Why Rome Fell: Decline and Fall, or Drift and Change?

Starting with the seminal Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbons, the fall of Rome has remained a topic of intense scholarship and lively discussion for the past two hundred and fifty years. Recent works incite debate and controversy as academics and educated consumers consider the core question: why the Roman Empire ceased to exist in the West but continued for another thousand years in the East. Several conflicting explanations have been put forward, but the problem still tantalizes the historical community, as evidenced by the regular publication and success of books on the topic. In Why Rome Fell, Michael Arnheim presents new research to explore a paradoxical conflict between east and west, Christianity and traditional pagan rites, which would see landholders take power, reduce the impact of the Emperor, and lay the groundwork for the Fall.