The rise and fall of the Roman Empire is the most remarkable story in the history of the ancient world, featuring a cast of colourful and complex characters: Julius Caesar, Pompey, Mark Antony, Brutus, Augustus, Caligula, Nero - the mighty and the mad, the triumphant and the treacherous. What is even more incredible than the speed of Rome's imperial expansion is the legacy that it has left behind - a legacy that is still felt two thousand years on. Focussing primarily on the turbulent years of the first century BC when Caesar battled his way to power and Mark Antony succumbed to the charms of Cleopatra, Nick McCarty recounts the battles, intrigues, personalities and reforms of the period, along with the style and splendour that became the hallmark of the Roman Empire.