Emperors are the oldest, most mysterious, and most dangerous profession in the world - they hold the power of life and death, and sit on thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, but they may fall into the abyss at any time and die.
Why was Qin Shihuang able to unify the world, but the Qin Dynasty died after two generations? Why was the "good emperor" of ancient Rome able to create a golden age, but was eventually crushed by the barbarians? Why was Wu Zetian able to become the only empress of China, and why was her rule repeatedly commented upon by later generations? Why did Napoleon sweep across Europe only to be defeated by a heavy snowfall and a Russian winter?
This is not a boring history textbook. This is an anatomy lesson of imperial power spanning 5,000 years and running through the East and the West.
We start from the first pharaoh on the banks of the Nile River, and travel all the way through the Persian Empire's cavalry, the Roman Empire's legions, the wolf flags of the Mongolian Plateau, and the Ottoman scimitar, until the European crown lands. We not only talk about how they ascended to the throne, but also how they fell off the throne - the hereditary trap, the betrayal of powerful officials, financial collapse, the iron heel of foreign enemies, the palace conspiracy...
These stories of emperors are actually laboratories of human power. Behind every crown, there are human codes about ambition, intrigue, betrayal and redemption.
If you understand the history of emperors, you will understand the nature of power. The nature of power has never changed.
This is the history of world emperors that you have never heard before - no flattery, no slander, just human nature and laws.
