List of fiction set in ancient Rome
Historical novels arranged by the period of their setting
Rome as a Kingdom
If you know of works set in the pre-Republican era, please expand this section.Founding Fathers by Alfred Duggan. Originally titled Children of the Wolf, this novel tells the story of King Romulus and the founding of Rome through the eyes of a variety of characters who come to the new city.- Roma by Steven Saylor. According to the author's website, the book covers part of Rome's early history.
Early Republic (before 264 BC)
If you know of works set in the Early Republic, please expand this section.- Roma, published March 6, 2007, by Steven Saylor. According to the author's website, the book covers part of Rome's early history.
- The Etruscan by Mika Waltari. Part of the story is set on the first few years of the Republic.Traitors’ Legion by Jay Scotland, a swashbuckler about a disgraced legion, set in Hannibal's time.
Middle Republic (264–133 BC)
If you know of works set in the Middle Republic, please expand this section.- Roma, published March 6, 2007, by Steven Saylor. According to the author's website, the book covers part of Rome's Republican history.Scipio: A Novel, published March 1998 by Ross Leckie. This is the second book in a loose trilogy about the Second Punic War.Scipio trilogy by Santiago Posteguillo
- Africanus, el hijo del cónsul
- Las legiones malditas
- La traición de RomaOf Merchants & Heroes, published 2008 by Paul Waters. Set at the end of the 3rd century BC, about the life of a fictional Roman called Marcus. In the novel Marcus becomes involved in the war against Philip V of Macedon, which was led by Titus Quinctius Flamininus, who later became Consul and is a major character in the story.
- "Salammbô", published 1977 by Gustave Flaubert. 240 BC. The novel is set before and during the Mercenary War, an uprising of mercenaries in the employ of Carthage in the 3rd century BC.
- "The Shield of Rome", published 2011 by William Kelso. 216 BC. The novel is set during "Rome's finest hour" after the battle of Cannae when Hannibal threatens the very existence of the Republic.
- "The Fortune of Carthage", published 2012 by William Kelso. 207 BC. The novel is set during the 2nd Punic War and covers Hasdrubal Barca's attempt to link up with the Carthaginian army of his brother Hannibal.
- "Rome: Destroy Carthage", published 2013 by David Gibbins. 146 BC. The novel was written to promote the strategy game "Rome 2 Total War" and is set during the 3nd Punic War and covers the siege and utter destruction of Carthage.
Late Republic (after 132 BC)
Viriato by João Aguiar The Bow of Heaven by Andrew Levkoff, a novel of events leading up to the battle of Carrhae, and the triumvir responsible for one of the greatest defeats suffered by Republican Rome, Marcus Licinius CrassusYoung Caesar by Rex WarnerImperium and Lustrum (novel) by Robert Harris, the first two volumes of a trilogy of fictionalized biography told by his slave, later freedman, Tiro depicting Cicero's rise to the consulship in 63 BC and subsequent role in the final days of the Republic.A Pillar of Iron by Taylor Caldwell, a fictionalized biography of Cicero.Imperial Caesar also by Rex WarnerThe Ides of March by Thornton Wilder, culminating in Caesar's assassination.Caesar, Antony by Allan MassieFreedom, farewell! by Phyllis Bentley.- The Roma Sub Rosa series by Steven Saylor is set in the later years of the Republic and the beginning of the Augustan period.Roma, published March 6, 2007, by Steven Saylor. According to the author's website, the book covers part of Rome's early history.
