Showing results for "J" in Ancient

It is 58 BC, and the mighty Tenth Legion, camped in Northern Italy, prepare for the arrival of the most notorious general in Roman history: Julius Caesar. Marcus Falerius Fronto, commander of the Tenth, is a career soldier and long-time companion of Caesar's. Despite his desire for the simplicity of the military life, he cannot help but be drawn into intrigue and politics as Caesar engineers a motive to invade the lands of Gaul.

An unexpected betrayal forces Hasting to abandon his closest ally. With his heart turned black, he rekindles the savagery of his race. In sacking Nantes, his bravery and luck earn him a place in the skalds' songs. Word of his deeds reach his kin in the North, and more and more sea captains sail to Francia to join him, hoping his luck might help theirs.

It is 48 BC, and Caesar is master of Rome, but Pompey is at large in the huge recruiting grounds of the east with a core of powerful officers, nominally representing the senate in absentia. As the general deals with matters in the city, his army gathers at the coast, waiting to cross the sea and fight that worst of all conflicts: civil war.

Rome has a new emperor; a strong emperor. Septimius Severus, a lion of the battlefield, now moves east to face the usurper Pescennius Niger, contesting with a clever opponent with the ultimate prize in the balance: the throne of Rome. But with civil war raging all across the East, problems abound. One of the frumentarii, the emperor's military agents, has gone missing in Arabia, and with him has gone a list of the service's personnel.

Winter, 48 BC. Caesar and his small force are trapped in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. Caught up in the dynastic struggles of the House of Ptolemy, the consul has sided with the clever and ruthless Queen Cleopatra. Her brother and fellow monarch, Ptolemy XIII, languishes in the palace, a hostage of Caesar's, while a huge army under the command of the Egyptian General Achillas closes on the city to free him.

The war in Gaul is over. The rebels are defeated. Now the battle for Rome has begun.

Everybody starts at the bottom when they change careers. Alerio Sisera understood the concept. He even recognized the difference between being a military man who lived by the gladius and a politician who used a pen to craft agreements. But the theory went to Hades when a series of brutal robberies required Lictor Sisera to investigate the crimes. Bringing fresh eyes to the scenes, a different perspective to the questioning, and postulating a hypothesis ended when blades were drawn.

The war in Africa is over and the rebel cause hangs by a thread. With opposition to Caesar now led by Labienus and by Pompey’s sons in Hispania, Caesar is one step from ending the civil war that has plagued Rome for years. Before the war can be pursued, though, Caesar has matters to attend to in Rome. And against a backdrop of glorious triumphs and civil friction, the general’s old warhorse Marcus Falerius Fronto begins to uncover a series of events that may have a cause in common.

The war in Gaul is over, but the fight for Rome is only just beginning. Denied his consulship by the senate and nearing the end of his term as governor, Caesar waits at Ravenna with one legion, making a last attempt at reconciliation. Threatened with prosecution if he returns to Rome, just one path is becoming clear: war against the senate. Fronto and Galronus are bound to the service of the Proconsul, facing a war against other Romans, and able neither to prevent nor avoid it.

46 BC. Pompey is dead, Egypt is settled and Rome is controlled by the loyal Marcus Antonius. As the new year looms, Rome's greatest general and dictator Julius Caesar moves precipitously to take on the last stronghold of the rebel faction: Africa. Crossing against all advice in the middle of winter, with minimal forces and little forward planning, the campaign almost dies before it begins, legions scattered across the sea by vicious storms, the general putting ashore with just a single legion and his most trusted veteran commander: Marcus Falerius Fronto.

AD 381. Five years have gone by since a Roman governor ordered the deaths of a Gothic king and his attendants at a feast in their honor. This disastrous act led to warfare in the Roman Empire and the death of the Emperor Valens. The Empire is now at peace, but the powerful brother of the murdered king has sworn revenge on the regicides, and will not rest until they are hunted down. For the eight legionaries who carried out the killings, the bloodshed is only just beginning.

It is 50BC and Caesar winters with his legions in the north - all Gaul conquered but a triumphant return to Rome denied him by the senate who seek his blood. Yet unrest stirs in unknown lands, as the tribes of mountainous Aquitania rise under a terrifying new leader and drive out their Roman occupiers. Marcus Falerius Fronto, exiled from Rome, seeks out his former commander in an effort to build a future and soon finds himself in command of a most unusual legion with a remit to restore peace in Aquitania.

AD 312 is a year of horrific and brutal warfare. Constantine's northern army is a small force, plagued by religious rivalries, but seemingly unstoppable as they invade Maxentius' Italian heartlands. These relentless clashes, incidents of treachery and twists of fortune see Maxentius' armies driven back to Rome.

When young Telemachus gets the chance to join the crew of the merchant ship Selene, he's delighted to escape the rough streets of Piraeus. He knows little of the dangers of life at sea. And even past hardship has not prepared him for the terror on board when a pirate ship appears on the horizon. The fight is bloody, but the result is never in doubt. Then the victorious pirate chief, Bulla, offers the beaten men a cruel choice: join us, or die.

Hannibal Barca moved through the countryside burning, looting, and attracting recruits and supplies from disgruntled city residents and tribesmen. Cornelius Scipio remained with the forward Legions, taking any position available. It spoke well of his loyalty, but his actions hid a deeper secret. Cornelius feared the Scipio men would be accused of being cowards. Jace Kasia had no family but had a goal to be recognized as a Cretan archer. On the banks of Lake Trasimene, he earned the position of File Leader.

From the moment his father was executed in the arena for an act of treason, former military tribune and condemned gladiator Marcus Valerius Pavo has burned with the desire for revenge. Now all that stands between Pavo and victory is a man considered by many to be the greatest gladiator to have ever lived: Hermes. But even with Optio Macro as his trainer and the help of the snakish imperial secretary, defeating Hermes appears an impossible task.

"I've heard Cretan archers are good bowmen but weak skirmishers," a Tribune offered. "It has something to do with the teeny, tiny shields they wear like jewelry on their left forearms." "They wear jewelry into combat," Tribune Scipio moaned. "What have I done?" Set in the desperate years of the Second Punic War, the series follows the exploits of Cretan archer Jace Kasia and Roman Legion Tribune Cornelius Scipio. One is a castaway searching for a home while the other seeks to step out of the shadow of a famous father.

In the seven years since he crossed the Alps and began his war against the Roman Republic, Hannibal Barca stood unbeaten in battle. However, maintaining a large army was a costly proposition and the government of Carthage proved stingy with its coins. To intercept the supplies destined for Hannibal, the Senate of Rome stationed Legions in Iberia. But, when the Legions were destroyed by Hannibal's brother and their Generals killed, the Senate could not find a willing replacement. Enter one Tribune who hungered for the position.

Once the Carthaginian forces were removed from Iberia, the reinforcements and supplies for Hannibal Barca dwindled to a trickle. Even so, Hannibal held onto the southwest quadrant of the Italian peninsula and remained a danger to the Republic. Although made rich from his conquests, the architect of the victory in Iberia retreated to Rome.

It's been said, "You may not think you're at war. But a surprise attack by an enemy means they are at war with you, so you'd best prepare." Metaphorically, the same can be said of an apprentice of war. There was no doubt, Hannibal Barca was a master of war. Since he came down from the Alps and swept away the Roman Legions sent to stop him, he proved it to Rome and to the rest of the ancient world. Yet, from the first engagement on Republic soil, Hannibal attracted an apprentice.