The Fall of Rome: And the End of Civilization

Every once in a while, you come across a book on an obscure, or not terribly popular, topic but it's so good it deserves a wider reading audience. (The classic for me was R. W. Bulliett's The Camel and the Wheel, 1975.) This gem is one of them. It traces the chain of events, much of the evidence for which is obscure or missing, that culminated in the fifth century A.D. in the collapse of the western Roman empire and the rise of Germanic kingdoms that replaced it.All historians work from incomplete evidence. Conclusions are always up for revision. If you think the past yields nothing but facts, like schoolchildren typically do, you're in for a rude awakening. If there is one word to characterize the past, it's `elusive." The past is elusive, the more so the further back in time one goes. People of those times thought their own thoughts and pursued their own preoccupations and they weren't necessarily the same as the ones we have and follow.The radical incompleteness of the historical record -and the concomitant elusiveness of past values and meaning -- shapes the historian's trade. There are two touchstones in their business. The first is the evidence, what remains, written or otherwise, left behind by the past. The second is the interpretations of that evidence by prior scholars, not just historians but people working in ancillary fields like literature, anthropology, archaeology, etc. Historians write off other historian's views, accepting or rejecting them, modifying and expanding them in accord with their own reading of the evidence available when they are writing.Nowhere is this truism about the craft of history truer than in the study of ancient history. After a thousand and a half years, and there are holes in the evidence from which to draw conclusions. And since historians are human, they, like the rest of us, are influenced, sometimes without knowing it, by fashion and time. And that is precisely the merit of this sharpened dagger of a book: it takes to task current interpretations of the fall of the western Roman empire and tears them to shreds as reflecting today's fashions more than the hard evidence.It`s a book more about potsherds, farmhouses and churches, and signs of literacy than it is about the Grand Meaning of Rome's fall. In reaction to earlier views of Rome losing out to the barbarians (who, as our ancestors, we wish to see as at least somewhat civilized rather than out and out barbaric), most recent history has argued that rather than there having been a `fall,' the transition from Roman to Germanic rule was more or less peaceful. Besides, the Roman empire exploited its subjects mercilessly so post-Roman rule wasn't so bad by comparison. This landmine of a book shreds these views, showing that they respond more to current notions of who the Good Guys and the Bad were to any actual historical evidence. From the fifth century on, literacy declined dramatically though unevenly across regions, the sophisticated trade and manufacturing network of old Rome collapsed utterly with an attendant effect on the production of goods (which henceforth were less sophisticated, and there was significantly less extra-local trade). Rome may have been an ugly empire, callous to the fate of underlings, but all classes and regions benefited from the security it provided, from a common currency, protection of trade, and literacy within the bureaucracy, the army and the merchant sector. Goodbye Rome, and in most parts of Europe it was back to thatched roofs, dirt floors and wooden walls. Churches dwindled in size and old buildings were cannibalized to embellish new ones.Ward-Perkin's concluding paragraphs seems Spot on to me:"Present-day historians seem to feel comfortable discussing the `rise' of this or that, because there is absolutely no risk in this vocabulary of anyone being criticized or an negative value judgement being made; rather the reverse -everybody is being awarded a reassuring pat on the back. . . .Nothing ever goes wrong -in this vision of the past, there are no serious downward turns or abrupt changes, let alone complete ruptures; rather, everything moves forward along a level plain, or even on a slightly rising trajectory."I confess I find this limiting; but, more importantly, I think it does not fit the evidence and fails to reflect accurately what happened in the western half of the empire. In my opinion, the firth century witnessed a profound military and political crisis, caused by the violent seizure of power and much wealth by the barbarian invaders. The native population was able to some extent, to adapt to these new conditions, but what is interesting about the adjustment is that it was achieved in very difficult circumstances. I also believe that the post-Roman centuries saw a dramatic decline in economic sophistication and prosperity, with an impact on the whole of society, from agricultural production to high culture, and from peasants to kings. It is very likely that the population fell dramatically, and certain that the widespread diffusion of well-made goods ceased. Sophisticated cultural tools, like the use of writing, disappeared altogether in some regions, and became very restricted in others...."I ... think that there is real danger for the present day in a vision of the past that explicitly sets out to eliminate all crisis and decline."

