Lugdunum
Loog-doo-noom
macellum
mack-ell-oom (mack as in “tack”)
Marcia
Mar-kee-ah (English, Marsh-uh or Mar-see-uh)
Marcomanni
Mar-koh-mah-nee
Marrucini
Mar-oo-kee-nee (heavy r—mar as in “tar”)
Marsi
Mar-see
Masinissa
Mah-sin-iss-ah (sin as in “tin”)
Mastanabal
Mah-stan-ah-bahl (stan as in “ran”)
Mauretania
Mow-ret-ah-nee-ah (mow as in “cow”)
mentula
men-too-lah (men as in “ten”)
mentulam coco
men-too-lahm kah-koh
Metrobius
Met-roh-bee-uss (met as in “set”)
Micipsa
Mick-ip-sah
Milo
Mee-loh (English, Mye-loh)
Misenum
Mee-say-noom
Mithridates
Mith-rid-ah-tays (English, Mith-rid-ay-tees)
Muluchath
Moo-loo-kath
Myrto
Meer-toh
Nabataea
Nah-bah-tye-ah
Nabdalsa
Nab-dahl-sah (nab as in “cab”)
Naevius
Nye-vee-uss
Narbo
Nor-boh or Nah-boh
Neapolis
Nay-ah-pol-iss (pol as in “doll”)
nefas
neff-ahss (neff as in “left”—ahss as in “arse”)
nemo
nay-moh
Nicopoiis
Nick-op-ol-iss
Numantia
Noo-man-tee-ah (man as in “man”)
Numidia
Noo-mid-ee-ah (mid as in “bid”)
Ocelum
Ock-ell-oom (ock as in “sock”)
Odysseus
Odd-iss-oos (English, Odd-iss-ee-uss)
Oedipus
Ee-dee-puss (American, Ed-ee-puss)
oppidum
op-id-oom (op as in “hop”—id as in “bid”)
opus incertum
op-uss in-ker-toom
Oxyntas
Ox-in-tahss (in as in “sin”)
Paeligni
Pye-leen-yee
Pamphylia
Pam-fee-lee-ah (pam as in “ham”)
Paphlagonia
Paff-la-goh-nee-ah
papyrus
pap-eye-russ (pap as in “tap”)
Patavium
Pat-ah-vee-oom (pat as in “cat”)
paterfamilias
pat-er-fam-ill-ee-ahss
Patrae
Pat-rye
Penates
Pen-ah-tays (pen as in “ten”)
Perseus
Per-soos (English, Per-see-uss)
phalerae
fal-er-eye (fal as in “pal”)
Phrygia
Fridge-ee-ah
Picenum
Pee-kay-noom
pilum
pee-loom
Placentia
Plah-ken-tee-ah
plebs
rhymes with “webs”
podex
poh-dex (dex as in “sex”)
pomerium
poh-mair-ee-oom
praefectus fabrutn
prye-feck-tuss fab-room (fab as in “cab”)
praenomen
prye-noh-men
praetor
prye-tor
praetor peregrinus
pair-egg-ree-nuss
praetor urbanus
oor-bah-nuss
primus inter pares
pree-muss in-ter pah-rays
Princeps Senatus
Prin-keps Sen-ah-tuss
Priscilla
Priss-kill-ah (English, Priss-ill-uh)
privatus
pree-vah-tuss
pteryges
terry-gays
Ptolemy
Tol-em-ee (tol as in “doll”)
Ptolemy Apion
Ah-pee-on
Ptolemy Euergetes
Er-air-get-ays
Puteoli
Poo-tay-oh-lee
Pyrrhus
Pirr-uss (pirr as in “stirrup”)
Reate
Ray-ah-tay
Regia
Ray-gee-ah (the g as in “gear”)
Remus
Rem-uss (rem as in “hem”—English, Ree-muss)
Rhenus
Ray-nuss
Rhodanus
Rod-an-uss (rod as in “cod”)
Roma
Roh-mah
Romulus
Roh-moo-luss
rostra
roh-strah
Rusicade
Roo-see-kah-day
Rutilia
Roo-tee-lee-ah
saepta
sye-p-tah
sagum
sag-oom (sag as in “hag”)
saltatrix tonsa
sal-tah-tricks ton-sah (ton as in “upon”)
Samnium
Sam-nee-oom (sam as in “ham”)
satrap
sat-rap
Scordisci
Skor-disk-ee
Scylax
Skee-lacks (English, Sky-lacks)
Scylla
Skee-lah (English, Skill-uh or Sill-uh)
Servilia
Sair-vee-lee-ah (sair as in “air”)
Servilia Caepionis
Kye-pee-oh-niss
smaragdus
smah-rag-duss
Smyrna
Smeer-nah (English, Smur-nuh—smur as in “fur”)
stibium
stib-ee-oom (stib as in “crib”)
stimulus
stim-oo-luss (stim as in “dim”)
Subura
Soo-boo-rah
Sulpicia
Sool-pick-ee-ah
suovetaurilia
soo-of-et-ow-rill-ee-ah
Syrtis
Seer-tiss (seer as in “leer”)
Taprobane
Tap-roh-bah-nay
Tarpeian
Tar-pay-ee-an
tata
tah-tah
Teutobod
Ter-toh-bod (bod as in “cod”)
Teutones
Ter-toh-nays
Thermopylae
Ther-mop-ee-lye
torc
tork
tribuni
trib-oo-nee (trib as in “crib”)
tribuni aerarii
eye-rah-ree-ee
tribuni militum
mill-it-oom (mill as in “will”)
tribuni plebis
pleb-iss (pleb as in “web”)
