Caesar has crossed the Rubicon! Pompey has ordered the senate to flee
Rome with him. Once Caesar has Rome in his hands he plans on following
Pompey to Greece. He plans to put Mark Antony in charge of Rome, while
he takes Brutus with him to fight Pompey. It is something that Brutus
has a hard time with, so he decides to join Pompey in Greece.
Caesar has only one option, and that is to go after Pompey and Brutus.
Min the cold of winter he invades Greece. Before the armies can join in
battle, he offers Pompey's army peace, and is rejected. Caesar then
leads Pompey on a chase across Greece, finally turning to face him on
the flat plain at Pharsalus. Outnumbered two to one Caesar wins the
battle and Pompey is forced to flee. Caesar follows the fugitive south
and then across the Mediterranean to Egypt. There he finds that Pompey
has been assassinated.
Now in Alexandria, Caesar meets with Ptolemy, the 13 year old king. It
doesn't take Caesar long to realise that Ptolemy is ruled by someone
else. He is then surprised when Cleopatra is delivered to him in a
rolled up carpet. It doesn't take long for the beautiful queen to
convince Caesar to join her in her quest for control of the Egyptian
throne.
Although Caesar's men capture Ptolemy, and negations between the two
nations are successful, treachery abounds. When all is said and done
Caesar begins to plan an empire based in Rome and including Alexandria
and Cleopatra. Later, he is given a grand welcome back in Rome. He
informs the citizens of his dreams of a Roman Empire.
Unfortunately for Caesar, there are members of the senate who don't like
what he is planning. He is offered a crown, but he rejects it, which
pleases the masses. Although he rejects the crown, it doesn't prevent
certain members of the senate from assassinating him.
Author Conn Iggulden had written an excellent historical novel that
finishes off the Empire series. Space constraints prevented the author
from offering the complete story, however, it is still a very good read.
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