Egypt, 25 BC. Titus Cervianus is no ordinary soldier. And the Twenty-Second is no ordinary legion. Formed from the personal guard of a conquered king, the Twenty Second’s ways are strange to soldiers of the Empire — yet the legion has proved itself in the blistering heat of the desert.
Cervianus and his comrades march into the unknown as he and the Twenty-Second Legion contend with the armies of the Bellatrix: the Warrior Queen of Kush.
The Kushites and the Egyptians are united against the Roman presence in their lands — but there are complex political and military forces at work.
Deep in the deserts, Cervianus and his comrades must brace themselves for a furious onslaught as they take on the might of the Bellatrix.
Bellatrix by Simon Turney is published on 5 January, 2023.
Simon has written several features for Historia, including:
Domitian, an unlikely emperor
Agricola’s victories in Britain
A game of gods: religion in a changing Roman world
The Templars and the reconquest of Spain
And an exhibition review: Nero: the man behind the myth
