Lineage of Lydius Character sketch

Anthony-Cleopatra
Cleopatra Selene II and king Juba II of Mauretania
Ptolemy of Mauretania or Ptolemy of Morocco
Drusilla of Mauretania
Gaius Julius Alexio

These in order are documented in the historical record. The history of the line is lost until the third century when a queen claimed decent from the line.

I foresee an exciting escape from death by one of the main character's ancestors and some material being derived which will illustrate the cunning and political acumen applied in the book.

Name Lydius

A nonsense name sounding Roman, but it isn't
Lydius wants to escape his family's past history. He's descended directly from
Anthony and Cleopatra. Lydius is trapped in the matrix of the current Roman invasion of his adopted homeland, where he has become counsel to the rulers of that land, based on his scant knowledge of the outlying world. Lydius' yearning desire is to live out his remaining years in peace. His current goal is to survive the Romans current attention. Lydius' conflict is that he desperately wants to never allow his new countrymen to know of his former ties with Rome, lest they feel he has conflicting interests. Lydius finds that the Romans respect the authority represented by Lyduis's past. Lydius has his family history to thank for giving him the negotiation and political skills to overcome the current events.

Resource: Roman Timeline 4th Century AD