Spanning 160 years and seven generations, teeming with some of ancient Rome's most vivid figures, Saylor's epic brings to vivid life some of the most tumultuous and consequential chapters of human history, events which reverberate still. His name is Constantine, and the revolution he sets in motion will change the world forever. Some emperors deal with the Christians with toleration, others with bloody persecution. They insist that everyone in the world should worship only one god, their god. On the fringes of society, troublesome cultists disseminate dangerous and seditious ideas. But an even greater upheaval is yet to come. Through it all, the Pinarius family endures, thanks in no small part to the protective powers of the fascinum, a talisman older than Rome itself, a mystical heirloom handed down through countless generations. The military seizes power and sells the throne to the highest bidder. Barbarians descend in endless waves, eventually appearing before the gates of Rome itself. The best emperors in history are succeeded by some of the worst. The years to come bring wars, plagues, fires, and famines. The ancient Pinarius family and their workshop of artisans embellish the richest and greatest city on earth with gilded statues and towering marble monuments. Marcus Aurelius, as much a philosopher as he is an emperor, oversees a golden age in the city of Rome. Universal peace-the Pax Roma-reigns from Britannia to Egypt, from Gaul to Greece. 165: The empire of Rome has reached its pinnacle. Following his international bestsellers Roma and Empire, Steven Saylor's Dominus continues his saga of the greatest, most storied empire in history from the eternal city at the very center of it all.

Roman blood by steven saylor