The Fall of the Roman Empire

A New History of Rome and the Barbarians

By: Peter Heather

Narrated by: Allan Robertson

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.

©2006 Peter Heather (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Enthralling

First, let me gripe. I would have enjoyed this massive analysis better with maps of ancient and modern Europe/Africa in front of me. And given the necessary scope of characters, it would have been better to be able to page back from time to time to refresh my memory regarding one or another of the many important actors in this drama.

Okay... but even with those large reservations, I am far better informed than ever before in my life of the causes for Rome's deterioration and collapse. And Heather's prose work hard against the academic historian's training to write in colorless code. This is not a text book, yet it is not a novel. I feel that a friend took the time to tell me what he's learned in useful detail about a grand puzzle. Like, "The Swerve" I recommend Heather's book and Allan Robertson's reading to anyone more than just modestly curious about how the greatest ancient civilization died.

And its meaning to us.

Excellent and Thorough

Heather's Fall of the Roman Empire is a thorough grounding in the events that led to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. However, the narrator throughout the audiobook refers to Arles as Aries, and as there is an actual Aries in France it might be confusing to someone just listening to this audiobook.

Lots of Roman History

if you enjoy Roman History there is a lot of it here. Interesting and in tremendous detail. Do be prepared for a long listen.

Detailed, compelling, long...

OK, so ya gotta be a Roman history nut to love this... but I did. Hugely detailed, thoroughly researched, then crafted into a compelling narrative. Yes, it is long, but the whole thing took a couple centuries, so what did you expect?

Mr. Heather does a good job of explaining the sources, and makes it clear when he is speculating, or when the sources disagree. There is a lot of information here, and he does an awfully good job of sorting things out so they make sense.

Good stuff.

Loved it

Really interesting popular history with a commonsensical approach to the subject in hand and enough detail to keep it compelling without being overwhelming.