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Leptis Magna: Emperor's Dream on the Edge of the Desert Paperback – November 25, 2013
Purchase options and add-ons
- Print length198 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateNovember 25, 2013
- Dimensions6 x 0.45 x 9 inches
- ISBN-101494283816
- ISBN-13978-1494283810
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"...intriguing novel set during the time of the later Roman Empire. It is a terrific read. Hugos has taken an unusual approach in this book, writing in the first person as Septimius Lucius, the bishop of Leptis Magna. The reader may be surprised at how quickly they are drawn into the story." - 22nd Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards
From the Author
As we entered Leptis I looked around and asked, "Dad, where did everybody go?" It was inconceivable to me that such a big city as this had obviously once been could now be abandoned. I don't remember what my father said in response, but as we walked, I sensed a presence. When I closed my eyes it was as if someone was whispering to me in a language I could almost understand. I sensed this person was trying to tell me something he felt was very important. His presence seemed to radiate from the bricks and columns and cobblestones. Everywhere we went that day as we wandered through the ruins, he was there.
Over the years information about his city, his family and his period of history came to me in the form of old books found while wandering through used bookstores, pictures of Leptis taken by my parents on our visits there discovered inside an envelope in a family scrapbook, and countless articles and pictures that came to me while doing Internet searches on subjects I can no longer recall. I got the impression more than once that this information found me, I didn't find it. When one of these finds caught my attention, I knew it was because it was part of a bigger picture. I studied each one, and thought about what it meant, and how it might relate to other finds that came to me. This book comes out of those thoughts and discoveries.
From the Back Cover
This heir is Septimius Lucius and his city is Leptis Magna. His famous ancestor is Septimius Severus who founded a dynasty of Roman emperors and endowed his city with all the splendor befitting the family home of an emperor. Now almost 200 years later, the empire has become something quite different. It is in decline, besieged by enemies all around, and the fortunes of Septimius Lucius and Leptis Magna are inseparably tied up with the empire that provides them with reason to exist.
About the Author
In writing this book I felt at times as if I was putting into words the thoughts of a consciousness reconstructing itself by using me to piece together historical facts and events. Perhaps our planet is growing a cerebral cortex that we call the Internet. As it connects fragments of history into stories and narratives, the people who live in those stories reach out to those who can hear them. We all hear different stories. I heard this one. I hope you like it.
Product details
- Publisher : CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1st edition (November 25, 2013)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 198 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1494283816
- ISBN-13 : 978-1494283810
- Item Weight : 9.6 ounces
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.45 x 9 inches
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
I've spent several decades in that space where information technology, supply chains and business overlap. I have advised and mentored development teams at Microsoft Xbox, Starbucks Coffee, U.S. Navy Medical Logistics Command, World Food Program and numerous smaller companies. My company SCM Globe (www.scmglobe.com) provides cloud-based supply chain modeling and simulation applications for education, training and business.
Previously I was chief information officer (CIO) of a North American distribution organization where I developed a suite of supply chain and business analytics applications that transformed the company's operations and revenue model. For this work I received the CIO 100 Award for resourcefulness, the InformationWeek 500 Award for innovation, and the Premier 100 Award for career achievement. I earned my MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, and am author of several business and technical books.
I'm also a student of history (if a supply chain geek can venture into something entirely different). There was once a time historians call "Late Antiquity" when the seemingly eternal Roman Empire and the classical world it represented faded away, and the Medieval world emerged. Something about that age when one culture died and another was born has haunted me for a long time. My book Leptis Magna: Emperor's Dream on the Edge of the Desert, is a historical novel based on the writings of a Roman historian from that time. It's a series of short stories told by the heir of an imperial Roman family. He reflects on how the Roman world has changed in the years since its peak when his famous ancestor was emperor. In memoir style, he recounts his struggle to make sense of what has happened, and to find his place in what comes next.
[You can reach me at mhugos@scmglobe.com.]
