Vespasian Books

One man, born in rural obscurity, destined to become one of Rome's greatest Emperors 26 AD: 16-year-old Vespasian leaves his family farm for Rome, his sights set on finding a patron and following his brother into the army, but he discovers a city in turmoil and an Empire on the brink. The aging emperor Tiberius is in seclusion on Capri, leaving Rome in the iron grip of Sejanus, commander of the Praetorian Guard. Sejanus is ruler of the Empire in all but name, but many fear that isn't enough for him. Sejanus' spies are everywhere—careless words at a dinner party can be as dangerous as a barbarian arrow. Vespasian is totally out of his depth, making dangerous enemies (and even more dangerous friends—like the young Caligula) and soon finds himself ensnared in a conspiracy against Tiberius. With the situation in Rome deteriorating, Vespasian flees the city to take up a position as tribune in an unfashionable legion on the Balkan frontier. Even here, rebellion is in the air and unblooded and inexperienced, Vespasian must lead his men in savage battle with hostile mountain tribes. Vespasian will soon realize that he can't escape Roman politics any more than he can escape his destiny.

A hero is forged in battle and a legend is born in this second installment in the Vespasian series Thracia, AD30: Even after four years of military service at the edge of the Roman world, Vespasian can't escape the tumultuous politics of an Empire on the brink of disintegration. His patrons in Rome have charged him with the clandestine extraction of an old enemy from a fortress on the banks of the Danube before it falls to the Roman legion besieging it. Vespasian's mission is the key move in a deadly struggle for the right to rule the Roman Empire. The man he has been ordered to seize could be the witness that will destroy Sejanus, commander of the Praetorian Guard, and ruler of the Empire in all but name. Before he completes his mission, Vespasian will face ambush in snowbound mountains, pirates on the high seas, and Sejanus's spies all around him. But by far the greatest danger lies at the rotten heart of the Empire, at the nightmarish court of Tiberius, Emperor of Rome and debauched, paranoid madman.

Vespasian's mission will lead to violence, mayhem, and theft—and in the end, to a betrayal so great it will echo through the ages Vespasian is serving as a military officer on the outskirts of the Roman Empire, suppressing local troubles and defending the Roman way. But political events in Rome—Tiberius's increasingly insane debauchery, the escalating grain crisis—draw him back to the city. When Caligula becomes Emperor, Vespasian believes that things will improve. Instead, he watches the young emperor deteriorate from Rome's shining star to a blood-crazed, incestuous, all-powerful madman. Lavish building projects, endless games, public displays of his relationship with his sister, Drusilla, and a terrified senate are as nothing to Caligula's most ambitious plan: to bridge the bay of Neapolis and ride over it wearing Alexander's breastplate. And it falls to Vespasian to travel to Alexandria and steal it from Alexander's mausoleum.

Vespasian's fourth adventure—can he escape his own Emperor's wrath? Caligula has been assassinated and the Praetorian Guard have proclaimed Claudius Emperor—but his position is precarious. His three freedmen, Narcissus, Pallas, and Callistus, must find a way to manufacture a quick victory for Claudius—but how? Pallas has the answer: retrieve the Eagle of the Seventeenth, lost in Germania nearly 40 years before. Who but Vespasian could lead a dangerous mission into the gloomy forests of Germania? Accompanied by a small band of cavalry, Vespasian and his brother try to pick up the trail of the Eagle, but they are tailed by hunters who pick off men each night and leave the corpses in their path. Someone is determined to sabotage Vespasian's mission. In search of the Eagle and the truth, pursued by barbarians, Vespasian will battle his way to the shores of Britannia.

Britannia, 45 AD: In the shadow of Stonehenge, Vespasian's brother, Sabinus, is captured by druids. The druids want to offer a potent sacrifice to their gods - not just one Roman Legate, but two. They know that Vespasian will come after his brother, and they plan to sacrifice the siblings on a summer's day. But to whom will they be making this sacrifice? What were the gods of this land before the Celts came? Only the druids still hold the secret and it is one of pure evil. Vespasian must strive to save his brother whilst completing the conquest of the haunted isle, before he is drawn inexorably back to Rome and the heart of Imperial politics. Claudius' three freedmen remain at the locus of power. As Messalina's time as Empress comes to a bloody end, the three freedmen each back a different mistress. But which woman will be victorious? And at what price for Vespasian?