In the past few decades scholars of late antiquity, such as Peter Brown and Walter Goffart, have put forth the notion that the Roman Empire didn't fall violently, but rather “transformed” gently and peacefully into a new multi-ethnic society ruled by a series of Germanic kings.Bryan Ward-Perkins will have none of that. His book, along with Peter Heather's “The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History,” is a stringent corrective that seeks to demonstrate that Rome fell violently, with a catastrophic plunge in living standards. The novelty of Ward-Perkins' book lies inhow he uses archaeological evidence such as pottery shards, tile roofs, and stone construction to show how poor, illiterate, and backward Europe became after imperial Rome disintegrated. You know things were bad when even the cows got smaller.In part one of the book, titled The Fall of Rome, Ward-Perkins begins with a short discussion of the controversy mentioned above and examines how historians from Gibbon on have interpreted Rome's demise. He then looks at eye-witness accounts of the period. What did people who lived through the period, figures like Leo, Bishop of Rome, Hydatius, another bishop in Spain, and the monk Severinus of Noricum have to say about the Germanic invasions? Not surprisingly, they recount years of murder, arson, bloodshed, and horror. Hydatius even connects the arrival of the Germans in his area with the four scourges mentioned in the Book of Revelations and claims that mothers were driven by hunger to kill and eat their own children.After demonstrating the violence of the Germanic invasions and terrifying us with descriptive scenes of anarchy and chaos, Ward-Perkins spends 50 pages examining how and why this happened. The period from 376, when the Goths first invaded, to 476, when Odovacar deposed Romulus Agustulus, is terribly complicated, with dozens of main actors, abrupt reversals of fortune, betrayal, unexpected death, heroic struggle, and the like. Ward-Perkins does a serviceable job of leading the reader through this maze, but you'll need some background in the period to really make sense of it. Peter Heather's account has more detail, cohesion, and narrative energy, so my advice is to read him first.In the second part of the book, titled the End of Civilization, Ward-Perkins looks at the Roman economy before and after the Germanic invasions. Using archaeological evidence gleaned from diggings all over the Roman Empire, he shows how even the poor benefited from the fruits of Rome's sophisticated and complex economy. With access to well-made pottery, leather and metal goods, coins, tile roofs, and stone buildings, the Roman everyman of 2,000 years ago enjoyed a standard of living that would not be reached again in many parts of Europe for 1,000 years.Mr. Ward-Perkins also makes us realize how intellectual life, literacy, and the higher arts always rest on a certain level of material wealth and sophistication. While pots, coins, and tile roofs might seem boring, their presence indicates specialized training and knowledge, and without them, not only are we deprived of good plumbing, we are bereft of art, philosophy, and literary culture.I loved this book; it is beautifully written and full of arcane information, obscure authors, excellent charts, graphs and maps, and solid original scholarship, In short, it is a history buff's delight. Find it and read it--your view of Rome will never be the same.

This book is probably a bit dry and 'scholarly' unless you're into your Roman history - which I am. I found it fascinating and well argued. I really liked that he presented all his evidence instead of just making bold assertions. A great addition to your collection of Roman history and an interesting counterpoint to the modern view that the German tribes simply 'moved in' and took over from the Romans in charge. According to Ward-Perkins, the empire is the West most certainly fell, although it's collapse was uneven and not always immediate. If you can afford it, go for the hardback. The paperback edition is small so the margins are too narrow, meaning you have to constantly prise the pages apart to read the text, which is annoying.

It's a job to know how to rate this book. Without doubt, Bryan Ward-Perkins' writing is lively and opinionated so that even the more academic elements of his topic are easy and enjoyable to read. Written very much as a repost to American historians who has recast the "Dark Ages" is a more positive light, the author demolishes their arguments with glee and makes some compelling observations to back up the traditional view that the barbarian invasions of the 5th and 6th Centuries had catestrophic effects upon the Roman Empire with regions like Britian effectively being reduced to conditions barely better than experienced in the Bronzze Age. I have recently been reading a lot of Roman history about Roman Britain and these books have offered a conflicting range of opinion as to just how far our island was Romanized. In his book, Ward-Perkins takes a broader view and considers the wider Roman Empire and considers that some areas seemed to fair better than others with the result that the impact of incursions by Huns, Goths and Vandals, etc were moe firmly felt in some areas than others. The evidence to support this argument is gleaned from various sources such as pottery, moustaches,trade, building technology and even writing. I found this author's arguments well presented and the overall impression of this neat little book is one that is favourable due to the quality of the writing and some nice illustrations and diagrams. There are also many many fascinating quotes and I loved the fact that this book let you hear the voices from over 1500 years ago speak again. That said, my only gripe is that this book does cover a wide area of Europe, North Africa and the Near East as well as covering a period of approximately 400 years after 400AD. As a consequence, the book does lack cohesion as the topics flit between continents and centuries and it is probably not suitable as an introduction to the period. Anyone with a degree of understand of this period will enjoy this pithy and interesting book but I think beginners to this topic will probably want to look towards something that deals with both regions and centuries in a more unified and convential fashion. A fascinating if short read none-the -less.

I'm fascinated by the theory behind why Rome fell (or didnt, see anything Byzantine for ref) and this book is very highly regarded.The most important thing to realise, is that many different scholars have many different theories on why Rome in the West came to an end and this is just one of them - based on good archaeology and solid research (its all in the Pottery).This book in my opinion is a little dry for the 'casual' history enthusiast, and is written like an Oxford Press book should be. The language is concise, the theory is well presented and the conclusion sound however.Summary:If you like history generally and want to know more about the Roman period, give this one a miss. If you have a specific interest in the subject matter though (end of empire) give this a try as its one of the better books i've read on the topic.

Splendidly succinct and combative about the impact of the end of Roman imperial power in the west! Typical in its clarity and pugnacious style: it took some three centuries from the ending of the Romano-British economy before "southern Britain crawled back to the level of economic complexity found in the pre-Roman Iron Age…" (page 118).This is a highly enjoyable read that is likely to provoke agreement or disagreement but not indifference.

Well written not too dry or heavy but quite selective in its evidence and regions of empire discussed. Previous reviewer had advised to read in concert with Peter brown world of late antiquity which proved to be excellent advice as the two together present a really good broad range of interpretation of the subject matter