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More copies of this ISBN:This title in other formats:The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbariansby Peter Heather
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:The death of the Roman Empire is one of the perennial mysteries of world history. Now, in this groundbreaking book, Peter Heather proposes a stunning new solution: Centuries of imperialism turned the neighbors Rome called barbarians into an enemy capable of dismantling an Empire that had dominated their lives for so long. 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 overturned 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, before 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 chance 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. Review:"A rich and dramatic synthesis....What Mr. Heather offers is not easy analogies but a realization of the complex strangeness of the past — the achievement of a great historian." New York Sun Review:"Like a late Roman emperor, Heather is determined to impose order on a fabric that is always threatening to fragment and collapse into confusion; unlike most late Roman emperors, he succeeds triumphantly." The Times (UK) Review:"Deftly covering the necessary economic and political realities of decline and fall, Heather also presents the stories and the characters of this tumultuous epoch, in a colorful and enthralling narrative." The Independent (UK) Review:"The outcome is a conclusion Heather finds pleasing...that Roman imperialism was ultimately responsible for its own demise." Paul Cartledge, University of Cambridge Synopsis:In this groundbreaking book, a leading authority on the late Roman Empire proposes that centuries of imperialism turned the neighbors Rome called barbarians into an enemy capable of dismantling the Empire that had dominated their lives for so long. About the Author Peter Heather teaches at Worcester College, University of Oxford. A leading authority on the barbarians, he is the author of The Goths, Goths and Romans, and The Huns. Table of Contents Introduction PART I Chapter 1: Romans Chapter 2: Barbarians Chapter 3: The Limits of Empire PART II Chapter 4: War on the Danube Chapter 5: The City of God Chapter 6: Out of Africa Chapter 7: Attila the Hun Chapter 8: The Fall of the Hunnic Empire PART III Chapter 9: End of Empire Chapter 10: The Fall of Rome Notes / Bibliography Dramatis Personae Timeline / Glossary What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
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