History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Modern Library Classics)

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the decline and fall of the roman empire
Lots of Info
Gibbon's Magnum Opus
Gibbons Decline and fall of Rome
Dramatic and Informative audio book version

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Modern Library Classics)
Edward Gibbon
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0375758119
Release Date: 2003-08-12

Amazon.com

British parliamentarian and soldier Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) conceived of his plan for Decline and Fall while "musing amid the ruins of the Capitol" on a visit to Rome. For the next 10 years he worked away at his great history, which traces the decadence of the late empire from the time of the Antonines and the rise of Western Christianity. "The confusion of the times, and the scarcity of authentic memorials, pose equal difficulties to the historian, who attempts to preserve a clear and unbroken thread of narration," he writes. Despite these obstacles, Decline and Fall remains a model of historical exposition, and required reading for students of European history.

Book Description

Gibbon’s masterpiece, which narrates the history of the Roman Empire from the second century a.d. to its collapse in the west in the fifth century and in the east in the fifteenth century, is widely considered the greatest work of history ever written. This abridgment retains the full scope of the original, but in a compass equivalent to a long novel. Casual readers now have access to the full sweep of Gibbon’s narrative, while instructors and students have a volume that can be read in a single term. This unique edition emphasizes elements ignored in all other abridgments—in particular the role of religion in the empire and the rise of Islam.

Download Description

"It was Rome, on the 15th of October 1764, as I sat musing amid the ruins of the Capitol, while the barefooted friars were singing vespers in the temple of Jupiter, that the idea of writing the decline and fall of the city first started to my mind," recorded Edward Gibbon with characteristic exactitude. Over a period of some twenty years, the luminous eighteenth-century historian--a precise, dapper, idiosyncratic little gentleman famous for rapping his snuff-box--devoted his considerable genius to writing an epic chronicle of the entire Roman Empire's decline. His single flash of inspiration produced what is arguably the greatest historical work in any language--and surely the most magnificent narrative history ever written in English. "Gibbon is one of those few who hold as high a place in the history of literature as in the roll of great historians," noted Professor J.B. Bury, his most celebrated editor.

Customer Reviews:

the decline and fall of the roman empire.......2007-08-26

very good detail on the history , most Caesars were killed and the army rulled.

Lots of Info.......2007-07-09

Tremendous amount of information and lots of historical data. Problem is the guy who wrote the book can speak the real english language and I often thought I was listning to a foreign language tape. I learned a lot and woud recomend this to anyone who wonders how something as great as the empire was, fell apart. Great learning experience.

Gibbon's Magnum Opus.......2007-05-12

It's a literary work of art. Gibbon's style of narration is breathtaking. On every page he comes out as the true scholar that he really is. His choice of words and his style of sentence construction is consummate on every level.

Other than that, the whole account is Gibbon's perspective of the Roman Empire on a strict level. While most will concur with him on the insanity of the likes of say, Caligula, Nero; or the politically cunning inclinations of Augustus, his treatment of Christianity is open to debate. Gibbon places Christianity at the top in his list of the factors that could possibly have accelerated the empire towards decadence and its ultimate disintegration. Though this can be true on some accounts, he offers no clear explanation on how the Eastern empire could have carried on for more centuries with the religion at its very centre. It's an unwritten edict that the Byzantines were more passionate about Jesus than Western christendom.

Also, in some pages, Gibbon argues that the Roman emperors, say Marcus Aurelius for example, never really would have had an inclination towards persecuting christians on grounds of political gains. For Gibbon argues that the political elite of Rome were well aware of the fact that some kind of religion maintained social order. But his arguments are at considerable, if not complete, loggerheads with the several accounts from other historians that Rome continued to persecute Christianity until Constantine.

Persecution of Christianity might necessarily not have completely been primary disdain for the christian concept which totally conflicts with the Roman edicts of deifying dead emperors. Christianity came in handy for rogue emperors to have this sect of minorities scapegoated for their own excesses (remember Nero's fire?) or to appease the minds of a disgruntled majority which preferred to suspect them.

Finally, his stand that the "whole" empire prospered and preferred Roman rule in the age of the five good emperors is open to debate. Pax Romana might have worked for the Italian mainland at best, but not necessarily in provinces even as close as, say, Gaul.

Gibbons Decline and fall of Rome.......2007-03-11

This is the definitive History of the Empire from the first emperor (Agustus or Octavian, if you wish). However given the time and hence style of English, it was written in it is not for the faint hearted. Stick with it though and it is a very rewarding reference book which you will have for life.

One thing I fail to understand is what Amazon sells Vols 1-3 and 4-6 as seperate items. By the lot in one go otherwise it's a bit like owning the old testement bible and not having set eyes on the New Testement.!!

Dramatic and Informative audio book version.......2007-03-09

Philip Madoc convincingly relates Gibbon's great insights into the history and significance of the final centuries of the Roman Empire in this 6 CD set. Abridged by neccesity, nevertheless Neville Jason comments between Gibbon's passage recited by Philip Madoc, and fills the gaps with a coherent narration. The whole production flows smoothly and dramatically, quite easy to follow. This is one of the most worthwhile audio book puchases I've ever made.

