I viewed about 12 episodes of this series at an anime convention about a year ago. Overall, I enjoyed them, though the series isn't for everyone.
For (very) basic information, use Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shura_no_Toki
As for my impressions: the series is a somewhat older action story with no central plot but decent episodic matters. The characters are a mix of interesting or strong characters and stereotypical or two-dimensional ones. You can do worse than that, anyway. There is action in just about every episode, but also some comedy in the lines of much Japanese comedy (not my taste, but some find it funny) and a romantic relationship that is developed fairly well.
However, between different plot arcs of the series a great deal of time is skipped and the main characters change. I find this rather irritating, especially when the only characters I really like are taken out of the action. As for being historical, the plot is such that it barely touches on any real life issues.