02 March 2021
The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians
A leading authority on the late Roman Empire and on the barbarians, Heather relates the extraordinary story of how Europe's barbarians, transformed by centuries of contact with Rome on every possible level, eventually pulled the empire apart. He shows first how the Huns overtuned the existing strategic balance of power on Rome's European frontiers to force the Goths and others to seek refuge inside the empire. This prompted two generations of struggle, during which new barbarian coalitions, formed in response to Roman hostility, brought the Roman west to its knees. The Goths first destroyed a Roman army at the battle of Hadrianople in 378 and went on to sack Rome in 410. The Vandals spread devastation in Gaul and Spain befor conquering North Africa, the breadbasket of the western empire, in 439. We then meet Attila the Hun, whose reign of terror swept from Constantinople to Paris, but whose death in 453 ironically precipitated a final desperate phase of Roman collapse, culminating in the Vandals' defeat of the massive Byzantine Armada, the west's last change for survival.
Peter Heather convincingly argues that the Roman Empire was not on the brink of social or moral collapse. What brought it to an end were the barbarians.
| Title | : | The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians |
| Edition Language | : | English |
| ISBN | : | 9780195325416 |
| Format Type | : |
Readers Also Enjoyed The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians
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Admittedly, I have very little knowledge about the Roman Empire. This has not stopped me from creating a construct in my mind about how Rome fell. The image I’ve created is actually very simple, sub...
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Narrated by: Allan RobertsonLength: 21 hrs and 42 minsDescription: The death of the Roman Empire is one of the perennial mysteries of world history. Now, in this groundbreaking book, Peter Heather pro...
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This is hands down one of the best written, most entertaining and easily digested books I have ever read regarding the fall of the Roman Empire. Mr. Heather gives a reader enough back story regarding ...
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I'm trashing the majority of what I have previously written here, along with opting to round up my three-and-a-half rating to a fulsome and fully merited four; scrubbing the slate clean and making an ...
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Unless you're some sort of history nerd, the title sounds absolutely boring. I'm not a history nerd, so that's what I thought — boring! — when a friend let me borrow this book. The book was not bo...
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Overly long although relatively easy to read account. The author’s first central thesis is that: shortly before its fall the Roman Empire was actually in a healthy state (contrary to classical analy...
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Outstanding and detailed book created by an expert and a real authority in this field. I have been following this author for the last few years - not just his books, but also his articles in various s...
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Not a new book anymore (published originally in 2005), this book attempts to give an explanation for the collapse of the western part of the Roman Empire. Heather goes about building his narrative, af...
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The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians, by Peter HeatherThis new book by a professor at Worcester College, University of Oxford is a true gem among books covering histo...
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Heather covers Gibbon's old stomping grounds, but backed up w/ recent archeological finds. Heather is an expert when it comes to the various “barbarian” groups that hammered the Roman Empire. He...
