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A history of the Roman Republic and Empire examining the attitudes of the citizens, military strategy, influential leaders, and the decline of the empire. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

OldBut Great
The Canbridge Introduction to History always has great reading
material.The book I purchased was an old worn book. What I mean by that is it was handled with care.Very intresting book, and educational.Great review and great publishers.
Thank you ... Read more

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The story of Claudius has been often told before. Ancient writers saw the emperor as the dupe of his wives and palace insiders; Robert Graves tried to rehabilitate him as a far shrewder, if still frustrated, politician. Josiah Osgood shifts the focus off the personality of Claudius and on to what his tumultuous years in power reveal about the developing political culture of the early Roman Empire. What precedents set by Augustus were followed? What had to be abandoned? How could a new emperor win the support of key elements of Roman society? This richly illustrated discussion draws on a range of newly discovered documents, exploring events that move far beyond the city of Rome and Italy to Egypt and Judea, Morocco and Britain. Claudius Caesar opens up a new perspective not just on Claudius himself, but all Roman emperors, the Roman Empire, and the nature of empires more generally. ... Read more

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Volumes 1, 2, and 3 of the Bury Text, in a boxed set.Introduction by Hugh Trevor-RoperAmazon.com Review
British parliamentarian and soldier Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) conceived of his plan for Decline and Fall while "musing amid the ruins of the Capitol" on a visit to Rome. For the next 10 years he worked away at his great history, which traces the decadence of the late empire from the time of the Antonines and the rise of Western Christianity. "The confusion of the times, and the scarcity of authentic memorials, pose equal difficulties to the historian, who attempts to preserve a clear and unbroken thread of narration," he writes. Despite these obstacles, Decline and Fall remains a model of historical exposition, and required reading for students of European history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (79)

Gift For Larry
This was a very good experience. I bought the books - there were two in the set - and had them shipped to by brother-in-law. I live in California: he lives in Poughkeepsie, NY. Everything went smoothly and he got his books is very short order.

Great book with great analysis
In my opinion any review will not present this book properly. This is a masterpiece of history focused on the Imperial Rome and its end. You have to read it to have your own opinion about this remarkable book, written by open-minded historian. This is my favorite book. Highly recommended for open-minded people, who love history and the literature.

A treasure
edited by Hans-Fredrich Mueller

I finally finished this massive treasure, which isn't even exhaustive.And I can't imagine the colossal task in both time and energy it took to write it.It took Gibbon twelve years, from 1776 to 1788.I find it more than a coincidence that he began writing in the year of our independence.Even in this abridged form (which is what you will more likely come across) it is still a huge undertaking; though Mueller, in his critical forward, tells us it is necessary for it to become readable.Mueller also says he prided himself in being meticulous and accurate while still being manageable.And very helpful is the addition of dates bracketed throughout the text.An index would have been useful.In Boorstin's introduction he cites the major impact this work had on him; he calls it intimate.I would have never thought of it in that way, but now after ingesting all six volumes I understand why he calls it intimate.Gibbon does not mince words either.His work will always be remembered and its impact can still be felt today.He is an artist, like no one I have read before.Keep a dictionary handy.I also recommend reading the forward and the introduction, especially after studying Gibbon's great work.They take into question Gibbon's devotion to Christianity and his offensiveness towards it.I see Gibbon as mixed in his beliefs, though he wrote as he saw it; and I find that he saw the truth when he found it.Did he believe infrastructure was valued over its people?

The role of emperor was not a secure job."Such was the unhappy condition of the Roman emperors that, whatever might be their conduct, their fate was commonly the same."The polytheistic Roman Empire was very much a melting pot (half slaves) and within it were many schisms.I see parallels---such as the oppressive taxes, the corrupt politicians, the tyrannical government, the effemination, and the endless warfare---to our United States, and a warning for our future.

So what caused the fall?For Gibbon, the gradual decline began after Christ, until the eventual fall some fifteen hundred years later.Chapters are built upon the reigns of the emperors as they came to power, except where he periodically inserts chapters concerning the Christian influence, the Christian persecutions, the corrupt church, the persecution of the church toward others, the Crusades, the rise of Islam, the debilitating taxes and, towards the end, he concentrates on the impact by the surrounding nations.The Empire became a black hole and split to form an East and a West---the West to totally collapse.There were many causes: the slow introduction of Christianity over Paganism and the conversion to it, the collapse of the military, the always and increasing threat of outside peoples, alienating allies and provoking enemies, the corruption within (the people), and of course the self righteous emperors.Entropy would take over and finally lead to the collapse of the infrastructure.

