The Death of Kings

The Death of Kings

The Death of Kings first edition cover.
Author	Conn Iggulden
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	Emperor series
Subject	Julius Caesar
Genre	Historical novel
Publisher	HarperCollins
Publication date	5 January 2004
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	551 pp (first edition)
ISBN
OCLC	59309869
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.

Exiled from Rome by the new Dictator, Sulla, Gaius Julius Caesar is serving with a naval legion. After playing a crucial part in liberating a Roman fort in Mytilene under the command of rebels, Julius receives the honour wreath and increases his standing among his men yet further. Despite this success, his war galley is attacked and captured by pirates, with Julius himself receiving a serious head injury. The alliance between Mithridates and the pirates of Cilicia, forged during the Second Mithridatic War, allowed piracy to thrive in the Mediterranean. Julius' household fares no better with its head serving at sea: Cornelia, Julius' wife is assaulted by Sulla despite being heavily pregnant. Julius and Cornelia's daughter is born and named Julia in honour of her father.

Marcus Brutus meanwhile has finished his term with a legion in Macedon and is causing trouble with the locals on his return journey to Rome. He and Renius manage to meet jealous husbands and vindictive fathers before returning to the city. In the city itself, Julius' estate manager Tubruk swears revenge on Sulla and schemes to sell himself back into slavery in order to enter Sulla's household. Tubruk then successfully poisons Sulla before managing to escape the city before he can be traced. Antonidus, Sulla's right-hand, promises to track down Sulla's killer and tears Rome apart in his search.

As Julius and the survivors of his galley gradually recover while detained on the pirates' ship, their captors demand a ransom. While the men attempt to negotiate lower ransom prices, Julius demands a much high price than the one proposed, defying the pirates and declaring that he will re-claim whatever is paid anyway. Eventually the survivors are left on the north African coast when the ransoms are paid.