The Death of Kings
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| Author | Conn Iggulden |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Emperor series |
| Subject(s) | Julius Caesar |
| Genre(s) | Historical novel |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| Released | January 2004 |
| Media Type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 551 (Hardback) 688 (Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-00-713691-9 (Hardback) ISBN 0-00-713692-7 (Paperback) |
| Preceded by | The Gates of Rome |
| Followed by | The Field of Swords |
The Death of Kings is a novel by British author Conn Iggulden, and is the second book in the Emperor series, which follows the life of Julius Caesar.
The book was released in the UK in January 2004, published by HarperCollins.
Following on from the end of The Gates of Rome, a young Julius Caesar is forced to leave Rome following the rise of Cornelius Sulla and slaying of Julius' uncle Gaius Marius. Julius serves on board a war galley patrolling the Mediterranean, but his ship is captured by pirates and held to ransom. The crew is eventually abandoned on the northern coast of Africa. Over time, he recruits men and trains them into a fighting unit, before tracking down the pirates who captured him and exacting vengeance. Julius rapidly makes a name for himself as being a leader of men. He takes his new army into Greece where Mithridates VI of Pontus was rebelling against Roman occupation. Caesar crushes the uprising, and returns to Rome as a hero. As Caesar begins to forge alliances and enemies in the Senate, and as Sulla is assassinated, Rome is rocked by yet another uprising - this time it is the slaves led by Spartacus.
Although it is a work of fiction, many of the characters and events are based on historical sources. Iggulden added a historical note to the book in which he explains the differences between his novel and history. In particular, the murder of Cornelius Sulla.
