Babylonia

• Author: Costanza Casati
• Genre: Historical Fiction
• Publication Date: January 15, 2025
• Publisher: Recorded Books

Thank you to NetGalley and Recorded Books for providing me with an ARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

From the author of the bestselling Clytemnestra comes another intoxicating excursion into ancient history, as Casati reimagines the rise to power of the Assyrian empire’s only female ruler, Semiramis.

When kings fall, queens rise.

Nothing about Semiramis’s upbringing could have foretold her legacy or the power she would come to wield. A female ruler, once an orphan raised on the outskirts of an empire – certainly no one in Ancient Assyria would bend to her command willingly. Semiramis was a woman who knew if she wanted power, she would have to claim it.

There are whispers of her fame in Mesopotamian myth- Semiramis was a queen, an ambitious warrior, a commander whose reputation reaches the majestic proportions of Alexander the Great. Historical record, on the other hand, falls eerily quiet.

In her second novel, Costanza Casati brilliantly weaves myth and ancient history together to give Semiramis a voice, charting her captivating ascent to a throne no one promised her. The world Casati expertly builds is rich with dazzling detail and will transport her readers to the heat of the Assyrian Empire and a world long gone.

Ancient history is even more appealing to me than more recent history, mainly because there’s so much that we don’t know, and uncover new information all the time. Reading historical fiction set in the distant past takes on a life of its own, as we are introduced to settings we aren’t familiar with, and commonly follow the stories about the lives of people who lived in those times. Kind of like how Pompeii is endlessly fascinating because we’re still making groundbreaking discoveries about the site.

Although I didn’t read Clytemnestra, I have seen a lot of positive reviews. So when Casati directed her focus to ancient Assyria, I couldn’t resist. The audiobook format made it a little harder for me to follow what was going on at first. I must have listened to the first 10% four times before I finally got it, because the beginning is complex. We’re introduced to the three main characters, Semiramis, Onnus, and King Ninus, all historical figures from the ninth century BCE. 

Multiple restarts of the book really worked out well for me, because I was finally able to immerse myself in the ancient Assyrian Empire. The beginnings of the novel are complicated because we’re being introduced to an empire that has long passed, the specifics of the lives of the three main characters, and most importantly, the intrigue and politics in play amidst the running of the empire. After things finally clicked, I was very invested in the story. I’m glad that I didn’t DNF this one, which I was considering, until I saw a ton of positive ratings for it.

Semiramis is the perfect character for her story, and it really made me think about how neither could be separated from the other. I don’t think any other woman would be able to take the reins of the Assyrian Empire, especially in the time period in which she lived, when women could only aspire to be wives and mothers. Semiramis doesn’t just not fit in the societal box of expectations, she completely demolishes it. She grows up as an orphaned child when her mother committed suicide, and she is raised by a man who took her in, but is abusive. So her worldview is informed by trauma, loss, and insecurity. It makes sense that she grows up so focused on improving her lot in life, mainly by tying her destiny to that of a powerful man, since that is the only way she’ll rise in society.

Today, a woman like Semiramis would be celebrated, and probably rocking a career in politics, where the sky is the limit. But back then, the best a woman could hope for was to marry a man who treats her well and gives her healthy children. Semiramis is aware that she wants more for herself than this lowly village life, and fortune is on her side when a powerful governor is sent to her town by the king. She quickly enchants him with her beauty and brains, and before she knows it, she’s no longer scraping by, but instead is married to the governor, Onnus. 

Once the scene is set, and readers are introduced to the very distant world the story is set in. Casati’s writing is so beautifully descriptive, and Ayesha Antoine is fantastic in this role. The perks of reading an audiobook set in a time and place that I haven’t learned anything about other than that they used cuneiform as a writing system. The pace isn’t exactly consistent throughout the story—it maintains a decent pace in the beginning and successfully navigates the thin line between info dumps and not offering enough info, but it isn’t until after the second half of the story begins that the pace picks up. Once that happens, however, the pace keeps speeding up as the novel comes to a close, and there is a lot of action in the second half of the book, when political intrigue and war stalks the pages.

The part of the book that kept me rapt, however, was the love triangle at the center of the story. Casati demonstrates her mastery of the love triangle dynamic by creating a true one—rather than two men fighting for the affection of a woman, each person is caught in a web of connections. Semiramis is married to Onnus but has her eyes on Ninus, while Ninus is in love with Onnus, and Onnus has been raised as a brother to the king. I was so intrigued by Semiramis’s relationship dynamics, and really viewed her as morally gray in actions, but deep down was just trying to ensure that she is safe. As a woman who has never felt safe and always dealt with violence and insecurity, it makes sense that she is the way she is. Add in her experiences in wartime, where she actually goes to the battlefield as a warrior, and it’s clear that she’s dealing with some trauma, although so are the people around her. I was caught up in the actions of Semiramis and the two men in her love triangle.

Overall, this was a good book although it was a bit longer than it needed to be. At times, the story felt like it dragged and there wasn’t a lot going on, while at others, I couldn’t read fast enough to find out what would happen next. For the most part, I really loved exploring ancient Assyria as a kingdom, and look forward to more historical retellings of standout figures in ancient history. I’ll be challenging myself to read more history in the upcoming year, and recommend this for: fans of Casati’s writing, lovers of ancient history, those who enjoy learning more about historical figures, and appreciate reading about powerful women in history.

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