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The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire #5
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 5 of 6
The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, a major literary achievement of the 18th century published in six volumes, was written by the celebrated English historian Edward Gibbon. The books cover the period of the Roman Empire after Marcus Aurelius, from just before 180 to 1453 and beyond, concluding in 1590. They take as their material the behavior and decisions that led to the decay and eventual fall of the Roman Empire in the East and West, offering an explanation for why the Roman Empire fell. Gibbon is sometimes called the first “modern historian of ancient Rome.” By virtue of its mostly objective approach and highly accurate use of reference material, Gibbon’s work was adopted as a model for the methodologies of 19th and 20th century historians.
707 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1788
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760 people want to read
About the author
Edward Gibbon
2,002 books603 followersEdward Gibbon (8 May 1737 – 16 January 1794) was an English historian and Member of Parliament. His most important work, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788. The Decline and Fall is known for the quality and irony of its prose, its use of primary sources, and its open criticism of organised religion.
Gibbon returned to England in June 1765. His father died in 1770, and after tending to the estate, which was by no means in good condition, there remained quite enough for Gibbon to settle fashionably in London at 7 Bentinck Street, independent of financial concerns. By February 1773, he was writing in earnest, but not without the occasional self-imposed distraction. He took to London society quite easily, and joined the better social clubs, including Dr. Johnson's Literary Club, and looked in from time to time on his friend Holroyd in Sussex. He succeeded Oliver Goldsmith at the Royal Academy as 'professor in ancient history' (honorary but prestigious). In late 1774, he was initiated a freemason of the Premier Grand Lodge of England. And, perhaps least productively in that same year, he was returned to the House of Commons for Liskeard, Cornwall through the intervention of his relative and patron, Edward Eliot. He became the archetypal back-bencher, benignly "mute" and "indifferent," his support of the Whig ministry invariably automatic. Gibbon's indolence in that position, perhaps fully intentional, subtracted little from the progress of his writing.
After several rewrites, with Gibbon "often tempted to throw away the labours of seven years," the first volume of what would become his life's major achievement, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was published on 17 February 1776. Through 1777, the reading public eagerly consumed three editions for which Gibbon was rewarded handsomely: two-thirds of the profits amounting to approximately £1,000. Biographer Leslie Stephen wrote that thereafter, "His fame was as rapid as it has been lasting." And as regards this first volume, "Some warm praise from David Hume overpaid the labour of ten years."
Volumes II and III appeared on 1 March 1781, eventually rising "to a level with the previous volume in general esteem." Volume IV was finished in June 1784; the final two were completed during a second Lausanne sojourn (September 1783 to August 1787) where Gibbon reunited with his friend Deyverdun in leisurely comfort. By early 1787, he was "straining for the goal" and with great relief the project was finished in June. Gibbon later wrote:
It was on the day, or rather the night, of 27 June 1787, between the hours of eleven and twelve, that I wrote the last lines of the last page in a summer-house in my garden. ... I will not dissemble the first emotions of joy on the recovery of my freedom, and perhaps the establishment of my fame. But my pride was soon humbled, and a sober melancholy was spread over my mind by the idea that I had taken my everlasting leave of an old and agreeable companion, and that, whatsoever might be the future date of my history, the life of the historian must be short and precarious.
Volumes IV, V, and VI finally reached the press in May 1788, their publication having been delayed since March so it could coincide with a dinner party celebrating Gibbon's 51st birthday (the 8th). Mounting a bandwagon of praise for the later volumes were such contemporary luminaries as Adam Smith, William Robertson, Adam Ferguson, Lord Camden, and Horace Walpole. Smith remarked that Gibbon's triumph had positioned him "at the very head of [Europe's] literary tribe."
Gibbon returned to England in June 1765. His father died in 1770, and after tending to the estate, which was by no means in good condition, there remained quite enough for Gibbon to settle fashionably in London at 7 Bentinck Street, independent of financial concerns. By February 1773, he was writing in earnest, but not without the occasional self-imposed distraction. He took to London society quite easily, and joined the better social clubs, including Dr. Johnson's Literary Club, and looked in from time to time on his friend Holroyd in Sussex. He succeeded Oliver Goldsmith at the Royal Academy as 'professor in ancient history' (honorary but prestigious). In late 1774, he was initiated a freemason of the Premier Grand Lodge of England. And, perhaps least productively in that same year, he was returned to the House of Commons for Liskeard, Cornwall through the intervention of his relative and patron, Edward Eliot. He became the archetypal back-bencher, benignly "mute" and "indifferent," his support of the Whig ministry invariably automatic. Gibbon's indolence in that position, perhaps fully intentional, subtracted little from the progress of his writing.