- [Emperor (book series)|The Emperor (Stephen Baxter)|Emperor Series], by Conn Iggulden, Julius Caesar's lifeThe Last King: Rome's Greatest Enemy by Michael Curtis Ford. The career of Mithridates VI
- The Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough. Beginning before the birth of Julius Caesar to after his death, it details the self-immolation of the Roman Republic.Spartacus by Howard FastSpartacus by Lewis Grassic GibbonThree's Company by Alfred Duggan. The career of Lepidus, triumvir with Octavian and Marcus Antonius after the death of Julius Caesar.Winter Quarters by Alfred Duggan. Two Gauls in the time of Julius Caesar, one of whom is under a curse from the Mother Goddess, whose worship he finds throughout the Roman world.The Conquered by Naomi Mitchison. Gaul & the Gallic Wars 1st century BCBeric the Briton: A Story of the Roman Invasion by G. A. HentyImperial Caesar also by Rex Warner
Early/High Empire (27 BC to AD 192)
Someday Never Comes by Mk KayemAn Imaginary Life by David Malouf. A fictional account of the poet Ovid's exile from Rome.The Last World by Christoph Ransmayr. Another Ovid-related novel.The Quest For the Lost Roman Legions by Tony Clunn, Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, with his account of his discovery of the battlefieldPersona Non Grata, Terra Incognita, Medicus and Caveat Emptor, a series of mysteries featuring the "reluctant sleuth" Gaius Petreius Ruso by Ruth Downie, set around 120 AD.Three Legions series by Rosemary Sutcliff set in Roman Britain c. 130 AD. The three novels consist of Eagle of the Ninth, The Silver Branch, and The Lantern Bearers. The three were first collected in one volume as Three Legions in 1980.Empire published August 31, 2010, by Steven Saylor. The book follows two families through Rome's Imperial history, from the reign of Augustus to the reign of Hadrian. The sequel to Roma.Vespasian series by Robert Fabbri. The series details the early career and rise to power of Vespasian.The Julio-Claudian Dynasty
The Nero Prediction by Humphry KnipeThe Roman by Mika WaltariThe Tribune: A Novel of Ancient Rome by Patrick LarkinAugustus by John WilliamsAugustus, Tiberius, Caligula and Nero's Heirs by Allan MassieEmpire: The Novel of Imperial Rome by Steven SaylorLet the Emperor Speak: A novel of Caesar Augustus by Allan Massie, Doubleday & Company, Inc, New York, 1987. Also by this author: Caesar, Anthony, Tiberius, Caligula and Nero's Heirs.Pretender by Lion FeuchtwangerBooks about early Christians or Jesus include:Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace; famously made into a film starring Charlton Heston; set in the reign of Tiberius in Judaea, the Mediterranean, and Rome. Epilogues carry the story into the reign of NeroI Am a Barbarian by Edgar Rice Burroughs; the fictionalized memoirs of Caligula's slave.A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers; the story of Hadassah, a Christian slave taken from Jerusalem and taken to Rome in the time of Titus and his father Mark of the Lion Trilogy book 1An Echo in the Darkness by Francine Rivers; the continuing story of Hadassah and Marcus. Mark of the Lion Trilogy book 2As Sure as the Dawn by Francine Rivers; the continuing story of Atretes. Mark of the Lion Trilogy book 3The Robe, by Lloyd C. Douglas, set in the same period as Ben-Hur; like Ben-Hur, more famous as a film.
Books about Claudius or set in his reign include:I, Claudius and its sequel, Claudius the God, by Robert Graves. The classic and influential dramatised account of the life of the emperor Claudius, made into a popular TV series.The Eagle series by Nigerian-born British novelist Simon Scarrow. The first book Under the Eagle was published 2000 by Simon Scarrow. Story of Roman invasion of Britain, featuring a young Vespasian. Other books in the series include The Eagle's Conquest ; When the Eagle Hunts set in 44 AD. Other books in the series include The Eagle and the Wolves, The Eagle's Prey, The Eagle's Prophecy, The Eagle in the Sand, and the forthcoming Centurion.
Books set in Nero's reign include:Beric the Briton, A Story of the Roman Invasion by G. A. Henty; the story of a Romanized Briton captured as a rebel and sent to Rome as a gladiatorQuo Vadis, by Henryk Sienkiewicz set in the reign of Nero in 64 AD.The Flames of Rome by Paul L. MaierThe Gladiator by Thames WilliamsonA Song for Nero by Tom Holt, writing as Thomas Holt.Nero, the Bloody Poet by Dezső KosztolányiImperial Governor, George Shipway, the Icenii revolt under Boudicca.The Roman by Mika WaltariThe Cleft by Doris Lessing is a book supposedly written by an historian during Nero's reign.Venator by A. M. Swink, the first in the Roman Equestrian series, which is set in Roman Britain just before the onset of the Boudican revolt.
