of Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, the respected commander of Rome’s eastern armies. Valerius admires Corbulo, but the emperor fears that a general with popular support and experienced legions may be preparing to seize power. In Simon Scarrow’s The Blood of Rome, Parthian intervention has removed the Roman-backed king Rhadamistus, and General Corbulo prepares an eastern army to restore Roman influence. Further fictional perspectives on Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo can be found in Jeff Jones’ Fortress of Steel and Simon Scarrow’s Traitors of Rome.

Series

Historical novels and book series featuring Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo (3 series)

Eagles of the Empire in Order

by Simon Scarrow 24 books 4.5(104,359)

The Eagles of the Empire series follows Roman soldiers Macro and Cato from the reign of Claudius into that of Nero. Their service takes them through the invasion and occupation of Britain, Mediterranean piracy, revolt, imperial court intrigue and Rome’s eastern wars, combining military campaigning with the politics…

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Gaius Valerius Verrens in Order

by Douglas Jackson 9 books 4.4(17,730)

The Gaius Valerius Verrens series follows a Roman officer whose career begins during the Boudican Revolt and carries him through the violent final years of Nero’s reign, the Year of the Four Emperors and the consolidation of Flavian rule. Valerius moves between Britain, Rome, the eastern frontier, Judaea…

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Legion of the Damned Roman Thrillers in Order

by Jeff Jones 5 books 4.5(3,789)

The Legion of the Damned Roman Thrillers follows Marcus Corvo, a young centurion given command of a disposable unit recruited from slaves, prisoners, deserters and former gladiators. During Nero’s reign, the improvised legion is sent wherever conventional troops or imperial officials cannot afford to fail, from the Armenian…

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