1. The First Man in Rome
Rome, 110 BCE. Gaius Marius is a wealthy and experienced soldier whose Italian background and lack of ancient ancestry keep him outside the Republic’s highest aristocratic circle. When the mishandled war against Jugurtha discredits established commanders, Marius turns military success, popular support and marriage into a…
2. The Grass Crown
Rome and Italy, 97–88 BCE. Gaius Marius has reached the summit of public honour but is ageing, politically isolated and unwilling to surrender his claim to leadership. Sulla, once his subordinate, advances through office and battlefield distinction as Rome’s Italian allies demand the citizenship they believe…
3. Fortune’s Favourites
Italy and Rome, 83 BCE. Sulla returns from the war against Mithridates with a veteran army and defeats the government that has ruled in his absence. As dictator, he uses proscriptions, confiscations and constitutional reform to destroy enemies and restore senatorial authority on his own terms.…
4. Caesar’s Women
Rome, 67 BCE. Julius Caesar returns from provincial service determined to overcome debt, aristocratic hostility and the limits of his family’s recent influence. His mother Aurelia, his daughter Julia and his wives form the private foundation of a public career, while his relationship with Servilia connects…
5. Caesar
Gaul, 54 BCE. Julius Caesar commands an experienced army and uses conquest, clemency and relentless campaigning to secure wealth and prestige beyond the Alps. Rebellion under Vercingetorix culminates in the siege of Alesia, where Caesar’s legions confront both a trapped army and a vast relief force.…
6. The October Horse
Alexandria, 48 BCE. Julius Caesar enters the dynastic conflict between Cleopatra and her brother after Pompey’s murder, binding Roman civil war to the future of Ptolemaic Egypt. He survives the Alexandrian campaign, defeats remaining republican armies in Africa and Spain, and returns to Rome with authority…
7. Antony and Cleopatra
The Roman world, 41 BCE. Mark Antony governs the eastern provinces as one of the triumvirs who defeated Caesar’s assassins, but his authority depends on cooperation with the younger and increasingly disciplined Octavian. In Egypt, Cleopatra seeks security for her kingdom and recognition for Caesarion. Her…