Rome was both a curse and a blessing for Christianity.Many were converted, but the power of Catholicism and the Pope led to the eventual corruption and apostasy of the church.We have our many deists and polytheists just as the Romans.Do you not find a familiarity to us and the Romans?
LORD bless
Scott

My Set Contains 3 Volumes
My set which I own contain 3 volumes also.The thing is though I compared how many pages this 3 volume set that's being offered here has (500+) and my volumes are well over 1000-1400 pages.So what I'm trying to say is there are complete 3 volume sets, just make sure you check how many pages per volume are offered.

A Classic That Is Worth the Time and Effort
At long last I have tackled one of the great achievements of the English language, and I am glad that I dedicated the time and effort to do so. I have no regrets about investing in the unabridged version, anymore than I would want to watch a two-hour TV program that hacks and condenses and combines the first two Godfather movies into a bowdlerized shell of its former self. Some works must be enjoyed in their entirety, as they were originally created, and this is one of them. Not that I should be comparing one of the crowning achievements of Western culture to a few hours of celluloid produced in Hollywood - that's like comparing Mozart to say, the Beatles - but it was just to make a point. Read the unabridged version, or don't read it all.(And BTW, no knock on the Beatles, who were great, but comparing them to Mozart? I don't think so...)

I suppose the first thing I should point out to potential buyers is to make sure that you buy the complete set of books. Gibbon's magnum opus has been published in so many different ways - I've seen the unabridged version in anywhere from three to seven volumes - that you need to be careful. This version has all of Gibbon's footnotes, which serve two purposes. First - you can get additional insight (and sometimes witty/snarky asides) to the narrative, and second - you get to see just how authoritative and reputable a source Gibbon is - he completely and fully researched all available writings and histories - ancient, medieval, and contemporary - in preparing his text. This work is one of the gold standard sources for historical information - if Gibbon reports an incident or fact in this work - you can bet good money that it is probably true.

The language is majestic, the style fluid and articulate.I think you need to have some prior knowledge of Roman and medieval history before delving into this modest little tome, and it is useful to have another good history book handy to check dates, as Gibbon is not good about telling you what year or years he is discussing as he proceeds through chapters that, at times, span centuries. Perhaps, in his day, people were more educated, and it was okay for him to assume that his reader would know what time frame he was talking about when he mentioned an obscure Greek Emperor. For my part, I kept copies of Volumes III and IV of Will Durant's "Story of Civilization" handy as I worked my way through the different volumes (over the course of nearly a year), and that helped me better grasp the material. I think what sets this book apart is the obvious wisdom and intelligence that is communicated "between the lines" and which shines through virtually every page. Gibbon seems to patiently explain why the events he describes were still relevant in his day, when the British Empire was approaching its zenith; and that of course is why the book remains relevant today - as the American "Empire" perhaps begins its inevitable decline, like all great powers must do, sooner or later.

The best way I can summarize how impressed I was with this work is to say that I may well have to read it again someday before I die - this book is that extraordinary, and that worth the time invested. Read and ponder this book, and you will begin to understand history like never before.
... Read more

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Yet Commodus was not, as he has been represented, a tiger born with an insatiate thirst of human blood, and capable, from his infancy, of the most inhuman actions. Nature had formed him of a weak rather than a wicked disposition. His simplicity and timidity rendered him the slave of his attendants, who gradually corrupted his mind. His cruelty, which at first obeyed the dictates of others, degenerated into habit, and at length became the ruling passion of his soul. ... Read more

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The Holy Roman Empire survived for over 1,000 years--and its institutions, ideas, and political divisions haunt Europe still. Starting with Charlemagne's coronation on Christmas day 800, and ending with the illegal suspension of the Empire by Francis II in 1806, this ambitious and comprehensive history examines the status of the Emperor, meaning of kingship and leadership, the Empire's structure, internal conflicts, and shifting centers of power, and ever present ideal of a united Europe.
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Customer Reviews (3)

Unreadable
Here's a representative quote from this book, which speaks for itself:

