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Conn Iggulden

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-'''General Antonidus''' is a [[fictive]] character in [[Conn Iggulden]]'s best-sellings ''Emperor'' book series. In the series, he is a [[optimate]]-party [[general]] supporting [[Sulla]] in the [[Servilian war]].
-In the first book, ''Gates of Rome'', the general is - though not given a role - a probably supporter, general of the grand-general Sulla of the roman conservatives, fighting the [[populares]] led by [[Cinna]] and [[Gaius Marius]], the later whose sister's son (in reality wife's brother's son) was no other than [[Julius Caesar]], then a teenager. Sulla arranged games and soon rose to consul, the second most powerful title in the [[Roman Republic]], held by two the most powerful in peace. However, Sulla got in conflict with his co-consul Marius and was - after various intrigues and fightings - sent to [[Greece]] to fight [[Mithridates VI of Pontus]]. He had bribed senators to choose Marius' Primigenia legion to send, but with a few votes Marius won by selling his house and "outbribing" Sulla, he was sent away with Antonidus and their Second Aulelia legion instead. However, the military [[mastermind]] Sulla left soldiers inside Rome itself before marching. Fighting Mithridates (less than 20,000 soldiers clashed in battle) he won, and calmly returned to fight Marius in the [[Battle of Colline Gate|battle of the Gates of Rome]], where Marius was assassinated and the city with its empire conquered by Sulla, Antonidus and the conservatives. After banishing Caesar but sparing his life (claiming he didn't have to kill him, and then it would just foulish to do, indeed showing a bit of [[scrouples]] in the otherwise so merciless ruler).
-In the sequel [[Death of Kings]], Antonidus plays a central role. He accompanies Sulla as the [[womanizing]] and [[alcoholic]] ruler is poisoned, an act of [[Tubruk]], Caesar's and [[Brutus]]' earlier [[legal guardian|guardian]] when they were children (they are similar age in the novels, though Brutus were fifteen years younger and sometimes claimed to be Caesar's son - though unlikely - in reality). Antonidus partly takes over the power after the death of his master, but cannot prevent a bit of anarchy, though the [[dictatorship]] placing optimates in power were abolished. Upon Caesar's return to Rome (about 25 years old) after fighting [[pirates]] in the [[Mediterranean]] Antonidus blames him for acting without permission and murdering a roman soldier in [[Libya]]. Antonidus and his supporter, the conservative [[Cato the younger]] is, however, pressured down by [[Pompey]], as Antonidus and Cato had acted together in a plot where Cato hired an [[assassin]] to kill ancestors to all those believed by them to be involved in the Sulla assassination, as an act of revenge, but mostly to recognize and try to get out the real behind. Not able to guess at all the truth, the daughter of Pompey Magnus is killed, he himself then supports Caesar as Antonidus and Cato opposes his acts, where he once for all (ironically, as Caesar worshipped his uncle Marius and hated Sulla) finished Sulla's work, defeating Mithridates as he made rebellion again, Mithridates dying in the battle and handed over to roman authorities for burial by [[cremation]].
-This is, in Iggulden's novel (though not historical accurate, supporting the thrilling plot) the first reason why Pompey and Caesar become friends. Pompey is also a close friend of [[Crassus]], [[populare]] and the richest man in Rome. As the (implied to be) [[leper]] assassin paid by Cato is planning to murder Crassus' wife, Antonidus visits him and tells him to take "the other", aiming Caesar's loved and beautiful wife [[Cornelia]], the daughter of Cinna, who earlier fought the conservatives with Marius. After Sulla's victory, the house of Marius was given to Antonidus, who now resides there, in Caesar's eyes illegaly. Caesar smuggles weapons into the city and seizes the house, by arms but without blood. Antonidus is furious and haves Caesar brought to court. Caesar haves a magnificent speech, putting the people (who rather likes a populare than an optimate as Antonidus) on his side. However, Antonidus has the best arguments and hired [[lawyer]]s, making the first two judges vote for him. The third and last rises, superior he puts in his veto for Caesar and thereby saves him from [[decapitation]], and since Antonidus has lived in the house now declared to having belonged to Caesar for the last years Caesar demands to be paid as a [[landlord]]. Antonidus, lacking the resources paying for an extremely large and luxury house for almost ten years (having it bought rather than given, for ten denarii, about a dollar [[2006]]) is sold as a slave, begging Cato for money but refused. He is then put on a farm in northern Italy, slaving for a rich lord in a garden. Then, suddenly he is saved when [[Spartacus]] with 80,000 slaves seizes parts of Italy, and Spartacus himself frees Antonidus in the yard. Not knowing who he had been (or not caring) he lets Antonidus have "an hour or two - alone - with the lord and his daughters", who were taken prisoners, presumably raping the daughters and maybe - but probably not - killing his lord. He then accompanied Spartacus when [[Crixus]] convinced him of that they should stay in Italy now when they were so successful, sacking and plundering, rather than escape to the free [[Gaul]] and [[Germania]]. Spartacus is convinced, and the slave army is led to [[Calabria]] where Crassus have them shut in with a wall to starve them. Spartacus hires pirates to transport them to [[Sicily]], by the historians to create a slaveless independent state there, a sanctuary for his tens of thousands of men, but the pirates are defeated by Pompey's navy (while Caesar's wife and Tubruk is killed, Crassus later defeat the slave army and Spartacus is killed, Pompey tracks down the leper assassin and haves him see his daughters die and then kills him in a personal [[vendetta]], then having Cato executed, but in the last moment he slashes his own throat with a concealed knife). Antonidus however escapes during the naval battle on board a ship with the gold reserve of Spartacus, supposedly living rich in [[Algeria]] for the rest of his life.