The Flavian Dynasty
Josephus Trilogy, by Lion Feuchtwanger about Flavius Josephus, but set in Ancient Rome during Reign of Vespasianus and TitusThe Course of Honour, the first novel by Lindsey Davis narrates the history of Vespasian's imperial freedwoman mistress Antonia Caenis.The Light Bearer, by Donna Gillespie tells the story of a Germanic female warrior who becomes a gladiator in Rome in the reign of Domitian.The Last Days of Pompeii by E.G.Bulwer-LyttonPompeii by Robert Harris, tells the story of Pompeii and the volcano Vesuveus during the reign of Titus.The Jew of Rome by Lion FeuchtwangerThe Nervan-Antonian (Ulpio-Aelia) Dynasty
Empress of the Seven Hills by Kate Quinn is set during the reign of Trajan.Lady of the Eternal City by Kate Quinn is set during the reign of Hadrian.Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite YourcenarThe Emperor by Georg Ebers, another fictitious biography of HadrianA God Strolling in the Cool of the Evening by Mario de Carvalho, set mainly in Roman LusitaniaMarius the Epicurean by Walter PaterMiddle Empire (AD 193–293)
- Family Favourites, by Alfred Duggan; a tale of court life under the teenage emperor Elagabalus, as recounted by his personal bodyguard
- Heliogabalus or, the Crowned Anarchist by Antonin Artaud, a novelized biography of the teenage emperor Elagabalus, a powerful concoction of sexual excess, self-deification and terminal violence
- The Unconquered Sun by Ralph Dulin, follows the life of the emperor Aurelian and his wife
- Warrior Of Rome series by historian Harry Sidebottom, takes place in the years 238 to 264, mostly from 256 to 264, six books so far published
- Iron And Rust also by historian Harry Sidebottom, takes place before the Warrior Of Rome series
Late Empire: West (AD 293–457)
Helena by Evelyn Waugh; follows the quest of the Empress Helena, a Christian and the mother of Emperor Constantine to uncover the remains of the cross upon which Christ was crucified.Julian by Gore Vidal, fictionalized biography of the emperor Julian the Apostate, who tried to revive PaganismThe Last Legion: A Novel by Valerio Massimo Manfredi; fictionalized story of the emperor Romulus Augustulus and what might have happened to his surviving retinue.The Death of the Gods. Julian the Apostate by Dmitry Merezhkovsky in 1895.The novel tells the story of Roman Emperor Julian who during his reign was trying to restore the cult of Olympian gods in Rome, resisting the upcoming Christianity.Eagle in the Snow by Wallace Breem; set in Britannia and Germania in the late 4th and early 5th century; features a Mithraic Roman general.The Little Emperors by Alfred Duggan. A succession of coups in late-Roman Britain.Gods And Legions: A Novel of the Roman Empire by Michael Curtis FordThe Sword of Attila: A Novel of the Last Years of Rome by Michael Curtis FordThe Fall of Rome: A Novel of a World Lost by Michael Curtis FordRaptor by Gary Jennings is an historical novel set in the late 5th and early 6th centuries. It purports to be the memoirs of an Ostrogoth, Thorn, who has a secret.Threshold of Fire: A Novel of Fifth Century Rome by Hella HaasseLegionary by Gordon DohertyLegionary: Viper of the North by Gordon DohertyLegionary: Land of the Sacred Fire by Gordon DohertyLegionary: The Scourge of Thracia by Gordon DohertyLegionary: Gods & Emperors by Gordon DohertyLegionary: Empire of Shades by Gordon DohertyLegionary: The Blood Road by Gordon DohertyLegionary: Dark Eagle by Gordon DohertyLegionary: The Emperor's Shield by Gordon DohertyLegionary: Devotio by Gordon DohertyLegionary: Eagles in the Desert by Gordon DohertySons of Rome by Gordon Doherty & S.J.A. TurneyMasters of Rome by Gordon Doherty & S.J.A. TurneyGods of Rome by Gordon Doherty & S.J.A. TurneyByzantine Empire (AD 457–1453)
Anna of Byzantium, 1999Bélisaire- Belisarius series by David Drake and Eric FlintCount Belisarius, by Robert Graves, set in the 6th century, in the reign of JustinianThe Dancing Bear, by Peter Dickinson. Young adult.Justinian, a novel, by H N Turteltaub, August 1998The Palaeologian Dynasty. The Rise and Fall of ByzantiumRoma Eterna, by Robert SilverbergA Struggle for Rome, by Felix DahnTirant lo Blanch, by Joanot MartorellUp the Line, by Robert SilverbergStrategos: Born in the Borderlands by Gordon DohertyStrategos: Rise of the Golden Heart by Gordon DohertyStrategos: Island in the Storm by Gordon Doherty
Unknown period
Avventura nel primo secolo by Paolo MonelliConscience of the King, The Little Emperors and Family Favourites by Alfred DugganAntonia by Brenda JaggerThe Tribune: A Novel of Ancient Rome by Patrick LarkinHadrian's Wall: A Novel by William DietrichThe Centurion: A Novel by Jan de HartogThe Nero Prediction by Humphry KnipeDetective fiction
Search the Seven Hills by Barbara Hambly- The Roma Sub Rosa series by Steven Saylor, starts with Roman Blood ; the books cover the period 92 BC to 46 BC.
