Empire Books in Order

Marcus Valerius Aquila barely reaches Roman Britain before a death sentence from Emperor Commodus forces him to vanish into an obscure auxiliary cohort on Hadrian's Wall, where rebellion, brutal frontier warfare and a new identity test his courage and loyalty.

As northern tribes pour south under warlord Calgus, Marcus, now Centurion Corvus of the 1st Tungrians, must shape untested Syrian archers into a fighting unit while ambitious new officers and the emperor's agents close in on his deadly secret.

Ordered deep into rebel held north Britannia, Marcus joins a handpicked force racing to seize a mountain fortress before a resurgent enemy can regroup, all while imperial assassins who know his true name close in from behind.

Transferred from Hadrian's Wall to the Tungrians' home city in Germania, Marcus and his men confront a plague damaged province terrorised by a masked bandit chief whose savage raids and superior sword threaten to shatter Rome's hold on the region.

Sent to Dacia to guard the gold mines that bankroll the empire, Marcus and the Tungrians must hold a remote valley against marauding Sarmatian horsemen and treacherous supposed allies, fighting to keep both Rome's treasure and their own lives intact.

Recalled to a troubled Britannia, Marcus leads the Tungrians north of the abandoned Antonine Wall to recover a lost legionary eagle from an almost unassailable mountain fortress, risking swamp, snow and a vengeful war leader to save a disgraced legion.

Back in Rome, Marcus finally tracks the cabal behind his family's murder, plunging into a deadly hunt through slums, villas and arenas where a senator, crime boss, Praetorian officer and champion gladiator are all ready to spill more blood.

When Rome becomes too dangerous, Marcus and his legion are sent east to the Parthian frontier, tasked with turning a sullen Third Legion into a fighting force, breaking a siege and persuading a foreign king to step back from all out war.

After their ordeal in Parthia, the Tungrians are ordered beyond the Rhine to snatch a feared tribal priestess, only to find themselves crossing haunted forests and old battlefields with stolen sacred treasures while a vengeful chieftain hunts them for sacrifice.

Fresh from betrayal in the German forests, Marcus and the Tungrians are sent to Gaul to crush an outlaw named Maturnus, only to find a swelling rebel movement and a Praetorian led expedition that could destroy Marcus if his true identity is exposed.

After saving the emperor in Rome, Marcus and his comrades are dispatched to Alexandria, then south along the desert roads to reopen a caravan route where an unknown enemy has annihilated a frontier garrison and threatens the trade riches that feed the empire.

Having saved a wealthy province and gone into hiding, Marcus is drawn back to a conspiracy riddled Rome when his patron joins a plot against Commodus, forcing him to fight once more as a gladiator with the emperor himself marked as his ultimate opponent.

In the turmoil following Emperor Pertinax's murder, Marcus and Scaurus are pressed into Septimius Severus's service, leading a hard marching legion into Thrace as a sacrificial advance guard whose job is to slow Niger's six legions at any cost.

As Severus drives east against his rival, Marcus and his patron are ordered to unmask a spy ring in newly conquered territory, then stand in the front line when battle hardened legions loyal to the losing emperor hurl themselves into a decisive showdown.

Set after the Year of the Five Emperors, Marcus and Scaurus serve in Severus's army as it chases Pescennius Niger towards Antioch, launching risky raids and skirmishes until a final, savage battle on a literal field of blood chooses Rome's next ruler.