Siege of Massilia

Massilia, the Greek city now known as Marseille, refused to admit Caesar when civil war began in 49 BC and aligned itself with Pompey’s supporters. Caesar left forces under Gaius Trebonius and Decimus Brutus to blockade the city by land and sea while he continued campaigning in Spain.

Massilian ships fought two naval engagements but could not break the blockade. Siege works, shortages and the failure of Pompeian relief eventually forced the city to surrender. Caesar spared the population but removed much of Massilia’s territory and political independence.

Last Seen in Massilia uses the siege as both military crisis and enclosed mystery setting. Steven Saylor follows Gordianus through a city divided by exile, ritual, famine and suspicion while Caesar’s forces close in. In fiction, blockade, civic neutrality, espionage and the cost of choosing the losing side in a civil war can move to the foreground.