By the end of the fifth century, Roman rule had vanished in western Europe and much of northern Africa.
Ultimately, this is the story of how an empire without a serious rival rotted from within, its rulers and institutions putting short-term ambition and personal survival over the wider good of the state..
Goldsworthy pays particular attention to the willingness of Roman soldiers to fight and kill each other.
It was a time of revolutionary ideas, especially in religion, as Christianity went from persecuted sect to the religion of state and emperors.
This was a period of remarkable personalities, from the philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius to emperors like Diocletian, who portrayed themselves as tough, even brutal, soldiers.
Bringing history to life through the stories of the men, women, heroes, and villains involved, the author uncovers surprising lessons about the rise and fall of great nations.
In his account of the fall of the Roman Empire, prizewinning author Adrian Goldsworthy examines the painful centuries of the superpower\'s decline.
By the end of the fifth century, Roman rule had vanished in western Europe and much of northern Africa, and only a shrunken Eastern Empire remained.
A major new history of the fall of the Roman Empire, by the prizewinning author of Caesar In AD 200, the Roman Empire seemed unassailable, its vast territory accounting for most of the known world.
Applying the scholarship, perspective, and narrative skill that defined his monumental Caesar, Goldworthy explores how Rome fell.
By the end of the fifth century, Roman rule had vanished in western Europe and much of northern Africa