Behind the Spanish and Holy Roman empires lies yet 'another' imperium, whose device is the celebrated line from Virgil's Fourth Eclogue foretelling the rebirth of the Golden Age, a prophecy which medieval men took to refer to Christ. It is Virgil, as the first poet-prophet of the Roman Empire, who conducts Dante, poet-prophet of the medieval Holy Roman Empire through Hell and Purgatory to the threshold of Paradise.Dante's paradise has its roots in the palace garden of the Persian king, in the primal age of world monarchy, and the same can in a sense be said of the gardens of Versailles and Schoenbrunn.'Emperor's yellow', in Peking and Vienna alike the imperial colour and reserved strictly for use on imperial buildings, is yet another reminder that the Holy Roman Empire and its successor, the Austrian imperial monarchy, belonged to an order which had endured for five thousand years... 'Five thousand years measure the light path of the imperial eagle as he makes his way from the temple towers of Eridu towards the setting sun and the evening mists veiling the future of the atomic age.' The post-Copernican era was launched with the first space rockets.In the not so distant future the new Columbus, homo cosmonautus, may be planting pockets of himself and his life-style in some galaxy... This open cosmos presents man with a challenge he finds hard to bear.

I'm not sure what Heer is trying to accomplish in the many passages like these.Doubtless he's hoping to show off his learning;possibly he's trying to show how mystical and 'non-linear' his thinking is.But whatever his aims, the result is rambling mumbo-jumbo that I returned to the library after three chapters (fortunately no money wasted).

Valuable history
Heer is undoubtedly a great historian: this book is full of insight into the history of Germany and how even its oldest legacies relate to the modern world and World War II. European history isn't my forte, but as a fanatic lover of history I dabble in it whever I can. This book was definitely not made for a casual reader like me, though. The already complex history of the Holy Roman Empire is exasperated by the author's scholarly magnitute coupled with a poor translation ("...would prove whether he was indeed the mighty one strong to save who could secure peace for his people...") To add, though the book is full (I mean, FULL) of plates, colour and b/w; it has not one map or chart in it. For guys like me who aren't particularly learned in German geography and the names of her prominent families, a little help would have meant the world.

Nevertheless, I forced my way through this meaty, tiring read from cover to cover; though I probably picked up only a fraction of the book's wealth of knowledge, I can say that I understand the subject infinitely better than when I picked it up. It has flaws, but these aren't the author's fault. This book is a valuable read for German history lovers, with a fair warning for amatuers (like me).

Packed with facts but not quite bed-time reading!
A seriously comprehensive book covering all aspects of the Holy Roman Empire. Very readable in terms of fact collection, though the style of the prose is rather dry! Never mind - all you ever want to know about the mostimportant political institution ever. ... Read more

Product Description
During the first, stable period of the Principate (roughly from 27 BC to AD 235), when the empire reached its maximum extent, Roman society and culture were radically transformed. But how was the vast territory of the empire controlled? Did the demands of central government stimulate economic growth, or endanger survival? What forces of cohesion operated to balance the social and economic inequalities and high mortality rates? Why did Roman governments freeze the official religion while allowing the diffusion of alien, especially oriental, cults? Are we to see in their attitude to Christianity a policy of toleration--or simply confusion and a failure of nerve?
These are some of the many questions posed in this book, which offers the first overall account of the society, economy and culture of the Roman empire. Addressed to non-specialist readers no less than to scholars, it breaks with the traditional historian's preoccupation with narrative and politics. As an integrated study of the life and outlook of the ordinary inhabitants of the Roman world, it deepens our understanding of the underlying factors in this important formative period of world history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Roman Empire: Econmy, Society and Culture
Good book to start with the basics of the Roman Empire for people who have little or no understanding of the Roman Empire. It helped me have a better understanding of Rome. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

A Great Quick Reference Work -- But Who's the Target Audience?
I liked this book.It is organized chronologically by year and then geographically within each year.For readers interested in the Roman Republic, and coin collectors of Roman denarii and bronzes, this is a handy reference on the times.The brief summaries are well-written, and in those cases where a really interested reader wants details, the entries are tantalizing.

My problem with this book, and why I didn't give it five stars, is that I really don't understand for whom the book was intended.I read it cover to cover, but I doubt very many readers will do that.The entries are far too short to really cover the ground, and most of the entries do not address anything important.So who's going to purchase and read this book?I guess that's why this review is the only the second review for a book that was published last year.In the case of most readers, I think the consuls and tribunes will be just names, and even the wars with other countries will just become a tedious recounting of very brief information so the reader fails to become involved with any type of story line.