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: (In 3 Volumes) (Allen Lane History)

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Hard to Read
Understand that any civilization may fail.
MISUNDERSTANDING OF BYZANTIUM
Considered the most scholarly collection of Gibbon's work
Overrated

The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: (In 3 Volumes) (Allen Lane History)
Edward Gibbon , and David P. Womersley
Manufacturer: Penguin Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0713991240

Book Description

In the greatest work of history in the English language, Edward Gibbon compresses thirteen turbulent centuries into a gripping epic narrative. It is history in the grand eighteenth-century manner, a well-researched drama charged with insight, irony, and incisive character analysis. In elegant prose, Gibbon presents both the broad pattern of events and the significant revealing detail. He delves into religion, politics, sexuality, and social mores with equal authority and aplomb. While subsequent research revealed minor factual errors about the early Empire, Gibbon's bold vision, witty descriptions of a vast cast of characters, and readiness to display his own beliefs and prejudices result in an astonishing work of history and literature, at once powerfully intelligent and enormously entertaining.

Based on David Womersley's definitive three-volume Penguin Classics edition of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, this abridgement contains complete chapters from all three volumes, linked by extended bridging passages, vividly capture the style, the argument, and the architecture of the whole work.

Customer Reviews:

Hard to Read.......2006-11-11

Not what I was expecting. Very hard to read as it was written back in the dark ages and the english used is tough.

Understand that any civilization may fail........2006-02-24

Gibbon is one of the first historians of the Enlightenment. He does not have a favorable opinion of Christianity or the times he lived. This bias does not detract from this book. Nor is this book an effective argument against Christianity. His thesis is Christianity helped bring down Rome. The Christian mindset made it impossible to defend their empire in a way similar to how they made their empire. If you lose your basic traditions your empire will crumble. An excellent book, a must read.

MISUNDERSTANDING OF BYZANTIUM.......2005-06-29

Historians agree today that this book is responsible for the modern misunderstanding of Byzantium. Think of only what the labeling "Byzantine" means today. If you want to know more about Byzantium start with one of the books on the empire by Sir Steven Runciman.

Considered the most scholarly collection of Gibbon's work.......2005-06-06

I do not recommend buying an edition of "The Decline and Fall" based upon price alone, because for many reasons, which will become clearer to you after reading this complicated and scholarly work, the editions vary in content and price, nor does price alone guarantee quality.

For many hours prior to purchasing, I researched the numerous editions offered by different publishers and read reviews, and discovered a consensus among Gibbon fans in favor of Womersley's unabridged edition, in part because it includes a complete and unmodernized text, Gibbon's own comments and notes, and his famous Vindication, a final and thorough answer to scurrilous critics of his time. All of this is provided at a quite reasonable price, considering the length of the work (in excess of 1,300 pages), albeit in soft cover which I find makes a book easier to read, if slightly less durable.

I recommend buying this new edition from Amazon, instead of the used editions also offered here, because many of them, I discovered after investigating, are not the same as this one I am reviewing (ISBN 0-14-043393-7, which is Volume I). Like I said, there are many editions of Gibbon's masterpiece floating about, old and new, of varying quality and content. The vendors' failure to disclose the ISBN in their descriptions prohibits any purchase by the discriminating. Just pay the seventeen or so bucks for the new book, which is dirt cheap for a work of this magnitude.

There should be no need to defend Gibbon nor his work, which is simply the best I have yet read. I loved history as a boy, even while reading the simple and often stupid books offered in school. Imagine how much more I enjoyed history written by such a master of prose as Gibbon, the most thorough, meticulous and honest historian I have yet encountered.

We owe a debt of gratitude to a historian who has perused enormous quantities of ancient texts in Latin and Greek and other languages, such as would confound the vast majority of readers today, and with his formidable powers of intellect, analyzed their veracity, by comparing one against the other, and judged keenly of their worth. Gibbon had for his time a vast encyclopedic knowledge, for by his own admission, he devoted his life to reading. Gibbon's love was not among humans, but among books. He possessed an excellent understanding of government, which is the more understandable when you discover he served as a Member of Parliament for a number of years. His grasp of military science is explained in part by his service in the militia as an officer. To all these things, we must add an innate, profound understanding of human nature.

Why bother with Gibbon? Why not read the original, the ancient and medieval writers, from whom Gibbon based his work? That is a good question that I asked myself. Here is the answer. We cannot trust the ancient writers to be truthful or accurate in every event. For one thing, they sometimes contradict each other, which means one or both are lying. Also, they leave out important details, which can be pieced together by circumstantial evidence, if you have found it by exhaustive research.

This is where Gibbon comes in. He has performed exhaustive research that consumed a large portion of his scholarly and reflective lifetime. Gibbon is no fool, and never succumbs to the usual vices of enthusiasm or its opposite, cynicism. He is calm, rational, penetrative; just the guide and the mentor you want. He never takes an ancient historian at face value without considering their motives, prejudices, passions, and even their personal histories. Gibbon has studied not just the history, but the historians, and the history of the historian's countries. Not only has Gibbon accumulated and summarized the ancient and medieval texts, but interpreted and analyzed with his considerable deductive powers, to form a whole that is greater than the parts. Thus a novice does better with Gibbon than with the original. Gibbon's copious notes explain where has made interpretations, leaving you free to form different conclusions, should you desire.

