The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire

Now available in a mass market edition--a new and superior single-volume, abridged edition of the greatest historical wo... (more)

Now available in a mass market edition--a new and superior single-volume, abridged edition of the greatest historical work of all time. Includes three maps, a selected bibliography, and a table of Roman Emperors. (less)

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Undeniably the greatest historical work in the English language, The decline and fall of the Roman Empire proves that br... (more)

Undeniably the greatest historical work in the English language, The decline and fall of the Roman Empire proves that brilliance of style and accuracy of statement are perfectly compatible in an historian. Gibbon's style renders this work a lasting monument.

Gibbon traces the history of more than 13 centuries and covers the great events as well as the general historical progression. He thoroughly examines the movement and settlements of the Teutonic tribes that eventually held the western empire in fee, the rise of Islam, and the Crusades. This first volume covers 180 A.D. to 395 A.D., which includes the establishment of Christianity. (less)

This final volume covers 1185 A.D. -- 1453 A.D. and explores the rise of Islam, the Crusades, the invention of gunpowder... (more)

This final volume covers 1185 A.D. -- 1453 A.D. and explores the rise of Islam, the Crusades, the invention of gunpowder, Genghis Khan and the Mongol invasions, the Turkish conquests, and the beginning of the Renaissance. The publication of this work in 1788 ended 20 years of Gibbon's contemplation and vast research on his subject and made this virtually self-educated man the most famous historian of his time. The graceful, elegant prose and the personal involvement of Gibbon in his writing render The decline and fall a masterful work of art as well as a remarkable survey of, in the author's words, "the greatest, perhaps, and most awful scene in the history of mankind." (less)

The questions of when Rome fell: and why: are arguably the most famous ongoing historical debates in the Western traditi... (more)

The questions of when Rome fell: and why: are arguably the most famous ongoing historical debates in the Western tradition. One German scholar has even posited 210 plausible answers to the why. This episode examines both the questions and the debates that swirl around them. (less)