Once again, the folks out at the History Channel have sent me a beautiful piece to write up for you–the complete Engineering An Empire series. And you’ll find some truly amazing facts here, packaged in a terrific and compelling package.

Engineering an Empire packs fully fourteen DVDs into its box set, and each of those covering two or three different empires, for fully thirty two hours of Imperial marvels.  You’ll see the beginnings of Greece through to Alexander’s day, China, the Goths, the Huns, the Mongols, the Vikings, and many, many more.

And here’s the absolute best part–Robocop himself will show you through it. That’s right–Peter Weller handles the hosting duties here, and he does a terrific job, bringing a historian’s logic together with an actor’s flair. But he won’t be alone here, as experts of every stripe and description will throw in too, so much so that Peter Weller isn’t actually here very long–some episodes more so than others. This is something of a shame, but still.

You’ll get word from historians, architects, military historians; you’ll get word on culture, engineering, military prowess, science of the era, and so on. Seriously, you’re going to get exhaustive studies of just about anything and everything you ever wanted to know about huge portions of the ancient world.

And this is both the problem and the greatest facet of Empires–you will have to have an interest in history to enjoy this. It’s a strict necessity. You will learn so very much about the empires of the world that it will astonish you–but you have to be interested in learning, or you will be utterly lost and see no point here.

For budding historians, and those with a fondness for the history of the world, Empires will be a treat unlike many others. For those without the interest, well, this will be a taxing and painfully dull experience.  Because all it is, you understand, is a historical treatise on the world’s empires. It goes incredibly in-depth on this subject, but since it has no overarching narrative to pay attention to or any kind of other distraction, it’s really little more than a series of facts strung together.

The Screenhead Ten Scale gives Empires a seven out of ten–it’s a terrific piece, but it’s so niche that a lot of people aren’t going to have a lot of enjoyment here. History buffs take note: you will love this.