Cleopatra's Kidnappers: How Caesars Sixth Legion Gave Egypt to Rome and Rome to Caesar

by Stephen Dando-Collins

Overview

A powerful tale of war, romance, and one of history's most desperate gambles

Julius Caesar was nothing if not bold. When, in the wake of his defeat of Pompey at Pharsalus his victorious legions refused to march another step under his command, he pursued his fleeing rival into Egypt with an impossibly small force of Gallic and German cavalry, raw Italian recruits, and nine hundred Spanish prisoners of war-tough veterans of Pompey's Sixth Legion.

Cleopatra's Kidnappers tells the epic saga of Caesar's adventures in Egypt through the eyes of these captured, but never defeated, legionaries. In this third volume in his definitive history of the Roman legions, Stephen Dando-Collins reveals how this tiny band of fierce warriors led Caesar's little army to great victories against impossible odds. Bristling with action and packed with insights and newly revealed facts, this eye-opening account introduces you to the extraordinary men who made possible Caesar's famous boast, "I came, I saw, I conquered."

Praise for Caesar's Legion

"A unique and splendidly researched story, following the trials and triumphs of Julius Caesar's Legio X. . . . More than a mere unit account, it incorporates the history of Rome and the Roman army at the height of their power and gory glory. Many military historians consider Caesar's legions the world's most efficient infantry before the arrival of gunpowder. This book shows why. Written in readable, popular style, Caesar's Legion is a must for military buffs and anyone interested in Roman history at a critical point in European civilization."
-T. R. Fehrenbach author of This Kind of War, Lone Star, and Comanches

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781118040454
Publisher:	Trade Paper Press
Publication date:	12/09/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

STEPHEN DANDO-COLLINS is the author of Caesar's Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar's Elite Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome and Nero's Killing Machine: The True Story of Rome's Remarkable Fourteenth Legion, both from Wiley. He is an Australian-born researcher, editor, and author who has spent the last three decades identifying and studying the individual legions of the Roman army of the late Republic and the empire of the Caesars.

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Table of Contents

Atlas.

Acknowledgments.

Author’s Note.

Introduction: Caesar in Context.

i. Last Stand in Alexandria.

ii. Trapped.

iii. According to Brutus.

iv. The Deal.

v. Cleopatra’s War.

vi. Mark Antony, Ruler of Rome.

vii. Sailing into History.

viii. Egyptian Resistance.

ix. The Kidnap.

x. Caesar’s Baby.

xi. Defeat and Castration.

xii. Reinforcements.

xiii. Taking the Island.

xiv. Releasing the King.

xv. The Relief Column.

xvi. Battle on the Nile.

xvii. To the Victor, the Spoils.

xviii. Going after Pharnaces.

xix. The Chariots of Zela.

xx. The Roman Triumphs of the 6th.

xxi. One Last Battle.

xxii. Porcia’s Secret.

xxiii. After the Murder.

xxiv. The Wolf’s Twins.

xxv. The Imperial 6ths.

Appendix A: Republican Roman Military Ranks, First Century B.C., and Their Modern-Day Equivalents.

Appendix B: Imperial Postings of the Two 6th Legions.

Appendix C: Sources.

Glossary.

Index.

Editorial Reviews

* “…the meticulous research and racy writing style make this a fascinating and revealing book.” (Good Book Guide, 1st December 2005)

From the Publisher