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| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The Fall of the Roman Empire Peter Heather, 2007-06-11 The death of the Roman Empire is one of the perennial mysteries of world history. Now, in this groundbreaking book, Peter Heather proposes a stunning new solution: Centuries of imperialism turned the neighbors Rome called barbarians into an enemy capable of dismantling an Empire that had dominated their lives for so long. A leading authority on the late Roman Empire and on the barbarians, Heather relates the extraordinary story of how Europe's barbarians, transformed by centuries of contact with Rome on every possible level, eventually pulled the empire apart. He shows first how the Huns overturned the existing strategic balance of power on Rome's European frontiers, to force the Goths and others to seek refuge inside the Empire. This prompted two generations of struggle, during which new barbarian coalitions, formed in response to Roman hostility, brought the Roman west to its knees. The Goths first destroyed a Roman army at the battle of Hadrianople in 378, and went on to sack Rome in 410. The Vandals spread devastation in Gaul and Spain, before conquering North Africa, the breadbasket of the Western Empire, in 439. We then meet Attila the Hun, whose reign of terror swept from Constantinople to Paris, but whose death in 453 ironically precipitated a final desperate phase of Roman collapse, culminating in the Vandals' defeat of the massive Byzantine Armada: the west's last chance for survival. Peter Heather convincingly argues that the Roman Empire was not on the brink of social or moral collapse. What brought it to an end were the barbarians. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: Empires and Barbarians Peter Heather, 2010-03-04 Empires and Barbarians presents a fresh, provocative look at how a recognizable Europe came into being in the first millennium AD. With sharp analytic insight, Peter Heather explores the dynamics of migration and social and economic interaction that changed two vastly different worlds--the undeveloped barbarian world and the sophisticated Roman Empire--into remarkably similar societies and states. The book's vivid narrative begins at the time of Christ, when the Mediterranean circle, newly united under the Romans, hosted a politically sophisticated, economically advanced, and culturally developed civilization--one with philosophy, banking, professional armies, literature, stunning architecture, even garbage collection. The rest of Europe, meanwhile, was home to subsistence farmers living in small groups, dominated largely by Germanic speakers. Although having some iron tools and weapons, these mostly illiterate peoples worked mainly in wood and never built in stone. The farther east one went, the simpler it became: fewer iron tools and ever less productive economies. And yet ten centuries later, from the Atlantic to the Urals, the European world had turned. Slavic speakers had largely superseded Germanic speakers in central and Eastern Europe, literacy was growing, Christianity had spread, and most fundamentally, Mediterranean supremacy was broken. Bringing the whole of first millennium European history together, and challenging current arguments that migration played but a tiny role in this unfolding narrative, Empires and Barbarians views the destruction of the ancient world order in light of modern migration and globalization patterns. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The Fall of Rome Bryan Ward-Perkins, 2006-07-12 Why did Rome fall? Vicious barbarian invasions during the fifth century resulted in the cataclysmic end of the world's most powerful civilization, and a 'dark age' for its conquered peoples. Or did it? The dominant view of this period today is that the 'fall of Rome' was a largely peaceful transition to Germanic rule, and the start of a positive cultural transformation. Bryan Ward-Perkins encourages every reader to think again by reclaiming the drama and violence of the last days of the Roman world, and reminding us of the very real horrors of barbarian occupation. Attacking new sources with relish and making use of a range of contemporary archaeological evidence, he looks at both the wider explanations for the disintegration of the Roman world and also the consequences for the lives of everyday Romans, in a world of economic collapse, marauding barbarians, and the rise of a new religious orthodoxy. He also looks at how and why successive generations have understood this period differently, and why the story is still so significant today. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: Empires and Barbarians Peter Heather, 2010 How modern Europe came to be--a new look at the powerful forces that transformed the continent by the end of the first millennium |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The Fall of the Roman Empire Peter Heather, 2010-11-30 In AD 378 the Roman Empire had been the unrivalled superpower of Europe for well over four hundred years. And yet, August that year saw a small group of German-speaking asylum-seekers rout a vast Imperial army at Hadrianople, killing the Emperor and establishing themselves on Roman territory. Within a hundred years the last Emperor of the Western Empire had been deposed. What had gone wrong? In this ground breaking book, Peter Heather proproses a stunning new solution to one of the greatest mysteries of history. Mixing authoratative analysis with thrilling narrative, he brings fresh insight into the panorama of the empire's end, from the bejewelled splendour of the imperial court to the dripping forests of Barbaricum. He examines the extraordinary success story that was the Roman Empire and uses a new understanding of its continued strength and enduring limitations to show how Europe's barbarians, transformed by centuries of contact with Rome, eventually pulled it apart. 'a colourful and enthralling narrative . . .an account full of keen wit and an infectious relish for the period.’ Independent On Sunday ‘provides the reader with drama and lurid colour as well as analysis . . . succeeds triumphantly.’ Sunday Times ‘a fascinating story, full of ups and downs and memorable characters’ Spectator ‘bursting with action . . .one can recommend to anyone, whether specialist or interested amateur.’ History Today 'a rare combination of scholarship and flair for narrative' Tom Holland |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: Rome Resurgent Peter Heather, 2018-05-01 Between the fall of the western Roman Empire in the fifth century and the collapse of the east in the face of the Arab invasions in the seventh, the remarkable era of the Emperor Justinian (527-568) dominated the Mediterranean region. Famous for his conquests in Italy and North Africa, and for the creation of spectacular monuments such as the Hagia Sophia, his reign was also marked by global religious conflict within the Christian world and an outbreak of plague that some have compared to the Black Death. For many historians, Justinian is far more than an anomaly of Byzantine ambition between the eras of Attila and Muhammad; he is the causal link that binds together the two moments of Roman imperial collapse. Determined to reverse the losses Rome suffered in the fifth century, Justinian unleashed an aggressive campaign in the face of tremendous adversity, not least the plague. This book offers a fundamentally new interpretation of his conquest policy and its overall strategic effect, which has often been seen as imperial overreach, making the regime vulnerable to the Islamic takeover of its richest territories in the seventh century and thus transforming the great Roman Empire of Late Antiquity into its pale shadow of the Middle Ages. In Rome Resurgent, historian Peter Heather draws heavily upon contemporary sources, including the writings of Procopius, the principal historian of the time, while also recasting that author's narrative by bringing together new perspectives based on a wide array of additional source material. A huge body of archaeological evidence has become available for the sixth century, providing entirely new means of understanding the overall effects of Justinian's war policies. Building on his own distinguished work on the Vandals, Goths, and Persians, Heather also gives much fuller coverage to Rome's enemies than Procopius ever did. A briskly paced narrative by a master historian, Rome Resurgent promises to introduce readers to this captivating and unjustly overlooked chapter in ancient warfare. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The Fall of the Roman Empire Michael Grant, 1990 |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: Goths and Romans, 332-489 Peter J. Heather, 1994 This book examines the collision of Goths and Romans in the fourth and fifth centuries. In these years Gothic tribes played a major role in the destruction of the western half of the Roman Empire, moving the length of Europe from what is now the USSR to establish successor states to the Roman Empire in southern France and Spain (the Visigoths) and in Italy (the Ostrogoths). Our understanding of the Goths in this Migration Period has been based upon the Gothic historian Jordanes, whose mid-sixth-century Getica suggests that the Visigoths and Ostrogoths entered the Empire already established as coherent groups and simply conquered new territories. Using more contemporary sources, Peter Heather is able to show that, on the contrary, Visigoths and Ostrogoths were new and unprecedentedly large social groupings, and that many Gothic societies failed even to survive the upheavals of the Migration Period. Dr Heather's scholarly study explores the complicated interactions with Roman power which both prompted the creation of the Visigoths and Ostrogoths around newly emergent dynasties and helped bring about the fall of the Roman Empire. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: How Rome Fell Adrian Goldsworthy, 2009-05-12 The author discusses how the Roman Empire--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. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: Empires of Faith Peter Sarris, 2011-10-27 A panoramic account of the history of Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Near East from the fall of Rome to the rise of Islam. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The Ruin of the Roman Empire James J. O'Donnell, 2008-09-16 Recounts the sixth-century events and circumstances that led to the fall of the Roman Empire. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: Pax Romana Adrian Goldsworthy, 2016-09-06 The leading ancient world historian and author of Caesar presents “an engrossing account of how the Roman Empire grew and operated” (Kirkus). Renowned for his biographies of Julius Caesar and Augustus, Adrian Goldsworthy turns his attention to the Roman Empire as a whole during its height in the first and second centuries AD. Though this time is known as the Roman Peace, or Pax Romana, the Romans were fierce imperialists who took by force vast lands stretching from the Euphrates to the Atlantic coast. The Romans ruthlessly won peace not through coexistence but through dominance; millions died and were enslaved during the creation of their empire. Pax Romana examines how the Romans came to control so much of the world and asks whether traditionally favorable images of the Roman peace are true. Goldsworthy vividly recounts the rebellions of the conquered, examining why they broke out, why most failed, and how they became exceedingly rare. He reveals that hostility was just one reaction to the arrival of Rome and that from the outset, conquered peoples collaborated, formed alliances, and joined invaders, causing resistance movements to fade away. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: Christendom Peter Heather, 2022-10-27 'A fascinating story about a religion in a surprisingly precarious position' Dan Jones, Sunday Times 'Superb storytelling ... captivating and profound' Literary Review 'A page-turner' The Spectator In the fourth century AD, a new faith exploded out of Palestine. Overwhelming the paganism of Rome, and converting the Emperor Constantine in the process, it resoundingly defeated a host of other rivals. Almost a thousand years later, all of Europe was controlled by Christian rulers, and the religion, ingrained within culture and society, exercised a monolithic hold over its population. But, as Peter Heather shows in this compelling history, there was nothing inevitable about Christendom's rise to Europe-wide dominance. In exploring how the Christian religion became such a defining feature of the European landscape, and how a small sect of isolated congregations was transformed into a mass movement centrally directed from Rome, Heather shows how Christendom constantly battled against both so-called 'heresies' and other forms of belief. From the crisis that followed the collapse of the Roman Empire, which left the religion teetering on the edge of extinction, to the astonishing revolution in which the Papacy emerged as the head of a vast international corporation, Heather traces Christendom's chameleon-like capacity for self-reinvention and willingness to mobilize well-directed force. Christendom's achievement was not, or not only, to define official Christianity, but - from its scholars and its lawyers, to its provincial officials and missionaries in far-flung corners of the continent - to transform it into an institution that wielded effective religious authority across nearly all of the disparate peoples of medieval Europe. This is its extraordinary story. