This book has arisen from articles that were written for the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland Young People’s Magazine. The published articles form the first two chapters and cover the period at the very end of the Old Testament. The story told in this book covers the history of the ancient world and how it transformed into the world that we now recognise. It charts the movement of power and civilisation from the sands of Arabia to the fields of Rome. It is a story that relates the movement of the citadels of power and culture from the ancient worlds of Persia and Israel, to the European cities that still dominate much of the affairs of our society.