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Four years after their departure for the east, the armies of Rome are bloodied and exhausted. Their victories against the Parthian Empire came at great cost. As Emperor Trajan stood upon the shores of the Persian Gulf, insurrections erupted amongst the Jewish populations of Cyrenaica, Egypt, Cyprus, and Syria. These were inflamed by uprisings across the newly conquered regions of Mesopotamia. Though Trajan defeated Parthia’s armies in the field, the campaign ended with a humiliating failed siege at Hatra. Disease wreaked havoc upon the imperial army, including the emperor himself.

The year is 115 A.D. After two years of conquest, Emperor Caesar Traianus has annexed both Armenia and vassal kingdoms of northern Mesopotamia. His gaze turns south, his armies poised to march down the Tigris and Euphrates. Parthian resistance evaporates before his legions, like water drops incinerated by the burning desert sun. Soon, the ancient Kingdoms of Babylon and Mesopotamia will fall under the eagles. Tiberius Artorius Castus, Dux of Britannia, marches with Trajan.

During the five decades since the Treaty of Rhandeia ended the War of Armenian Succession, an uneasy peace has existed between the Roman and Parthian Empires. The treaty’s terms dictated the King of Armenia must come from Parthia’s ruling Arsacid Dynasty but can only be lawfully crowned by the Emperor of Rome. Following the passing of King Sanatruk in 110 A.D., King Osroes of Parthia appoints a new Armenian sovereign with neither consultation nor consent of Emperor Trajan. Three years later, he forcibly removes the king and installs another, again without the knowledge or permission from Rome.

After decades of strife and a pair of bloodily savage wars, the Kingdom of Dacia is no more. With King Decebalus dead, and the surviving members of the royal family in captivity, an uneasy peace descends upon the new Roman Province of Dacia. The senate and people of Rome eagerly expect the return of the victorious Emperor Trajan. With equal eagerness, the people await the legendary great Dacian treasury, said to equal hundreds of tons in gold and silver, making its way to Rome.

The year is 104 A.D. Two years have passed since King Decebalus knelt in submission to Emperor Trajan. The recent war between Rome and Dacia was brutal and costly for both sides. The graves of many thousands lie between the River Danube and the gates of Sarmizegetusa.

For twelve years a disgraceful pall has hung over the Roman Empire. Trouble along the Germanic frontier forced an abrupt end to Emperor Domitian’s war against King Decebalus of Dacia. The terms were an embarrassment to Rome and a drain on the imperial coffers, with two million denarii paid to the Dacians every year. Now, a new Caesar is firmly ensconced upon the imperial throne. Emperor Trajan vows to subjugate the Dacians, humble their king, and restore honour to the Empire.

A new age has dawned for Rome. Following the brief reign of Emperor Nerva, Marcus Ulpius Trajan inherits the mantle of Caesar. A revered general and statesman, the senate a people of Rome greet his rise with an optimism not seen since the reign of Vespasian.

Three years following the destruction of Legio XXI in Pannonia, former Tribune Tiberius Artorius Castus and retired Centurion Primus Ordo Gavius Lucifer arrive in Rome. Their political fortunes rest in their letters of introduction from the revered general and Governor of Pannonia and Upper Germania, Marcus Ulpius Trajan. As the two former soldiers embark on a life far removed from the Danube frontier, they remain ever mindful of Trajan’s cautionary advice; that Roman politics are deadlier than the most fearsome enemy warrior.

In 89 A.D., following a failed insurrection by the governor of Upper Germania, the disgraced Legio XXI Rapax is dispatched to Pannonia, on the River Danube. The legion is purged of its senior officers and Emperor Domitian appoints the venerable Lucius Flavius Silva as the new commanding legate. A revered general, Silva famously captured the Herodian Fortress of Masada at the end of the Great Jewish Revolt, twenty years earlier.

Since the reign of Emperor Tiberius, an uneasy peace has existed along the Danube frontier between the various Sarmatian tribal kingdoms to the north and the Roman Empire to the south. Now, a new threat has emerged in Dacia, as the aged King Duras seeks to unite his people; a feat not witnessed since the legendary King Burebista more than a century before.

