Cleopatra's Kidnappers: How Caesar's Sixth Legion Gave Egypt to Rome and Rome to Caesar [Hardcover]

Stephen Dando-Collins (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471719331 | ISBN-13: 978-0471719335 | Publication Date: October 28, 2005 | Edition: 1st

A powerful tale of war, romance, and one of history's most desperate gambles

Julius Caesar was nothing if not bold. When, in the wake of his defeat of Pompey at Pharsalus his victorious legions refused to march another step under his command, he pursued his fleeing rival into Egypt with an impossibly small force of Gallic and German cavalry, raw Italian recruits, and nine hundred Spanish prisoners of war-tough veterans of Pompey's Sixth Legion.

Cleopatra's Kidnappers tells the epic saga of Caesar's adventures in Egypt through the eyes of these captured, but never defeated, legionaries. In this third volume in his definitive history of the Roman legions, Stephen Dando-Collins reveals how this tiny band of fierce warriors led Caesar's little army to great victories against impossible odds. Bristling with action and packed with insights and newly revealed facts, this eye-opening account introduces you to the extraordinary men who made possible Caesar's famous boast, "I came, I saw, I conquered."

Praise for Caesar's Legion

"A unique and splendidly researched story, following the trials and triumphs of Julius Caesar's Legio X. . . . More than a mere unit account, it incorporates the history of Rome and the Roman army at the height of their power and gory glory. Many military historians consider Caesar's legions the world's most efficient infantry before the arrival of gunpowder. This book shows why. Written in readable, popular style, Caesar's Legion is a must for military buffs and anyone interested in Roman history at a critical point in European civilization."
-T. R. Fehrenbach author of This Kind of War, Lone Star, and Comanches

Editorial Reviews

Review

“…the meticulous research and racy writing style make this a fascinating and revealing book.” (Good Book Guide, 1^st December 2005)

From the Inside Flap

They were as good as dead. When nine hundred battle-hardened veterans of Pompey the Great's Sixth Legion were surrounded by thousands of Caesar's troops at the culmination of the Battle of Pharsalus, each was prepared to fight on until the last of them perished. Shrewdly, Caesar promised to spare their lives in return for surrender, then he made them an offer they couldn't refuse: be sent back to Italy penniless and disgraced, or accompany Caesar in pursuit of Pompey and regain both honor and wealth.

Cleopatra's Kidnappers tells the gripping true story of the momentous events of 48–47 bc, during which, according to most history books, Caesar "dallied in Egypt." What those books don't mention is that his "dalliance" was a bitter seven-month life-or-death struggle; that Caesar was opposed by a well-equipped and determined Egyptian army that had just murdered Pompey and was now after him; and that without the Sixth Legion, Caesar never would have made it out of Egypt alive.

This third volume in Stephen Dando-Collins's widely celebrated history of the Roman legions focuses on how these few captured but undefeated soldiers became the invincible force that allowed Caesar to come, to see, and to conquer. From a front-line view, it re-creates the fierce battles in which this tiny band led Caesar's very small army to stunning victories against much larger and better-equipped forces. It takes you through months of vicious street fighting, which culminated in an all-out confrontation on the banks of the Nile and into the short but bloody Battle of Zela in Turkey immediately after.

Dando-Collins also investigates Caesar's kidnapping of the Egyptian royal family, which included the fifteen-year-old King Ptolemy and his elder sister Cleopatra. He examines Caesar's romantic involvement with a girl young enough to be his daughter—a girl to whom it was soon clear that the only way she could hope to survive was by attaching herself to a Roman strongman and hoping she picked the toughest.

Based on the author's thirty-year study of classical texts and inscriptions, primary sources and ancient commentaries, Cleopatra's Kidnappers takes you deep into the heart of the epic struggle to control an empire. There, you'll meet a host of fascinating characters—some famous, some long forgotten—whose real lives and extraordinary deeds have become the stuff of fiction, legend, and myth.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1st edition (October 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471719331
• ISBN-13: 978-0471719335
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #914,560 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen Dando-Collins is the author of Caesar's Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar's Elite Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome, Nero's Killing Machine: The True Story of Rome's Remarkable Fourteenth Legion, Cleopatra's Kidnappers: How Caesar's Sixth Legion Gave Egypt to Rome and Rome to Caesar, and Mark Antony's Heroes: How the Third Gallica Legion Saved an Apostle and Created an Emperor. He is an Australian-born researcher, editor, and author who has spent the last three decades identifying and studying the individual legions of the Roman army of the late Republic and the empire of the Caesars.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Caesar's Formidable VI Ironsides, October 3, 2006

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Readalots (South Texas, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Cleopatra's Kidnappers: How Caesar's Sixth Legion Gave Egypt to Rome and Rome to Caesar (Hardcover)

With this third text about Roman legions, Dando-Collins (D-C) has again produced a very good military history. His "Cleopatra's Kidnappers" (2006) is a riveting rendering of the legio VI Ferrata.

D-C begins his story with the 48 BC Battle of Farsala (Greece) where an outnumber Caesar defeats Pompey in his bid to take over the Roman Empire. Cornering the tough Legio VI veterans, as Pompey's other legions retreat mostly into death, Caesar offers a deal to these fearless Spaniards. Half agree and half withdraw with the Pompeians. Caesar's VI becomes his best troops through campaigns in Egypt, Greece and Spain. By the end, the VI appropriately earned its immortal name "Ferrata" ("Ironsides") marching into victory, wealth, and glory!

