Рим Республикасының құпиялары: SPQR сериясы

Series of historical mystery stories by John Maddox Roberts

The SPQR series is a series of historical mystery stories by John Maddox Roberts, published between 1990 and 2010, and set in the final years of the Roman Republic. SPQR (the original title of the first book, until the sequels came out) is a Latin initialism for Senatus Populusque Romanus ("The Roman Senate and People"), the official name of the Republic. The stories are told in first person form by Senator Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger (born c 90 95 BC), nephew of Metellus Pius and member of the powerful Caecilius Metellus family of the Roman Senate. The stories are told in flashback form by the old Decius, writing during the reign of Augustus Caesar. The stories range from 70 BC (The King's Gambit) to 20 BC ("The King of Sacrifices"), and have both an exciting and comedic tone. Decius' companions include his slaves Cato, Cassandra, and Hermes; his friends, the Greek gladiatorial physician Asklepiodes and the gangster/politician Titus Annius Milo; and his staunch enemies, the siblings Clodia and Clodius. Along the way, he is often helped by his father, as well as by Cicero and a young Julius Caesar. In later books, Decius is betrothed and then married to the (fictional) niece of Caesar, Julia Caesaris. The dates are all listed at the end of each book in the ab urbe condita calendar system. In 2015, a German company had planned to adapt the series for TV, however, they have withdrawn from the project in 2022 for financial reasons.

The above dates are approximate because there is contradictory information within the texts. For instance, in The Sacrilege, which can be dated at 62 BC, Decius claims to be turning 29, indicating he was born in 91 BC; however, in The Tribune's Curse, he finds that he was born in the same year as Marcus Porcius Cato (95 BC). Confusingly, however, in the same book, Cato claims to have been born "when Valerius and Herennius were consuls. ", which was 93 BC. In "The King of Sacrifices", dated at 20 BC, Decius claims to be in his 73rd year, indicating he was born in either 93 or 92 BC. However, in the story itself Julia is claimed to be "betrothed" to Agrippa, whom she married 21 BC, i. e. at least one year earlier. The AUC dates given in The Sacrilege, The Temple of the Muses and "The Statuette of Rhodes" are clearly erroneous. The Sacrilege has a clear external date and there is a strong indication that "Statuette" takes place in the same year as Saturnalia. Roberts has noted that events in The Year of Confusion have been modified for dramatic effect.