Hundreds of reasons for this collapse have over the centuries been suggested. Michael Grant in his reinterpretation of these cataclysmic events identifies thirteen defects which he sees as being responsible for the fall of the Roman Empire. These flaws within the society of Ancient Rome set Roman against Roman, deviding the nation and thereby destroying its ability to resist invasion.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Michael Grant is a highly successful and renowned historian of the ancient world. He has held many academic posts including those of Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge; Professor of Humanity at Edinburgh University; Vice Chancellor of The Queen's University, Belfast and Vice Chancellor of the University of Khartoum. He is a Doctor of Letters at Dublin and a Doctor of Laws at Belfast. He has also been President of the Classical Association of England, the Virgil Society and the Royal Numismatic Society, and is a Medallist of the American Numismatic Society. He lives and writes in Italy.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good read for a beginner, but to limited for much else.,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Fall of the Roman Empire (Paperback)
There are many books disecting and explaining the Roman Empire's rise and fall, and many of them may indeed be more detailed than "The Fall of the Roman Empire" by Michael Grant, but none capture the actions of that age and explain it in such a manner that it is comprehensible to someone without a Harvard degree. Mr. Grant writes in a methodical and clear way that keeps the reader interested and excited. He divides his book in to thirteen chapters, each one describing thirteen points that led to the empire's downfall. He addresses issues not only of military importance, but that of the internal and social struggles, such as the slaves, peasants, generals and nobles.
He also includes a series of maps one what the empire looked like at various times throughout its decline. The contents of the book are reason enough to buy it, but the introduction is a general overview of the entire empire, and is very well done.
That's the positive side. However, I don't think he was quite detailed enough! I realize that the entire book was intended to be a general run over, but some areas he glazed over, and others he ignored completly. For example, he explained the Weastern Empire in depth, but almost completly ignored the Eastern. He only refered to it when it affected the other. The only other nuance I disliked was that every so often he would contradict himself, like in referece to the social impact of the poor against the state being the most important of the internal struggles that brought down the fall, while he later says the credibility gap was the cause of the decline.
After weighing the pros against the cons, I believe this is a very worthwhile book to read if you are just begining a study of that era.
16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a book with lessons for our own day,
By
This review is from: Fall of the Roman Empire (Paperback)
Grant gives a new perspective about the last century of the (western) Roman Empire. When the average layman thinks of the fall of the Roman Empire, he (or she) thinks of the Rome of the early Caesars: a libertarian, libertine kind of place, full of fun and debauchery. But Grant convincingly shows that late Rome suffered not from decadence but from puritanism, not from too much liberty but from crushing taxes. Late Rome was more like Soviet Russia than like America today: a place suffering from too much government in every sphere of life, from Christian intolerance ...to bureaucratic overregulation of the economy. The perfect gift for your libertarian friends!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent summary of a complex subject,
By Anibal Madeira (Lisboa Portugal) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Fall of the Roman Empire (Paperback)
The author is a schollar with a long list of published works on classical civilization, and this title didn't disappoint the reader. As a thematic overview of the subject at hand its absolutely excellent, in 13 chapters explaining each of the main reasons that weakened and finally ended with the western Roman empire (forgetting silly theories or folklore). The internal divisions and the idea that it wasn't worth defending the empire in its various battles (not only physical,but also social, theological and intelectual) is the main theme of this work.
Obviously it was the "barbarian invasions" that led to political change, but these barbarians originally worked for Rome! And in the past the Empire had survived several invasions of similar magnitude. The numbers of troops were misleading, and mostly poorly armed and motivated "limitanei", the impressive number of exemptions from military service overloaded the nonimmune classes, encouraging owners to "give" to the army the most useless workers , etc. Economically the oppressive tax system was based on land; the small owners bearing almost the entire tax burden, eventually putting themselfes at the service of large landowners (the beginnings of feudalism), also a lot of isentions led to the breakdown of the system. The rich Senators, removed from the military commands and certain positions, moved away from the management of the state, concerning themselves only about their personal properties. Incredibly the state also has divested the small urban middle class Curiale, forcing it to assume the roles of management and collection of taxes, subjecting them to absurd laws that included corporal punishment! The imperial bureaucracy was impressive with real armies of rogue officials and laws of dubious usefulness, causing the entire population to unite against these bureaucrats. The exaggeration of pomp, ceremony, courtesans intrigue and limited access to the sacred person of the emperor, kept him not only far from the eyes of its people, but also from their hearts. Also of note its the failure of alliance between East and West (the help was always minimal). Racial differences and prejudices of the Germans, who at the end of the empire were the main protectors and soldiers of the empire, the lack of tolerance, integration, respect of their religion and a common sense of purpose led to the failure of the foedus experience (federated allies). At a time of such great need of human resources for the army and tilling the land, the huge number of elements that become monks, completely dependent of other citizens, led to a worsening of the circumstances. Intolerance in religious matters and in disputes between Catholics and Aryans (among other heresies such as the donatists in Gaul) and between Christians and Pagans, has led to another huge division in society; especially when thinkers such as St. Augustine began to promote "forced" conversions. Matters of culture and ways of thinking also influenced the fall: the pagans had an excessive compliance with the whole situation, seeing it as just another hiccup in the long and endless Roman Empire, leading to an overconfidence which resulted in the lack of concerted actions that would lead to a positive change in the situation; on the other hand, the Christians often saw the situation as completelly black and as a punishment from God, being more concerned with eternal life. The book also contains an excellent summary of events, list of rulers and popes, long bibliography and list of ancient writers (essential if you want to to know more about the subject). Highly recommended as a summary of the causes that led to the changing of the political situation in the ancient world.
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