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Cover

The Fall of Rome

And the End of Civilization

Bryan Ward-Perkins

Publication Date - 07 September 2006

ISBN: 9780192807281

256 pages
Paperback

In Stock

A portrait of the fall of Rome as a time of horror and dislocation that destroyed a great civilization and ushered in centuries of darkness

Description

Was the fall of Rome a great catastrophe that cast the West into darkness for centuries to come? Or, as scholars argue today, was there no crisis at all, but simply a peaceful blending of barbarians into Roman culture, an essentially positive transformation?

In The Fall of Rome, eminent historian Bryan Ward-Perkins argues that the "peaceful" theory of Rome's "transformation" is badly in error. Indeed, he sees the fall of Rome as a time of horror and dislocation that destroyed a great civilization, throwing the inhabitants of the West back to a standard of living typical of prehistoric times. Attacking contemporary theories with relish and making use of modern archaeological evidence, he looks at both the wider explanations for the disintegration of the Roman world and also the consequences for the lives of everyday Romans, who were caught in a world of marauding barbarians, and economic collapse. The book recaptures the drama and violence of the last days of the Roman world, and reminds us of the very real terrors of barbarian occupation. Equally important, Ward-Perkins contends that a key problem with the new way of looking at the end of the ancient world is that all difficulty and awkwardness is smoothed out into a steady and positive transformation of society. Nothing ever goes badly wrong in this vision of the past. The evidence shows otherwise.

Up-to-date and brilliantly written, combining a lively narrative with the latest research and thirty illustrations, this superb volume reclaims the drama, the violence, and the tragedy of the fall of Rome.

Features

  • Recaptures the drama and violence of the last days of the Roman world and reminds us of the very real terrors of barbarian occupation
  • Combining a lively narrative with the latest research
  • Including thirty captivating illustrations

About the Author(s)

Bryan Ward-Perkins is a lecturer in Modern History at the University of Oxford, and Fellow and Tutor in History at Trinity College. He has published widely on the subject and is a co-editor of The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume XIV

Reviews

"Imaginative and intensely interesting"--Chistopher Kelly, University of Cambridge

"An important addition to the study of this period of Western history."--Library Journal

"The author makes a compelling case for his point of view and thus helps readers restudy and rethink a major period in world history.... Explains the complex realities of the Roman empire and its neighbors in fascinating detail."--BookPage

Table of Contents

    1. A Brave New World - Roman Culture 'Transformed' and the Barbarians 'Accommodated'
    Part I The Fall of Rome
    2. The Horrors of War
    3. Why Did the West Fall?
    4. Living with the Barbarians
    Part II The End of a Civilization
    5. Systems Collapse
    6. Why Did the Ancient Economy Disintegrate?
    7. The End of a Civilization
    8. Conclusion: The Origins of the New World

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