After several rewrites, with Gibbon "often tempted to throw away the labours of seven years," the first volume of what would become his life's major achievement, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was published on 17 February 1776. Through 1777, the reading public eagerly consumed three editions for which Gibbon was rewarded handsomely: two-thirds of the profits amounting to approximately £1,000. Biographer Leslie Stephen wrote that thereafter, "His fame was as rapid as it has been lasting." And as regards this first volume, "Some warm praise from David Hume overpaid the labour of ten years."
Volumes II and III appeared on 1 March 1781, eventually rising "to a level with the previous volume in general esteem." Volume IV was finished in June 1784; the final two were completed during a second Lausanne sojourn (September 1783 to August 1787) where Gibbon reunited with his friend Deyverdun in leisurely comfort. By early 1787, he was "straining for the goal" and with great relief the project was finished in June. Gibbon later wrote:
It was on the day, or rather the night, of 27 June 1787, between the hours of eleven and twelve, that I wrote the last lines of the last page in a summer-house in my garden. ... I will not dissemble the first emotions of joy on the recovery of my freedom, and perhaps the establishment of my fame. But my pride was soon humbled, and a sober melancholy was spread over my mind by the idea that I had taken my everlasting leave of an old and agreeable companion, and that, whatsoever might be the future date of my history, the life of the historian must be short and precarious.
Volumes IV, V, and VI finally reached the press in May 1788, their publication having been delayed since March so it could coincide with a dinner party celebrating Gibbon's 51st birthday (the 8th). Mounting a bandwagon of praise for the later volumes were such contemporary luminaries as Adam Smith, William Robertson, Adam Ferguson, Lord Camden, and Horace Walpole. Smith remarked that Gibbon's triumph had positioned him "at the very head of [Europe's] literary tribe."
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
April 14, 2017
Such an incredible journey it has been, reading one of the great masterpieces of historical writing. I wondered, at the outset, at the prospect of tackling such a voluminous work; yet, here I am at the conclusion of Volume 5, with one more to go!
The more I read (actually in my case, listen, on Audible) to Gibbon, the more respect I have for the incredible amount of research, on his part, that went in to writing an essay of such depth and detail covering 1500-plus years of history.
Volume 5, maybe more than the ones preceding, contained digressions and ventures far beyond just a strict history of Rome. Gibbon knows how to tell fascinating and interesting stories, and eventually always connects the dots, in some way, back to the Roman Empire.
I’ll see you at the finish line in a few weeks! For now, some highlights from Volume 5, a narrative from roughly the 6th to the 11th centuries:
1. More account of early church councils, schisms and conflicts: the Nestorians, Jacobites, Maronites, Armenians and Copts – and another lengthy essay recounting the influence of Christianity on the fall of the Roman Empire.
2. A dizzying roll-call of emperors of the East, from Heraclius (610-641) to Andronicus 1 (1183-1185), including short sketches of each of the several dozen emperors in between.
3. A LONG tour through Arabia, the birth and life of Mohammed, the foundations of Islam, and the invasions by the Moslems of surrounding nations.
4. The early seeds of the Reformation, sown in the 11th and 12th centuries, by the Paulicians (nope, I’d never heard of them either).
5. Various attacks in the Empire from the 7th to the 12th Century: the Bulgarians, Hungarians, Saracens, Franks, and Normans.
Plus, there’s always Gibbon’s witty and rich prose to enhance the avalanche of facts. Onward to the final volume!
The more I read (actually in my case, listen, on Audible) to Gibbon, the more respect I have for the incredible amount of research, on his part, that went in to writing an essay of such depth and detail covering 1500-plus years of history.
Volume 5, maybe more than the ones preceding, contained digressions and ventures far beyond just a strict history of Rome. Gibbon knows how to tell fascinating and interesting stories, and eventually always connects the dots, in some way, back to the Roman Empire.
