After a successful career in corporate finance, Gareth C Sampson returned to the study of ancient Rome and gained his PhD from the University of Manchester, where he taught for a number of years. He now lives in Plymouth with his wife and children.His previous books were the Defeat of Rome (2008); The Crisis of Rome: Marius and the Jugurthine and Northern Wars (2011); The Collapse of Rome (2013); The Eagle Spreads Her Wings: Roman Expansion Between the Punic Wars (2016); Rome, Blood and Politics (2017) Rome, Blood and Power (2018); Rome and Parthia: Empires at War; Rome's Great Eastern War: Lucullus, Pompey and the Conquest of the East, 74-62 BC; The Battle of Dyrrhachium (48 BC) and The Battle of Pharsalus (48 BC). all published by Pen & Sword.