Titus Artorius Justus joined the Roman legions for one reason: his brother was killed at the Battle of Teutoburger Wald in 9 AD, when Germanic tribes ambushed and destroyed three legions under Varus. Artorius wanted revenge, and the army was the way to get it.
James Mace follows Artorius from his first days as a raw recruit through his rise to master centurion across six books. He serves in the punitive campaigns of Germanicus Caesar against the Germanic tribes, fights through the Sacrovir Revolt in Gaul, is posted to Judea under Pontius Pilate, and is pulled out of retirement for one last campaign. The books are grounded in documented Roman military history, and Mace — who wrote the first draft of The Legionary while deployed with the U.S. Army in Iraq — brings a soldier’s understanding of military life to the ancient world.
Artorius is not just the protagonist of The Artorian Chronicles. His family name carries forward into The Artorian Dynasty, a 13-book sequel series following his descendants through the reigns of the Flavian emperors and beyond.
Reading Order
See the complete The Artorian Chronicles reading order for all books in the series.