I’ll see you at the finish line in a few weeks! For now, some highlights from Volume 5, a narrative from roughly the 6th to the 11th centuries:
1. More account of early church councils, schisms and conflicts: the Nestorians, Jacobites, Maronites, Armenians and Copts – and another lengthy essay recounting the influence of Christianity on the fall of the Roman Empire.
2. A dizzying roll-call of emperors of the East, from Heraclius (610-641) to Andronicus 1 (1183-1185), including short sketches of each of the several dozen emperors in between.
3. A LONG tour through Arabia, the birth and life of Mohammed, the foundations of Islam, and the invasions by the Moslems of surrounding nations.
4. The early seeds of the Reformation, sown in the 11th and 12th centuries, by the Paulicians (nope, I’d never heard of them either).
5. Various attacks in the Empire from the 7th to the 12th Century: the Bulgarians, Hungarians, Saracens, Franks, and Normans.
Plus, there’s always Gibbon’s witty and rich prose to enhance the avalanche of facts. Onward to the final volume!
January 14, 2025
Gibbon doesn’t put dates on anything. He just narrates it all out. Volume V seems to cover the 500-600 AD period, which contained the reign and laws of Justinian.
My favorite aspect of this period was the astoundingly competent general, Belisarius, who somehow re-conquered much of the western empire from the Vandals and Barbarians over the course of about six years with limited resources. At his triumphal return to Constantinople he continuously repeated to himself the words of Solomon in an effort to keep his mind grounded, “Vanity! Vanity! All is vanity!” He was telling the truth.
The author seemed to think the age in which Belisarius lived didn’t quite deserve his genius or magnanimity. For by this time the culture had devolved to such an extent that traits such as high-character were almost nonsensically old-fashioned. His high-mindedness bewildered his contemporaries. Jealous emperor, Justinian, certainly didn’t appreciate him, though Belisarius could have easily usurped him on so many occasions while never considering it an option.
Book V also introduces the reader to a curious aspect of Roman life, the Blue and Green factions of the circus. Sometimes cheering for one’s favorite charioteer went far beyond winning a race and into the participation of mass riots, killing thousands. Justinian almost lost his kingdom in 532 AD, let alone, life, when the games got out of hand early in his reign. It reminded me of our modern day political environment, and how terrible and polarizing closely identifying with a particular tribe, team, or party can take someone. We think we’re so different, with our modern day Red vs Blue neckties, and hats, and so forth, but we’re not really. Humanity’s sensibilities and avarice’s haven’t changed much over time. Brutality is always shallowly lurking beneath every civilized facade.
My favorite aspect of this period was the astoundingly competent general, Belisarius, who somehow re-conquered much of the western empire from the Vandals and Barbarians over the course of about six years with limited resources. At his triumphal return to Constantinople he continuously repeated to himself the words of Solomon in an effort to keep his mind grounded, “Vanity! Vanity! All is vanity!” He was telling the truth.
The author seemed to think the age in which Belisarius lived didn’t quite deserve his genius or magnanimity. For by this time the culture had devolved to such an extent that traits such as high-character were almost nonsensically old-fashioned. His high-mindedness bewildered his contemporaries. Jealous emperor, Justinian, certainly didn’t appreciate him, though Belisarius could have easily usurped him on so many occasions while never considering it an option.
”The spectator and historian of his exploits has observed, that amidst the perils of war, he [Belisarius] was daring without rashness, prudent without fear, slow or rapid according to the exigencies of the moment; that in the deepest distress he was animated by real or apparent hope, but that he was modest and humble in the most prosperous fortune”.
Book V also introduces the reader to a curious aspect of Roman life, the Blue and Green factions of the circus. Sometimes cheering for one’s favorite charioteer went far beyond winning a race and into the participation of mass riots, killing thousands. Justinian almost lost his kingdom in 532 AD, let alone, life, when the games got out of hand early in his reign. It reminded me of our modern day political environment, and how terrible and polarizing closely identifying with a particular tribe, team, or party can take someone. We think we’re so different, with our modern day Red vs Blue neckties, and hats, and so forth, but we’re not really. Humanity’s sensibilities and avarice’s haven’t changed much over time. Brutality is always shallowly lurking beneath every civilized facade.
