Iron and Rust: free sampler

By Harry Sidebottom

From the bestselling author of WARRIOR OF ROME comes the first book in a new series set in third century Rome, a dramatic era of murder, coup, counter-rebellions and civil war.

In a single year six Emperors will lay claim to the Throne of the Caesars…

SPRING AD235

Dawn on the Rhine. A surprise attack and the brutal murder of the Emperor Alexander and his mother ends the Severan dynasty and shatters four decades of Roman certainty.

Military hero Maximinus Thrax is the first Caesar risen from the barracks. A simple man of steel and violence, he will fight for Rome.

The Senators praise the new Emperor with elaborate oratory, but will any of them accept a Caesar who was once a shepherd boy? And in the streets of the eternal city, others merely pray to escape imperial notice.

In the north, as the merciless war against the barbarians consumes men and treasure, rebellion and personal tragedy drive Maximinus to desperate extremes, bloody revenge and the borders of sanity.

Iron & Rust, the first book in a major new series, creates a world both sophisticated and brutal, yet firmly rooted in history; a world of intrigue, murder, passion and war, a world where men will kill to sit on the Throne of the Caesars.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Release date: May 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9780007593460

Harry Sidebottom

Dr Harry Sidebottom teaches classical history at the University of Oxford, where he is a lecturer at Lincoln College. He has an international reputation as a scholar, having published widely on the cultural history of the Roman Empire. Fire and Sword is the third book in the acclaimed series, Throne of the Caesars, and follows his bestselling series, Warrior of Rome. He divides his time between Oxford and Newmarket in Suffolk, where he lives which his wife and two sons.

Book preview

CAST OF MAIN CHARACTERS

IN THE NORTH

Alexander Severus: The Emperor

Mamaea: His mother

Petronius Magnus: An imperial councillor

Flavius Vopiscus: Senatorial governor of Pannonia Superior

Honoratus: Senatorial commander of the troops detached from Moesia Inferior

Catius Clemens: Senatorial commander of the 8th legion in Germania Superior

Maximinus Thrax: An equestrian army officer

Caecilia Paulina: His wife

Maximus: Their son

Anullinus: An equestrian army officer

Volo: The commander of the frumentarii

Domitius: The Prefect of the Camp

Julius Capitolinus: Equestrian commander of 2nd legion Parthica

Macedo: An equestrian army officer

Timesitheus: Equestrian acting-governor of Germania Inferior

Tranquillina: His wife

Sabinus Modestus: His cousin

IN ROME

Pupienus: The Prefect of the City

Pupienus Maximus: His elder son

Pupienus Africanus: His younger son

Gallicanus: A Senator of Cynic views

Maecenas: His intimate friend

Balbinus: A patrician of dissolute ways

Iunia Fadilla: A young widow, descended from Marcus Aurelius

Perpetua: Her friend, wife of Serenianus, governor of Cappadocia

The die-cutter: A workman in the Mint

Castricius: His young and disreputable neighbour

Caenis: A prostitute visited by both

IN AFRICA

Gordian the Elder: Senatorial governor of Africa Proconsularis

Gordian the Younger: His son and legate

Menophilus: His Quaestor

Arrian, Sabinianus, and Valerian: His other legates

Capelianus: Governor of Numidia, and enemy of Gordian

IN THE EAST

Priscus: Equestrian governor of Mesopotamia

Philip: His brother

Serenianus: His friend, governor of Cappadocia

Junius Balbus: Governor of Syria Coele, son-in-law of Gordian the Elder

Otacilius Severianus: Governor of Syria Palestina, brother-in-law of Priscus and Philip

Ardashir: Sassanid King of Kings

OUR HISTORY NOW DESCENDS

FROM A KINGDOM OF GOLD

TO ONE OF IRON AND RUST.

CHAPTER 1

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The Northern Frontier

A Camp outside Mogontiacum,

Eight Days before the Ides of March, AD235

Hold me safe in your hands.

The sun would be risen, well up by now, but little evidence filtered through to the inner sanctum of the great pavilion.

All you gods, hold me safe in your hands. The young Emperor prayed silently, his mouth moving. Jupiter, Apollonius, Christ, Abraham, Orpheus: see me safe through the coming day.

In the lamplight the eclectic range of deities regarded him impassively.

Alexander, Augustus, Magna Mater: watch over your elect, watch over the throne of the Caesars.

Noises, like the squeaking of disturbed bats, from beyond the little sanctuary of the domestic gods, beyond the heavy silk hangings, disrupted his prayers. From somewhere in the further recesses of the labyrinth of purple-shaded corridors and enclosures came the crash of something breaking. All the imperial attendants were fools – clumsy fools and cowards. The soldiers had mutinied before. Like those disturbances, this one would be resolved, and when that happened the members of the household who had deserted their duty or taken advantage of the uproar would suffer. If any of the slaves or freedmen were stealing, he would have the tendons in their hands cut. They could not steal then. It would serve as a lesson. The familia Caesaris needed constant discipline.

The Emperor Alexander Severus pulled a fold of his cloak over his bowed head, placed his right palm on his chest, composed himself again into the attitude of prayer. The omens had been bad for months. On his last birthday the sacrificial animal had escaped. Its blood had splashed on his toga. As they marched out from Rome an ancient laurel tree of huge size suddenly fell at full length. Here on the Rhine, there had been the Druid woman. Go. Neither hope for victory, nor trust your soldiers. The words of the prophecy ran in his memory. Vadas. Nec victoriam speres, nec te militi tuo credas. It was suspicious she had spoken in Latin. Yet torture had not revealed any malign