Iron and Rust
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 AD235Dawn 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.
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First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2014
Copyright © Harry Sidebottom 2014
Maps © John Gilkes 2014.
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2015
Cover photographs © Stephen Mulcahey/Arcangel Images (eagle sculpture); Shuttershock.com (ancient ruins, background).
Harry Sidebottom asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
While some of the events and characters are based on historical incidents and figures, this novel is entirely a work of fiction.
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Source ISBN: 970007499847
Ebook Edition © 2014 ISBN: 9780007499861
Version: 2015-02-17
Our history now descends from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust.
CASSIUS DIO LXXII.36.4
There have never been such earthquakes and plagues, or tyrants and kings with such unexpected careers, which were rarely if ever recorded before.
HERODIAN I.I.4
CONTENTS
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
The Northern FrontierA Camp outside Mogontiacum, EightDays 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 safethrough 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 â 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
