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 First UK edition (publ. Hodder & Stoughton, 1966) | |
| Author | Mika Waltari |
|---|---|
| Original title | Ihmiskunnan viholliset |
| Genre | Historical novel |
| Publisher | WSOY |
Publication date | 1964 |
| Publication place | Finland |
| Preceded by | The Secret of the Kingdom |
The Roman (original title Ihmiskunnan viholliset, which translates to Mankind's Enemies) is a novel by Mika Waltari published in 1964, and was the last work of Waltari to be published during his lifetime. Set in Rome, the book is a sequel to The Secret of the Kingdom, a novel about the early days of Christianity. The protagonist and narrator is Minutus, the son of Marcus, the main character of the previous novel. Minutus is a Roman citizen striving to survive without political entanglements.
In the novel, Minutus travels from Corinth to Britain, to Rome and then to Jerusalem. Through a boyhood friendship with Nero, he becomes a sometimes advisor, sometimes a tool, and sometimes a fool of the capricious emperor. A cruel fate makes him the commander of the menagerie that supplied the wild animals that tore his firstborn son to pieces, and the book was ostensibly written as a guide for his second son, great-grandson of the Emperor Claudius.