Vespasian's ascent to power continues in the sixth installment of Robert Fabbri's epic series Rome, AD 51: Vespasian brings Rome's greatest enemy before the Emperor. After eight years of resistance, the British warrior Caratacus has been caught. But even Vespasian's victory cannot remove the newly-made consul from Roman politics: Agrippina, Emperor Claudius's wife, pardons Caratacus. Claudius is a drunken fool and Narcissus and Pallas, his freedmen, are battling for control of his throne. Separately, they decide to send Vespasian East to Armenia to defend Rome's interests. But there is more at stake than protecting a client kingdom. Rumors abound that Agrippina is involved in a plot to destabilise the East. Vespasian must find a way to serve two masters—Narcissus is determined to ruin Agrippina, Pallas to save her. Meanwhile, the East is in turmoil. A new Jewish cult is flourishing and its adherents refuse to swear loyalty to the Emperor. In Armenia, Vespasian is captured. Immured in the oldest city on earth, how can he escape? And is a Rome ruled by a woman who despises Vespasian any safer than a prison cell?

AD 58: Rome is in turmoil once more. Emperor Nero has set his heart on a new wife but to clear a path for her, he must first assassinate his Empress, Claudia Octavia. Vespasian needs to tread carefully here—Nero's new lover, Poppaea Sabina, is no friend of his and her ascent to power spells danger. Meanwhile, Nero's extravagance has reached new heights, triggering a growing financial crisis in Britannia. Vespasian is sent to Londinium to rescue the situation, only to become embroiled in a deadly rebellion, one that threatens to destroy Britannia and de-stabilize the empire.

Vespasian has been made Governor of Africa. Nero, Rome's increasingly unpredictable Emperor, orders him to journey with his most trusted men to a far-flung empire in Africa to free 200 Roman citizens who have been enslaved by a desert kingdom. Vespasian hopes to return to Rome a hero and find himself back in favor with Nero. But when he reaches the city, he discovers a slave population on the edge of revolt. It isn't long before tensions spill over into bloody chaos. Vespasian must escape the city with all 200 Roman citizens and make their way across a barren desert with a hoard of rebels at their backs. Meanwhile, back in Rome, Nero's extravagance goes unchecked. All of Rome's elite fear for their lives as Nero's closest allies run amok. Can anyone stop the Emperor before Rome devours itself?

Rome 51 AD. When a secretive astrologer is found murdered, Marcus Salvius Magnus, leader of the South Quirinal Crossroads Brotherhood, suspects that there is more to the brutal slaughter in his district than it seems. As Magnus pieces together the motives behind the plot, it emerges that the astrologer had been drawing up illegal horoscopes for the powerful and wealthy in Rome, including Magnus' patron, Senator Gaius Vespasius Pollo. But knowledge of this kind can be deadly. With Magnus' enemies closing in, danger from both within the Brotherhood's ranks and from rival gang the West Viminal threatens everything he has fought for. Magnus must use every trick known to him to survive, and to try to come out on top... ______________________________________________ Don't miss Robert Fabbri's epic new series Alexander's Legacy

Vespasian is tasked with the impossible. Should he quell the revolt in Judaea, as Nero the emperor has instructed, or must he resort to the unthinkable and sabotage his own campaign? If his conquest succeeds, he risks becoming the sole object of the mad emperor's jealousy. If he fails, then his punishment will be severe. The fate of his men and his beloved son, Titus, all hang in the balance. But unknown to Vespasian, Nero has committed suicide, catapulting Rome into political turmoil. Sabinus, Vespasian's brother, is caught between the warring factions of Aulus Vitellius, a cruel opportunist, and the noble Marcus Salvius Otho, who finds himself severely outnumbered. With a contested throne and an army at his disposal, now may finally be Vespasian's time—to ascend, to conquer, to achieve what countless prophecies have foretold and take control of Rome itself. Will Vespasian, at long last, be the one to wear the purple?