Decius Metellus

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Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger is the creation of author John Maddox Roberts. There are currently eleven books published in the SPQR series, with others not yet published in English, and several short stories. The stories are written as memoirs by the aged Metellus during the reign of Augustus Caesar, after he has outlived all his enemies and ambitions, and no longer cares whom he offends or what anyone might do to him.

Born into a prominent Roman family (the nephew of Metellus Pius) in 95 BC, Decius Metellus first rose to prominence as a scout commander in the civil war against Quintus Sertorius, during which he received a scar from an Iberian spear.

He held several judicial offices in the turbulent days of the end of the Roman Republic and the foundation of the Roman Empire. During this time he became an ally of Cicero and a mortal enemy of Publius Clodius Pulcher. He was forced to serve as aedile twice in a row, and despite his personal preferences, served in the Legio X Gemina at the start of the Gallic Wars, surviving capture by Ariovistus. He later married Julia, the (fictional) niece of Julius Caesar. In the novel most recently published in English, Under Vesuvius, Metellus solves a murder in the resort town of Baiae, while serving as praetor peregrinus.

It is known from the brief short stories that he outlived all of his friends and family, eventually becoming a distinguished senator during the time of Augustus. Although he was an outspoken critic of Augustus, the emperor left him alone, knowing that he was harmless and powerless. After solving the murder of Julia the Elder's lover in 22 BC, clearing Julia of all suspicion, Augustus offered him the position of sacred king. Decius declined on the basis that he viewed exile on an unknown island as being preferable. His exploits after that are unknown.