Swords Around the Throne

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by Ian Ross


  The imperial panegyrics provide our only evidence for the campaigns that Constantine conducted against the Frankish Bructeri, and the spectacular public execution of the two barbarians kings in the amphitheatre at Trier. More importantly, at least for later historians, one of these speeches also describes the apparition of the sun god that Constantine allegedly saw in the sky during his march north from Marseille. This vision gained added prominence when it was reinterpreted by Christian writers – Constantine is best known, after all, for seeing things in the sky – but nobody today is quite sure of what it might have been. A mirage, a hallucination, or just a convenient fiction? Perhaps, as A. H. M. Jones first suggested in 1963, it was the light effect known as a solar halo? The caution in my own description perhaps reflects the confusion of observers at the time...

  Anyone wishing to read more deeply into the tangled events of the period will find a wealth of recent scholarship, although much of it, for obvious reasons, remains somewhat opaque on the matter of Maximian’s revolt. Recent titles by David Potter, Raymond Van Dam, Paul Stephenson, Timothy Barnes and Jonathan Bardill offer a rewarding spectrum of opinions.

  The imperial court of the early fourth century was, appropriately enough, somewhat Byzantine, although it had yet to acquire the truly baffling complexity that would fully justify that name. Like so much at the time, it was a blend of earlier and later practice. In this novel I have tried to find a middle ground, and avoid too much confusing nomenclature where possible. Christopher Kelly’s Ruling the Later Roman Empire (2009) provides a good modern study, while Anthony Spawford’s The Court and Court Society in Ancient Monarchies (2007) has some usefully concise chapters on the subject. What I have called the Corps of Protectores (schola protectorum, or protectores divini lateris – literally the ‘guardians of the sacred flank’) developed steadily from a select group of senior officers in the mid third century to something like an officer-training cadre in the mid fourth; my portrayal here is necessarily speculative, but I hope captures something of the feel of the elite bodyguard unit the Protectores appear to have become by the age of Constantine.

  H. C. Teitler’s Notarii and Exceptores (1985) collects what little is known of the organisation and activities of the imperial notaries of the period; they were probably not in reality the sinister inquisitors of popular imagination, but certainly included some unsavoury characters in their ranks.

  There is a surprisingly small amount of literature on eunuchs in the ancient world, bearing in mind how influential many of them were to become in the fourth century and later. The methods for ‘making’ them mentioned by Sallustius in this novel are based on those described in a seventh-century Greek medical treatise by Paul of Aegina.

  One of the pleasures of researching this story was the opportunity to visit many of the locations involved. Constantine’s great audience hall still stands in Trier (ancient Treveris), and with the massive ruin of the nearby baths gives a good impression of the scale and grandeur of the imperial palace complex that once covered the surrounding area. In France, the great aqueduct of the Pont du Gard is one of the most iconic structures of the Roman age. The ruins of a Gallo-Roman villa lie beneath the nearby chateau of Saint-Privat, but little is known of its date or appearance. The underground cryptoporticus of the ancient forum of Arelate can still be visited in modern Arles, although earlier in the Roman era it was probably not the dungeon-like place it appears today.

  In the same city, the amphitheatre and parts of the theatre still stand, as do the remains of the fourth-century baths beside the river, and the Musée Départemental Arles Antique displays a fascinating selection of local finds and some very elegant models of the city in its ancient heyday. The Musée d’Histoire de Marseille holds a similar selection of objects from ancient Massilia, and while actual Roman traces in the city are scarce, the Panier district of the old town to the north of the harbour preserves something of the shape of the ancient city. All these sites are fully described in Simon E. Cleary’s The Roman West, AD 200–500: an Archaeological Study (2013).

  Perhaps surprisingly, as this novel largely concerns the activities of the imperial court, I drew much inspiration from Robert Knapp’s Invisible Romans (2011), a book about the lives of the ordinary people of the empire: slaves and gladiators, soldiers and prostitutes. Knapp also writes about the role of magic in everyday life; for more about the more supernatural aspects of Roman belief, Georg Luck’s Arcana Mundi: Magic and the Occult in the Greek and Roman Worlds (2006) provides one of the best surveys.

  Writing is often a solitary business, but a finished novel is not a solo production. Once again, I thank my agent, Will Francis, at Janklow & Nesbit, and my editor Rosie de Courcy, together with the rest of the publication team at Head of Zeus, for their invaluable support. My thanks also to Michael King Macdona for his help with Latin translations, to Ross Cowan for the ongoing discussion on late-Roman rank structures, and to Professor Raymond Van Dam for sharing his views on the original name of Flavia Maxima Fausta. Any mistakes and misapprehensions remain my own!

