The Fall of the Roman Empire

A New History of Rome and the Barbarians

By: Peter Heather

Narrated by: Allan Robertson

Length: 21 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

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.

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.

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 overview

An excellent, detailed overview of what I suspect are the true roots of the decline of Rome. That said, as an audiobook, it can be quite challenging to follow at times due the sheer amount of historical characters, cohorts and tribes. I think I would have benefited from being able to visualize some of these introduced locations, terms and names. Be prepared to rewind frequently.

Horrible Pronunciation!

This really needs to be re-recorded. Even by the same narrator, he does a perfectly satisfactory job 99% of the time. But some of the errors are just appallingly egregious. The most notable? The repeated mispronunciation of ‘Arles’ (a city in southern France/Gaul) as ‘Aries’ (the zodiac sign). Most of the others are just weird and distracting, but that one is just flat out bad, and I don’t know how the editors could have possibly missed it.

A good book not ideally suited to audiobook format

A very detailed account of the fall of the Roman Empire. If I had the printed book in my hands I would likely give it 5 stars. The mass of detail made me wish that I could flip back and forth in the book to recheck dates and see which of masses of unfamiliar and unpronounceable names had come up before. In addition I wished for maps or illustrations to give a better idea of where all the locations of the narrative were situated. In sum, I found it a very good account that was not ideally suited for the audiobook mode of presentation. I found the author's thesis and particular viewpoint of this period of history compelling and convincing. I learned much that I did not know before, which was my goal, albeit accompanied by some frustration.

Fine history, and well narrated

Mr. Heather’s book well merits the high praise it has received. The book marries a brisk narrative history with a tightly argued account of the fall of the Roman Empire that, essentially, takes aim at Gibbon himself. While this may come as no surprise to specialists, to the non-specialist reader steeped in the standard Gibbonian account, you may find yourself changing your mind about a thing or two.

In his recitation of the people, places, and events, Heather quite helpfully draws on his broad erudition to draw comparisons and contrasts with later periods—e.g., the Carolingian empire, the Spanish Armada, the Mongol invasion of China. These are unfailingly illuminating.

Particularly in the final chapter, Heather’s style approximates that of a well-crafted legal brief, both clearly establishing his own evidence and highlighting his disagreements with other scholars of yesteryear and today. I was particularly taken with his willingness to argue with the most charitably and strongly stated versions of the contrary views; he does not do battle with straw men, which speaks highly of his intellectual integrity.

The narrator has a friendly, easy to accommodate voice and generally handles the specialist vocabulary and classical Latin adeptly. In early chapters, his mispronunciation of “Trier” is somewhat distracting, but this is a fly in the ointment of an otherwise very worthwhile purchase.

brilliant

the most interested book on my syllabus list ever. easy to follow, insanely interesting. good reading alongside guy halsall

very detailed

although I have more than a casual interest in history, I struggled with the minute detail and the myriad players in this history of the fall of the western Roman empire. perhaps if I sat down with the book and maps and an extensive list of the various tribes and players, it would have been more cohesive, but I did find my attention wandering.

Everything you need to know about the end of Rome

A very thorough survey of the evidence and a balanced analysis of a fascinating topic.