Bøger af David L Farebrother

Miriam, a Christian slave in the kitchens of the wealthy Roman noble, Aemilianus, meets a crippled stable slave and transforms his life. They are married in the church of Viminacium and form a Christian family as they struggle to gain their freedom. The lives of Miriam and her husband, Lazarus, and their daughters Susannah and Joanna, are plunged into turmoil when Aemilianus is summoned to Nicomedia to serve as Consul of the Empire under the Emperor Diocletian. The Augustus Diocletian, convinced of his own divinity and demanding to be venerated by his subjects, is determined to rid the empire of all Christian influences. Many of the faithful are tortured and executed without mercy. It is a dark time for the growing Christian church. A time of danger and sacrifice. A time of martyrs and saints.

Miriam, a Christian slave in the kitchens of a wealthy Roman nobleman, meets a crippled stable slave and transforms his life. They are married in the church of Viminacium and form a Christian family as they struggle to gain their freedom. The lives of Miriam and her husband, Lazarus, and their two daughters, Susannah and Joanna, are plunged into turmoil when Aemilianus is summoned to Nicomedia to serve as Consul of the Empire under the Emperor Diocletian. The Augustus Diocletian, convinced of his own divinity and demanding to be venerated by his subjects, is determined to rid the empire of all Christian influences. Purges and proscriptions take place in every city of the empire. Many of the faithful are tortured and executed without mercy. It is a dark time for the nascent Christian church. A time of danger and sacrifice. A time of martyrs and saints.

It has been five years since Constantine was proclaimed Augustus by his father's legions in Britannia. Now he is locked in a savage war with Maxentius, son of Maximian. After a series of hard-fought battles in northern Italia, Constantine is marching on Roma, the ancient capital of the empire. Constantine is given a vision in his dreams. He sees a strange symbol and hears a voice telling him that it is a sign of victory and triumph to come. It is the Chi-Rho, which is used by Christians to secretly identify themselves to one another. Christianity has been proscribed since the days of the Emperor Diocletian and many thousands of Christians have been executed by scourging, crucifixion and burning, until it seems that surely their religion would soon perish. Nevertheless, Constantine instructs his soldiers to place the prohibited symbol on the fronts of their shields as a sign of their invincibility. Fourteen legions march toward Roma, proudly bearing the Chi-Rho emblazoned shields. Constantine's army meets the enemy at the Milvian Bridge, just outside of the city. The fate of the empire hangs in the balance. The course of history is about to change.

Cloud-boats have been spied on the Eastern Sea. Strange aliens with silvery skins have come ashore in Totonac province. Their eyes are difficult to look upon, shining like jade and jewels in various hues. They have brought with them monstrous animals resembling giant deer. Although the beasts are much larger than a man, the demons impose their wills on them, climbing on their backs and forcing them to run in any direction with blinding speed. The monsters have feet as hard as obsidian. The teotl bear armor of bright metal on their bodies, covering their legs and arms. They have helmets and shields of the same material. They carry long metal swords and sharp daggers. They have weapons which release heavy arrows with force sufficient to completely penetrate a man. But their most fearsome weapons are large tubes of tepuzque. These weapons make a noise like thunder and produce clouds of foul-smelling smoke. A round object is emitted from the tube which can destroy a large tree from a great distance. Sacrifices have been made and the omens read. The information has been presented to Moctezuma, Emperor of the Triple Alliance. He must decide. Are the teotl representatives of the gods, sent to aid the Aztecs in their wars, or do they pose a threat to the peace and stability of the empire?

Spanish ships have been sailing along the coast of Alta California for more than two hundred years. Majestic Manila galleons laden with riches from the Orient cruise past regularly, bound for the port of Acapulco. But no Spaniard has ever ventured inland to explore the rugged terrain lying beyond the rocky shoreline. The King of Spain, Carlos III, is concerned about the predations of English pirates and the encroachment of Russian fur traders from the north. He wishes to secure his possessions in America and has commissioned Gaspar de Portolá, governor of both Alta and Baja California, to establish an overland route from San Diego to Monterey. Governor Portolá assembles men, horses, mules and supplies on a desolate beach by San Diego harbor. Fray Junípero Serra has designated two Franciscan friars to accompany the expedition with the intention of establishing a chain of missions in the unknown lands. Portolá and his leather-jacket soldiers begin their march into the uncharted territory on July 14, 1769. The Spanish explorers have no way of knowing what challenges await in the wilderness of Alta California, but they are determined to carry out their orders despite the difficulties of the long trail north to Monterey

Junípero Serra ha sido atacado implacablemente desde el día en que fue canonizado por el Papa Francisco en 2015. El Padre Serra se ha convertido en un chivo expiatorio por todos los abusos infligidos a los nativos americanos, actuales o inventados. Turbas desordenadas vandalizaron sus estatuas y profanaron sus imágenes en varias ciudades. En realidad, Serra era un hombre santo que se preocupaba profundamente por la gente indígena de la Alta California. El sistema misionero que él estableció perduró por más de sesenta años, abarcando generaciones de indígenas, la mayoría de los cuales voluntariamente abandonaron sus vidas primitivas para disfrutar de los beneficios de la sociedad civilizada. Este libro relata la historia verdadera de Junípero Serra desde su nacimiento en la isla de Mallorca hasta su muerte en la Misión de San Carlos Borromeo en 1784.