March 14, 2023
This fifth volume of Edward Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Folio Society edition) begins in 474 CE and ends in 641 CE.
Picking up where volume IV left off: Odoacer, king of Italy, who had overthrown the Western Empire, is assassinated in the first ten pages. I was hoping to learn more about this great barbarian, but the author gives only cursory remarks about his life; his death is conveyed in a single sentence.
Odoacer’s successor, Theodoric, receives much more exposure, and perhaps rightfully so. He united the Goths and Western Romans for more than three decades, and by all accounts ruled well enough to deserve his epithet “the Great.”
The progeny of Theodoric did not, however, endure for very long. “After a reign of sixty years the throne of the Gothic kings was filled by … the representatives in peace and war of the emperor of the Romans.” And shortly after the extinction of the Ostrogoths, Italy was “unequally divided between the kingdom of the Lombards” and the Byzantines for a period of 200 years.
In the East, Justinian, this volume’s namesake, arguably had the more memorable reign. Also known as “the Great,” he constructed the Hagia Sophia, reconquered, by his generals, parts of the Western Empire, fundamentally reformed Roman law, and married Theodora, a prostitute who had once “polluted” the theaters of Constantinople and willed herself to become the absolute equal of the emperor — the Queen of Byzantine.
A panoply of new characters are introduced in this volume, namely, the Persians, the Arabs led by Mohammed, and the Turks in Tartary who, like the barbarians of the earlier volumes in the Western Empire, march inexorably across these pages to their destiny.
Besides the personalities, the author devotes a great majority of this volume to military campaigns, which, without an understanding (or a map!) of ancient geography, weren’t very compelling.
Much of this volume was dry history, but it nicely set the stage for the final three.
Picking up where volume IV left off: Odoacer, king of Italy, who had overthrown the Western Empire, is assassinated in the first ten pages. I was hoping to learn more about this great barbarian, but the author gives only cursory remarks about his life; his death is conveyed in a single sentence.
Odoacer’s successor, Theodoric, receives much more exposure, and perhaps rightfully so. He united the Goths and Western Romans for more than three decades, and by all accounts ruled well enough to deserve his epithet “the Great.”
The progeny of Theodoric did not, however, endure for very long. “After a reign of sixty years the throne of the Gothic kings was filled by … the representatives in peace and war of the emperor of the Romans.” And shortly after the extinction of the Ostrogoths, Italy was “unequally divided between the kingdom of the Lombards” and the Byzantines for a period of 200 years.
In the East, Justinian, this volume’s namesake, arguably had the more memorable reign. Also known as “the Great,” he constructed the Hagia Sophia, reconquered, by his generals, parts of the Western Empire, fundamentally reformed Roman law, and married Theodora, a prostitute who had once “polluted” the theaters of Constantinople and willed herself to become the absolute equal of the emperor — the Queen of Byzantine.
A panoply of new characters are introduced in this volume, namely, the Persians, the Arabs led by Mohammed, and the Turks in Tartary who, like the barbarians of the earlier volumes in the Western Empire, march inexorably across these pages to their destiny.
Besides the personalities, the author devotes a great majority of this volume to military campaigns, which, without an understanding (or a map!) of ancient geography, weren’t very compelling.
Much of this volume was dry history, but it nicely set the stage for the final three.
June 8, 2025
Rollercoaster ride for the ages.
Exhilarating journey through the ages that shaped modern Europe and world affairs. Engulfing accounting of the politics and religious across the times.
Exhilarating journey through the ages that shaped modern Europe and world affairs. Engulfing accounting of the politics and religious across the times.
April 30, 2023
This volume is vast in its geographical and chronological extent. In one giant leap, Gibbon crosses six centuries of time and the great expanse of land from Spain to Afghanistan. The author continues the tale from Heraclius when Islam reared its head in Arabia and stops just short of the Latin conquest of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The number of monarchs is so large that readers lose track of their pedigree and posterity. It is also the era in which Islam miraculously catapulted itself to the brink of world dominion in the first two centuries of its existence and then its political arm invariably followed the path of decline and fall. Gibbon notes the striking similarities – especially in decline – between the Roman and Islamic empires both of which found its trunk cut off by the arms and weapons of the barbarians. The term ‘barbarian’ should not be confused with the plain dictionary meaning. Gibbon only intends the people residing outside the original pale of the empire. We find that these people faithfully imitate the practices of the citizens and aspire to be the masters of the empire eventually. Another notable feature of this volume is the increase in ferocity of religious wars. The winning side often extends only the two alternatives of death or conversion to the losing side. We also find southern Europe dominated by Muslim kings in this period. The author omits all references to the crusades. Perhaps he reserves it for the final volume. The rise of the Pope as the spiritual as well as temporal power is discernible in this interval which also meant the impossibility of reconciliation between the different sects of Christianity. This volume contains chapters from 47 to 56.