  About Swords Around the Throne

  The second novel in this epic series, set at the end of the Roman Empire, sees a treasonous conspiracy threatening to bring down the Emperor Constantine. Only one man's courage stands between the rebels and victory.

  Rewarded for saving the emperor's life in battle, centurion Aurelius Castus is promoted to the Corps of Protectores, the elite imperial bodyguard, the swords around the throne.

  But he soon discovers the court to be just as hazardous as the battlefield; behind the gilded facade of empire, there are spiralling plots, murderous betrayals and dangerous seductions. And one relentless enemy.

  Reviews

  ‘Hugely enjoyable. The author winds up tension into an explosion of fast-paced events.’

  Conn Iggulden

  ‘Ian Ross blazes into the world of Empire and legions with the verve and panache of an old hand. This is up there with Harry Sidebottom and Ben Kane and is destined for the premier league.’

  M.C. Scott

  ‘An impressive debut… Set in a little-known era of the Roman Empire – the early 4th Century AD – it throws us head first into a chaotic world in which emperors rise and fall, fortunes change and a man does not know who to trust. This is a thumping good read, well-crafted, atmospheric and thoroughly enjoyable. A real page-turner. Where’s the next volume, please?’

  Ben Kane

  ‘Lifts the curtain on a neglected but fascinating period of Roman history, with a deft hand and a keen eye. Highly recommended.’

  Anthony Riches

  About Ian Ross

  IAN ROSS has been researching and writing about the later Roman world and its army for over a decade. He spent a year in Italy teaching English, but now lives in Bath. War at the Edge of the World is the first in the Twilight of Empire series.

  www.twilight-of-empire.com

  About the Twilight of Empire series

  1 – War at the Edge of the World

  War at the Edge of the World is the epic first instalment in a sequence of novels set at the end of the Roman Empire, during the reign of the Emperor Constantine.

  Centurion Aurelius Castus – once a soldier in the elite legions of the Danube – believes that his glory days are over, as he finds himself in the cold, grey wastes of northern Britain, battling to protect an empire in decline.

  When the king of the Picts dies in mysterious circumstances, Castus is selected to lead the Roman envoy sent to negotiate with the barbarians beyond Hadrian’s Wall. Here he will face the supreme challenge of command, in a mission riven with bloodshed, treachery and tests of his honour. As he struggles to avert disaster and keep his promise to a woman he has sworn to help, Castus discovers that nothing about this doomed enterprise was ever what it seemed.

  War at the Edge of the World is available here.

  2 – Swords Around the Throne

  The second novel in this epic series, set at the end of the Roman Empire, sees
a treasonous conspiracy threatening to bring down the Emperor Constantine. Only one man's courage stands between the rebels and victory.

  Rewarded for saving the emperor's life in battle, centurion Aurelius Castus is promoted to the Corps of Protectores, the elite imperial bodyguard, the swords around the throne.

  But he soon discovers the court to be just as hazardous as the battlefield; behind the gilded facade of empire, there are spiralling plots, murderous betrayals and dangerous seductions. And one relentless enemy.

  Book 3, The Battle for Rome, will be released in 2017

  A Letter from the Publisher

  We hope you enjoyed this book. We are an independent publisher dedicated to discovering brilliant books, new authors and great storytelling. Please join us at www.headofzeus.com and become part of our community of book-lovers.

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  HeadofZeusBooks

  The story starts here.

  First published in the UK in 2015 by Head of Zeus Ltd.

  Copyright © Ian Ross, 2015

  Author photograph: David Breckon

  Jacket design: Nik Keevil

  Maps © ki229 design

  The moral right of Ian Ross to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act of 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  9 7 5 3 1 2 4 6 8

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ISBN (HB) 9781784081164

  ISBN (TPB) 9781784081171

  ISBN (E) 97811784081157

  Head of Zeus Ltd

  Clerkenwell House

  45-47 Clerkenwell Green

  London EC1R 0HT

  www.headofzeus.com

  Contents

  Cover

  Welcome page

  Epigraph

  Historical Note

  Prologue

  Part 1: One Year Later

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Part 2

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Part 3

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Part 4

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Author’s Note

  About Swords Around the Throne

  Reviews

  About Ian Ross

  About the Twilight of Empire series

  An Invitation from the Publisher

  Copyright

 

 

 


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