At any rate, the book may become more important as something on which the reader can organize his Roman library.I doubt many of the casual readers will get beyond a few pages and simply put the book on the shelf for reference if a question should arise at the dinner table.But who discusses Roman Republican history anymore?Americans today can't even discuss anything that happened before Kennedy was assassinated.After all, that's all ancient history.

Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire
This is a very good chronological review of Roman history. Not only does the author give his opinion of what happened, when it is not clear, but explains other opinions as well.For someone looking for a quick and concise explaination of what happened in Roman history, this book will serve that goal well. ... Read more

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As well as providing a historical narrative alongside source materials, this series aims to bring history to life by describing the often weird and gory stories behind people and events. This title focuses on the Roman Empire and presents carefully selected primary and secondary sources. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Grant selects some of the most significant examples of painting, portraits, architecture, mosaic, jewellery and silverware. He provides a valuable insight into the functions of art in the Empire, focusing on frontier regions. ... Read more

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What a waste of money.
I enjoy reading Michael Grant's books - in fact, he is one of my favourite authors. In most of his books, he makes history an enjoyable romp, writing books that are engaging and hard to put down.

However, this book is one of the biggest rip-offs I've seen. It has a price from Fantasyland and the text is about as detailed as the leaflets you pick up from a museum. For example, the 'Chapter' on Pagan Temple architecture has a total of 488 words. It has over 100 pages only because there are full-page title-pages introducing each section.

Considering this is supposed to be a book on Roman Art, the text tells you nothing, and the price is so high you think you are getting something of quality, rather than a hardcover museum leaflet. Michael Grant should stick to books on historical figures, (Eg. Nero, Cleopatra etc) and leave Art History to the experts. ... Read more

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Marked by the shift of power from Rome to Constantinople and the Christianization of the Empire, this pivotal era requires a narrative and interpretative history of its own. Averil Cameron, an authority on later Roman and early Byzantine history and culture, captures the vigor and variety of the fourth century, doing full justice to the enormous explosion of recent scholarship.

After a hundred years of political turmoil, civil war, and invasion, the Roman Empire that Diocletian inherited in AD 284 desperately needed the radical restructuring he gave its government and defenses. His successor, Constantine, continued the revolution by adopting--for himself and the Empire--a vibrant new religion: Christianity. The fourth century is an era of wide cultural diversity, represented by figures as different as Julian the Apostate and St. Augustine. Cameron provides a vivid narrative of its events and explores central questions about the economy, social structure, urban life, and cultural multiplicity of the extended empire. Examining the transformation of the Roman world into a Christian culture, she takes note of the competition between Christianity and Neoplatonism. And she paints a lively picture of the new imperial city of Constantinople. By combining literary, artistic, and archaeological evidence. Cameron has produced an exciting record of social change. The Later Roman Empire is a compelling guide for anyone interested in the cultural development of late antiquity.

Customer Reviews (3)

A More than Satisfactory Account of Fourth-Century Rome
Averil Cameron's up-to-date summation on the Later Roman Empire covers the turbulent world of fourth-century Rome.The author rather wisely bases her work on the most recent studies in the field, while remaining true and quite at home with the original sources.Cameron also has a good feel for the social and political spheres of the "divided" empire of East and West.With the coloring of her own insights, this work presents a more than satisfactory account of the subjects treated.This is a readable and reliable book which would feel most comfortable in the hands of beginner students.

Not Deserving of Criticism
Salutations all.I have read this book for a college course at UC Riverside.I admit Cameron's book is difficult to digest, but it is intigueing nonetheless (read the last chapter for a preview of our owncivilization's collapse.The book scans the Western Empire: Diocletian,Constantine, Julian, Theodosius, and prominent barbarians.That said, itfocuses primarily on the West although signifigant portions are alotted tothe city of Constantinople and its military catastrophes up until thedynsty of Theodosius.There are at lesat two chapters covering the West'ssociety& culture and government.There is one chapter set aside forChristianity with some startling evidence of the harsh behavior Christiansheld towards humanity.Worth reading

The Later Roman Empire
I thought the book was boring, and it depicted the role of Constantine.Constantine helped preserve Christianity and the Roman Empire.I thought that all the author did was put footnotes in and then give her opinion ofthose footnotes. ... Read more

Product Description
The extraordinarily rich cultural legacy of the Roman world has had a profound affect world civilization. Roman achievements in architecture, law, politics, literature, war, and philosophy serve as the foundation of modern Western society. Now, for the first time in an A-Z format, A Dictionary of the Roman Empire assembles the people, places, events, and ideas of this remarkable period in one easy-to-use source. With over 1,900 entries covering more than five hundred years of Roman history, from Julius Caesar and the Gallic Wars (59-51 B.C.) to the fall of Romulus Augustus, the last Roman emperor (476 A.D.), this accessible guide provides quick reference to one of the most studied periods of all antiquity.

