The Roman Empire is one of the most famous civilisations in history, and with good cause. Over a period spanning nearly 1,000 years, the Romans came, saw and conquered land after land. This book looks at Roman history from the foundation to collapse of the empire, covering famous Romans, famous events and some of the more bizarre moments of ancient history.

Among the historic figures featured are Julius Caesar, Spartacus and Nero. The great tales of these giants of history are told through facts about battles, uncontrolled decadence and the power-plays between emperors. However, there are also some more unexpected stories. The Romans, for example, couldn’t decide on the foundation story of Rome. The tale of Romulus and Remus was used for centuries, but a completely contradictory story appeared in the first century AD claiming the Romans were actually refugees from Troy.

Jem Duducu condenses the colossal story of the Romans into 100 accessible facts in this fun introduction to the Roman Empire.