- The Marcus Didius Falco series by Lindsey Davis, starts with The Silver Pigs; set in the reign of Vespasian.
- The SPQR series by John Maddox Roberts.
- The Marcus Corvinus series by David Wishart
- The Roman Mysteries young adults' detective/drama series by Caroline Lawrence
- The Caius Trilogy by German author Henry Winterfeld: Caius ist ein Dummkopf ; Caius geht ein Licht auf, and Caius in der Klemme. The first part was published in English with the alternate title Detectives in Togas. The second was published in English with the alternate title Mystery of the Roman Ransom.
- The Eagle series by Simon Scarrow
- The Germanicus Mosaic series by Rosemary Rowe – set in later Roman Britain
Science fiction/time travel novels
Caesar's Bicycle by John BarnesArria Marcella by Théophile Gautier set in 79 AD in PompeiiHousehold Gods, by Judith Tarr and Harry Turtledove set in the reign of Marcus AureliusThe Time Travelling Cat and the Roman Eagle by Julia Jarman- "Codex Alera" Jim Butcher's fantasy take on what happened to the Lost Roman Legion.
Alternate history
The following alternate history novels are set in fictional universes where Rome's struggle with Carthage went differentlyThe Seven Hills by John Maddox RobertsDelenda Est by Poul AndersonLest Darkness Fall by L. Sprague de Camp; a time-travelling American alters history, set in 535 AD.Agent of Byzantium by Harry Turtledove set in an alternate 14th century with no Islam.Hannibal's Children and its sequel The Seven Hills by John Maddox Roberts. A victorious Hannibal sends all the Romans into exile, but they found a new city and their descendants return for vengeance.The following alternate history novels are set in fictional universes where the Roman Empire never fell, and has endured to the present day:Romanitas, by Sophia McDougallRome Burning, sequel to Romanitas, by Sophia McDougallRoma Eterna, a 2003 novel by Robert SilverbergWarlords of Utopia by Lance ParkinGunpowder Empire by Harry TurtledoveThe Aquiliad, by Somtow Sucharitkul. Circa 50 AD. A light-hearted novel in which Roman legions discover America, battle the Aztecs, encounter Big Foot, and drive off flying saucers.Oebis, by Scott Mackay. Romans return to a modern-day Earth to retake it from alien invaders who exiled them centuries ago and imposed a strange form of Christianity.
- The Germanicus trilogy, a collection of books by Kirk Mitchell.Emperor, by Stephen Baxter. After a Celtic chieftain obeys an ancient prophecy, and sides with the invaders, the history of Roman Britain takes a different path. First in a series.INCEPTIO first in the ten book Roma Nova thriller series by Alison Morton where a remnant of the ancient empire has survived into the 21st century and is led by women.