Some reviewers are peeved that Gibbon suffers an opinion that disagrees with their own, and for this reason alone, they degrade his work. I experience the same treatment by those who are alarmed that my reviews have an actual opinion instead of being a rubber stamp marked "PERFECTION". If this intolerant philosophy were carried on, then no-one should dare express an unseasonable opinion of anything at all, and we should all become a tribe of dullards. Of course Gibbon expresses many opinions, some the inevitable product of his country, class and times; and this is the mark of intellectual honesty. You should never read without a critical mind, and should be prepared to disagree with an author on some issues, as I do with Gibbon, while agreeing with him on others. I especially favor his ideas concerning the causes and effects of the rise of Christianity, many of which can be observed today.

Look to find a better history than this, in any language, written during any time since the advent of letters. Look far and wide, as long as you like... and then revisit Gibbon, and see whether you have yet found an equal.

Overrated.......2004-07-16

I enjoyed this book, but some of the praise for it ("the best history book ever written in the English language!!") is over the top. It is no coincidence that intellectuals have embraced this history of the Roman empire above all others - the author is openly skeptical of Christianity and sympathetic to barbarians.

Book Description

Why did Rome fall? Vicious barbarian invasions during the fifth century resulted in the cataclysmic end of the world's most powerful civilization, and a 'dark age' for its conquered peoples. Or did it? The dominant view of this period today is that the 'fall of Rome' was a largely peaceful transition to Germanic rule, and the start of a positive cultural transformation. Bryan Ward-Perkins encourages every reader to think again by reclaiming the drama and violence of the last days of the Roman world, and reminding us of the very real horrors of barbarian occupation. Attacking new sources with relish and making use of a range of contemporary archaeological evidence, he looks at both the wider explanations for the disintegration of the Roman world and also the consequences for the lives of everyday Romans, in a world of economic collapse, marauding barbarians, and the rise of a new religious orthodoxy. He also looks at how and why successive generations have understood this period differently, and why the story is still so significant today.

Customer Reviews:

Decline and Fall.......2007-10-01

I thought this was a good little book that presents archaeological evidence for the old fashion "decline and fall of western civilization" viewpoint. He makes the interesting observation that the decline did not occur uniformly over the whole empire, and in the east, it did not really occur at all. It also seems from his evidence that the loss of technology in the west happened over 50-100 years, which depending on how you look at it, is or is not a collapse. I would recommend this book, and a more critical reading of books focusing on the whole empire(in most cases the more literary eastern empire).

One Man's Civilisation Is Another Man's Third Reich.......2007-08-16

Professor Ward-Perkins has done an interesting, if short, book on a majestic theme - the fall of one of history's greatest empires, and its aftermath.

His main concern is to debunk a notion, apparently fashionable among historians, which I'm not sure many other people ever shared - the idea that the Fall of Rome wasn't such a big deal. Apparently, there is an historical school which regards the whole business as a mostly peaceful transition from the tail end of the Ancient World into the beginning of Medieval Europe. He collects an impressive pile of evidence that it was far from peaceful, and was indeed pretty catastrophic for many of those who had to live through it. Roman civilisation did not die of natural causes. It was killed, and mainly by the military force of the Barbarians.

Well, so far, so good. I doubt if the inhabitants of Italy, Gaul and Spain, who spent most of the years from 405 to 420 having one set of barbarians after another marching and counter-marching all over their homelands, would have any trouble agreeing with Ward-Perkins. Over the next couple of centuries many others would have cause to feel the same way. Nor was this temporary. For several centuries more, comforts that the Romans took for granted would become available only to a tiny few, and sometimes not at all. Pottery making virtually died out in Britain until about 700, tiled roofs, previously common, were little-known in the Middle Ages, and even coinage gave way to barter over wide areas. In short, standards of living, as usually measured, took a prolonged nosedive.

And yet - -. This is all very well, but if the Empire's fall was such a terrible loss to those who lived in it, how come it was never restored? The Chinese Empire "fell" lots of times, but was always rebuilt. When Rome fell, it stayed fallen, and its people seem to have soon become reconciled to doing without it.

Nor can the Barbarians be held solely responsible for what happened. In Asia Minor, which was virtually untouched by barbarian invasion, Colin McEvedy's "New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History" shows four cities - Ephesus, Miletus, Sardis, Smyrna - of between 15,000 and 50,000 people in AD 528. On the map for AD737, not one of them remains. Here at least, the Barbarians were not to blame for the decline, and other factors need to be considered.

At times, Ward-Perkins himself gives significant hints at this. He quotes ancient sources to the effect that, during Alaric's siege of Rome in 408/9, "almost all the slaves that were in Rome poured out of the city to join the Barbarians". And nine years earlier, when the rebel general Tribigild marched across Asia Minor, then a peaceful and prosperous region, his force was soon swelled by "such a mass of slaves and outcasts that the whole of Asia was in great danger, while Lydia was in utter confusion, with almost everyone fleeing to the coast and sailing across to the islands or elsewhere with their whole families". Clearly not all the Empire's subjects loved it.

