by Nick Morris
Stola A traditional dress worn by Roman women that was usually sleeveless.
Tiro Novice gladiator.
Venatore (pl. Venatores) A gladiator trained to fight wild animals.
Warm Room The warm room (tepidarium) was one of the three bathrooms in both the Roman public and private baths. The others being the hot room (caldarium) and the cold room (frigidarium).
Bibliography
I am unable to claim, as Pliny did, to have delved into 2000 volumes during the course of this work, but the following is a selection of the many sources that enlightened me during the course of my research:
Ancient Rome: The Rise And Fall Of An Empire. Simon Baker.
Ancient Rome: The Republic. H.L. Lavell.
Caesar. Adrian Goldsworthy.
Caesar: The Conquest of Gaul. Translated by S. A. Handford.
Gladiators:The Bloody Truth. Michael Grant.
Gladiators and Caesars: The Power Of Spectacle In Ancient Rome. E. Kohne & C. Ewigleben.
Gladiators at Pompeii. Luciana Jacobelli.
Pompeii. Peter Connolly.
Pompeii. Alberto C. Carpiceci.
Rome’s Enemies: Germanics and Dacians. Peter Wilcox.
The Battle That Stopped Rome. Peter S. Wells.
The Gladiator:The Secret History of Rome’s Warrior Slaves. Alan Baker.
The Gladiators. Arthur Koestler.
The Gladiators: History’s Most Deadly Sport. Fik Meijar.
The Rubicon. Tom Holland.
The Spartacus War. Barry Strauss.
The translations relating to Pliny and Seneca were drawn from the editions of their work published by The Loeb Classical Library.
Acknowledgements
First and foremost I’d like to thank my lovely wife, Susi, for her unfaltering support and confidence in me. My thanks to my precious girls – Lauren, Rachelle, Gabby and Emma, and our Gareth, for their faith and encouragement at times when the going was tough. My special gratitude goes to my brothers Simon and Andrew, who always believed I had a good story in me.
Thank you to my family and good friends who took the time to read in those early clumsy days – Susi, Ben, Ceri, Heather and Spencer – and to Liam and Rob for all their valuable technical assistance.
As far as inspiration is concerned, I feel compelled to say a posthumous thanks to Robert E. Howard for many shared adventures.
About the author
Nick Morris has formerly been a history teacher and now works for the NHS. His lifelong passions have included a love of military history, the martial arts, and the history of the fighting arts in all its various forms. He has studied under some of the world's most respected masters – obtaining black belt ranking in Aikido, Judo, and Karate – as well as an instructor's certificate in the Israeli combat system of Krav Maga.
He has travelled widely throughout Europe and the Middle East, and had the opportunity to work in the field of unarmed combat with various Special Forces units; including the Sheyatet (navy commandos), and the Golani Regiment in Israel, the American Navy SEALS and the British Parachute Regiment. He currently rests his old bones in South Wales.
Fists of Iron is the second in The Barbarian of Rome series and a sequel to his debut novel, War Raven. A number of the key characters from War Raven feature in this exciting sequel.
As always, he looks forward to your responses, once you've emerged from some further gripping adventures!