Every aspect of Roman life is included. Here are profiles of the great emperors, such as Marcus Aurelius, one of the most profoundly intellectual monarchs in western civilization, and the aberrant Gaius Caligula, who, after draining the Roman treasury with his eccentric behavior, made it a capital crime for citizens not to bequeath him their estates. Informative entries describe the complex workings of Roman government, such as census taking, the creation of civil service, coinage, and the venerable institution of the Senate, and offer insight into the various trends and cultural tastes that developed throughout Roman history. For example, a discussion on baths, the most common type of building in the Roman Empire, demonstrates the unique intermingling of luxury, community, recreation, and, in the provinces, an association with Rome, that served as the focus of any city aspiring to greatness. Other entries describe the practice of paganism, marriage and divorce, ludi (public games held to entertain the Roman populace), festivals of the Roman year, and gluttony (epitomized by famous gourmands such as the emperor Vitellius, who according to the historian Suetonius, lived for food, banqueting three or four times a day, routinely vomiting up his meal and starting over). Also featured are longer essays on such topics as art and architecture, gods and goddesses, and the military, as well as a chronology, a short glossary of Roman terms, and appendices listing the emperors of the Empire and diagram the often intertwined family trees of ruling dynasties.

Comprehensive, authoritative, and illustrated with over sixty illustrations and maps, A Dictionary of the Roman Empire provides easy access to the remarkable civilization upon which Western society was built. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Enormously helpful
I have been reading Gibbon's DECLINE AND FALL, but I suffer from a major disability:I have never studied Roman history at all.Therefore, while I know some names, I don't have a sharp understanding of the time periods under consideration.

In reading Gibbon, I have been keeping this volume by my side, and it has been more useful than I had possibly imagined that it would be.I haven't gotten into the later periods that Gibbon covers, but at least on the earlier periods of the Roman Empire, this dictionary has had entries on nearly everything that I have wanted to look up.

I highly recommend it.

A Must Have for Roman History Enthusiasts.
From the Abdagaeses to Zstommas, a superb collection of entries on the peoples places and things that made up the Roman world, including those who influenced but never fell within the sway of Roman power. Loads and loadsof superb information, well cross referenced. By no means flawless,however. The illustrations are a mere afterthought and add little to thevolume's presentation. Some of the articles are curiously stilted andawkwardly constructed like there was a rush to get them in under adeadline. A caveat to anyone looking for an all in one volume on Romanhistory, this dictionary covers the Empire only, with events and charactersfrom the Republic and Kingdom presented only in reference to how theycontributed to the Imperial Epoch or not at all.

All in all, a great buyfor anyone building a Roman history library. Ave Roma Aerterna!!! ... Read more

Product Description
Traces the history of the Roman Empire and the Dark Ages which followed through a description of common objects, tools, clothes, dwellings, food, and day-to-day activities of the people in both the cities and in the country. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Misleading title--covers a lot more than is suggested.
This book does NOT focus solely on the Roman Empire, but rather covers such subjects as "A Celtic Farmer", "A Roman Villa", "Vindolanda: the frontier" and "Roman Town Life" aswell as subjects some would consider to be of the Early Middle Ages, ratherthan the Dark Ages: the "Anglo-Saxons", "Byzantium","The Arabs in Europe" (very nice!), "the Vikings","Castle and Manor House", "Monastic life" (including aKnights Templar estate) and a medieval town. Keep in mind that this is apicture book, not a college textbook.Gives short but interestingoverviews of each era listed.LOTS of nice color drawings, quite a lot ofinteresting details. Overall, I found it a terrific book, with lots of niceillustrations covering daily life in the periods covered. I recommend thebook highly. ... Read more

