Fall Of The Roman Empire

[Honorius]

Hey,

 

I was jsut wondering if anyone could recommend me books about the fall of the western empire.. Also is Gibbons decline and fall of the roman empire a essential book to read if i plan on going to university and studying byzantine history?

 

 

thanks for any help

[Viggen]

hi,

 

a relatively new book on that subject is The Fall Of Rome: And The End Of Civilization, i havent read it personally yet, however it got some good reviews at amazon...

 

regards

viggen

[Ursus]

  Also is Gibbons decline and fall of the roman empire a essential book to read ?

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I recommend the abridged version, but it is interesting reading.

[Tobias]

Does it have to be non-fiction? If not, i'd recommend "The Last Legion" by Valerio Massimo Manfredi. It's a really good book based around Romulus Augustus, his fictitious rescue and transportation to Britannia.

Whilst it is fiction, it does show the times very well.

[Honorius]

ah yes thankyou viggen i will look into that book..

 

How do u mean abridged Ursus?

 

Ah Yes Tobias i have read the last legion by Valerio Massimo manfredi- an incredible fiction book...

 

Well at the moment i am reading Lord norwichs books on the rise and fall of the Byzantine empire but are interested also in the fall of the west.. Thanks guys

[Ursus]

How do u mean abridged Ursus?

 

 

 

Gibbon was somewhat long winded, and he wrote entire chapters which are now outdated.

 

 

A scholar by the name of Moses Hadas went through Gibbon and edited the work. He presents the central thrust of Gibbon's work with out any of the superfluous trimming. Much easier for the general public to read.

[DanM]

Hey,

 

I was jsut wondering if anyone could recommend me books about the fall of the western empire.. Also is Gibbons decline and fall of the roman empire a essential book to read if i plan on going to university and studying byzantine history?

 

 

thanks for any help

 

I'm not suggesting you don't read Gibbon, but there are several authors out there who were much better for me.

 

AHM Jones is the guy to go to for hard facts. His two part series titled "The Later Roman Empire" is the cornerstone for my understanding of the period. Jones' "The Decline of the Ancient World", "A History of Rome through the 5th Century" and his "Cities of the Eastern Roman Empire" are all excellent books and relatively inexpensive to buy online. You won't find all of them on Amazon, but Alibris has them all as well as some more expensive ones I have not bought yet. If you want to understand the guts of the Imperial government and how it worked over time, its hard to beat AHM Jones.

 

Peter Brown is another excellent author. My personal favorite is his biography on Augustine of Hippo. It gives a very good account of many aspects of daily life in Roman North Africa in the last stages of the Western Roman Empire. Also his book titled "Poverty and Leadership in the Later Roman Empire" is a great read and I believe very insightful. You really can't go wrong with Peter Brown. If he took the time to write it, then its probably worth your time to read it.

 

If I were to compare AHM Jones and Peter Brown, I would give Jones the edge on the details and facts while giving Brown the edge on understanding the culture and values. Its a matter of preference when deciding which one you will read first, but I believe you would gain a lot from both authors if you took the time to know their works.

 

Also, if you like late Roman and ealy Byzantine Christian heresies, its hard to beat Steven Runciman's "The Medevil Manichee: A Study in Christian Dualist Heresy". Don't worry, its not just about the Manichee. He also talks about the Bogomils, Cathars, Paulicans and several other groups that were all labeled as Manichees by people outside of their communities. It's more of a history book than a theological study although he does take the time to give you enough information so you can, for example, distinguish the theology of the Paulicans as opposed to the Manichees. If you have any interest along these lines, then it really is a fascinating and informative book that will give you very little overlap with things you will read in other sources.

 

If you want something that is fun, light and easy to digest then John Julius Norwich's 3 volume set on Byzantium is great. It was my introduction to later Roman history and I believe I have read each book at least 3 times over the years. Also, Norwich's "The Normans in Sicily" is a great book that does spend some time on the final gasps of Byzantine Italy. I love Norwich's writing style. He is a lot of fun and makes it seem more like gossip about people you both know than some dry, boring account of people who died 1,500 years ago.