Gibbon begins with an analysis of the fissure in Christian society as it spread universally. Since the core beliefs were borrowed from Judaism, Christian Jews found no problem in reconciling themselves with the concept of trinity in which Jesus was retained as human with all attendant vulnerabilities of the flesh. When the new religion was preached to the gentiles and then to Romans, who were steeped in idolatry, the new converts wanted to deify Jesus. This led to severe disputes and controversies. Early Christian sects were more solicitous to explore the nature of Christ rather than obeying his laws. One such theory ascribed to Christ the body of a phantom which seemed to suffer on the cross while the divine spirit, which was a part of the first person of the trinity, remained unperturbed. It was clear that a person who suffered pain and ignominy at death cannot be sold to the pagans who expected their objects of worship to be superhuman. Hence a theory was put forward that specified ‘a substantial, indissoluble and everlasting union of a perfect god with a perfect man, or the second person of the trinity, with a reasonable soul and human flesh’. The fanaticism of the early converts was legendary. An incident in the life of Cyril, hailed as the saint of Alexandria, is given. His accomplices waylaid the female mathematician Hypatia, stripped her naked, dragged to the church and inhumanly butchered her by scraping the flesh from bones with the help of sharp oyster-shells (p.18). “May those who divide Christ be divided with the sword, may they be hewn in pieces, may they be burnt alive” were the charitable wishes of a synod (p.32).
Gibbon fast forwards his narrative from Heraclius in 627 to Andronicus in 1204 when Constantinople was conquered by the Latins. 600 years saw the reign of sixty emperors. The succession was rapid and broken and the name of a successful candidate is speedily erased by a more fortunate competitor. The favourites of the soldiers, people, senate, clergy, royal women or eunuchs were alternately clothed with the purple but their end was often contemptible and tragic. Their condition was most pregnant with fear and the least hopeful. The army was licentious without spirit, the nation turbulent without freedom, the barbarians pressed on the monarchy and the loss of the provinces was terminated by the final servitude of the capital. The Muslims invaded from all sides and Syria and Asia Minor were soon under the caliph’s reign. The caliph was also pestered by barbarians belonging to his own religion and these fierce fighters demanded and enjoyed large sums as subsidy from the Greek emperor.
While the Eastern Roman empire was declining to the point of downfall, interesting things were happening on the western front. No semblance of an emperor was entertained in Italy and the Frankish and German tribes practiced their own ideas of monarchy. The spectre of Christianity was forever forfeited by the Eastern empire and it eventually settled in the hands of powerful kings like Charlemagne or Frederick. Islam was surging north from their foothold in Spain in a bid to overwhelm the entire continent. Charles Martel stopped their influx with a magnificent victory in the Battle of Tours in 732. Surprisingly, this victory permanently eliminated the Islamic threat. Pepin and Charlemagne were Charles’ descendants and the Popes used these princes to subdue Lombards and deliver Rome from captivity. With the royal residence going out of Italy, the Pope became the absolute ruler of Rome and its surrounding provinces. We read of many Popes who persevered to install a temporal kingdom of their own. Pope Adrian I issued a forged document which conferred the right of administration of Rome as a gift from Emperor Constantine when St. Sylvester had cured him of leprosy with baptismal water. This document is now universally rejected as forgery, but it still forms the foundation of canon law. Gibbon also presents the Normans as a formidable force to reckon with. Likewise, the Scandinavians and Russians also enter the stage at this point.