This book is an interesting read for students of Roman military history. D-C refernces several credible ancient sources (Caesar, Appian, Plutarch, Tacitus, Suetonius, Polybus, Cassius Dio, Josephus, Cicero, Pliny the Younger, Seneca, Livy, and Arrian). When necessary he fills in history's gaps with well-reasoned guesses. It is unfortunate that D-C doesn't offer footnotes. A brief 8-page sources appendix is presented.

D-C's novelistic style made "Cleopatra's Kidnappers" a quick read. I read the 286 (hardback) pages leisurely in a few days. The author does his best work while describing battle (i.e. pages 140-44 for a spectacular portrayal of the Battle of the Nile, and pages 163-65 the exciting Battle of Zela). The book witnesses the mighty VI's power in warfare even at half its original size (Caesar never commanded more than 900 legionaires in the VI). The Ferrata was small but formidable.

Curiously, there are only three Mediterranean and city maps (D-C's first two legion books proffer pages and pages informative battle maps). Also, it would have been helpful to hear more of the VI's pre-Caesarian history(a deficiency that allows the book to earn only four stars).

This book is recommendable. It is hopeful that D-C will continue to march, for us, with Rome's legions.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Caesar for the regular guy, February 5, 2007

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Patrick Downey "Author" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cleopatra's Kidnappers: How Caesar's Sixth Legion Gave Egypt to Rome and Rome to Caesar (Hardcover)

This book was my first foray into ancient history so I can't say whether or not all the info is fact as one reviewer seems to question but I recommend it for anyone just starting to learn about this period. It is a non-imposing 250 pages and comes with both an index explaining the ranks of Roman soldiers and their modern day equivalents as well as a very helpful glossary containing definitions to all the old terms that novices like myself don't know. I picked this up after watching the History Channel to learn the story behind the Caesar-Cleopatra-Marc Anthony intrigue and am happy I did so. If you're an academic this might not be for you. But if you're just getting your feet wet check it out it will help you decide if you really want to read more or are content watching the History Channel.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good history read in spite of gimmicky title and premise, August 22, 2008

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Whitt Patrick Pond "Whitt" (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cleopatra's Kidnappers: How Caesar's Sixth Legion Gave Egypt to Rome and Rome to Caesar (Hardcover)

I admit that I bought Cleopatra's Kidnappers: How Caesar's Sixth Legion Gave Egypt to Rome and Rome to Caesar because of the cleverly chosen title. Having read it now though, I feel it would've been better served by a more straightforward title - and premise - that would've made it a slightly shorter book but allowed it a more focused scope and a tidier ending. As it was it went on somewhat longer than it should have, far beyond the central events which make up the best part of the book. For me, Dando-Collins tries too hard to make it a history of the Sixth Legion and of their role in Cleopatra's kidnapping (which in itself is a sensationalization of events to allow the book a gimmicky title - it was more an act of protective custody than anything else). The actual kidnapping as such is only a single fourteen-page chapter. And in trying to make it a history of the sixth legion, the book extends past the conclusion of the events of real interest and past the deaths of all involved into what should have been no more than a footnote detailing what happened to the Sixth Legion in the three centuries afterwards. It would have been a better book if it had concluded with the end of the civil wars and of all the principal figures who were a part of them.

That said, however, I found Cleopatra's Kidnappers a highly readable and enjoyable history of a very interesting - and important - episode in Roman history. The inside jacket describes it quite well:

"Cleopatra's Kidnappers tells the gripping true story of the momentous events of 48-47 BC, during which, according to most history books, Caesar 'dallied in Egypt.' What those books don't mention is that his 'dalliance' was a bitter seven-month life-or-death struggle; that Caesar was opposed by a well-equipped and determined Egyptian army that had just murdered Pompey and was now after him and that without the Sixth Legion, Caesar never would have made it out of Egypt alive."

Dando-Collins does good history. His style is smooth and highly readable, he's done his research well, and he manages to to lay out the chronology of events in such a way that the reader can follow Caesar - and the Sixth Legion - through all of their movements and actions in the empire in an as-it-happens style during the period under examination. I liked the fact that Dando-Collins was very scrupulous in sticking to the known facts (with his various sources cited), not putting words in the mouths of his historical figures that weren't actual quotations. When something is not known, he simply says that it is not known. When he engages in conjecture, it is always made clear and is based on his intimate familiarity with the customs and procedures of the times:

"Many historians have assumed that from that first night, Cleopatra made herself at home there at Caesar's guesthouse, within the royal compound south of the Canopic Way. Later outcomes point to a different turn of events. After ordering a strong guard to be provided for Cleopatra, it seems that in the early hours of the morning Caesar sent her across the Canopic Way to take up residence one more in the wing of the palace that had been her home prior to her ejection by Ptolemy's people. As she settled into her old quarters, a guard of Roman troops took up positions outside, with orders to let no one make contact with her without Caesar's permission. Almost certainly, Caesar chose the 6th Legion to provide Cleopatra's guard. The youths of the 28th Legion were too callow and unworldly for such a delicate task. The German troopers of Caesar's bodyguard were too coarse; besides, they weren't Roman citizens, so to place them over Cleopatra would have been a rank insult to the young queen. The tough, no-nonsense veterans of the 6th would have been the ideal men for the job."

I found the book highly informative, changing the way I viewed these events and this period. As brilliant and lucky a general as he was, Caesar did come perilously close to disaster on a number of occasions, any one of which could have changed history dramatically. As could have the deaths of seemingly minor characters at the time whose descendants were destined to play major roles in subsequent Roman history. The various key battles were laid out in extremely clear fashion, allowing the reader to follow the ebb and flow of the action with ease. And the details Dando-Collins brings out, in everything from how legions were organized and how they served to what triumphs consisted of and what actions did or did not merit a triumph, did much to bring the reality of that ancient time to brilliant life in the book. Highly recommended.