Jared Mirsky Mirsky itibaren Pushkarne, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraina
Why did the an Empire that was no longer ruled from Rome - instead was ruled jointly in the periphery by highly romanised Gauls, Britons, Spaniards, North Africans, Italians collapse in the west - whilst in the East the maily Jewish-Coptic-Greek Eastern Empire survived? Had the Western Romans in Gibbons opinion really become pygimies? Or had the need for a central capital and Emperor become obsolete? Grant deals with various reasons 1. Religion and the affect pasive christainity had on the Empires resolve to fight 2. Lack of Roman idenity 3. Economy 4. Weak central control and fighting for purple 5. Decline of Roman Army Well worth reading - if only as an overview.
not my favorite- wasn't thrilled with the translation in the version i read. Dialogue came across as stilted. The travelogue side of this was a lot of fun though, and its an interesting exploration of the reinvention of self.