Tullianum
Tool-ee-ah-noom
Tusculum
Tuss-koo-loom (tuss as in “puss”)
Tyrrhenian
Tir-ray-nee-an (tir as in “stirrup”)
Ubus
Oo-buss
Ulysses
Oo-liss-ays (English, Yew-liss-ees)
Utica
Oo-tee-kah
Vediovis
Ved-ee-of-iss (ved as in “bed”— of as in “of”)
Velabrum
Vel-ab-room (vel as in “sell”—ab as in “cab”)
Velia
Vel-ee-ah
Vercellae
Ver-kell-eye
via
vee-ah
Via Aemilia
Eye-mill-ee-ah
Via Aemilia Scauri
Eye-mill-ee-ah Skow-ree (skow as in “cow”)
Via Annia
Ah-nee-ah
Via Appia
Ah-pee-ah
Via Aurelia
Ow-ray-lee-ah (ow as in “cow”)
Via Domitia
Dom-it-ee-ah (dom as in “tom”—it as in “sit”)
Via Flaminia
Flam-in-ee-ah (flam as in “ham”)
Via Lata
L
ah-tah
Via Latina
Lat-ee-nah (lat as in “sat”)
Via Nova
Noh-vah
via praetoria
prye-tor-ee-ah
via principalis
prin-kip-ah-liss
Via Sacra
Sack-ran
Via Salaria
Sal-ah-ree-ah (sal as in “pal”)
Via Tiburtina
Tib-er-tee-nah (lib as in “crib”)
vicus
vee-kuss
Vicus Patricii
Pat-rick-ee-ee (pat as in “sat”)
Vicus Tuscus
Tuss-kuss (as in “puss”)
Volcae Tectosages
Vol-kye Teck-toh-sah-gays
Volscian
Vol-skee-an
ABOUT THIS BOOK
The world cowers before its legions, but Rome is about to be engulfed by a vicious power struggle that will threaten its very existence. At its heart are two exceptional men: Gaius Marius, prosperous but lowborn, a proud and disciplined soldier emboldened by his shrewdness and self-made wealth; and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, a handsome young aristocrat corrupted by poverty and vice.
Both are men of extraordinary vision, extreme cunning and ruthless ambition, but both are outsiders, cursed by the insurmountable opposition of powerful and vindictive foes.
If they forge an alliance, Marius and Sulla may just defeat their enemies, but only one of them can become First Man in Rome.
The battle for Rome has just begun.
REVIEWS
‘A towering work of Roman historical fiction. Highly entertaining and compulsive.’
Robert Fabbri
‘The Masters of Rome series is a tour de force, a brilliant recreation of the twilight of the Roman Republic as Caesar and Pompey vie for power. This is historical fiction at its finest.’
Sharon Penman
‘A powerful story told with the verve of a novelist and the commitment of a historian.’
The Sunday Times
‘Incomparable… Engrossing… Breathtakingly detailed… A triumph.’
Chicago Tribune
‘A truly astonishing work.’
Time
“An awesome and epic new work... This is an absolutely absorbing story—not simply of the military and political intrigues that went into the final days of the Republic but also of what it was like to live, love and survive at this pivotal point in our civilization... A master storyteller... A 900-plus-page novel that is every bit as hard to put down as it is to pick up.’
Los Angeles Times
“Splendid in conception... The narrative sweeps along as does the force of history... Colleen McCullough understands the undercurrents of human emotion. She reveals people as they are... Exceptional.”
Washington Post Book World
“McCullough is terrific... Her characters quiver with life.”
The New York Times Book Review
“A treat for those who troll bookstores searching for real historical fiction... As compelling as any novel of contemporary power seekers.”
Houston Post
“Political infighting and power plays; the slaughters and strategies of war; plots thick and nasty... A grandly meaty historical novel... Rich with gracefully integrated research and thundering to the beat of marching Roman legions.”
