As Rome’s grip on Gaul tightened, one man still dared to defy them.

Horatius Cocles was the last man standing between Rome’s republic and the return of totalitarian government in 509 BC.

Pliny was only about nine when his uncle left to go and help rescue the terrified townspeople of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Sensing that the Great Fire of Rome in 64 (though entertaining) was damaging his public image, the Emperor Nero looked around for someone to blame.

In 64, Nero watched on with fascination as Rome was consumed by fire — the Emperor’s idea of performance art.

When Porus, the Indian king, surrendered to Alexander the Great at Jhelum, he had only one request to make of him.