Product Description
This ground-breaking book is the first to show how the institution of slavery, one of the most characteristic and enduring features of Roman imperial society, was maintained over time and how, at the practical level, the lives of slaves in the Roman world were directly controlled by their masters. The author demonstrates, first, how the tensions generated between slaves and masters can be perceived in the ancient sources, and, second, how those tensions were dealt with, as masters treated their slaves with varying forms of generosity and punishment in order to elicit obedience from them.Special attention is given to the slaves' family lives, to their acquisition of freedom through manumission, and to the climate of violence that surrounded them. Emphasizing the harsh realities of Roman slavery in a new way, this important book will stir intense debate among scholars and students. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Fascinating speculation about how slaves were controlled
Bradley asks how the Romans controlled their slaves. He discovers that "It is indisputable that physical coercion from the owner played a large part in servile life...and that subjection to brutality was a basic component of slavery" (p 122).

There were all kinds of slaves, from the workers in the mines, who apparently endured unbelievable cruelty, to the pampered nannies of the rich. It is difficult to truly understand Roman slaves since there is no slave literature (p 18). However, we have the records which have been left, and the advice about slaves left by wealthy landowners.

Slaves appear to have been considered utterly base by their owners. The owners had a long litany of complaints about their slaves. They stole; they lied; they were lazy, were common complaints.

Although Roman law forbade slaves to marry, slaves of course did form families, although they could be sold at any time. There appear to have been many more male slaves than female ones(p 73).Some were later freed, perhaps by wills, or perhaps by saving up enough money to buy their own freedom.

"Domitian first forbade the castration of slaves" ( 128), although eunuchs were ubiquitous for centuries.

A fascinating book.

an excellent book
This book is an excellent introduction to the social condition of slavery in the Roman world.The only thing lacking is more of a historical sense of how things changed and why. Bradley does a good job of balancing the"master" view with the "slave" view, presenting severalsides to each issue without much moralizing of his own -- a rare thingoften in the history of slavery.A good book for both undergraduate andgraduate and a good basic text to begin research from. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

I became obsessed . . .
I became obsessed with this book--and with Rome, as a result of this book. I could not put it down, and I give that to perhaps five books I've read. I think the more well read will find each paragraph to contain the distillation of an entire thesis. (Alas, the less patient will find only eight or so illustrations, and large text on the cover and title page to hold their attention.) I had to put it down every page or so to awe over the depth of what I'd just read. This process made my reading last weeks--almost as though I were reading scripture. My obvious emotional attachment to this book should make readers pause, of course. So to be balanced I should say that, as any academic work, Ferrill's must surely be matched by alternative scholarly conclusions somewhere. But it struck me as so expertly and thoroughly reasoned, that it is my chosen watershed on Rome's decline. I recommend this book as the best starting point I've found on Rome's decline, and . . . perhaps her persistence?

An original approach!
What did it really propitiate Rome `s fall ?. Since the days of Gibbons, diverse erudite men have debated this thorny question with vehemence and bravery with different answers that include from the racial decadence to the proclaimed immorality apart of an excessive bureaucratization. But lastly, the most probably explanation has focused about the slow process of raveling and cracking of the military establishment in all orders, product ofan unlimited ambition and pernicious anxiety of rampant greed as expected result of the visible moral degradation and sinister corruption in the higher spheres of the power.

In the last decade of the IV BC, the emperor Theodosius governed on a territory so extensive as August was then, leading an army of hundred thousand men. Nevertheless it was enough, due only eighty years later the Empire and the Army would be entirely destroyed. What happened on the road ? Undoubtedly, the inclusion of barbarians as reinforcement of the army permeated the moral of the soldiers and the discipline of the infantry; on the other hand the huge mobile reserve created by Constantine accented still more the vigor of the frontier forces, reinforcing the cavalry at expense of the infantry. That distortion o the real situation and the breakthrough of the infantry as vertebral column of the Roman Empire would eventually become its nemesis.

This absorbing analysis will engage you from the first pages, introducing and making us to participate in this passionate subject. And far beyond, you may disagree or not around this perspective, the book maintains an febrile state of undeniable interest that will captive your attention all the way through.

An Unconvincing Thesis
On the whole Ferrill's book is a useful resource as a summary of the major events in the collapse of the Western Empire, but the central thesis of Ferrill's work and his final conclusion are both very weak. Ferrill dismisses the longer term economic and administrative failings of the Western Empire, but does so without actually discussing them. He says that to see the later Empire "as a troubled giant .... a decaying Empire .... is to miss the point." (p.164) but he doesn't explain why. In fact, the long term problems of inflation, a declining population and a shrinking tax base, along with a widening gap between rich and poor in the West and a spiraling trend towards ruralisation of the population all combined and accelerated slowly over a long period between the reign of Diocletian and 476 AD.

