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Historical person

Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus

86 BCE–44 BCE

Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus was one of Julius Caesar’s trusted officers during the Gallic and civil wars. Caesar rewarded him with high office and named him among the secondary heirs in his will, yet Decimus joined the conspiracy that assassinated him in 44 BC and helped ensure that Caesar attended the fatal senate meeting. He later resisted Mark Antony in northern Italy, but his army deserted after the shifting alliances of 43 BC, and he was captured and executed while trying to escape.

Decimus appears in Colleen McCullough’s The October Horse and in Conn Iggulden’s Emperor series, both of which explore the personal betrayal involved in Caesar’s murder. Fiction sometimes confuses or combines him with Marcus Brutus because ancient and popular accounts give greater attention to the latter. His long service under Caesar makes Decimus particularly valuable to novelists seeking to show that the conspiracy emerged from Caesar’s own inner circle rather than from distant republican opponents alone.

Ben Kane’s The Silver Eagle is set after Crassus’s defeat, Romulus, Brennus and Tarquinius remain prisoners of Parthia with the surviving legionaries.

Series

Series featuring Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus (2 series)

Marius’ Mules in Order

by Simon Turney 17 books 4.6

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…

All books in this series

Marius’ Mules -V: Sertorius’ Ghost

4.7

Marius’ Mules I

4.4

Marius’ Mules II

4.5

Marius’ Mules III

4.5

Marius’ Mules IV

4.6

Marius’ Mules V: Hades’ Gate

4.5

Marius’ Mules VI

4.5

Marius’ Mules: Prelude to War

Marius’ Mules VII

4.6

Marius’ Mules VIII

4.5

Marius’ Mules IX

4.5

Marius’ Mules X

4.6

Marius’ Mules XI

4.6

Marius’ Mules XII

4.6

Marius’ Mules XIII

4.6

Marius’ Mules XIV

4.6

Marius’ Mules XV

4.6

The Forgotten Legion Chronicles in Order

by Ben Kane 3 books 4.4

The Forgotten Legion Chronicles follow the enslaved twins Romulus and Fabiola, the Etruscan seer Tarquinius and the gladiator Brennus during the final decades of the Roman Republic. Their stories stretch from Rome and Gaul to Carrhae, Parthia, Egypt and Asia Minor, intersecting with Crassus, Caesar, Brutus and Mark…