Comic books
The Adventures of Alix series by Jacques Martin of which some titles are set in Rome and the Ancient World. This series has a spin-off, called The travels of Alix, that gives illustrated information on famous places and empires of the Ancient World during the Roman Era.Astérix series by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. A tiny village in Gaul holds out against the Roman Army, and its doughtiest warriors meet all the famous Romans.Murena series by Jean Dufaux and Philippe DelabyLe Fléau des Dieux series by Valérie Mangin and Aleksa Gajic. Science fiction set in a remote futureMovies
Quo Vadis – U.S. 1951 director Mervyn LeRoyThe Robe – U.S. 1953 director Henry KosterDemetrius and the Gladiators – U.S. 1954 director Delmer Daves Jupiter's Darling – U.S. 1955 director George Sidney, based on a play by Robert E. SherwoodBen-Hur – U.S. 1959 director William WylerSpartacus – U.S. 1960 director Stanley KubrickKing of Kings – U.S. 1961 director Nicholas RayCleopatra – U.S. 1963 director Joseph L. MankiewiczThe Fall of the Roman Empire – U.S. 1964 director Anthony MannThe Greatest Story Ever Told – U.S. 1965 director George StevensA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum – U.S. 1966 director Richard LesterFellini Satyricon – Italy 1969 director Federico FelliniJesus Christ Superstar – U.S. 1973 director Norman JewisonSebastiane – UK 1976 director Derek JarmanCaligula – U.S. 1979 director Tinto BrassMonty Python's Life of Brian – U.K. 1979 director Terry JonesHistory of the World Part 1 – U.S. 1981 director Mel BrooksThe Last Temptation of Christ – U.S. 1988 director Martin ScorseseTitus – U.S. 1999 director Julie TaymorGladiator – U.S. 2000 director Ridley ScottQuo Vadis – Polish/U.S. 2001 director Jerzy Kawalerowicz, remake of 1951 filmKing Arthur – U.S. 2004 director Antoine FuquaThe Passion of the Christ – U.S. 2004 director Mel GibsonThe Nativity Story – U.S. 2006 director Catherine HardwickeAgora – Spain 2009 director Alejandro AmenábarCenturion – UK 2010 director Neil MarshallThe Eagle – UK 2011 director Kevin MacdonaldPlays
- Joseph Addison
- * Cato
- Albert Camus
- * Caligula
- Pierre Corneille
- * Cinna
- Henrik Ibsen
- *Emperor and Galilean
- Ben Jonson
- * Sejanus, His Fall
- Heinrich von Kleist
- * Die Hermannsschlacht
- William Shakespeare
- * Titus Andronicus
- * Julius Caesar
- * Antony and Cleopatra
- * Coriolanus
- * Cymbeline
- Robert Sherwood
- *The Road to Rome, on which a little-known 1955 film Jupiter's Darling was based.
- Stephen Sondheim
- * ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum''
Television
I, ClaudiusJulius Caesar minisieries by Uli EdelMasadaMystery Science Theater 3000 PlebsPompeii: The Last Day a dramatized documentaryThe Roman HolidaysRomeSpartacus miniseries by Robert Dornhelm Spartacus: Blood and SandUp Pompeii!Video games
Works inspired by Roman history, or by works of fiction and non-fiction about Rome
Science fiction
Empire of the Atom, by A. E. van Vogt, translates Graves' novel about Claudius into a science fiction context.- The Foundation series by Isaac Asimov, about the fall of a galactic empire, is derived from Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.Dominic Flandry series by Poul Anderson, a space empire similarly inspired by Gibbon's history is decaying and about to collapse into a Long Night of barbarism; a heroic secret agent fights to stave off this fate. Julian Comstock by Robert Charles Wilson, about a post-apocalyptic America transformed into a neo-Roman Empire, and a high born youth who, like Julian the Apostate, fights the power of the Church.Bread and Circuses (Star Trek: The Original Series)Tarzan and the Lost Empire by Edgar Rice Burroughs, a surviving fragment of the Roman Empire is discovered hidden in a corner of 20th century Africa.
- In Philip K. Dick's VALIS ancient Rome is superimposed over the present and the far future world of The Android Cried Me a River to reveal "the Empire" – a supra- or trans-temporal constant. Furthermore, it is often repeated that the empire never fell. Also the novel's protagonist is described as living in two spacetime-continua with one of the personalities presently living in ancient Rome. Ancient Rome is also described as to breaking through into the modern world and "real time" is speculated as to having ceased in 70 AD with Roman times still being present.