The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire  (English, Paperback, Gibbon Edward)

Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire is a classic work of history, written in the 18th century. The work led to the author being called the first modern historian of ancient Rome.

Summary Of The Book

The Roman empire was one of the largest and most powerful empires in human history. At its peak, it ruled over most of Europe, a large part of North Africa and the Middle East. After ruling over a vast territory for several centuries, the Roman Empire began to disintegrate and die. There was no one single reason for this fall, there were many factors that led to it. Gibbon’s Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire explores the reasons for the Roman Empire’s demise. He cites many causes for it. He puts forward the idea that Christianity and its pacifism and promise of a better life after death was one cause. He says that this pacifism sapped the vigour of the Romans and made them indolent. They began to lose the motivation and drive that led them to acquire such a huge empire in the first place.

He also asserts that as they became more indifferent, they began to leave the responsibility of guarding the empire and its territories to outside mercenaries. Eventually, these mercenaries became more powerful and began to challenge the authority of the empire itself. The work is huge and vast in its scope. It ran into trouble for some of its assertions, especially those relating to Christianity as being a cause for the decline of the empire. The author tried to get his information mostly from primary sources, which was unusual for his time. He has made use of many documents that date back to the time of the Roman Empire itself.

He has also incorporated several explanatory and referential notes in the volumes, a style that preceded the footnotes of later texts. His in-depth research using original sources wherever possible has made this book a standard in historical works. It is quoted and referenced by historians even today. Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire is huge, running into six volumes. It covers not just the fate of the Roman Empire, but the history of Europe and that of the Catholic Church. It covers a large time span, from the period when the Roman Empire was at its height to the fall of Byzantium, spanning several centuries.

About Edward Gibbon

Edward Gibbon was an eighteenth century English historian. His other works include The Christians and the Fall of Rome, On Christianity, and Memories of My Life. Edward Gibbon was born in 1737 in Surrey, England. He studied at Magdalen College, Oxford for some time. He came under the influence of the rational theologists of that period. His first published work was in French, Essai sur l'Étude de la Littérature. His greatest accomplishment was the huge Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire. This work brought him controversy as well as fame. His views on Christianity drew a lot of criticism. But it still stands as a great work of historical writing, and is still referenced by many scholars. He passed away in 1794 at the age of 56.