In an ancient Persian empire torn by civil war, the young soldier Xenophon leads his decimated Spartan army in a confrontation against the legendary warriors of Artaxerxes II. 401 BC. The Persian king Artaxerxes rules an empire stretching from the Aegean to northern India. As many as fifty million people are his subjects. His rule is absolute. Yet battles can be won-- or lost-- with a single blow. Princes fall. And when the dust of civil war settles,...

The mighty Mongol conqueror sets out to unify an entire continent under his rule.

"After the gods, after the myths and legends, came the world of men--and in the front rank stood Pericles. Enter Pericles--the Lion of Athens. Behind him lies the greatest city of the ancient world. Before him stands the ferocious Persian army. Both sides are spoiling for war. But Pericles knows one thing: to fight a war you must first win the peace. It's time for a hero to rise. For his enemies to tremble. And for a city to shine like a beacon...

Winter 1461--Richard Duke of York is dead, his ambitions in ruins, his head spiked on the walls of the city. King Henry VI is still held prisoner. His Lancastrian Queen rides south with an army of victorious northerners, accompanied by painted warriors from the Scottish Highlands. With the death of York, Margaret and her army seem unstoppable. Yet in killing the father, Margaret has unleashed the sons. Edward of March, now Duke of York, proclaims...