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For historical dates, names, and events, Hugos draws on the legacy of Ammianus Marcellinus. Marcellinus, a Roman soldier and historian (325/330-post-391 A.D.), who served several Roman emperors. Some of his records still exist, providing the most comprehensive and accurate historical account of Late Antiquity in existence. The latest edition of "Leptis Magna" includes maps.
However, Michael Hugos tells us a more intimate story, that of another source for his book. It came in the form of a presence and a voice that he first encountered when he was eight, visiting the ruins of Leptis Magna with his family in 1961. The presence that only Michael Hugos was aware of followed his family through the ruins. Hugos even heard a whispering voice, which seemed to be saying something important, but he could not understand.
The Hugos family visited Leptis several times during their two-year stay in Libya, and each time the presence joined Michael. He came to sense that it was a man who had lived in Leptis a long time ago. After the family returned to the United States, Michael didn't feel that presence for more than a decade. One autumn day, while walking along the shore of Lake Michigan, the sound of the waves washing up on the beach draws him back to Leptis. He becomes obsessed with discovering who that man was. Once into his research, relevant clues practically throw themselves at him, often invading his unconscious mind. Michael learns who the man was, what he stood for, and the trajectory of his life, and comes to see him and the ruined city of Leptis as "a bridge to another time." The story of what happened in Leptis and to the Roman Empire that gave the city reason to exist becomes an allegory for understanding what is happening in the world today.
After letting his knowledge rest for awhile, like the dough for good bread, Hugos gives voice to Septimius Lucius (b. 341 A.D.), descendent of former Roman Emperor Septimius Severus and surviving heir of the leading family in Leptis Magna. In 384 A.D., Lucius begins to write his autobiography—the story of his life and the role of Leptis Magna in the history of the later Roman Empire.
Lucius's autobiographical narration is replete with stories of his happy young years in the family's Villa Selene on the Mediterranean Sea, the colorful years of his formal education in the Forum of Severus at Leptis Magna, and his training in the family business exporting olive oil, wheat, slaves, ivory, and gold under the tutelage of his uncle, Jovinus.
The youth's coming of age, unfortunately, begins during the time of African tribal raids against Leptis, corrupt Roman officials, and the fading of the Roman Empire.
“Any civilization, whether that of the Roman Empire or that of our world today, exists first and foremost to channel the strivings of powerful people into socially constructive ends. When a civilization no longer performs that function, it must, and will die.”
Michael Hugos suggests that this is the important message Lucius sought to give him, as a child and then as a young man: Rome didn't have to fall, and neither does the world of today, if its citizens can learn the lessons offered by history.
Hugos vividly brings to life the upheaval of those caught in the decline of one of the world’s most powerful empires. This is no dry read of ancient history. "Leptis Magna" is an account of one family’s history during this time. He reveals how civilization can be altered by deals made with the devil one at a time, one incriminating act a time, one lie at a time, one act of desperation at a time. Hugos draws marvelously intriguing parallels that show patterns that have repeated themselves time and time again in history.
Elegant prose and impressive accumulation of knowledge focused on one thread of history guides the readers through this fast-paced read of imperial Roman history: its cultural fascination with death; the depth and breadth of its bureaucracy; the military machine with its soldier emperors; and the use of force and intimidation to hold the empire together that fueled Rome’s insatiable need for taxation to maintain its bureaucracy and power base.
For those who saw the film "Gladiator" and want to know more about the Roman Empire after Aurelius Commodus inherited the title of Roman Emperor (at the age of 18 rather than earn the position as his father Marcus Aurelius had), or for those who want understand more about this pivotal time in Western civilization, you will be pleased to discover "Leptis Magna," an enlightening work by Michael Hugos
Mike's prose is engaging and easy to read. The split of the book into three fits nicely into major phase of the life of the narrator. And Mike's personal interaction with the ruins of Leptis brings the story alive. While I will profess to never having the desire to travel to Libya, this book makes the prospect of going there much more intriguing - seeing the ruins and knowing what went on there - and how the ruins came to be. The book makes these ruins come alive, as any good historical work of fiction should.