Who was Alexander the Great jealous of? What did the famous Dumas keep silent about Anna of Austria? What was more important than anything else for Atilla? Who betrayed Napoleon Bonaparte? The life stories of the most interesting and striking rulers told by the famous historian Natalia Basovskaya are collected in this book. Heroes, villains, fatal women, lords of half the world and rebels loved, hated, fought, lost and won many years ago, but their fates still concern us.