But perhaps the most revealing incident is from 393, when "the Roman aristocrat Symmachus brought a group of Saxon prisoners to Rome, intending them to slaughter each other in gladiatorial games in honour of his son. However, before they were publicly exhibited twenty-nine of them committed suicide by the only means available to them - by strangling each other with their bare hands! For us, their terrible death represents a courageous act of defiance, but Symmachus viewed their suicide as the action of "a group of men viler than Spartacus", which had been sent to test him. With the self-satisfaction of which only Roman aristocrats were capable, he compared his own philosophical response to the event to the calm of Socrates when faced with adversity."

If Symmachus was at all representative of its ruling class, one can easily get an inkling of why the Empire failed, and see why not only the Barbarians, but many of its own less privileged subjects, might not have been sorry to see it go. One man's civilisation can all too easily be another man's "Third Reich", and one may suspect that many were ready enough to try and get along without the Roman State, even if it did mean having to make their own pottery.

Probably not the Best Book on This Topic to Start With.......2007-07-15

First let me disclose that I know very little about this topic; that's why I picked up the book. If, like me, you are looking for a good introduction to the topic, this is not the best book to start with. The author is writing for an informed audience.

That said, I did learn a lot by reading it. I was amazed to learn how much archeologist can determine with little more than old pottery, coins and graffitti. I was surprised to learn that the empire was far more complex and fragmented than I had previously believed. I also got a good picture of how little we know about the Roman Empire, how many questions there still are, and how much debate continues. It seems the question, "Did Rome FALL?" is still unanswered.

Ultimately, I learned that "The Fall of the Roman Empire" has become one of the great myths of the modern era. We interpret and teach it in the way that best reinforces our own values.

The Roman empire wasn't "transformed"; it fell, hard.......2007-07-04

I was surprised to read in the introduction to this book that it is currently somewhat fashionable to believe that the end of the western Roman empire was a gentle transition to a new form of government, without too much disruption. The main point of this book is that this is utter B.S. (and also that the proponents of this view have ulterior political motives). The author's arguments are convincing and are based on extensive archaeological evidence. Apparently when the Roman empire fell, the economy collapsed to levels not seen since long before the Roman empire, and took many centuries to recover. Items such as coins, roof tiles, and good quality pottery virtually disappear from the archaeological record. Entire industries were forgotten in some places, and literacy plunged to the point where most people of status could not even sign their own name. It is also likely that there was a massive depopulation, although this is harder to prove conclusively.

For someone who is concerned for the future of our present civilization, this book gives a vivid account of some of what can go wrong, and especially the vulnerabilities resulting from economic specialization. It is an unusually quick read for a history book, although I might have liked a more detailed analysis of how things fell apart and how they later recovered (to the extent that this is possible given the limited evidence). The book assumes some knowledge of the history of this period; if you don't know say the difference between a Visigoth and an Ostrogoth, you might not understand some parts (although these are not the most important parts). The chronology at the end gives a super-crash course. If you want more background, I recommend the book by Peter Heather.

clear explanation of why western roman empire went down!.......2007-05-13

there are many theories why that mighty Roman empire went down.
but after i read this book,now i have clear idea.the author explains what happened during fall of empire by both archaelogical and historical documents.also this book said when middle ages begins, everything about
what civilisation offer to people was virtually gone! after i read this book,i have fear in my mind what if this modern civilisation collapse,like the Roman empire 1600years ago...

The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire: From the First Century A.D. to the Third (Johns Hopkins Paperbacks)

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Pellucid analysis, and perhaps relevant to our own time?
Great explanation how a world empire defended its citizens
Eye-opening analysis
Ancient history for current events
An excellent overview of Roman imperial strategy

The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire: From the First Century A.D. to the Third (Johns Hopkins Paperbacks)
Edward N. Luttwak
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0801821584

Book Description

'A fascinating book, well written and forcefully argued...Luttwak's formulations are as refreshing as they are convincing... He has done for Roman historians what they have not done for themselves.' --Z. Yavetz, New Republic

Customer Reviews:

Pellucid analysis, and perhaps relevant to our own time?.......2007-04-17

Luttwak's book is not only a marvelous addition to any library concerning strategy or Rome, but it may also be, in Barbara Tuchman's phrase, "A Distant Mirror". Speaking of the last phase of the Roman Empire (i.e. the late third and fourth century CE), Luttwak says "The machinery of empire now became increasingly self-serving, with its tax-collectors, administrators, and soldiers of much greater use to one another than to society at large...."

Great explanation how a world empire defended its citizens.......2005-05-28

I do not agree that this book is only for specialists. I am of the opinion that it is a book for history lovers. And, moreover, it is for any person who wishes to understand how a highly developed society managed to defend its way of living. It most valuable because it depicts the success of the Roman system in the first two centuries of our era. The Third Century depicts the problem of a World power which has began its decline.
Reading the book you understand the Roman system, and you learn how a society must be prepared for selfdefense, and even for attack, if it wants to survive.
If you translate this book into the idiom of the early XXIst Century, you realize how our declining Western Civilization must behave in order to protect itself, and its inhabitants, from its external -and even internal- threats.

Eye-opening analysis.......2005-05-19

This book is a very interesting analysis for everybody who wants to know more about the strategy of the Roman Empire. While also very accessible to non-experts, even experts or people who have read a lot about Rome will learn a lot and see things a new way.

