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Historical person

Cassius

Cassius was a Roman senator and one of the principal organisers of the assassination of Julius Caesar. After the murder he joined Brutus in raising forces in the eastern provinces and died following defeat at Philippi.

After Caesar’s assassination, Cassius and Brutus left Italy and built military power in the eastern provinces, raising troops and money against the Caesarian leaders. Their forces were defeated by Mark Antony and Octavian at Philippi in 42 BCE. Cassius ordered a subordinate to kill him after mistakenly believing that Brutus’s position had collapsed, and his death became part of the republican cause’s final defeat.

Richard Foreman’s Augustus: Son of Caesar begins with Cassius already among the assassins who have fled Rome, leaving the young Octavian to compete for Caesar’s political inheritance. Alex Gough’s Caesar’s Avenger follows Cassius as he and Brutus build military resistance in the east before the Second Triumvirate brings them to Philippi. Peter Tonkin’s Death at Philippi places the hunt for Cassius and Brutus inside the battlefield intelligence war, while Valerio Massimo Manfredi’s The Ides of March concentrates on the conspiracy that makes Cassius one of the principal organisers of Caesar’s murder. Colleen McCullough’s The October Horse spans both halves of the story, from the fears that drive the assassination to the failure of Cassius and Brutus to turn the Ides into a stable republican settlement.

Periods

Periods linked to Cassius

Assassination of Julius Caesar44 BCE Battle of Philippi42 BCE Liberators’ Civil War43–42 BCE

Series

Historical novels and book series featuring Cassius (7 series)

Marius’ Mules in Order

by Simon Turney 17 books 4.6(34,619)

The Marius’ Mules series follows Marcus Falerius Fronto and Caesar’s legions from the invasion of Gaul to the destruction of the Roman Republic. Battles recorded in Caesar’s commentaries are viewed through officers and soldiers who must endure the practical cost of his ambition, while conspiracies in Rome steadily…

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Masters of Rome in Order

by Colleen McCullough 7 books 4.5(6,758)

The Masters of Rome series reconstructs the final century of the Roman Republic from the rise of Gaius Marius in 110 BCE to the settlement that made Octavian Augustus in 27 BCE. Across seven novels, military commands, elections, family alliances, provincial wealth and personal patronage become instruments in…

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Emperor in Order

by Conn Iggulden 5 books 4.6(20,285)

The Emperor series is a highly fictionalised retelling of Julius Caesar’s life and the violent end of the Roman Republic. It follows Caesar from youth through war, political ascent and conquest, then continues beyond his assassination into the struggle between Octavian, Antony and Caesar’s killers.

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The Mark Antony Series in Order

by Alex Gough 4 books 4.5(1,714)

The Mark Antony series presents a biographical saga of the Roman commander from the Catilinarian crisis to his defeat by Octavian. Antony’s youth is shaped by the execution of his stepfather, service under Aulus Gabinius in Judaea and Egypt, and the campaigns in Gaul that bind him to…

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Caesar’s Spies in Order

by Peter Tonkin 5 books 4.2(2,090)

The Caesar’s Spies series follows Iacomus Artemidorus, code-named Septem, and the intelligence unit operating for Julius Caesar and later Mark Antony. The sequence begins with the attempt to prevent Caesar’s assassination in March 44 BC and continues through the pursuit of the conspirators, the struggle among Antony, Cicero…

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The Dream of Rome in Order

by Richard Foreman 5 books 4.1(3,394)

The Dream of Rome is an omnibus collection rather than a single continuous saga. Its volumes gather the complete Sword of Rome campaigns, the two Augustus novels, the first three Spies of Rome investigations, the complete Sword of Empire sequence and three later Rufus Varro novellas. The collection…

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Augustus in Order

by Richard Foreman 2 books 4.0(1,480)

The Augustus series follows Gaius Octavius from the assassination of Julius Caesar to the point at which Caesar’s heir can compete for control of Rome. The two novels place his personal development within the collapse of republican government, showing an inexperienced claimant learning to use adoption, veteran loyalty,…

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Standalone books

Standalone books featuring Cassius (2 books)

Non Fiction

Non Fiction featuring Cassius (1 book)

Biographies, histories and other non-fiction are listed separately from the historical novels above.