It’s been forty years since the Roman conquest of southern Britannia. The hostile western regions are at last subdued and twenty years have passed since the cataclysmic Iceni Rebellion in the east. With tribal kingdoms assimilating into Roman culture and the province at relative peace, Imperial Governor Gnaeus Julius Agricola turns his attention north. The once-allied, now hostile Kingdom of Brigantes is divided between factions loyal to Rome and those of the usurper king, Venutius.

As Titus advances towards the Jewish Holy City with his massive army of 70,000 imperial soldiers, the warring Judean factions must decide whether to stand together against the coming onslaught or die in a bloodbath of mutual hatred.

Following the assassination of Emperor Gaius Caligula in AD 41, his uncle, Claudius, assumed the imperial throne. After establishing his legitimacy and stabilizing his position with the Roman Senate and people, he looks to legitimize himself militarily. His eyes turn toward Britannia, the elusive isle that even Julius Caesar failed to conquer. Far from being unknown to the rest of the world, various Britannic peoples have maintained trade relations with the continent, and a few of the tribal kingdoms have even formed alliances with Rome that extend back decades.

On the mist-shrouded Isle of Hibernia, now known as Ireland, 26 years have passed since the murder of the high king, Fiacha Finnolach. The usurper Elim of Ulster’s promises of peace and prosperity have come to naught, as drought and famine afflict the land. Across the Irish Sea, the Roman Governor of Britannia, Julius Agricola, is met with an intriguing proposition. Fiacha’s son, Tuathal Techtmar, born when his pregnant mother fled into exile, has grown to manhood. He seeks the aid of Rome in avenging his father and becoming High King of Hibernia.

The year is 31 AD. It is five years into the Judean governorship of Pontius Pilate and the province ever stands on the edge of a knife. The Jewish religious leaders, the Sanhedrin, use their patronage with the Emperor to vent the slightest grievance, and the people themselves burn with a hatred for Rome. Pilate’s only military forces are Samaritan auxiliaries, little more than an undisciplined mob that abuse and torment the populace. The Emperor Tiberius finally relents and assigns to Judea a single cohort of legionaries to restore order.

In the year 28 AD the people of Frisia, a previously loyal province, were suffering under the oppression of the Roman magistrate, a former Centurion named Olennius. So blinded by greed had he become that he taxed the populous well beyond their means to produce. Now impoverished and risking starvation, the Frisians did the unspeakable and sought open rebellion as their only means of survival.

In the aftermath of the Battles of Khambula and Gingindlovu, a lull fell over the war-torn Zulu Kingdom. Though British forces under Lord Chelmsford emerged victorious during both encounters, earlier defeats, casualties, and supply shortages required them to withdraw back into Natal. Now with waves of long-awaited reinforcements arriving, Chelmsford prepares to launch a second invasion of Zululand. Death and destruction have taken their toll on the Zulu people. Thousands of families mourn for their loved ones, while refugees flee from the devastation of the border regions.

Four years have passed since the Roman invasion of Britannia. Though the imperial legions won a number of spectacular victories, the imperial governor, Ostorius Scapula, realizes that Emperor Claudius declared victory far too soon. An ever-volatile land, hostile forces exist even amongst loyalists and allies. To the north the allied kingdom of the Brigantes is on the verge of civil war, while to the west Rome’s old nemesis, Caratacus, has returned. A former prince of the conquered Catuvellauni, he seeks revenge for the death of his brother and the subjugation of their people.

The year is 77 AD. On the frontier of the Roman Empire, a Dacian man named Verus is captured and enslaved during an imperial raid north of the Danube. He is sent to a rock quarry known as The Pit, as one among thousands of fresh slaves needed to mine marble for Emperor Vespasian's new amphitheater. Funded by spoils taken during the Siege of Jerusalem, the Emperor promises it will be the largest gladiatorial arena ever; his personal gift to the people of Rome. Requiring years of herculean labor and millions of cubic feet in stone, Vespasian's son, Titus, worries if his father will live.

A year has passed since the end of the Gallic rebellion of Sacrovir and Florus. Retribution has been exacted, and the province is at peace once more. And yet, there are some who escaped Rome's justice. They are led by a man whose heart burns with hate; an heir to rebellion. Knowing that there can be no victory against the legions, his vengeance can only be wrought through terror and murder. The Gallic city of Lugdunum will be the first to taste his wrath.