I, Caesar

Accompanying the award-winning BBC & A&E series, I Caesar - the Rise & Fall of the Roman Empire takes a fascinating look at the public and private lives of six men who ruled the Roman Empire. Starting with Julius Caesar, Phil Grabsky charts the rise and fall of Roman power over 600 years. He tells the stories of six Caesars and the politics of a society whose legacy is the very backbone of western civilization today.

The careers of Julius Caesar, Augustus, Nero, Hadrian, Constantine and Justinian were made up of bloody battles and tactical bribery, stunning innovation and profound corruption, dazzling rhetoric and vicious back-stabbing - and together they form a picture of the most sophisticated highs and most brutal lows of the Roman Empire's inception, heyday and decline. Stretching at its peak from the north of England to southern Egypt and from the west coast of Spain to Syria in the east, the Roman Empire included within its boundaries myriad peoples, cultures and climates.

The task of ruling it seems, is an imposing one, even with today's communication technology. So how was it achieved two thousand years ago? And why has ancient Rome had such a profound influence on western civilization ever since? Through the intimate, fascinating, extraordinary biographies of these six men, the rise and fall of the Roman Empire is revealed.

Whether your interest is the Caesars' brilliant military manoeuvring or the all-too-familiar political strategies behind Imperial power, Phil Grabsky's book offers an accessible but carefully researched introduction to the subject.