Mr. Luttwak splits the time of the roman empire into time periods of same strategy. This strategy changed a few times through the centuries.

One of the most interesting points is that the Roman Empire did have trouble expanding its Empire beyond the size of Augustus Principate because the roman army could not apply its full military force in the border areas because of the evironment there. The roman army's core was the heavy infanterie and with this the legions were strong and hard to stop or defeat but they were also slow. Therefore in areas where enemies had something to defend (cities, fields, etc), the power of the roman army (also using their siege capabilities) was very high and therefore it could apply this potential military might either in direct military success or into political power which then helped the romans to create client states around their empire which served as buffer states against any potential enemy attack.

But the forested middle Europe, the desert areas of Arabia and North Africa and the plains of Iran and Ukraine were wide and the people who lived there did not depend on a city structure which they needed to defend. Therefore they could avoid a direct confrontation with the Romans (which was their main strength) and apply their way of fighting to the Romans. The Roman army could still penetrate these areas, but only under above average costs and had trouble keeping this area under their control. Examples of this are the losses of Crassus against the Parthians and the losses of 3 legions against the Cherusci in the Teutoburg Forest.

Very good book!

Ancient history for current events.......2004-09-22

Although much of this book may be at a level of specificity of interest only to Roman history buffs, Luttwak's assessments of the Roman Empire's strategic strengths and weaknesses has much relevance to the modern United States, which occupies an historical position not unlike Rome's at the beginning of the Empire. For example, issues such as the efficient use of a relatively small professional army, or the maintenance of client states, are directly relevant to the modern world. Each section begins with a sufficiently adequate historical summary that readers not yet familiar with Roman history will not be lost.

An excellent overview of Roman imperial strategy.......2003-03-09

This is a unique work in that it tries to explain an overall strategic picture of Roman Imperial defense through the principate and into the turbulent third century when the empire as a political entity was in real jepordy of being swept away by internal and external threats. In somewhat technical terms, he goes on to explain how Roman Imperial security evolved over time starting with the early principate. Then going into the Flavian, Antonine and Severan eras. Luttwak does a great job in outlining the threat, security measures and strategies of each different era. Extensive notes allow for additional study. Even though written almost 30 years ago, it is still very relevant. It is striking how simmilar the strategic problems faced by ancient Rome are today faced by the U.S. My only critisism is that he does not go into any detail of internal security measures or how these relate to strategic defense. Otherwise an excellent work.

Average customer rating:

biased garbage!
History at its best
Excellent historical book
Par excellence.
Excellent and Epic

The Greco-Persian Wars
Peter Green
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520203135

Amazon.com

Popular classicist Peter Green (author of Alexander of Macedon, 356-323 B.C.) offers an engrossing narrative of the wars between the Greeks and the Persians. This is real David-and-Goliath material, with the scrappy, feuding city-states of ancient Greece fending off a much larger aggressor. The conflicts themselves are a kind of struggle for the soul of Western civilization: "On the one side, the towering, autocratic figure of the Great King; on the other, the voluntary and imperfect discipline of proudly independent citizens." The Greeks surprisingly fare better in these encounters, and make themselves legends on the plains of Marathon (192 Greek casualties versus 6,400 Persians), during the heroic last stand at Thermopylae, and elsewhere.

The Greco-Persian Wars is full of wonderful stories featuring bravery, cowardice, and treachery. Unlike so many of his fellow historians, Green understands the importance of a dramatic narrative, sometimes employing novelistic techniques to relate what happened. It's not an overstatement to say that the course of Western history might have taken a strikingly unfamiliar turn if these battles had had different outcomes. Green is a natural storyteller, and The Greco-Persian Wars is a delight to read, even for readers who have no background or special interest in the classical world. --John J. Miller

Book Description

This is a reissue, with a new introduction and an update to the bibliography, of the original edition, published in 1970 as The Year of Salamis in England and as Xerxes at Salamis in the U.S.
The long and bitter struggle between the great Persian Empire and the fledgling Greek states reached its high point with the extraordinary Greek victory at Salamis in 480 B.C. The astonishing sea battle banished forever the specter of Persian invasion and occupation. Peter Green brilliantly retells this historic moment, evoking the whole dramatic sweep of events that the Persian offensive set in motion. The massive Greek victory, despite the Greeks' inferior numbers, opened the way for the historic evolution of the Greek states in a climate of creativity, independence, and democracy, one that provided a model and an inspiration for centuries to come.
Green's accounts of both Persian and Greek strategies are clear and persuasive; equally convincing are his everyday details regarding the lives of soldiers, statesmen, and ordinary citizens. He has first-hand knowledge of the land and sea he describes, as well as full command of original sources and modern scholarship. With a new foreword, The Greco-Persian Wars is a book that lovers of fine historical writing will greet with pleasure.

