A fast-paced, often gruesome tour of ancient Rome that explores how the empire expanded through ruthless conquest and strict discipline, then held power with spectacular entertainments, brutal punishments, and a rigid social order; it describes the lives of soldiers, slaves, emperors and ordinary citizens, from the engineering feats of roads and baths to the food, fashion, religion and filthy hygiene, highlighting both Roman achievements and their cruelty in a lively, irreverent style.