Gibbon is excited about the birth of Islam to the point of partiality. The book includes a long chapter on Mohammed and his life which is presented in an exalting and uncritical manner. This chapter is superfluous to the thread of narrative on Roman history, but makes for interesting reading. This also seems to be the only chapter in which Gibbon blindly repeats secondary sources. The birth of the final prophet of Islam was fortunately placed in the most degenerate and disorderly period of the Romans, Persians and the barbarians of Europe. The author then makes a wry comment that ‘the empires of Trajan or even of Constantine and Charlemagne would have repelled the assaults of the naked Saracens, and the torrent of fanaticism might have been obscurely lost in the sands of Arabia’ (p.331). The spread of Islam is given due importance. Its conquest of Syria, Persia, Egypt, North Africa and Spain materialized in the first few decades after Mohammed’s death. Christianity was in theory tolerated by paying the tribute of Jizya charged per head. But the ground realities were markedly different. Only a century later, bigotry marginalized the Christian communities to numerical irrelevance. The author laments that the northern coast of Africa was the only land in which the light of the Gospel, after a long and perfect establishment, has been totally extinguished (p.424).
This volume introduces the hefty load of servitude the Muslim caliphs imposed on their Christian subjects who painfully suffered the indignities of abuse and discrimination. Instead of horses or mules, Christians were condemned to ride on asses, in the manner of women. Their private and public buildings must be smaller. It was their duty to give way in the street or bath even to the meanest Muslim (p.428). The pomp of processions, the sound of church bells or psalmody were prohibited. Infringing on the religious services of Christians, the preachers were forced to include a decent reverence to Islam in their sermons to the laity. Christians were forbidden to convert a Muslim to their religion but the reverse was encouraged and shamelessly incentivized. Gibbon addresses the question of the quick downfall of the caliphate after one or two centuries and unthinkingly gurgles out the traditional Islamic explanation that the latter caliphs deviated from the path of austerity and righteousness set by the prophet and his companions. It is claimed that temporal and spiritual conquest had been the sole occupation of the first caliphs who did not indulge in luxury. However, the Abbasids were after pomp and grandeur. Their stern enthusiasm was softened by time and prosperity. They sought riches in the occupation of industry, fame in the pursuit of literature and happiness in the tranquility of domestic life. This in fact means that when the Muslims turned away from fanaticism to the belief systems of normal people, they lost steam and alienated worldly power.
As in the previous volumes, some mention of Gibbon’s white-supremacist and racist references should be pointed out. Introducing the St. Thomas Christians of Kerala, he remarks condescendingly that ‘in arms, in arts and possibly in virtue, they excelled the natives of Hindostan’ (p.63). In a double whammy on Nestorian creed and black people, he claims that the ancient kingdom of Nubia accepted the Monophysite sect, but ‘a metaphorical religion may appear too refined for the capacity of the Negro race: yet a black or a parrot might be taught to repeat the words of the Chalcedonian or Monophysite creed’ (p.78). Then he takes his aim on Asians and hits hard: ‘the arts and genius of history have ever been unknown to the Asiatics; they are ignorant of the laws of criticism; and our monkish chronicles of the same period may be compared to their most popular works, which are never vivified by the spirit of philosophy or freedom’ (p.332). It is in this xenophobic intellectual climate that the British historian Thomas Babington Macaulay blurted out barely half a century later that ‘a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia’. It is also indicative of how prejudiced and narrow were the vision of the most legendary scholars of Britain when race was pushed into their consideration.
The book is highly recommended.
Gibbon begins with an analysis of the fissure in Christian society as it spread universally. Since the core beliefs were borrowed from Judaism, Christian Jews found no problem in reconciling themselves with the concept of trinity in which Jesus was retained as human with all attendant vulnerabilities of the flesh. When the new religion was preached to the gentiles and then to Romans, who were steeped in idolatry, the new converts wanted to deify Jesus. This led to severe disputes and controversies. Early Christian sects were more solicitous to explore the nature of Christ rather than obeying his laws. One such theory ascribed to Christ the body of a phantom which seemed to suffer on the cross while the divine spirit, which was a part of the first person of the trinity, remained unperturbed. It was clear that a person who suffered pain and ignominy at death cannot be sold to the pagans who expected their objects of worship to be superhuman. Hence a theory was put forward that specified ‘a substantial, indissoluble and everlasting union of a perfect god with a perfect man, or the second person of the trinity, with a reasonable soul and human flesh’. The fanaticism of the early converts was legendary. An incident in the life of Cyril, hailed as the saint of Alexandria, is given. His accomplices waylaid the female mathematician Hypatia, stripped her naked, dragged to the church and inhumanly butchered her by scraping the flesh from bones with the help of sharp oyster-shells (p.18). “May those who divide Christ be divided with the sword, may they be hewn in pieces, may they be burnt alive” were the charitable wishes of a synod (p.32).