Customer Reviews:

biased garbage!.......2007-08-09

Obviously mr. peter green has some hostility toward the the persian (iranian)culture. Right at the intro, he goes on about how achaemenid persia gave no contribution to the world at all! well, for one, the persian court was a frequent learning place for the greek scholars for at least 200 years.(according to herodotus himself), postal system,tolerating free practice of religon and culture, no use of slavery, intricate governmet system(which completely was a failure when greeks attempted after alexander's barbaric conquest),pioneering army technological advances( check out "persian army" by nick sekunda), building great roads connecting the empire(two third of the known world then)... not to mention that alexander and the rest of the greeks burned down and destroyed alot of persian literature, and scentific recordings, alot of persian achievements were destroyed. Therefor, what is left today is known to be the greek's acheivements to their credits without a solid proof for the most part. only the battles that the greeks had won are grossly portrayed which to the iranians was nothing but an insignificant setback, untill the barbaric advances of alexander ofcourse. Even the bible praises cyrus, darius, xerxes, and artaxerxes for the humane, and generous actions of the persian emperors especially to the jews. mr. peter green get a clue! there was a reason that the persians were always envied by the greeks, and there was a reason that the greeks call the persian emperors lord of asia!

History at its best.......2007-03-25

History books should be interesting and supported by facts. Peter Green's Greco-Persian Wars scores well on both counts. He combines the historical fact with a narrative that maintains the reader's interest.

Excellent historical book.......2007-03-21

The book writes like a story. It is beautifully written and well researched. Anyone who is wanting to know the clash of the Greeks and the Persians, the battle of Marathon, the Hot Gates (a.k.a., the famous battle for the West) and the aftermath that leads to rising power of the great Greek empire, this is a must book. Mr. Green truly knows his Greek history and is not shy in making the narrative alive and reader friendly. Five stars all the way!

Par excellence........2007-01-26

This is quite simply THE book to read to thoroughly understand the conflict between Classical Greece and Imperial Persia. It rivals Kagan's "The Peloponnesian War" in depth and detail. And while not quite the break neck read of Holland's "Persian Fire" it compensates with an eminently readable style and makes Cartledges's "Thermopylae" look anemic and cadaverous even given the significantly more limited scope of the latter's work.

Green does an exceptional job of comparing and contrasting the ancient sources of information on the period, Herodotus, Plutarch, Aeschylus etc. and weaves them together with the modern scholarship of Burn and Pritchett etc. while injecting his own theories to provide a narrative that brings both the players and their times vividly to life.

Green takes Herodotus to task for bias and obvious propagandistic nonsense early and often and with common sense and logic corrects many of the more egregious errors of the primary sources, in particular the size of Xerxes army, specifically the probable confusion between chiliarchs (commander of 1,000 men) and myriarchs (commander of 10,000 men). Using Munro and Maurice among others he corrects the likely decimal error in Herodotus's calculation of the size of Xerxes army. Reducing it from a phantasmagorical 1.7 million men to more credible 170,000 infantry with another 40,000 cavalry, quisling Greeks and miscellaneous others.

Add in no small amount of irreverent levity and you have the perfect tract on what Thomas Cahill (How the Irish Saved Civilization) refers to as a "hinge" of history.

In two words, BUY IT!

Excellent and Epic.......2006-12-14

I recently bought a copy of Prof. Green's book The Greco-Persian wars and I could not put it down. The book is amazing and well-worth every penny I spent on it. Just the account of Thermopylae had me on the edge of my seat and filled with excitment and pride in what these barve 300 Spartans and their allies did for Greece and western civilization. Green's love-affair with Heroditus is quite evident and was a great use to him in this book. I loved Green's Alexander to Actium and I greatly love the Greco-Persian Wars. Buy this book and you will not be disappointed. I highly recommend this book

Average customer rating:

Solid history with storytelling flair
Amazing for any history buff and more
A sublime account of the demise of the "Greek emperor" and the fall of his city
strongly recommended
Probably very good

The Fall of Constantinople 1453 (Canto)
Steven Runciman
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521398320

Book Description

This classic account shows how the fall of Constantinople in May 1453, after a siege of several weeks, came as a bitter shock to Western Christendom. The cityâ€™s plight had been neglected, and negligible help was sent in this crisis. To the Turks, victory not only brought a new imperial capital, but guaranteed that their empire would last. To the Greeks, the conquest meant the end of the civilisation of Byzantium, and led to the exodus of scholars stimulating the tremendous expansion of Greek studies in the European Renaissance.

Customer Reviews:

Solid history with storytelling flair.......2007-07-24

Sir Steven Runciman had an unique talent for conveying historical information with a flair. He did not convey history as a collection of unrelated facts to dates but instead provided all the color and nuances behind those facts and dates which gave them life. Only a few historians write in a way that transports the reader to the subject time, place, and people the way Sir Runciman has in this little volume.

The book is organized by describing the background and focusing on the last Emperor and Sultan Mehmet II as the key individuals in that background. It continues with a description of the weaknesses that prevented the west from providing efficacious help to Constantinople. Attention then turns to the siege and fall followed by an overview of the exodus of learned Byzantines to the west which helped to spark the renaissance.

A map of Constantinople and a pictorial depiction of the disposition of troops during the siege provides some detail for context. I would have liked more maps of the other geographical areas mentioned to provide the greater world context and that is my single critical point on this volume.

That so much information could be conveyed in so few pages with such brilliant flair is testament to his reputation. This is still the definitive work on the last years of Constantinople and the final fall of the Byzantine empire. It is a must have for ancient history libraries and a must read for historians wishing to communicate historical lessons in writing.

