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Fall Of Rome and the End of Civilization

Ward-Perkins, Bryan

Rome's end has been sanitised and neutralised by historians in recent years: decline has been transformation. Likewise, the Germanic tribes did not battle their way to conquest, they were peacefully accommodated. In this fascinating study Bryan Ward-Perkins takes issue with this comfortable reworking of history, reminding historians and general readers alike of the horrors of invasion and war, with the firm conviction `that the coming of the Germanic peoples was very unpleasant for the Roman population, and that the long-term effects of the dissolution of the empire were dramatic'. Ward-Perkins reminds us of the great technological wonders and comforts of the Roman age, not least of which was running water and the mass production of everyday items of convenience, which, across most of the empire, were lost for centuries. How can this, in tandem with invasion by aggressive and terrifying hoards and the loss of government and order, not have affected the Romanised population of Europe? In the first half of the study Ward-Perkins discusses the events that contributed to Rome's fall, such as the spiralling decline of the Roman military machine due to successive defeats, a decrease in numbers and in the taxation required to pay the soldiers, civil war and social unrest, and numerous ineffective emperors. Land-hungry Vandals, Gauls, Goths and the like would have been foolish not to have taken advantage. In the second, larger part of the study Bryan Ward-Perkins turns his attention to the great cultural gulf between the Germanic invaders and the Romanised empire. He argues that the archaeological evidence insists that the transition could not have been painless, but that every level of society was affected by `the disappearance of comfort'. Drawing heavily on archaeolgical evidence, Ward-Perkins explores changes in housing, in pottery and other everyday items; even the size of cattle diminished. Other changes included the loss of trade, stability, security and money, and a decline in writing and all that education and literacy encouraged. Finally, the study asks if this was the `end of a civilisation', and why it is that the opinions of historians on this matter were so coloured by the events of the 20th century, especially the World Wars and German aggression. This is an excellent study, extraordinarily refreshing in its challenge of an increasingly complacent and staid rewriting of a crucial period in European history. Its accessibility to a wide readership is also ensured by an equally superb price. 239p, b/w illus, maps (Oxford UP 2005, Pb 2006)

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