No other political entity has shaped the modern world like the Roman Empire. Encompassing close to 60 million people and 3 million km2 of land, it represented an incredibly diverse and dynamic collection of nations, states and tribes, all bound to Rome and the ideal of the Roman identity. In the lively and engaging style that he's known for, Philip Matyszak traces the history of the Roman Empire from the fall of the Assyrians and the rise of the Roman republic through the ages of expansion, crisis and eventual split.