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: A.H.M. Jones and the Later Roman Empire David Gwynn, 2008-01-31 The appearance in 1964 of A.H.M. Jones’ The Later Roman Empire 284–602: A Social, Economic, and Administrative Survey transformed the study of the Late Antique world. In this volume a number of leading scholars reassess the impact of Jones’ great work, the influences that shaped his scholarship, and the legacy he left for later generations. Jones’ historical method, his fundamental knowledge of Late Roman political, social, economic and religious structures, and his famous assessment of the Decline and Fall of Rome are re-examined here in the light of modern research. This volume offers a valuable aid to academics and students alike who seek to better understand and exploit the priceless resource that is the Later Roman Empire. Contributors are Averil Cameron, Peter Garnsey, David Gwynn, Peter Heather, Caroline Humfress, Luke Lavan, Wolfgang Liebeschuetz, Stefan Rebenich, Alexander Sarantis, Roger Tomlin, Bryan Ward-Perkins, and Michael Whitby. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: Understanding Collapse Guy D. Middleton, 2017-06-26 In this lively survey, Guy D. Middleton critically examines our ideas about collapse - how we explain it and how we have constructed potentially misleading myths around collapses - showing how and why collapse of societies was a much more complex phenomenon than is often admitted. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: Makers of Ancient Strategy Victor Davis Hanson, 2012-09-16 Timeless lessons from the military strategies of the ancient Greeks and Romans In this prequel to the now-classic Makers of Modern Strategy, Victor Davis Hanson, a leading scholar of ancient military history, gathers prominent thinkers to explore key facets of warfare, strategy, and foreign policy in the Greco-Roman world. From the Persian Wars to the final defense of the Roman Empire, Makers of Ancient Strategy demonstrates that the military thinking and policies of the ancient Greeks and Romans remain surprisingly relevant for understanding conflict in the modern world. The book reveals that much of the organized violence witnessed today—such as counterterrorism, urban fighting, insurgencies, preemptive war, and ethnic cleansing—has ample precedent in the classical era. The book examines the preemption and unilateralism used to instill democracy during Epaminondas's great invasion of the Peloponnesus in 369 BC, as well as the counterinsurgency and terrorism that characterized Rome's battles with insurgents such as Spartacus, Mithridates, and the Cilician pirates. The collection looks at the urban warfare that became increasingly common as more battles were fought within city walls, and follows the careful tactical strategies of statesmen as diverse as Pericles, Demosthenes, Alexander, Pyrrhus, Caesar, and Augustus. Makers of Ancient Strategy shows how Greco-Roman history sheds light on wars of every age. In addition to the editor, the contributors are David L. Berkey, Adrian Goldsworthy, Peter J. Heather, Tom Holland, Donald Kagan, John W. I. Lee, Susan Mattern, Barry Strauss, and Ian Worthington. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: Heart of Europe Peter H. Wilson, 2016-04-04 An Economist and Sunday Times Best Book of the Year “Deserves to be hailed as a magnum opus.” —Tom Holland, The Telegraph “Ambitious...seeks to rehabilitate the Holy Roman Empire’s reputation by re-examining its place within the larger sweep of European history...Succeeds splendidly in rescuing the empire from its critics.” —Wall Street Journal Massive, ancient, and powerful, the Holy Roman Empire formed the heart of Europe from its founding by Charlemagne to its destruction by Napoleon a millennium later. An engine for inventions and ideas, with no fixed capital and no common language or culture, it derived its legitimacy from the ideal of a unified Christian civilization—though this did not prevent emperors from clashing with the pope for supremacy. In this strikingly ambitious book, Peter H. Wilson explains how the Holy Roman Empire worked, why it was so important, and how it changed over the course of its existence. The result is a tour de force that raises countless questions about the nature of political and military power and the legacy of its offspring, from Nazi Germany to the European Union. “Engrossing...Wilson is to be congratulated on writing the only English-language work that deals with the empire from start to finish...A book that is relevant to our own times.” —Brendan Simms, The Times “The culmination of a lifetime of research and thought...an astonishing scholarly achievement.” —The Spectator “Remarkable...Wilson has set himself a staggering task, but it is one at which he succeeds heroically.” —Times Literary Supplement |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215 David Levering Lewis, 2009-01-12 From the two-time Pulitzer Prize–winning author, God’s Crucible brings to life “a furiously complex age” (New York Times Book Review). Resonating as profoundly today as when it was first published to widespread critical acclaim a decade ago, God’s Crucible is a bold portrait of Islamic Spain and the birth of modern Europe from one of our greatest historians. David Levering Lewis’s narrative, filled with accounts of some of the most epic battles in world history, reveals how cosmopolitan, Muslim al-Andalus flourished—a beacon of cooperation and tolerance—while proto-Europe floundered in opposition to Islam, making virtues out of hereditary aristocracy, religious intolerance, perpetual war, and slavery. This masterful history begins with the fall of the Persian and Roman empires, followed by the rise of the prophet Muhammad and five centuries of engagement between the Muslim imperium and an emerging Europe. Essential and urgent, God’s Crucible underscores the importance of these early, world-altering events whose influence remains as current as today’s headlines. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Volume 8 Edward Gibbon, 2015-12-05 This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The Decline and Fall of Roman Britain Neil Faulkner, 2004 Why did Rome abandon Britain in the early 5th century? According to Neil Faulkner, the centralized, military-bureaucratic state, governed by a class of super-rich landlords and apparatchiks, had siphoned wealth out of the province, with the result that the towns declined and the countryside was depressed. When the army withdrew to defend the imperial heartlands, the remaining Romano-British elite succumbed to a combination of warlord power, barbarian attack, and popular revolt. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The Triumph of Empire Michael Kulikowski, 2016-11-28 “A genuinely bracing and innovative history of Rome.” —Times Literary Supplement The Triumph of Empire takes us into the political heart of imperial Rome and recounts the extraordinary challenges overcome by a flourishing empire. Roman politics could resemble a blood sport: rivals resorted to assassination as emperors rose and fell with bewildering speed, their reigns sometimes measured in weeks. Factionalism and intrigue sapped the empire from within, and imperial succession was never entirely assured. Michael Kulikowski begins with the reign of Hadrian, who visited the farthest reaches of his domain and created a stable frontier, and takes us through the rules of Marcus Aurelius and Diocletian to Constantine, who overhauled the government, introduced a new state religion, and founded a second Rome. Despite Rome’s political volatility, imperial forces managed to defeat successive attacks from Goths, Germans, Persians, and Parthians. “This is a wonderfully broad sweep of Roman history. It tells the fascinating story of imperial rule from the enigmatic Hadrian through the dozens of warlords and usurpers who fought for the throne in the third century AD to the Christian emperors of the fourth—after the biggest religious and cultural revolution the world has ever seen.” —Mary Beard, author of SPQR “This was an era of great change, and Kulikowski is an excellent and insightful guide.” —Adrian Goldsworthy, Wall Street Journal |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The Fall of the West Adrian Goldsworthy, Adrian Keith Goldsworthy, 2010 The Fall of the Roman Empire has been a best-selling subject since the 18th century. Since then, over 200 very diverse reasons have been advocated for the collapse of the western half of the Roman Empire. Until very recently, the academic view embarrassedly downplayed the violence and destruction, in an attempt to provide a more urbane account of late antiquity: barbarian invasions were mistakenly described as the movement of peoples. It was all painfully tame and civilised. But now Adrian Goldsworthy comes forward with his trademark combination of clear narrative, common sense, and a thorough mastery of the sources. In telling the story from start to finish, he rescues the era from the diffident and mealy-mouthed: this is a red-blooded account of aggressive barbarian attacks, palace coups, scheming courtiers and corrupt emperors who set the bar for excess. It is 'old fashioned history' in the best sense: an accessible narrative with colourful characters whose story reveals the true reasons for the fall of Rome. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The End of the Past Aldo Schiavone, 2000 THIS SEARCHING INTERPRETATION of past and present addresses fundamental questions about the fall of the Roman Empire. Why did ancient culture, once so strong and rich, come to an end? Was it destroyed by weaknesses inherent in its nature? Or were mistakes made that could have been avoided -- was there a point at which Greco-Roman society took a wrong turn? And in what ways is modern society different? Western history is split into two discontinuous eras, Aldo Schiavone tells us: the ancient world was fundamentally different from the modern one. He locates the essential difference in a series of economic factors: a slave-based economy, relative lack of mechanization and technology, the dominance of agriculture over urban industry. Also crucial are aspects of the ancient mentality: disdain for manual work, a preference for transcending (rather than transforming) nature, a basic belief in the permanence of limits. Schiavone's lively and provocative examination of the ancient world, the eternal theater of history and power, offers a stimulating opportunity to view modern society in light of the experience of our forebears. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: Alaric the Goth: An Outsider's History of the Fall of Rome Douglas Boin, 2020-06-09 Denied citizenship by the Roman Empire, a soldier named Alaric changed history by unleashing a surprise attack on the capital city of an unjust empire. Stigmatized and relegated to the margins of Roman society, the Goths were violent “barbarians” who destroyed “civilization,” at least in the conventional story of Rome’s collapse. But a slight shift of perspective brings their history, and ours, shockingly alive. Alaric grew up near the river border that separated Gothic territory from Roman. He survived a border policy that separated migrant children from their parents, and he was denied benefits he likely expected from military service. Romans were deeply conflicted over who should enjoy the privileges of citizenship. They wanted to buttress their global power, but were insecure about Roman identity; they depended on foreign goods, but scoffed at and denied foreigners their own voices and humanity. In stark contrast to the rising bigotry, intolerance, and zealotry among Romans during Alaric’s lifetime, the Goths, as practicing Christians, valued religious pluralism and tolerance. The marginalized Goths, marked by history as frightening harbingers of destruction and of the Dark Ages, preserved virtues of the ancient world that we take for granted. The three nights of riots Alaric and the Goths brought to the capital struck fear into the hearts of the powerful, but the riots were not without cause. Combining vivid storytelling and historical analysis, Douglas Boin reveals the Goths’ complex and fascinating legacy in shaping our world. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The Goths Peter Heather, 1998-06-08 The volume is divided into three parts, corresponding to the three main phases in Gothic history: their early history down to the fourth century, the revolution in Gothic society set in motion by the arrival of the Huns, and the history of the Gothic successor states to the western Roman Empire. At its heart lies a new vision of Gothic identity, and of the social caste by whom it was defined and transmitted. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The Fall of the Roman Empire (video). , 1964 |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The Visigoths from the Migration Period to the Seventh Century Peter J. Heather, 1999 Between 376 and 476 the Roman Empire in western Europe was dismantled by aggressive outsiders, barbarians as the Romans labelled them. Chief among these were the Visigoths, a new force of previously separate Gothic and other groups from south-west France, initially settled by the Romans but subsequently, from the middle of the fifth century, achieving total independence from the failing Roman Empire, and extending their power from the Loire to the Straits of Gibraltar. These studies draw on literary and archaeological evidence to address important questions thrown up by the history of the Visigoths and of the kingdom they generated: the historical processes which led to their initial creation; the emergence of the Visigothic kingdom in the fifth century; and the government, society, culture and economy of the mature kingdom of the sixth and seventh centuries. A valuable feature of the collection, reflecting the switch of the centre of the Visigothic kingdom from France to Spain from the beginning of the sixth century, is the inclusion, in English, of current Spanish scholarship. Dr PETER HEATHER teaches in the Department of History at University College London. Contributors: Dennis H. Green, Peter Heather, Ana Jimenez Garnica, Giorgio Ausenda, Ian Nicholas Wood, Isabel Velazquez, Felix Retamero, Pablo C. Diaz, Mayke de Jong, Gisela Ripoll Lopez, Andreas Schwarcz |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The Rise of Rome : Books One to Five Livy, 1998-10-01 Romulus and Remus, the rape of Lucretia, Horatius at the bridge, the saga of Coriolanus, Cincinnatus called from his farm to save the state -- these and many more are stories which, immortalized by Livy in his history of early Rome, have become part of our cultural heritage. This new annotated translation includes maps and an index and is based on R. M Ogilvie's Oxford Classical text, the best to date. - ;`the fates ordained the founding of this great city and the beginning of the world's mightiest empire, second only to the power of the gods' Romulus and Remus, the rape of Lucretia, Horatius at the bridge, the saga of Coriolanus, Cincinnatus called from his farm to save the state - these and many more are stories which, immortalised by Livy in his history of early Rome, have become part of our cultural heritage. The historian's huge work, written between 20 BC and AD 17, ran to 12 books, beginning with Rome's founding in 753 BC and coming down to Livy's own lifetime (9 BC). Books 1-5 cover the period from Rome's beginnings to her first great foreign conquest, the capture of the Etruscan city of Veii and, a few years later, to her first major defeat, the sack of the city by the Gauls in 390 BC. - |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The Roman Republic: A Very Short Introduction David M. Gwynn, 2012-08-30 The rise and fall of the Roman Republic occupies a special place in the history of Western civilization. From humble beginnings on the seven hills beside the Tiber, the city of Rome grew to dominate the ancient Mediterranean. Led by her senatorial aristocracy, Republican armies defeated Carthage and the successor kingdoms of Alexander the Great, and brought the surrounding peoples to east and west into the Roman sphere. Yet the triumph of the Republic was also its tragedy. In this Very Short Introduction, David M. Gwynn provides a fascinating introduction to the history of the Roman Republic and its literary and material sources, bringing to life the culture and society of Republican Rome and its ongoing significance within our modern world. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The Roman Empire: A Very Short Introduction Christopher Kelly, 2006-08-24 The Roman Empire was a remarkable achievement. With a population of sixty million people, it encircled the Mediterranean and stretched from northern England to North Africa and Syria. This Very Short Introduction covers the history of the empire at its height, looking at its people, religions and social structures. It explains how it deployed violence, 'romanisation', and tactical power to develop an astonishingly uniform culture from Rome to its furthest outreaches. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The Fate of Rome Kyle Harper, 2017-10-02 How devastating viruses, pandemics, and other natural catastrophes swept through the far-flung Roman Empire and helped to bring down one of the mightiest civilizations of the ancient world Here is the monumental retelling of one of the most consequential chapters of human history: the fall of the Roman Empire. The Fate of Rome is the first book to examine the catastrophic role that climate change and infectious diseases played in the collapse of Rome’s power—a story of nature’s triumph over human ambition. Interweaving a grand historical narrative with cutting-edge climate science and genetic discoveries, Kyle Harper traces how the fate of Rome was decided not just by emperors, soldiers, and barbarians but also by volcanic eruptions, solar cycles, climate instability, and devastating viruses and bacteria. He takes readers from Rome’s pinnacle in the second century, when the empire seemed an invincible superpower, to its unraveling by the seventh century, when Rome was politically fragmented and materially depleted. Harper describes how the Romans were resilient in the face of enormous environmental stress, until the besieged empire could no longer withstand the combined challenges of a “little ice age” and recurrent outbreaks of bubonic plague. A poignant reflection on humanity’s intimate relationship with the environment, The Fate of Rome provides a sweeping account of how one of history’s greatest civilizations encountered and endured, yet ultimately succumbed to the cumulative burden of nature’s violence. The example of Rome is a timely reminder that climate change and germ evolution have shaped the world we inhabit—in ways that are surprising and profound. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: God's Executioner Micheál Ó Siochrú, 2008 In a century of unrelenting, bloody warfare and religious persecution in Europe, Cromwell was, in many ways, a product of his times. As commander-in-chief of the army in Ireland, however, the responsibilities for the excesses of the military must be laid firmly at his door, while the harsh nature of the post-war settlement also bears his imprint. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The Restoration of Rome Peter J. Heather, 2014 First published in 2013 in Great Britain by Macmillan.--Title page verso. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: Why Empires Fall John Rapley, Peter Heather, 2024-05-30 What can the fall of Rome teach us about the decline of the West today? A historian and a political economist, both experts in their field, investigate Over the last three centuries, the West rose to dominate the planet. Then, suddenly, around the turn of the millennium, history reversed. Faced with economic stagnation and internal political division, the West has found itself in rapid decline. This is not the first time the global order has witnessed such a dramatic rise and fall. The Roman Empire followed a similar arc from dizzying power to disintegration - a fact that is more than a strange historical coincidence. In Why Empires Fall, historian Peter Heather and political economist John Rapley use this Roman past to think anew about the contemporary West, its state of crisis, and what paths we could take out of it. In this exceptional, transformative intervention, Heather and Rapley explore the uncanny parallels - and productive differences - between the two cases, moving beyond the familiar tropes of invading barbarians and civilizational decay to learn new lessons from ancient history. From 399 to 1999, the life cycles of empires, they argue, sow the seeds of their inevitable destruction. The era of western global domination has reached its end - so what comes next? |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: Attila The Hun Christopher Kelly, 2011-02-15 Attila the Hun - godless barbarian and near-mythical warrior king - has become a byword for mindless ferocity. His brutal attacks smashed through the frontiers of the Roman empire in a savage wave of death and destruction. His reign of terror shattered an imperial world that had been securely unified by the conquests of Julius Caesar five centuries before. This book goes in search of the real Attila the Hun. For the first time it reveals the history of an astute politician and first-rate military commander who brilliantly exploited the strengths and weaknesses of the Roman empire. We ride with Attila and the Huns from the windswept steppes of Kazakhstan to the opulent city of Constantinople, from the Great Hungarian Plain to the fertile fields of Champagne in France. Challenging our own ideas about barbarians and Romans, imperialism and civilisation, terrorists and superpowers, this is the absorbing story of an extraordinary and complex individual who helped to bring down an empire and forced the map of Europe to be redrawn forever. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome Mary Beard, 2015-11-09 New York Times Bestseller A New York Times Notable Book Named one of the Best Books of the Year by the Wall Street Journal, the Economist, Foreign Affairs, and Kirkus Reviews Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award (Nonfiction) Shortlisted for the Cundill Prize in Historical Literature Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize (History) A San Francisco Chronicle Holiday Gift Guide Selection A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice Selection A sweeping, magisterial history of the Roman Empire from one of our foremost classicists shows why Rome remains relevant to people many centuries later (Atlantic). In SPQR, an instant classic, Mary Beard narrates the history of Rome with passion and without technical jargon and demonstrates how a slightly shabby Iron Age village rose to become the undisputed hegemon of the Mediterranean (Wall Street Journal). Hailed by critics as animating the grand sweep and the intimate details that bring the distant past vividly to life (Economist) in a way that makes your hair stand on end (Christian Science Monitor) and spanning nearly a thousand years of history, this highly informative, highly readable (Dallas Morning News) work examines not just how we think of ancient Rome but challenges the comfortable historical perspectives that have existed for centuries. With its nuanced attention to class, democratic struggles, and the lives of entire groups of people omitted from the historical narrative for centuries, SPQR will to shape our view of Roman history for decades to come. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The Tragedy of Empire Michael Kulikowski, 2019-11-19 A sweeping political history of the turbulent two centuries that led to the demise of the Roman Empire. The Tragedy of Empire begins in the late fourth century with the reign of Julian, the last non-Christian Roman emperor, and takes readers to the final years of the Western Roman Empire at the end of the sixth century. One hundred years before Julian’s rule, Emperor Diocletian had resolved that an empire stretching from the Atlantic to the Euphrates, and from the Rhine and Tyne to the Sahara, could not effectively be governed by one man. He had devised a system of governance, called the tetrarchy by modern scholars, to respond to the vastness of the empire, its new rivals, and the changing face of its citizenry. Powerful enemies like the barbarian coalitions of the Franks and the Alamanni threatened the imperial frontiers. The new Sasanian dynasty had come into power in Persia. This was the political climate of the Roman world that Julian inherited. Kulikowski traces two hundred years of Roman history during which the Western Empire ceased to exist while the Eastern Empire remained politically strong and culturally vibrant. The changing structure of imperial rule, the rise of new elites, foreign invasions, the erosion of Roman and Greek religions, and the establishment of Christianity as the state religion mark these last two centuries of the Empire. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The Fall of the Roman Empire Peter J. Heather, 2007 |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: The Inheritance of Rome Chris Wickham, 2009-01-29 The idea that with the decline of the Roman Empire Europe entered into some immense ‘dark age’ has long been viewed as inadequate by many historians. How could a world still so profoundly shaped by Rome and which encompassed such remarkable societies as the Byzantine, Carolingian and Ottonian empires, be anything other than central to the development of European history? How could a world of so many peoples, whether expanding, moving or stable, of Goths, Franks, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, whose genetic and linguistic inheritors we all are, not lie at the heart of how we understand ourselves? The Inheritance of Rome is a work of remarkable scope and ambition. Drawing on a wealth of new material, it is a book which will transform its many readers’ ideas about the crucible in which Europe would in the end be created. From the collapse of the Roman imperial system to the establishment of the new European dynastic states, perhaps this book’s most striking achievement is to make sense of an immensely long period of time, experienced by many generations of Europeans, and which, while it certainly included catastrophic invasions and turbulence, also contained long periods of continuity and achievement. From Ireland to Constantinople, from the Baltic to the Mediterranean, this is a genuinely Europe-wide history of a new kind, with something surprising or arresting on every page. |
| the fall of the roman empire peter heather: Barbarian Tides Walter Goffart, 2010-11-25 The Migration Age is still envisioned as an onrush of expansionary Germans pouring unwanted into the Roman Empire and subjecting it to pressures so great that its western parts collapsed under the weight. Further developing the themes set forth in his classic Barbarians and Romans, Walter Goffart dismantles this grand narrative, shaking the barbarians of late antiquity out of this Germanic setting and reimagining the role of foreigners in the Later Roman Empire. The Empire was not swamped by a migratory Germanic flood for the simple reason that there was no single ancient Germanic civilization to be transplanted onto ex-Roman soil. Since the sixteenth century, the belief that purposeful Germans existed in parallel with the Romans has been a fixed point in European history. Goffart uncovers the origins of this historical untruth and argues that any projection of a modern Germany out of an ancient one is illusory. Rather, the multiplicity of northern peoples once living on the edges of the Empire participated with the Romans in the larger stirrings of late antiquity. Most relevant among these was the long militarization that gripped late Roman society concurrently with its Christianization. If the fragmented foreign peoples with which the Empire dealt gave Rome an advantage in maintaining its ascendancy, the readiness to admit military talents of any social origin to positions of leadership opened the door of imperial service to immigrants from beyond its frontiers. Many barbarians were settled in the provinces without dislodging the Roman residents or destabilizing landownership; some were even incorporated into the ruling families of the Empire. The outcome of this process, Goffart argues, was a society headed by elites of soldiers and Christian clergy—one we have come to call medieval. |
THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE OF ROME - cdn.waterstones.com
Peter Heather is Professor of Medieval History at King’s College London, having previously taught at Worcester College, Oxford, University College London and Yale University. He is the author …
The Fall of Rome By Dr Peter Heather - apworldhistory.org
17 Feb 2011 · The eastern half of the Roman empire not only survived the collapse of its western partner in the third quarter of the fifth century, but went on to thrive in the sixth. Under …
The Fall Of The Roman Empire Peter Heather (book)
The Fall of the Roman Empire Peter Heather,2010-11-30 In AD 378 the Roman Empire had been the unrivalled superpower of Europe for well over four hundred years And yet August that year …
The Fall Of The Roman Empire A New History , Peter Heather [PDF ...
With sharp analytic insight, Peter Heather explores the dynamics of migration and social and economic interaction that changed two vastly different worlds--the undeveloped barbarian …
The Fall Of The Roman Empire Peter Heather - oldshop.whitney.org
The Fall of the Roman Empire Peter Heather,2010-11-30 In AD 378 the Roman Empire had been the unrivalled superpower of Europe for well over four hundred years And yet August that year …
The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the …
Heather observes that the peoples north and east of the Roman Empire in Europe—the “barbarians”—are little understood by the public. His stated aim is to present a synthetic …
The Huns and the End of the Roman Empire in Western Europe
The aim of this paper is to reconsider some of the processes and events which underlay the disappearance of the western half of the Roman Empire in the fifth century AD.
This document was created with Prince, a great way of ... - DocDroid
Heather, P. J. (Peter J.) Empires and barbarians : migration, development, and the birth
THE CAUSES OF THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE - JSTOR
THE CAUSES OF THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE Andr? Piganiol T JLhe Late Empire is customarily con sidered the very type of the epoch of de cay. A useful and auspicious decay, …
The Fall of the Roman Empire - core.ac.uk
century leading up to the fall of the western empire in 476. Ward-Perkins briefly address- es the survival of the Eastern Roman Empire until 1453, ascribing it in no small part to luck. In the …
The Fall Of The Roman Empire Peter Heather
Heather's groundbreaking work, The Fall of the Roman Empire, critiques the simplistic narrative that solely attributes the empire's demise to barbarian invasions. While acknowledging the …
The Fall Of The Roman Empire A New History - Mary Beard (2024 ...
The Fall of the Roman Empire Peter Heather,2007-06-11 Shows how Europe's barbarians, strengthened by centuries of contact with Rome on many levels, turned into an enemy capable …
The Fall Of The Roman Empire Peter Heather - David M. Gwynn …
book, Peter H. Wilson explains how the Holy Roman Empire worked, why it was so important, and how it changed over the course of its existence. The result is a tour de force that raises …
The Fall Of The Roman Empire Peter Heather , Christopher Kelly …
As Peter Heather shows in dazzling biographical portraits, each of the three greatest immediate contenders for imperial power--Theoderic, Justinian, and Charlemagne--operated with a …
Peter Heather: Rome Resurgent - LMU
With Rome Resurgent, Heather switches his focus from the fall of Rome and the western half of the empire to the survival of Con-stantinople and the eastern half.