Amazing for any history buff and more.......2007-05-08

Runciman is academic yet lively, a rare combination that makes for a serious historical book that reads like a page-turning thriller/drama. Of course he is helped by the facts themselves. The story of the fall of Constantinople is one of those events in history that sounds like it was made up, because it is so picturesque. There are brooding Sultans, brothers strangling each other in competing for the throne, siege warfare, religious upheaval, dramatic sea battles, betrayal, the almost improbably anachronistic use of cannons and more.

The only fault I could find in the book is that sometimes he repeats himself in mentioning the same event in 2 chapters, each time in relation to a slightly different aspect of the story. But this he only does 5-6 times, everything else is great. He successfully builds up tension and is great at communicating the pathos of the events. The fall was seen as the end of a great civilisation stretching back thousands of years to ancient Rome. Reading the book you really feel the momentous nature of the events.

Runciman doesn't seem to like Mehmet II (the conquerer). I don't know enough of the history to tell if it's bias or whether he really was unusually cruel and despotic. I'm inclined toward the latter, for the facts speak for themselves. If other rulers of his day were similar (which they were!) this doesn't make him any more sympathetic.

This is a true classic of history. It's a real shame how unaware modern people are of Byzantium because our society is much more indebted to that civilisation than we think. This book is a sorely needed patch in this gap of knowledge.

A sublime account of the demise of the "Greek emperor" and the fall of his city.......2006-08-02

Exceedingly well written and utterly fascinating, Sir James Stevenson Runciman's classic account of the siege and fall of Constantinople manages to be thoroughly academically sound and highly entertaining at the same time. Steven Runciman doesn't just deliver the dry facts, which would be alright, no, he tells the story, which is much better. And he does it without forefeiting historical accuracy, and, blessedly, without drawing any politically motivated parallels to "modern" conflicts, be they religious, or political, or both.
This is one of the finest historical accounts I have ever read, and I recommend it 100%. It may be over 40 years old, but it is still unrivalled, the single greatest work on the subject in the English language.

strongly recommended.......2006-02-20

I strongly suggest to buy and read this book to all people interested in history in general.

I am a fan of history books, and I provilege high readable, well documented and general-picture-introducing books. This book satisfies all these criteria: it gives a full explanation of the context before and after the Empire's collapse, it is enjoyable to read, and it is well-grounded on the reports by witnesses from both parties (turks and christians).

This is my first book by Runciman, and I bet will not be the last.

Probably very good.......2006-02-02

I have not yet received this book from Amazon, so it is a little difficult to say what it is like. But I am sure it will be at least very good. Runciman is an excellent author.

Average customer rating:

A Definitive Tome

Roman Empire
Nigel Rodgers
Manufacturer: Lorenz Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0754816028

Book Description

A complete history of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, chronicling the story of the most influential civilization the world has ever known.

Customer Reviews:

A Definitive Tome.......2006-09-30

First of all, be warned that this IS a very good book, make NO mistake about it. Actually, it's a compilation (with additional material) of the first 2 smaller volumes by the same author.
Yet, it is SO much more.

I would have to classify this right up there alongside Gibbons Rise & Fall of the Roman Empire...only this book includes beautiful illustrations and artwork from the history of one of the greatest periods of mankind.

There are way too many pluses to go into detail about here, but if you take a few minutes to thumb through this book when you see it, you will most certainly want to add this to your library.

My wife teaches Latin, and finds this an invaluable source for teaching, discussion, and the culture that was Rome.

This is a POWERFUL work, and as we all know:
"Scientia est potentia"
(knowledge is power)

The Great Church in Captivity: A Study of the Patriarchate of Constantinople from the Eve of the Turkish Conquest to the Greek War of Independence (Cambridge Paperback Library)

Average customer rating:

Another great book by Steven Runciman
An Invaluable Resource
Best on the subject
A Must Read For Christian History Enthusiasts!
Enlightening

The Great Church in Captivity: A Study of the Patriarchate of Constantinople from the Eve of the Turkish Conquest to the Greek War of Independence (Cambridge Paperback Library)
Steven Runciman
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521313104

Book Description

This is Sir Steven Runcimanâ€™s established and widely admired classic account of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, first published in 1968. The Great Church, as the Greeks called the Orthodox Patriarchate, was the spiritual centre of the Byzantine world. The Churchâ€™s survival during the four centuries of Turkish rule which followed the fall of Constantinople bore witness to its strenght and to the unquenchable vitality of Hellenism. Sir Steven Runcimanâ€™s history of the Great Church in this period is written with scholarship, sympathy and style.

