Harry Sidebottom is a British author and historian, best known for his two series of historical novels the ''Warrior of Rome'', and ''Throne of the Caesars''. He is Quondam Fellow and Tutor in Ancient History at St. Benet's Hall,

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, and lecturer at Lincoln College.

Early life

Sidebottom was born in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

and brought up in Newmarket,

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, where his father worked as a racehorse trainer. He attended Fairstead House School, Newmarket, and

King's Ely King's Ely The School's Terms and Conditions and the Companies House registration would suggest that the School's legal name remains "The King's School, Ely" is an All-through school, all through Public school (United Kingdom), public school ...

. Sidebottom read Ancient History for his first degree, at

Lancaster University Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...

(1977–1980). He was awarded an MPhil in 1982 from the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

and later a DPhil from the University of Oxford. He studied at Corpus Christi College, where he is a member of the senior common room. He has written for The Times, Times Literary Supplement, Financial Times, The Telegraph, The Literary Review, El Pais, and The Irish Times, and contributed to several scholarly journals, including Classical Quarterly, Journal of Roman Studies, Classical Review, L`Antiquite Classique, and Historia: Zeitschrift fuer Alte Geschichte. He has appeared as a presenter on the History Channel's '' Ancient Discoveries''.

Books

''Warrior of Rome''

From the beginning Sidebottom intended the ''Warrior of Rome'' to be a series structured in trilogies. The first three volumes take place in the Middle East and subsequent arcs are set around the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

, the Baltic, Sicily, North Africa, and Italy. Sidebottom stated he drew inspiration for the series from historical writer

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

and commented that he had based several of the series' elements on real people and events from history. The series has sold well, with ''Fire in the East'' selling over 100,000 copies and spending five weeks in the UK top 10 upon its release. Worldwide the series has sold over half a million copies. ''The Last Hour'' is a thriller set in the City of Rome. It was shortlisted for the Historical Writers Association Gold Crown for the outstanding historical novel of 2018. ''The Burning Road'', a new novel featuring Ballista, was published on 30 September 2021. The series centres on the Anglo-Roman soldier Marcus Clodius Ballista (a fictionalized version of Balista, a.k.a. Callistus, one of the

Thirty Tyrants The Thirty Tyrants (, ''hoi triákonta týrannoi'') were an oligarchy that briefly ruled Classical Athens, Athens from 404 BC, 404 BCE to 403 BC, 403 BCE. Installed into power by the Sparta, Spartans after the Athenian surrender in the Peloponnesian ...

) as he must live through and survive the machinations of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

and several of the crises of the second half of the third century AD.

''Throne of the Caesars''

Sidebottom has written another series set in ancient Rome and its empire called ''Throne of the Caesars''. The new trilogy is set 30 years before the first ''Warrior of Rome'' book in the reigns of

Severus Alexander Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – March 235), also known as Alexander Severus, was Roman emperor from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. Alexander took power in 222, when he succeeded his slain c ...

and

Maximinus Thrax Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus "Thrax" () was a Roman emperor from 235 to 238. Born of Thracian origin – given the nickname ''Thrax'' ("the Thracian") – he rose up through the military ranks, ultimately holding high command in the army of th ...

(AD 235–38) beginning with the assassination of Alexander and ending with the deaths of

Pupienus Marcus Clodius Pupienus Maximus ( 164–238) was Roman emperor with Balbinus for 99 days in 238, during the Year of the Six Emperors. The sources for this period are scant, and thus knowledge of the emperor is limited. In most contemporary t ...

and

Balbinus Decimus Caelius Calvinus Balbinus (died July/August 238 AD) was Roman emperor with Pupienus for three months in 238, the Year of the Six Emperors. Origins and career Not much is known about Balbinus before his elevation to emperor. It has ...

Bibliography

Fiction

''Warrior of Rome''

#'' Fire in the East'' (Michael Joseph, 2008) #''King of Kings'' (Penguin, 2009) #''Lion of the Sun'' (Penguin, 2010) #''The Caspian Gates'' (Penguin, 2011) #''The Wolves of the North'' (Penguin, 2012) #''The Amber Road'' (Penguin/Michael Joseph, 2013) #''The Last Hour'' (Bonnier Zaffre, 2018) Shortlisted for The Historical Writers` Association Gold Crown for the outstanding historical novel of the year https://historicalwriters.org/hwa-crowns-2018-the-shortlists/ #''The Burning Road'' (Bonnier Zaffre, 2021) A Book of the Year in ''The Times'' #''Falling Sky'' (Zaffre, 2022)

''Throne of the Caesars''

#''Iron & Rust'' (HarperCollins, 2014) #''Blood & Steel'' (HarperCollins, 2015) #''Fire & Sword'' (HarperCollins, 2016)

Stand-alone novels

:''The Lost Ten'' (Bonnier Zaffre, 2019) :''The Return'' (Bonnier Zaffre, 2020) :''The Shadow King'' (Bonnier Zaffre, 2023)

Non-fiction

*''Ancient Warfare: A Very Short Introduction'', Oxford University Press (2004) *International Relations, ''The Cambridge Companion of Greek and Roman Warfare'' (2007) *''Blackwell Encyclopedia of Ancient Battles'' (ed. with

Michael Whitby Lionel Michael Whitby (born February 1952) is a British ancient historian of Late Antiquity. He specialises in History of the Later Roman Empire, late Roman and early Byzantine history and historiography. He is currently pro-vice-chancellor and h ...

) (2017) * ''The Mad Emperor: Heliogabalus and the Decadence of Rome'', Oneworld (2022) A Book of the Year in ''The Spectator'', ''BBC History Extra'', and ''The Financial Times''; shortlisted for The Slightly Foxed Best First Biography 2022 Prize *''Those Who Are About To Die: Gladiators and the Roman Mind'', Hutchinson Heinemann (2025)

References

External links

Interview with Historvius.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sidebottom, Harry Living people 21st-century British historians Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Alumni of Lancaster University Alumni of the University of Manchester English classical scholars English historical novelists Fellows of St Benet's Hall, Oxford Historians of ancient Greece Historians of ancient Rome People educated at King's Ely People from Newmarket, Suffolk Writers from Cambridge Writers from Suffolk Writers of historical fiction set in antiquity 21st-century male writers Year of birth missing (living people)