What we conspicuously don't see in this period is any major military defeats of the Roman army by barbarian invaders. When the weakening, fragmenting and economically aenemic Western Empire is confronted by a military threat in this period it usually defeats it - at least for as long as the failing economy and collapsing administration is still able to organise armed resistance.

The fall of the West was an economic and administrative failing - battles and tactics had virtually nothing to do with it.

But Ferrill simply dismisses all this as "missing the point" without a word of explanation as to why all these highly significant factors are completely irrelevant. He simply tells us they are - end of story.

He writes:

"Many historians have argued .... that the fall of Rome was not primarily a military phenomenon. In fact, it was exactly that. After 410 the emperor in the West could no longer project military power to the frontiers."
(p. 164)

This is quite true, but what Ferrill skips lightly over is the reason for this - the depopulated and cash-strapped Western Empire, having fought five civil wars in the last century and wracked by political instability, was simply in no position to field the armies it needed to protect the border provinces. It's not as though outdated Roman armies were being tackled and beaten by superior barbarian forces. The armies weren't withdrawing after being routed on battlefields by overwhelming or tactically superior Germanic troops. The Empire simply couldn't maintain its centralised military infrastructure any more because it didn't have the manpower or the cash to do so.

Ferrill acknowledges that this so-called "military" collapse, strangely enough, didn't actually involved many battles or any major defeats, but he's not deterred:

"One need not produce a string of decisive battles in order to demonstrate a military collapse. The shrinkage of the imperial frontiers from 410 to 440 was directly as a result of military conquests by barbarian forces."
(p. 164)

Though these "military conquests by barbarian forces" occurred, strangely enough, without any decisive battles. The truth is the barbarians moved, usually without major opposition, into areas that the dwindling and economically starved Roman army had already abandoned or which it could no longer defend in strength. Their "invasions" - actually very small in number - were a symptom of the decline of the Roman army and the economic and administrative decline of the West, not its cause.

Ferrill asserts otherwise, with great boldness. But, again, he doesn't tell us why - he just tell us.

"To be sure, the loss of strategic resources, money, material and manpower compounded the mere loss of territory and made military defence of the rest of the Empire even more difficult. It is simply perverse, however, to argue that Rome's strategic problems in the 440s, 50s and 60s were primarily the result of financial and political difficulties or of long term trends such as depopulation."
(pp. 164-65)

Why is this quite reasonable and sensible conclusion "simply perverse"? Ferrill doesn't tell us, he just says it is.

He goes on to argue that any explanation of the fall of the West has to take into account the survival of the East - which is very true - and seems to believe that this is an argument against the "simply perverse" idea that systemic and economic problems were the real causes. In fact, the East always had a far greater population and a massive concentration of the whole Empire's wealth. The division of 395 made this disparity worse, giving the West more to defend and far less resources with which to do it. Further weakened by civil wars, local warlords and a string of weak or shortsighted rulers, it's actually amazing the West struggled on for as long as it did. So it's very clear why the East survived while the West fell.

Ferrill continually acknowledges key points in the real reasons for the fall of the West without acknowledging (or grasping) their significance. In discussing what the West did wrong while the East got right, he says the East "was better able to afford the heavy subsidies barbarian leaders demanded in the years after Adrianople" (p 166). But he fails to see why this is the case - because the East was far wealthier than the West. This was not a military factor, and it certainly had nothing to do with equipment, training or tactics - it purely economic. The East was able to pay Attila off for years and then, when he became too much of a nuisance, refuse to pay him anymore. The Hunnic king then decided to make up for his lost revenue by attacking the West, since the more impoverished half of the Empire made an easier target than the still relatively rich and strong East.

Similarly, the East were able to pay off and deflect a succession of potential barbarian problems, usually getting them to afflict the increasingly weak and fragmented West. Ferrill briefly acknowledges the East's significant economic strength, but then ignores it to pursue his ghostly theory of military explanations.

Without giving any good reasons for setting aside significant and relevant factors in the decline of the West such as economics and depopulation, Ferrill blithely declares that they can, indeed, be set aside. But not before lumping them in with "race mixture .... lead poisoning and other fashionable theories" (p. 166), which is a pretty shoddy piece of rhetorical trickery.