The Fall Of The Roman Empire Peter Heather - oldshop.whitney.org
why the story is still so significant today The Fall of the Roman Empire Peter Heather,2010-11-30 In AD 378 the Roman Empire had been the unrivalled superpower of Europe for well over four …
Book Reviews 957 - JSTOR
Empires and Barbarians: The Fall of Rome and the Birth of Europe. By peter heather. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. 752 pp. $34.95 (cloth); $24.95 (paper). When Peter Heather's …
Collecting to the Core — The Fall of the Roman Empire - Purdue …
Heather posits that the Gothic invasion of 476-478 and an earlier cluster of invasions by Goths, Vandals, Alans and others in 405-408 were key events in the fall of the western empire, even if …
The Fall of the Roman Empire by Peter Heather The Independent …
Fall of the Roman Empire Analysis - eNotes.com Buy a cheap copy of The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New. book by Peter The death of the Roman Empire is one of the perennial …
M. Kulikowski, The Tragedy of Empire. From Constantine to the ...
the fall of the West – the narrative is running out of steam. The final two chapters in particular, one on the East, one on the West, are less driven by narrative, instead setting forth the new world …
THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE OF ROME
Peter Heather is Professor of Medieval History at King’s College London, having previously taught at Worcester College, Oxford, University College London and Yale University. He is the author …
The Fall of Rome By Dr Peter Heather - apworldhistory.org
17 Feb 2011 · The eastern half of the Roman empire not only survived the collapse of its western partner in the third quarter of the fifth century, but went on to thrive in the sixth. Under …
The Fall Of The Roman Empire Peter Heather (book)
The Fall of the Roman Empire Peter Heather,2010-11-30 In AD 378 the Roman Empire had been the unrivalled superpower of Europe for well over four hundred years And yet August that year …
The Fall Of The Roman Empire A New History , Peter Heather …
With sharp analytic insight, Peter Heather explores the dynamics of migration and social and economic interaction that changed two vastly different worlds--the undeveloped barbarian …
The Fall Of The Roman Empire Peter Heather
The Fall of the Roman Empire Peter Heather,2010-11-30 In AD 378 the Roman Empire had been the unrivalled superpower of Europe for well over four hundred years And yet August that year …
The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the …
Heather observes that the peoples north and east of the Roman Empire in Europe—the “barbarians”—are little understood by the public. His stated aim is to present a synthetic …
The Huns and the End of the Roman Empire in Western Europe
The aim of this paper is to reconsider some of the processes and events which underlay the disappearance of the western half of the Roman Empire in the fifth century AD.
This document was created with Prince, a great way of ... - DocDroid
Heather, P. J. (Peter J.) Empires and barbarians : migration, development, and the birth
THE CAUSES OF THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE - JSTOR
THE CAUSES OF THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE Andr? Piganiol T JLhe Late Empire is customarily con sidered the very type of the epoch of de cay. A useful and auspicious decay, …
The Fall of the Roman Empire - core.ac.uk
century leading up to the fall of the western empire in 476. Ward-Perkins briefly address- es the survival of the Eastern Roman Empire until 1453, ascribing it in no small part to luck. In the …
The Fall Of The Roman Empire Peter Heather
Heather's groundbreaking work, The Fall of the Roman Empire, critiques the simplistic narrative that solely attributes the empire's demise to barbarian invasions. While acknowledging the …
The Fall Of The Roman Empire A New History - Mary Beard …
The Fall of the Roman Empire Peter Heather,2007-06-11 Shows how Europe's barbarians, strengthened by centuries of contact with Rome on many levels, turned into an enemy capable …
The Fall Of The Roman Empire Peter Heather - David M. Gwynn …
book, Peter H. Wilson explains how the Holy Roman Empire worked, why it was so important, and how it changed over the course of its existence. The result is a tour de force that raises …
The Fall Of The Roman Empire Peter Heather , Christopher Kelly …
As Peter Heather shows in dazzling biographical portraits, each of the three greatest immediate contenders for imperial power--Theoderic, Justinian, and Charlemagne--operated with a …
Peter Heather: Rome Resurgent - LMU
With Rome Resurgent, Heather switches his focus from the fall of Rome and the western half of the empire to the survival of Con-stantinople and the eastern half.
The Fall Of The Roman Empire Peter Heather
why the story is still so significant today The Fall of the Roman Empire Peter Heather,2010-11-30 In AD 378 the Roman Empire had been the unrivalled superpower of Europe for well over four …
Book Reviews 957 - JSTOR
Empires and Barbarians: The Fall of Rome and the Birth of Europe. By peter heather. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. 752 pp. $34.95 (cloth); $24.95 (paper). When Peter Heather's …
Collecting to the Core — The Fall of the Roman Empire - Purdue …
Heather posits that the Gothic invasion of 476-478 and an earlier cluster of invasions by Goths, Vandals, Alans and others in 405-408 were key events in the fall of the western empire, even if …
The Fall of the Roman Empire by Peter Heather The …
Fall of the Roman Empire Analysis - eNotes.com Buy a cheap copy of The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New. book by Peter The death of the Roman Empire is one of the perennial …
M. Kulikowski, The Tragedy of Empire. From Constantine to the ...
the fall of the West – the narrative is running out of steam. The final two chapters in particular, one on the East, one on the West, are less driven by narrative, instead setting forth the new world …