Kirkus Reviews
“A great Goliath of a novel... Perhaps the most thoroughly researched historical novel ever written... A genuine tour de force.”
Milwaukee Journal
“An intricate characterization of an age, agile in its movement from the minute details of household management to the precise composition of the military colossus Rome repeatedly mustered to repel the Teutonic hordes... An accomplishment so edifying as to be compelling.”
New York Daily News
“The most spectacular of her books... A fascinating history lesson that shows the timelessness of human ambition and misbehaviour... The best work McCullough has ever done.”
Sacramento Bee
“An exciting story of tangled lives and epic events... This novel really grabbed me after a few pages, and I savored it to the end... Republican Rome may be distant in time, but through McCullough’s talent for storytelling and intimate knowledge of the Roman life style, the world becomes alive and pertinent to the contemporary reader.”
Pittsburgh Press
“Crosses battle lines and boundaries. Deaths, births, prophecies, political alliances and rivalries create a whirlwind of drama. McCullough intermingles the high and the low-assassins, soldiers, wives and mistresses-— to weave an intriguing tapestry of a great empire.”
Washington Times
“A serious historical novel that edifies while it entertains... McCullough tells a good story, describing political intrigue, social infighting and bloody battles with authoritative skill, interpolating domestic drama and even a soupgon of romance... Fascinating reading... A memorable picture of an age with many aspects that share characteristics with our own.”
Publishers Weekly
“Admirable... Colleen McCullough is an energetic yarn-spinner... Her research is extensive enough to win her half a dozen PhD degrees, and she throws nothing away... A bestseller of higher aspiration.”
Newsday
ABOUT MASTERS OF ROME
MASTERS OF ROME
110 BC:
The world cowers before its legions, but the fate of Rome hangs in the balance.
From the marbled columns of the Senate to the squalid slums of the Subura, the city is about to be plunged into a conflict that will set rich against poor, Roman against Italian, father against son, a conflict destined to destroy the Republic but leave, in its stead, an Empire.
Unbearable cruelty, martial brilliance, murderous ambition, heroic destiny: this is the stuff of legend. Colleen McCullough’s epic Masters of Rome captures the soul of Rome in a way no other writer has ever managed.
I. The First Man in Rome
Rome, 110 BC
The world cowers before its legions, but Rome is about to be engulfed by a vicious power struggle that will threaten its very existence. At its heart are two exceptional men: Gaius Marius, prosperous but lowborn, a proud and disciplined soldier emboldened by his shrewdness and self-made wealth; and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, a handsome young aristocrat corrupted by poverty and vice.
Both are men of extraordinary vision, extreme cunning and ruthless ambition, but both are outsiders, cursed by the insurmountable opposition of powerful and vindictive foes.
If they forge an alliance, Marius and Sulla may just defeat their enemies, but only one of them can become First Man in Rome.
The battle for Rome has just begun.
The First Man is Rome is available here.
II. The Grass Crown
Rome, 97 BC
Gaius Marius is triumphant. Under his command, Rome has conquered the Western world, weathered invasion and crushed its enemies. There is just one
prize left to him: an unprecedented seventh consulship.
But the greatest prize demands the highest price. Marius, now aging and ailing, is pitted against a new generation of assassins, power-seekers, and Senate intriguers. There are many who would like to see him fail, not least Lucius Cornelius Sulla, once his closest ally, now his most dangerous rival. Sulla and Marius’ contest can only be won through treachery and blood. As a deadly enmity engulfs both men and plunges them towards madness, Rome must fight its own battle for survival.
The Grass Crown is available here.
III. Fortune’s Favourites
Rome, 83 BC
The Republic is disintegrating. Ravaged by disease, tormented by desire, Lucius Cornelius Sulla has returned from his campaign in the East determined rebuild it, even if it means taking battle to the very walls of Rome and purging the city with blood. There will be deaths without number or limit, but amid the chaos, three infinitely ambitious young Romans vie for
greatness.
The young wolves are Pompeius Magnus, Marcus Crassus and the man the world will one day know by just one name: Caesar. Together, they are Fortune’s favourites – an endorsement that will prove as much a blessing as a curse.
Fortune’s Favourites is available here.
IV. Caesar’s Women
Rome, 68 BC
Caesar has returned to Rome. Having cut his teeth campaigning in the East, his sites are now set on a new battlefield: the Forum Romanum. This war will be waged with rhetoric and seduction, weapons Caesar will wield with cunning and ruthlessness. Cuckolding political enemies is but a tactic in a broader strategy: Caesar knows that the key to Rome lies with its noblewomen. Whether the powerful, vindictive Servilia, whose son Brutus deeply resents his mother’s passionate and destructive relationship with Caesar, or his own daughter Julia, Caesar is prepared to sacrifice them all on the altar of his own ambition. Caesar’s women will make his name, and one of them will seal his fate.