Late summer 116 AD. Across the deserts and ancient cities of Mesopotamia Trajan's grand war of conquest against Parthia rages on with no end in sight. Rome stands at the highwater mark of imperial expansion. Its borders stretching from the scorching heat of the Persian Gulf to the freezing forests and wastes of the Caledonian frontier.Fergus is now second in command of the Fourth Legion. Assigned to garrison the great metropolis of Seleucia on the Tigris, he and his small command are soon caught up in the thick of a major uprising against Roman rule. A rebellion that will stretch Roman resources and determination to breaking point and determine the limits of empire.Meanwhile back on the island of Vectis off the southern coast of Britannia, Marcus, Fergus's father, has become a fugitive. Run out of Rome and stripped of his position by powerful senatorial enemies who want his head, Marcus returns home, knowing that he and his family stand on the brink of complete...

July 113 AD. Seven peaceful years have passed since the successful conclusion of emperor Trajan's Dacian war. Marcus, now a Roman senator and loyal if lukewarm supporter of the powerful senatorial faction committed to world conquest, finds meaning in his military charity work and seeing his family grow and prosper. But to the east in the Roman provinces bordering the mighty Parthian empire, trouble is brewing. The aging emperor Trajan has set his sights on the strategically important kingdom of Armenia and has resolved that nothing is going to stop him from waging a campaign of conquest on a scale not seen since Caesar's Gallic wars. Meanwhile Fergus, Marcus's son and now head of security for Hadrian, the rising star and leader of the faction committed to retrenchment, becomes embroiled in a major conspiracy who's far reaching consequences will directly affect his family's security and prosperity. Summoned to the east and promoted to Prefect of the Seventh Numidian Auxiliary...

On Rome’s northern frontier amongst the fierce and hostile Gallic tribes, Flavius, father, Roman patriot and veteran of Telamon will do anything to protect his wife and children from the savage war that is soon to come to the heart of Italy. In Carthage, Gisgo, proud warrior prince of Numidia, restless and broke - joins Hannibal’s mercenary army on its epic five-month march to and across the Alps in search of a fortune to repay his crippling debts. It is spring 218 BCE. The greatest war the ancient world has yet witnessed is about to engulf the western Mediterranean. A conflict that will pit duty to country and family against a lust for fame and wealth and decide the future course of the Western world. In Rome the senate has demanded retribution for the fall of Saguntum, an allied city, putting them on a direct collision course with the proud, merchant masters of Carthage. As war between the two Mediterranean super powers becomes inevitable, two men, Flavius and Gisgo, shaped by circumstance and tradition, will be swept into the furious battle for supremacy from which they will find that they cannot escape. “In Defence of the Walls of Rome” is book one in the “Soldier of the Republic” series

Spring 115 AD. Emperor Trajan, conscious of his failing health decides the time has come for the legions to march on Ctesiphon, the Parthian capital. In an ambitious quest to match the glory of Alexander the Great, Trajan gambles that all of Mesopotamia is ready for the taking.

Early autumn 105 AD. As the clouds of war gather on the Danube frontier, Marcus, retired veteran of the 2nd Batavian auxiliary cohort faces a renewed and catastrophic threat to his family and his farm on the isle of Vectis. Powerful, vengeful forces and a dangerous, resourceful opponent are stalking his family home, intent on taking it from him. Forced onto the run to protect a secret that his enemies wish to use against him, Marcus heads for Rome where he hopes to set matters right. But amongst the crime infested slums of the city and the magnificence and splendour of the Roman colosseum he will discover a different, unexpected path, one that will set him on the road to the very heart of absolute imperial power.Spring 106 AD. Upper Pannonia. As the winter snows finally recede, Fergus, Marcus's son and Corbulo's grandson, now a junior officer in the Twentieth Legion, prepares to take part in Emperor Trajan's Dacian war. As the Legions are ordered across the Danube frontier and...

Spring 115 AD. On Rome's Parthian frontier the war rages on between Emperor Trajan's legions and the ineffective, distracted Parthian forces.In the city of Rome, Marcus, father, senator, ex-soldier and veteran of Rome has become a government politician responsible for the supply of grain to the hungry, needy masses. But as he soon discovers there is a huge difference between soldiering and politics. Faced with a major crisis and a mysterious plot to humiliate and topple him from his position Marcus will learn that ambition has a price and that, in Rome, men of true honour and loyalty have become a rare quality.At Antioch in Syria, Fergus, son of Marcus and in the employ of the Legate Hadrian is sent on a mission to negotiate the release of Adalwolf, Hadrian's close friend and adviser, who has fallen into Parthian hands.Journeying far beyond Rome's northern and eastern frontiers Fergus strives to achieve his dream of one day becoming a legionary legate. And...

Late summer 116 AD. Rome stands at the highwater mark of imperial expansion. Assigned to garrison the great metropolis of Seleucia on the Tigris, Fergus and his small command are soon caught up in the thick of a major uprising against Roman rule. A rebellion that will stretch Roman resources and determination to breaking point and determine the limits of empire.