Many also of the people living close to the ocean itself near the mouths of the Albis sent envoys to him asking for his friendship, though their real purpose was to get money. This was made clear by the fact that, when he had done as they desired, many attacked him, threatening to make war, and yet he came to terms with all of them. For even though the terms proposed were contrary to their wishes, yet when they saw the gold pieces they were captivated. The gold that he gave them was of course genuine, whereas the silver and the gold currency that he furnished to the Romans was debased; for he manufactured the one kind out of lead plated with silver and the other out of copper plated with gold.
He likewise published outright to the world some of his basest deeds, as if they were excellent and praiseworthy, whereas others he revealed unintentionally through the very precautions which he took to conceal them, as, for example, in the case of the money.
Antoninus devastated the whole land and the whole sea and left nothing anywhere unharmed.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to my family for supporting me through another novel, including my mother who has been reading this series against my advice, and consequently giving herself nightmares. Thanks to Michael and Kit at Canelo and Miranda Ward for a thorough copy-edit.
Bibliography and Further Reading
As usual, I have consulted too many texts in the research for this novel to list, but some of the principal books I have relied on are included here:
Bowman, A. K., Garnsey, P. & Cameron, A., (2005) The Cambridge Ancient History: Volume XII, the Crisis of Empire AD 193–337, 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Carroll, M., (2001) Romans, Celts and Germans, the German Provinces of Rome, Tempus, Stroud
Goldsworthy, A., (2011) The Complete Roman Army, Thames & Hudson, London
Grant, M., (1996) The Severans, the Changed Roman Empire, Routledge, Abingdon
La Baume, P., (Not known) The Romans on the Rhine, Stollfuss Verlag, Bonn
Mattingly, H., (1948) Tacitus on Britain and Germany, a New Translation of the Agricola and the Germania, Penguin, West Drayton
Matyszak, P., (2020) Forgotten Peoples of the Ancient World, Thames & Hudson, London
Murdoch, A., (2006) Rome’s Greatest Defeat, Massacre in the Teutoburg Forest, The History Press, Stroud
Southern, P., (2001) The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine, Routledge, Abingdon
Swain, S., Harrison, S. & Elsner, J., (2007) Severan Culture, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Syvänne, I., (2017) Caracalla, A Military Biography, Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley
About the Author
Alex Gough is an author of Roman historical adventures. The Carbo Chronicles, including Watchmen of Rome and Bandits of Rome, was written as a result of a lifelong obsession with ancient Rome, and the culmination of a lot of research into the underclasses of the time. He has also written a collection of adventures following Carbo and other characters from Watchmen of Rome, where you can learn more about their rich lives.
For reviews of Roman fiction, and articles about Roman history go to www.romanfiction.com
Also by Alex Gough
Carbo and the Thief
Who All Die
Carbo of Rome
Bandits of Rome
The Imperial Assassin
Emperor’s Sword
Emperor’s Knife
Emperor’s Axe
Emperor’s Spear
First published in the United Kingdom in 2021 by Canelo
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Copyright © Alex Gough, 2021
The moral right of Alex Gough to be identified as the creator of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Ebook ISBN 9781800322127
Print ISBN 9781800322165
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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