Gibbon fast forwards his narrative from Heraclius in 627 to Andronicus in 1204 when Constantinople was conquered by the Latins. 600 years saw the reign of sixty emperors. The succession was rapid and broken and the name of a successful candidate is speedily erased by a more fortunate competitor. The favourites of the soldiers, people, senate, clergy, royal women or eunuchs were alternately clothed with the purple but their end was often contemptible and tragic. Their condition was most pregnant with fear and the least hopeful. The army was licentious without spirit, the nation turbulent without freedom, the barbarians pressed on the monarchy and the loss of the provinces was terminated by the final servitude of the capital. The Muslims invaded from all sides and Syria and Asia Minor were soon under the caliph’s reign. The caliph was also pestered by barbarians belonging to his own religion and these fierce fighters demanded and enjoyed large sums as subsidy from the Greek emperor.
While the Eastern Roman empire was declining to the point of downfall, interesting things were happening on the western front. No semblance of an emperor was entertained in Italy and the Frankish and German tribes practiced their own ideas of monarchy. The spectre of Christianity was forever forfeited by the Eastern empire and it eventually settled in the hands of powerful kings like Charlemagne or Frederick. Islam was surging north from their foothold in Spain in a bid to overwhelm the entire continent. Charles Martel stopped their influx with a magnificent victory in the Battle of Tours in 732. Surprisingly, this victory permanently eliminated the Islamic threat. Pepin and Charlemagne were Charles’ descendants and the Popes used these princes to subdue Lombards and deliver Rome from captivity. With the royal residence going out of Italy, the Pope became the absolute ruler of Rome and its surrounding provinces. We read of many Popes who persevered to install a temporal kingdom of their own. Pope Adrian I issued a forged document which conferred the right of administration of Rome as a gift from Emperor Constantine when St. Sylvester had cured him of leprosy with baptismal water. This document is now universally rejected as forgery, but it still forms the foundation of canon law. Gibbon also presents the Normans as a formidable force to reckon with. Likewise, the Scandinavians and Russians also enter the stage at this point.
Gibbon is excited about the birth of Islam to the point of partiality. The book includes a long chapter on Mohammed and his life which is presented in an exalting and uncritical manner. This chapter is superfluous to the thread of narrative on Roman history, but makes for interesting reading. This also seems to be the only chapter in which Gibbon blindly repeats secondary sources. The birth of the final prophet of Islam was fortunately placed in the most degenerate and disorderly period of the Romans, Persians and the barbarians of Europe. The author then makes a wry comment that ‘the empires of Trajan or even of Constantine and Charlemagne would have repelled the assaults of the naked Saracens, and the torrent of fanaticism might have been obscurely lost in the sands of Arabia’ (p.331). The spread of Islam is given due importance. Its conquest of Syria, Persia, Egypt, North Africa and Spain materialized in the first few decades after Mohammed’s death. Christianity was in theory tolerated by paying the tribute of Jizya charged per head. But the ground realities were markedly different. Only a century later, bigotry marginalized the Christian communities to numerical irrelevance. The author laments that the northern coast of Africa was the only land in which the light of the Gospel, after a long and perfect establishment, has been totally extinguished (p.424).
This volume introduces the hefty load of servitude the Muslim caliphs imposed on their Christian subjects who painfully suffered the indignities of abuse and discrimination. Instead of horses or mules, Christians were condemned to ride on asses, in the manner of women. Their private and public buildings must be smaller. It was their duty to give way in the street or bath even to the meanest Muslim (p.428). The pomp of processions, the sound of church bells or psalmody were prohibited. Infringing on the religious services of Christians, the preachers were forced to include a decent reverence to Islam in their sermons to the laity. Christians were forbidden to convert a Muslim to their religion but the reverse was encouraged and shamelessly incentivized. Gibbon addresses the question of the quick downfall of the caliphate after one or two centuries and unthinkingly gurgles out the traditional Islamic explanation that the latter caliphs deviated from the path of austerity and righteousness set by the prophet and his companions. It is claimed that temporal and spiritual conquest had been the sole occupation of the first caliphs who did not indulge in luxury. However, the Abbasids were after pomp and grandeur. Their stern enthusiasm was softened by time and prosperity. They sought riches in the occupation of industry, fame in the pursuit of literature and happiness in the tranquility of domestic life. This in fact means that when the Muslims turned away from fanaticism to the belief systems of normal people, they lost steam and alienated worldly power.
