I, Caesar: The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire

Julius Caesar turned military victories into political power His ambition created a colossal empire and he gave his name to the rulers who succeeded him He has been a symbol of power and majesty for 2000 years But to his countryman Caesar was an upstart a gambler and a tyrant who destroyed the Roman Republic and paved the way for emperors rule From his strategic brilliance to the Ides of March I

Caesars military brilliance forged a new Rome but it was Augustus political genius that made it an empire for the ages Despite being Caesars nephew and adopted heir Augustus struggled for thirteen years to consolidate power Finally declared emperor by the Senate he oversaw a period of growth and prosperity marked by extraordinary artistic achievement and rapid expansion of the empire I Caesar

He was seventeen when he took the throne and during his capricious fourteenyear rule Nero almost brought the Empire to ruin He was unable to quell rebellions in Britain and Judea He had many political enemies killed including his mother and sister When a fire which some claim he set destroyed most of Rome he blamed the Christians and persecuted the thentiny sect Eventually the army rose up

He overturned centuriesold policies declaring an end to expansions and abandoning farflung territories Hadrian was an enthusiastic patron of the arts a champion of the common Roman and a tireless diplomat who toured the entire Empire But this Golden Age was not free from conflict ancient accounts suggest that over half a million Jews were killed when Hadrian sent the army to quell an

Constantine revitalized a fading empire and built a glittering new capital that would stand for over 1000 years But his strongest legacy is religious his conversion to Christianity put an end to hundreds of years of persecution and laid the foundations for Medieval Europe His revolutionary policies including reorganizing military and civil authority place Constantine alongside Caesar and

He lived more than 500 years after Caesar He ruled from Constantinople not Rome But Justinian restored the Empire to its former glory one last time He sent his armies west where they recaptured territory lost to Barbican invasions in the 5th century By the time of his death the Roman Empire once again stretched from the Black Sea to the Atlantic And while these lands would soon be lost the legal