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Sixteen years after Marcus Aurelius‘s death,^[a] Rome is ruled by the corrupt twin emperors Geta and Caracalla. In the North African kingdom of Numidia, the refugee Hanno lives with his wife Arishat. The Roman army led by General Acacius invades and conquers the kingdom, killing Arishat and enslaving Hanno along with the other survivors. The slaves are taken to Ostia, where the Romans pit them against feral baboons to advertise them as potential gladiators. Hanno savagely kills a baboon, impressing the stable master Macrinus, who promises Hanno an opportunity to kill Acacius if he wins enough fights in Rome.

Acacius returns to Rome as a war hero; Geta and Caracalla arrange gladiatorial games in the Colosseum to celebrate his victory. Disillusioned with war, Acacius requests a break with his wife Lucilla, the daughter of Aurelius, but the emperors refuse and plot to conquer Persia and India. Senator Thraex throws a party for the emperors and arranges a gladiatorial duel as entertainment. After Hanno wins, he recites a verse from Virgil‘s Aeneid, revealing his Roman education to the emperors and raising Macrinus’s suspicion. Acacius and Lucilla conspire with Thraex and Senator Gracchus to overthrow the emperors and restore the Roman Republic.