About the Book
Who was Rome's greatest general, statesman, and nation-builder: Caesar or Pompey?
Few people have had as many words written about them down through the centuries as Julius Caesar - the brilliant general who made Queen Cleopatra of Egypt his mistress. He has captured the imagination of playwrights, historians, soldiers, and emperors.
Little has been written about his ally, son-in-law, and eventual enemy Pompey the Great, who crashed onto the Roman scene as a victorious twenty-three-year-old general and who, at the height of his career, was arguably more famous, more popular, and more successful than Caesar.
Caesar Versus Pompey tells the parallel life stories of Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great, as their lives and loves became intertwined and interdependent, as they grew from rivals to partners, then from joint rulers to warring foes. One strove to preserve the Roman Republic, the other destroyed it.
Table of Contents:
Atlas
Illustrations
Introduction
A Bolt of Lightning Changes Everything
Caesar’s Uncle Takes Power, Pompey on Trial
Caesar the Priest, Pompey the Boy General
Caesar in Jeopardy, Pompey Becomes Great
Caesar Hides, Pompey Triumphs
After Sulla, Pompey & Caesar on Opposing Sides
Crassus the Property Developer & Cicero the Lawyer
Sneaky Sertorius versus Persistent Pompey
Pesky Spartacus Terminated by Crassus and Pompey
As Caesar Weeps, Pompey Conquers the East
Cicero Rules, Caesar’s Star Rises
Pompey’s Triumphant Return, Caesar Imperator in Spain
Caesar, Pompey & Crassus Rule Rome
Caesar Begins to Conquer Gaul, Pompey Rehabilitates Cicero
Caesar Subdues Gaul & Again Embraces Pompey
As Pompey & Crassus Rule, Caesar Invades Britain
With Two Deaths, Everything Changes
The Revolting Gauls Pressure Caesar
This Means War
Battle of the Giants
Both Assassinated
Assessment
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author :
Stephen Dando-Collins is the multi-award-winning author of forty-eight books, including biographies and nonfiction works on ancient Rome, Greece, and Persia, as well as American, British, French, and Australian history including World War I and World War II. These works focus on military history, with Stephen considered an authority on the legions of imperial Rome. He has also written several successful novels and children's novels. His books are widely published in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and they appear in translation in Spain, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Albania, Russia, Korea, and Latin America.
Review :
“A triumph! At first blush, it might be easy to think this story has been told. But the story that’s told is incomplete. Too often, Pompey the Great stands in the shadows of Julius Caesar. In Caesar Versus Pompey, Stephen Dando-Collins invites Pompey to step out of the shadows and stand in the light, shoulder to shoulder with Caesar. The story of these two titans is dramatic, full of twists and turns, partnerships and betrayals. Without one, there is no other.
"By telling the story of Pompey and Caesar in the way that only he can, Dando-Collins fills in an important gap in the dramatic events that culminated in the collapse of the Roman Republic. Pompey and Caesar needed each other, and any student or fan of Roman history needs this important book.”
—Phillip Barlag, author of Evil Roman Emperors, and host of The Greats of History podcast