Customer Reviews:

Another great book by Steven Runciman.......2006-11-04

I'll be honest with you.The only reason I bought this book, was because I'd already read all of Runciman's "real" history books and just wanted to complete my collection.Church history and theology aren't exactly my cup of tea.So, I thought I'd open it, start reading and fall asleep after page....ix.But I was wrong of course.I underestimated Runciman's ability to make even a debate about the role of Epiklesis in Transubstantiation appear interesting.No,really,I'm being serious.This is a well-written and interesting book that provides an answer, from a unique perspective, to the question everyone has after reading the "Fall of Constantinople": "Well,what happened next?"
We also get a deeper insight on Runciman's own ideas about religion and theology that we only catch a glimpse of, in his most ...ermm, "secular" works.
This book also piqued my interest on a more personal level as well, being (nominally) Orthodox.For anyone who has read his books, it's not a secret where Runciman' s sympathies lay - and he certainly tries to explain and excuse many "unfortunate" acts and decisions on behalf of the Orthodox Church.But be warned - this isn't a rose-tinted hagiography - the story of the "Great Church" in "captivity" becomes literally nauseating at times, and it doesn't lack in cynicism and petty squabling.It certainly didn't make me want to get rid of that pesky "nominally" in front of my religion....

An Invaluable Resource.......2006-03-03

It is rare to find a work of excellent scholarship that is also very readable. Runciman has once again achieved this result.

Best on the subject.......2006-02-02

This excellent monograph from the most objective world leader on the subject, is without parallel. A must read for all those interested in the bad but not-that-bad fate of the Orthodox Church under the Ottoman Turks.

A Must Read For Christian History Enthusiasts!.......2004-12-27

This gifted British historian captures you with his prose and holds on to you with his glorious tale and historiography which is second to none. A must read for anyone interested in the Orthodox Church or Christianity. He deals with his subject with a sense of empathy without losing his objectivity. A must buy!!!!!

Enlightening.......2004-04-08

The dilemma facing English speakers of Greek decent is that there are so few books written in English on Greek medieval history, and I can think of none written specifically on the Orthodox Church during the turkocratia, except of course Runciman's "The Great Church in Captivity". At first, I was skeptical. After all, Runciman is an Englishman and I was leery about potential ignorance or bias which could seep its way into his book. No need to be concerned. Runcimen's book is a well researched and a thorough history on the subject. I could hardly put it down.

Generally, the book was easy to read and very informative. One chapter deals heavily with theology, and finding the subject brain numbing, I must admit, I skipped over most it. No matter, the balance of the book, which deals with Church history, was very enlightening. I do have one issue with Runcimen's account, however. Greek history teaches that during the captivity, Greek children were taught Greek by the clergy, under covert conditions, usually at night in underground caves, so as to not alert the Turks. By doing this, the Greek people were able to maintain their identity through language and religion, and resist turkification. This is a fact of paramount significance to the Greek people, a legend of heroism passed down from generation to generation, yet there is no mention of it by Runciman. Even though this account was omitted, there is so much content in this book, that I highly recommend it to those interested in the history of the Orthodox Church.

To Greeks: A bit of warning to the wide-eyed and uninitiated: You were not taught this history at home or in Sunday school, so you may be shocked by some of this. I was.

Average customer rating:

HANGING

Rome Rising

Good read

Worth the price for a single lesson of history

Sadly, Penguin has abridged Polybius in this edition

The Rise of the Roman Empire (Penguin Classics)
Polybius
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Rome | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books
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The Fall of the Roman Republic: Six Lives (Penguin Classics)

Livy: The Early History of Rome, Books I-V (Penguin Classics)

The Jugurthine War / The Conspiracy of Catiline (Penguin Classics)

The History of Rome from Its Foundation, Books XXI-XXX: The War with Hannibal (Penguin Classics)

Makers of Rome: Nine Lives (Penguin Classics)

ASIN: 0140443622

Customer Reviews:

HANGING.......2006-11-03

Great Book....slow starter...leaves you hanging at the end. To bad we have so litle from appian...

Rome Rising.......2006-08-24

Our times can be best understood from those that have come prior. Reading Polybius's The Rise of the Roman Empire is one of the good historical sources to assist in this process. A Greek statesman, who saw the rise of Roman first hand and wrote about it.

Greece was waning in 200 BC and Roman was rising and the Mediterranean gained a new empires. His book is more a personal overview and historical discussion of the events in tune to Tocqueville's Democracy in America, but less a study like the brilliant Capitalism and Civilization in the 15th to 18th Century by Braudel. If you like reading the Roman histories from Livy, this will give you an understanding of the early part of the history, while still a republic. Learn about the effect of Hannibal and the destruction of Carthage in 146 BC.

It is just sad that a lot of his other writings have been lost to us.

Good read.......2005-11-03

As stated by previous reviewer Polybius treatment of the encounter between the Roman Commander Regulus and the Spartan General Xanthippus (leading the Carthaginians), and the "lessons learned" from their encounter justifies buying this book.You can still learn from others mistakes.

Worth the price for a single lesson of history.......2003-07-29

Polybius treatment of the encounter between the Roman Commander Regulus and the Spartan General Xanthippus (leading the Carthaginians), and the "lessons learned" from their encounter justifies buying this book. The rest is gravy.

Sadly, Penguin has abridged Polybius in this edition.......2003-05-25

It is unfortunate that, despite the fact that some of Polybius's Histories have been lost over time, Penguin made the decision to cut out even more from the text that has luckily survived down to us through the ages. To make matters worse, the introduction doesn't really state clearly what exactly has been cut.

Next time I want to read one of the classics, I'll go immediately to Loeb. It's worth the extra cash. Anyone want my Penguin copy?

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