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Ebook Download How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower HOW ROME FELL: DEATH OF A SUPERPOWER PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Research Fellow Adrian Goldsworthy | 531 pages | 28 Sep 2010 | Yale University Press | 9780300164268 | English | New Haven, United States How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower PDF Book Gallienus' armies were driven back twice. All in all it was a good book. 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. As of about AD , the Roman Empire was by far the most powerful state within its known world, and had been for over two hundred years. All of this is dubious. After a while the litany of emperors and generals gets dull, and excursions into territories other than the military are rare and limited by source materials. And every time a hugely expensive donative for the Army. Goldsworthy's fault. Its physical remnants can be found throughout much of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, in the form of roads, bridges, aqueducts, amphitheaters, temples and public baths. In a later age the Vikings would provoke similar terror. In the meantime there had been more attacks on the European frontiers, on the Danube and southern Rhine. Goldsworthy states that he is not an expert in this period, which actually makes the book better for the general reader as he examines a variety of perspectives on various controversies rather than presenting the reader with a neat analysis. I would recommend the book strongly to any general reader interested in the subject with at least a passing familiarity with the age. The Senate, once the source of many of Rome's rulers, was reduced so much in significance that it no longer even supplied military leaders, let alone emperors. Portraying history in such simplistic terms, however, fails to explain that governing the Late Roman Empire was a complex business. Apr 07, Manray9 rated it really liked it Shelves: classical-era , europe-general. There is an admirable attempt, as the narrative becomes more complex in the fourth century, to maintain the story of a single political body. In actual fact Goldsworthy gives a narrative from the period of Marcus Aurelius to the first half of the sixth century. Raiding was endemic in most of the societies of Iron Age Europe. A large number of emperors ruled only for a period of months; there were very few years without civil wars and unrest. Oct 05, Cameron rated it did not like it. But as I was getting into the book I felt guilty and bought the Kindle version. Books by Adrian Goldsworthy. The next century, the third century, was chaotic. Historians conventionally refer to this regime as the Gallic Empire. Only a few were mounted and armour was rare. With the exception of ancient Egypt un What we think of as the Roman Empire didn't so much fall dramatically as steadily slow down, stumble unsteadily for a few centuries, and then keel over quietly somewhere around AD. Sep 17, Todd N rated it it was amazing Shelves: kindle. Enlarge cover. All were swiftly killed by loyal officers, but Decius knew that his prestige was at a low ebb. Hardcover , pages. The author gives his speculations as to how and why the Western Empire fell. Near the end of the first century, the gap between the two rivers was linked by a fortified line, bringing a substantial area of territory, known as the Agri Decumates, under direct Roman rule. They were not the only ones to benefit from the arrival of the Romans. To ask other readers questions about How Rome Fell , please sign up. Eheu, infelix ego et destitute. The tribes on the border exploited the weakness - raiding, plundering and eventually settling in the empire - further eroding the tax base. However, it is doubtful that they saw themselves this way. The Roman provinces seemed vulnerable and so inevitably further attacks came. How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower Writer What we think of as the Roman Empire didn't so much fall dramatically as steadily slow down, stumble unsteadily for a few centuries, and then keel over quietly somewhere around AD. The East continued for almost a thousand years to By the end of the third century the Goths, along with other apparently new and powerful peoples like the Franks and Alamanni, posed serious threats to the frontiers on the Rhine and Danube. For chieftains, successful raids brought glory and the plunder with which to reward their warriors. Error rating book. 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. I have to confess that I wasn't sure if I wanted to read this book, so I downloaded it off of bittorrent. There is no trace of the auxiliary units moving anywhere else, they just seem to vanish from the record. Now this became more common in other areas close to exposed frontiers. Apr 16, Andrea rated it it was amazing Shelves: world-history , ancient-rome. Thanks for telling us about the problem. None of this makes much sense. Goldsworthy makes an interesting point about the Senate in Rome. In the meantime there had been more attacks on the European frontiers, on the Danube and southern Rhine. Around the same time a new threat emerged from the Black Sea. Every defeat weakened this impression, as did the frequent withdrawal of troops from the frontiers to fight each other in civil wars. Goldsworthy's book is easier to read than Heather's and it contains a more detailed account of the 3rd and 4th century. The short answer would be: First, because the Roman Army focused more on killing each other than on fending off invaders. The final epilogue and much of the introduction talks about the inevitable parallels people try to draw between the Roman Empire and the United States, and dismisses many of them. The threat from the barbarians was now greater and it revealed fundamental weaknesses in the defences of the Roman frontiers. Second, because the Roman Empire came to be ruled by an endless series of upstart generals who seized power by violence, and not by a political class or even by a hereditary monarchy. The other book much shorter was like a case study from an MBA program: the reason for the Empire going out of business. The semi-professional warriors who made up chieftains' warbands were not especially numerous. All were swiftly killed by loyal officers, but Decius knew that his prestige was at a low ebb. Hence the garrison may have been attacked because it stayed loyal to the old regime. Eheu, infelix ego et destitute. The original excavators assumed that the attackers were Germanic tribesmen. By the end of the Western Empire walled cities and 'castles' dominated the landscape, very much as they would for the next thousand years and more. Some almost certainly were hidden by people afraid of barbarian attack, who were subsequently killed, taken captive or otherwise unable to recover their treasure. It was difficult to catch every band of swift-moving raiders - although easier when they withdrew burdened down with booty - and often the Roman response would be a punitive expedition against those held responsible. He then takes us through the tumultuous time from when emperor after emperor reigned for short times. The majority of warriors employed a spear, a javelin for throwing and carried a shield for protection. Amiens seems to have been attacked several times and in the second half of the third century became much reduced in size. Many tribesmen chose to join the Roman army, presumably viewing it in much the same way as joining the band of a chieftain from another tribe. One powerful fourth-century king had warriors in his band and similar numbers are suggested by spectacular collections of weapons excavated in Scandinavia. Nevertheless, the east suffered from a similar sclerosis to the west. Goldsworthy emphasizes the internal problems of continuous civil war. At first the targets were local, mainly the few remaining Greco-Roman communities along the northern coast of the Black Sea. It may well be that one or more similarly charismatic leaders had appeared amongst them again. Occasionally the defences looked stronger than they actually were, but the aim was clearly to deter any attack. The Senate, once the source of many of Rome's rulers, was reduced so much in significance that it no longer even supplied military leaders, let alone emperors. Yet when their Roman paymaster was beaten or murdered, such contingents could not be sure of welcome and employment from the next emperor. To ask other readers questions about How Rome Fell , please sign up. The impact of a raid can only have been dreadful for those communities and individuals actually attacked. Philip had to go in person to the region to restore the situation. The slave trade encouraged raiding. How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower Reviews Almost every scholar sees this as a sign that the threat from outside had become greater. This book's interesting thesis is that it wasn't exterior forces that caused Rome's fall, and that the Persians weren't necessarily "tougher" an enemy than the Parthians, but that Rome collapsed from within. Nov 20, Mark Singer rated it it was amazing Shelves: history , roman-history , ancient-history. A similar pattern is observable with the Dacians, who were perceived as a great threat in Julius Caesar's time, but then disappear until the later first century when another strong king emerged.
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