Santiago Posteguillo: "When wars are decided in offices, it's easier to sacrifice people."

BarcelonaThe writer Santiago Posteguillo (Valencia, 1967) has chosen Trier and Koblenz, two German cities located on the banks of the Moselle and next to the border with Luxembourg, to present The three worlds (Rosa de los Vientos / Ediciones B). Translated into Catalan by Mireia Alegre, Imma Falco and Núria Parés, the book closes the Trilogy of the Ascent with which Posteguillo has narrated the rise of Julius Caesar, and will continue with three more books, within the Trilogy of Absolute Power. This monumental literary project – each title has nearly a thousand pages – has placed the writer as one of the most popular in Spain, with more than half a million copies sold of the first and second books in the saga, according to the publisher's data, and translations into a dozen languages, including English, French, and Arabic.

"Trier is a very Roman city. This was Gaul," explains Posteguillo from the majestic Black Gate, which was erected in 170 AD, during the city's imperial era, some time after the protagonist's passage through these gulfs. "But the gate exists because Caesar was here before, fought against the Trier and defeated them," recalls the writer. The campaigns of the Roman legions to obtain this territory are, in fact, one of the central axes ofThe three worlds. Posteguillo recounts Caesar's struggles to establish himself in the area and make it clear to the Gallic tribes, but also to the Germans, that the border with the Roman Empire was the Rhine River. "Caesar forged the present-day West by conquering Gaul. With his campaigns, he united Spain, Italy, the southern coast of the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Germany. After Caesar, the world is not the same. He is a transforming force in our history," Posteguillo emphasizes.

The war narrated in the novel is a battle for supplies and is marked by great military and engineering milestones. One of the most representative is the bridge that Vitruvius built to cross the Rhine, just after the river confluences with the Moselle, next to the city of Koblenz. That's why this point was a mandatory stop during the novel's presentation. "They built the bridge in ten days, in an area where the river was four or five meters deep, using large barges that served as cranes to drive the pillars," explains the writer. From the viewpoint overlooking the river, the author invites us to imagine the footbridge over which the Roman legions passed, as well as the cavalry and food carts, and which Caesar later had dismantled.

Posteguillo is reluctant to draw parallels between his novels and reality—especially when it comes to political issues—but he does draw comparisons with the current way of waging war. "Logistics is still fundamental, but it has changed. In Caesar's time, the most important thing was that the legionaries had food. Now it's about fuel for tanks, planes, and military ships," says the author, who adds: "Before, the military leader went to battles, and in Caesar's case now, even to that, even to that, even to that, even. Wars have changed. Because when wars are decided in offices, it's easier to sacrifice people. You're not seeing the war from the front line and you can make much tougher decisions.

Egypt, the world everyone wants

Military conflicts were driving Caesar crazy, but the proconsul also had many headaches in Rome. During the conquest of Gaul, Cicero and Cato maneuvered to destroy the ruling triumvirate, formed by Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus. "Their alliance is fragile because it is a relationship of interests, but politically they are very different," notes Posteguillo. The novel recounts the balance of power in the imperial capital, where violence was rampant in the streets, especially during the pre-election period. One of the key moments for the triumvirate's survival is the meeting between Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus in the Italian city of Lucca. Each arrives with a request: Caesar needs to extend his term to consolidate his rule in Gaul, Crassus wants to secure a military triumph in the East, and Pompey hopes to be given power in the Spanish provinces. They come to an agreement, but behind that pact lies a desire that will mark the coming years of Caesar's life and the history of the Roman Empire: the annexation of Egypt.

"It's the third world referred to in the title, a seemingly remote, exotic, and legendary place, but one that is increasingly linked to Rome," says Posteguillo. Cleopatra already appears in this novel, living in exile in Pompey's house with her father, Pharaoh Ptolemy XII. The future queen of Egypt will become friends with Julia, Caesar's daughter and Pompey's wife. The ties between them are at the heart of much of the plot, because Posteguillo seeks to go beyond the military and political achievements of his protagonist. "Personal relationships are what truly mark a before and after in our lives, but historians don't dedicate more than a line to them," the writer points out.

He delves deeper into this to also explain why Caesar, at one point in his life, becomes a dark and bitter man. "There is an event related to his daughter that unhinges him greatly, leaves its mark on him," Posteguillo emphasizes. In his case, there's a catastrophe that hit close to home and also left its mark on this novel: the devastation of the October 2024 flood in the Valencian Community. Posteguillo experienced the floods firsthand in Paiporta. "In thirteen minutes, there was a brutal torrent of two meters of uncontrolled water sweeping everything away," he explained at a conference in the Senate. That's why, when he had to recount an episode related to downpours in the novel, he couldn't help but think of his own experience. "It's fourteen pages that I wrote in one sitting, in a session lasting many hours. When you read it, you'll see that it's very evident; it affected me greatly," the writer notes.

Two literary references

To combine historical facts with the private side in such a complex narrative – there are about eighty characters – the writer has had two major literary pillars as references: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and Middlemarch by George Eliot. "They are two masterpieces that explain great processes of historical transformation through the lives of their characters," says the writer. During the process of creating the saga, Posteguillo has often wondered if it makes sense to write about Caesar when so many other authors, including Shakespeare, have already done so. "But he wrote for an English audience, in verse and without regard for historical accuracy. Twenty-first-century readers have changed their tastes and demand accuracy. It makes sense to do it, and to make it entertaining," reflects the writer. The saga's warm reception, which with each new title becomes a best-seller, proves him right.