He goes on to argue that the real reasons for the fall of the West was a deterioration of the Western Roman Army - not the decline in the infratructure and recruitment which sustained the army, as I've argued above, but a decline in the tactics, training and quality of the troops.

For the decline in training he relies almost entirely on Vegetius' problematic manual and on a highly dubious report from Jordanes of a pre-battle speech by Attila about the quality of Roman troops. And for the decline in the quality of the troops he simply points to the "barbarisation" of the army and takes it as given that this meant the troops were therefore of low quality. Again, Hugh Elton shows the flaws in this idea. As he argues, the use of barbarian troops had been going on in the Roman army for centuries and continued in both the East and the West in this period. So why did this practice suddenly cause a decline in quality in the West in the Fifth Century?

Secondly, most of the barbarian troops used in the West weren't part of the regular units anyway - they were federate bands hired for specific campaigns or to defend particular territories. Their use and significance certainly did increase as the Fifth Century progressed, but largely for the very economic and administrative problems that Ferrill is so keen to dismiss. So, once again, we aren't seeing a "military explanation" - we're seeing the result of longer term, systemic economic and social weakness.

Ferrill's final sentence reads: "As the western army became barbarised, it lost its tactical superiority, and Rome fell to the onrush of barbarism". This is nonsense. There was no loss of "tactical superiority" - whenever the ailing Western Empire could field a decent sized army it won hands down. In fact the military history of the fall of the Western Empire is a string of Roman victories and barbarian defeats. It's the economic and administrative history of the West in this period which is the tale of woe and its the weaknesses here which robbed the Empire of its ability to field and maintain those armies and led, eventually, to its economic and administrative fragmentation and its eventual political collapse.

Somewhat enlighting.
I enjoyed reading Ferrill's work. It was generally well written and easy to understand for a non scholar. Some areas were glossed over; why the Eastern Empire survived in spite of the Eastern army suffering two major defeats-Adrianople and Julian's abortive Persian campaign. I liked his thesis that barbarian armies were not composed of mostly cavalry which is a common misconception. Ferrill does defend the Western emperor Honorius in spite of history's judgement that he was a do nothing emperor and basically ensured the destruction of the west. He does not explain certain key events: namely why the Goths after victory at Adrianople became federoti under Theodosius only to rebel a generation later, culminating with the sack of Rome.

Overall, this work is worth reading for its simple style and essentially correct assessment of the Western Empire's demise.

Accessable yet Authoritive
I found the book refreshingly easy to read and understand, and it certainly kept my attention. For the first time the answer to the question "OK now we know why the Western Empire fell, why did the Eastern last another 1,000 years?"

Simple, the Western armies weren't up to it. It was a military defeat or series of defeats and the nation could not withstand the invasions which followed.

One quibble, probably unfair. There are indications now emerging from tree-rings and global climate indicators as well as historical records, that there was some sort of natural but global catastrophe in the sixth century that helped finish off the Western areas still with some elements of Roman culture eg Britannia. Of course though, the author of this book would not have been aware of those later findings. ... Read more

Product Description
Presenting an unusually broadly based study of Imperial period philosophical thought, Michael Trapp examines the central issues of personal morality, political theory, and social organization: philosophy as the pursuit of self-improvement and happiness; the conceptualization and management of emotion; attitudes and obligations to others; ideas of the self and personhood; constitutional theory and the ruler; the constituents and working of the good community. Texts and thinkers discussed range from Alexander of Aphrodisias, Aspasius and Alcinous, via Hierocles, Seneca, Musonius, Epictetus, Plutarch and Diogenes of Oenoanda, to Dio Chrysostom, Apuleius, Lucian, Maximus of Tyre, Pythagorean pseudepigrapha, and the Tablet of Cebes. The distinctive doctrines of the individual philosophical schools are outlined, but also the range of choice that collectively they presented to the potential philosophical 'convert', and the contexts in which that choice was encountered.Finally, Trapp turns his attention to the status of philosophy itself as an element of the elite culture of the period, and to the ways in which philosophical values may have posed a threat to other prevalent schemes of value; Trapp argues that the idea of 'philosophical opposition', though useful, needs to be substantially modified and extended. ... Read more

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An introduction to various aspects of daily life in the towns and countryside of the numerous provinces of the Roman Empire including discussions of religion, home life, education, industry, and recreation. ... Read more

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