 

If you want to learn more about the monastic traditions of the christian church in the middle eastern provinces of the later Roman Empire, then William Dalrymple's "From the Holy Mountain" would be a good choice. It recounts his trip through much of the modern middle east a few years ago where he visited a lot of the old monastaries that are still occupied and functioning. Most of the book is a combination of modern observances and analysis of historical accounts of the place he actually visited.

 

If your particular area of interest is Byzantine history, then the Dalrymple book is even more important since the church played an ever greater role as time passed.

 

J.B. Bury is another good author. While he also edited Gibbon's "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", I honestly liked his two volume set titled "The Later Roman Empire" much more than Gibon's work. He also does a great job with the details and the facts.

 

Finally, there is an organization called Dumbarton Oaks that has been publishing what appear to be fascinating articles on very specific subject matter for this period of history, but so far I have been unable to get my hands on any of the papers. Thats why I say they appear to be fascinating. The titles intrigue me as well as an occasional synopsis of an article that I might find. I first learned about it through the bibliographies of some of the books I have read and I just can't seem to find a way to gain access to these papers. If you or anyone else has a sugestion as to how I could get access to the works of this group, I would greatly appreciate it.

[Primus Pilus]

I believe that Gibbon is an imperative read, but will join in the others who say it must be tempered with some sense of, how to say this, nostalgic idealism. While Gibbbon's work is wonderful in its own right, there are others who are far more concise and scholarly. Still its a wonderful introduction to the later empire.

[DanM]

I believe that Gibbon is an imperative read, but will join in the others who say it must be tempered with some sense of, how to say this, nostalgic idealism. While Gibbbon's work is wonderful in its own right, there are others who are far more concise and scholarly. Still its a wonderful introduction to the later empire.

 

Actually, I think Honorius is on a much better track to start with Norwich. Norwich is an easier read than Gibbon and I think his writting style is much more enjoyable. Although Norwich doesn't go all that deeply into the details, he does a very good job of telling the story.

[Plautus]

Besides Gibbon I would search for a reprint of the END OF THE ANCIENT WORLD AND THE BEGINNING OF THE MIDDLE AGES by French historian Ferdinand Lot. It may be out of print but it is a classic piece of scholarship. Lot goes beyond the political and military maneuvers and gives a good step by step explanation of how ancient art, philosophy and writing all died out.

Just for the transition of Gaul to France you should also check out Henri Guizot's History of France. Vol. 1.

[Honorius]

Hey,

 

thankyou guys for all the suggestions.

 

 

I was also wondering by chance if any of you guys have read "The Secret History"-Procopius. Is it worth the read or not?

 

Also are there any books based around Belisarius' campaigns in the west and also the fall of Constantinople to the Turks?

 

ps. im still looking for AHM jones books lol

[Plautus]

The Secret History of Procopius is pretty scandalous. Obviously the guy had some issues with the Emperor and Empress because he made some pretty wild charges. Its a fun read but must be taken with a large pinch of salt.

 

The Byzantine writer Michael Psellus tried to write bios of great Byzantine Emperors like Bazil the Bulgar Slayer in the style of Seutonius. Michael Graves of I Claudius fame also wrote a novel General Belisarius. Zoe Oldenburgs book on the Crusades gets a bit into the story of the Comnenoi Family.

[DecimusCaesar]

I also recommend John Norwich's Byzantium trilogy, but if that is too long then you can get a shorter one book volume called the Short History of Byzantium although that doesn't go into too much detail.

You Might also want to check out The Oxford History of Byzantium (Edited by Cyril Mango) although I warn you that its definately not for beginners, but it does have some interesting chapters and some good pictures of Byzantine art.

As for the subject of the Late Roman Empire and the fall of the West, then you might want to check out Averil Cameron's The Later Roman Empire. It has chapters about different subjects such as Diocletian's reforms, the different sources of the era i.e - the historians, and chapters about the economy, society, Military and Culture.