The Fall of Rome by Bryan Ward-Perkins

The Fall of Rome by Bryan Ward-Perkins

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.

Teasingly stimulating, acutely critical, abundantly constructive, and certain to unleash endless debate* Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, author of Civilizations and Millennium *
This hard-hitting and beautifully written assessment will, I am delighted to say, cause a great deal of trouble. * The Sunday Telegraph *

Bryan Ward-Perkins is a lecturer in Modern History at the University of Oxford, and Fellow and Tutor in History at Trinity College. Born and brought up in Rome, he has excavated extensively in Italy, primarily sites of the immediate post-Roman period. His principal interests are in combining historical and archaeological evidence, and in understanding the transition from Roman to post-Roman times. A joint editor of The Cambridge Ancient History, vol. XIV, his previous publications include From Classical Antiquity to the Middle Ages, also published by Oxford University Press.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780192807281
ISBN 10	0192807285
Title	The Fall of Rome
Author	Bryan Ward-Perkins
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Year published	2006-07-13
Number of pages	256
Prizes	Winner of Winner of the Hessell-Tiltman History Prize 2005.
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.