The year is 1519. Hernán Cortés has been commissioned by Governor Diego Velazquez to investigate rumors of native civilizations and rich lands lying far to the west, beyond the islands of the Indies. Cortés leaves La Trinidad, Cuba, with eleven ships and 600 men under arms. He finds a harbor on the coast of Cozumel and there learns of a couple of shipwrecked Spaniards being held prisoners by the Maya on the mainland. One of them is Geronimo Aguilar, who has been stranded for eight years, a slave of a Mayan cacique. Cortés ransoms Aguilar and persuades him to serve as translator on his quest, which eventually takes them to Tenochtitlan, the capital of the powerful and mysterious Aztec Empire. Aguilar remains true to his faith throughout the tumultuous trek into the unknown territory despite the barbaric cruelties of both the Spanish Conquistadores and Mexica overlords.

This book is not about the ancient city of Roma, nor any particular Roman. Rather, it tells the story of a Roman legion, the famed Twelfth Fulminata. Proconsul Iulius Caesar has been authorized by the Senate to raise two new legions for the conquest of Gaul. He fills the cohorts with raw recruits and transfers tried and proven officers from his veteran legions to lead them into battle. Each chapter of this book describes a pivotal battle of Caesar's conquests as seen through the eyes of the commanding officer of the legion, the Primus Pilus Centurion. March with the Lightning Legion through the campaigns in Gaul, Belgica, Germania and Britannia. Follow Caesar as he relentlessly pursues his archenemy, Pompey the Great, down the Italian peninsula and across the Adriatic Sea to the climactic Battle of Pharsalus.

Ships with purple sails have appeared in the harbor of Nicomedia, bringing strife and turmoil to the lives of two Roman maidens. Clarissa's father is falsely accused of accepting bribes, forcing Clarissa and her mother into exile. When Barbara refuses to marry the arrogant Tribune Lucius Caetullus, her own life is placed in danger.

Nube-barcos agua-casas aparecieron en el Mar del Este. Extranjeros con pieles plateadas han llegado a la tierra. Sus ojos brillan como jade y joyas. Montan monstruos con pezuñas de obsidiana que parecen venados giganticos. Aunque estos monstruos son más grandes que una persona, los demonios imponen su voluntad en los animales, obligándolos a correr en cualquier dirección a una velocidad extrema. Los teotl llevan armadura de metal sobre sus cuerpos. Tienen cascos del mismo material. Están armados con espadas y cuchillos filosos, también. Además, tienen otras armas aún más poderosas, incluyendo tubos de tepuzque. Cuando son tocados por el fuego, los tepuzque truenan como relámpago. Los teotl destruyeron un árbol alto con uno de sus tepuzque para impresionar a los capataces azteca en Totonaca. Sacrificios han sido ofrecidos a los dioses y los augurios interpretados. Los tlamacazqui han presentado los portentos a Moctezuma, Tlatoani Supremo y Emperador de la Alianza Triple. A él le corresponde decidir. ¿Son los teotl enviados de los dioses para apoyar al Emperador, o representan una amenaza mortal para el Imperio Azteca?

Cloud-boats have been seen on the eastern sea. Strange teotl with silvery skins have come ashore in Totonac province. Some of them have hair the color of maize silk, others the color of fiery embers. Most have hair on their faces, covering their cheeks and chins. Their eyes are difficult to look upon, shining like jade and jewels in various hues. They have brought with them monstrous animals resembling giant deer. Although the beasts are much larger than a man, the teotl impose their wills on them, climbing on their backs and forcing them to run in any direction with blinding speed. The monsters have feet as hard as obsidian. The teotl also have other creatures like giant itzcuintli with jaguar teeth. The teotl bear armor of bright metal on their bodies, covering their legs and arms. The have helmets and shields of the same material. They carry long knives with sharp edges strapped to their sides. They have weapons which project heavy arrows with sufficient force to completely penetrate a man. But their most fearsome weapons are large tubes of tepuzque. These weapons make a noise like thunder and produce clouds of foul-smelling smoke. A round object is emitted from the tube which can destroy a large tree from a great distance. Sacrifices have been made and the omens read. The information has been presented to Moctezuma, Supreme Tlatoani of the Mexica and Emperor of the Triple Alliance. He must decide. Are the teotl representatives of the gods, sent to aid the Aztecs, or are they a threat to the empire?