As in the previous volumes, some mention of Gibbon’s white-supremacist and racist references should be pointed out. Introducing the St. Thomas Christians of Kerala, he remarks condescendingly that ‘in arms, in arts and possibly in virtue, they excelled the natives of Hindostan’ (p.63). In a double whammy on Nestorian creed and black people, he claims that the ancient kingdom of Nubia accepted the Monophysite sect, but ‘a metaphorical religion may appear too refined for the capacity of the Negro race: yet a black or a parrot might be taught to repeat the words of the Chalcedonian or Monophysite creed’ (p.78). Then he takes his aim on Asians and hits hard: ‘the arts and genius of history have ever been unknown to the Asiatics; they are ignorant of the laws of criticism; and our monkish chronicles of the same period may be compared to their most popular works, which are never vivified by the spirit of philosophy or freedom’ (p.332). It is in this xenophobic intellectual climate that the British historian Thomas Babington Macaulay blurted out barely half a century later that ‘a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia’. It is also indicative of how prejudiced and narrow were the vision of the most legendary scholars of Britain when race was pushed into their consideration.
The book is highly recommended.
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April 9, 2023Mildly patronising fetishisation of the east FTW. Among the weaker volumes of the whole work so far. NO, but seriously, it's a book written for its time. At a time of great scepticism about European society, its organisation and above all the first attacks on God are beginning which shall culminate in Nietzsche killing him a hundred years later. I think Gibbon's work, beyond being perhaps the first academically rigorous work of history in the English language is a mirror of the intellectual state of the wider Latinate world.
The crusades are about to begin and Constantinople is gonna fall.
The crusades are about to begin and Constantinople is gonna fall.
October 21, 2020
Five down, one to go. This would go a lot faster if Gibbon didn't feel the need to include the history of the "Turkmans," Chozars (Khazars), Avars, Bulgars, Hungarians, Russians, Varangians, Franks, Holy Roman Empire, Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Lombards, Vandals, Normans, Persians, Papacy, and the various factions of Musselmen/Moslems/Mahometans.
February 14, 2023
I absolutely wish that I had read these books before I travelled through Turkey, Egypt and Jordan. Volume V is focused moreso on Mahometon history. Nations evolved to subjugate other nations...or extirpate completely.
It's not to hard to see that Gibbon's work inspired works of fantasy. Even his description of some war mongering races have been the inspiration for races from science fiction movies. Right down to the warriors' mannerisms and attitudes to glorious self sacrificing death...by dismemberment.
Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Ayrault Dodge in his books about Alexander the Great wrote:
"The Greek soldier was a curious mixture of virtues and vices. He possessed courage, discipline and self-abnegating patriotism in the highest measure, but was prejudiced, superstitious and monstrously cruel."
Gibbon's work shows that this was not just a Greek soldier's qualities.
Rivers of blood.
Mountains of misery.
In one instance of mass conversion...all boys of the conquered Christian city were rounded up and circumcised.
Nations who were not converted or put to the sword; enslaved.
It's not to hard to see that Gibbon's work inspired works of fantasy. Even his description of some war mongering races have been the inspiration for races from science fiction movies. Right down to the warriors' mannerisms and attitudes to glorious self sacrificing death...by dismemberment.
Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Ayrault Dodge in his books about Alexander the Great wrote:
"The Greek soldier was a curious mixture of virtues and vices. He possessed courage, discipline and self-abnegating patriotism in the highest measure, but was prejudiced, superstitious and monstrously cruel."
Gibbon's work shows that this was not just a Greek soldier's qualities.
Rivers of blood.
Mountains of misery.
In one instance of mass conversion...all boys of the conquered Christian city were rounded up and circumcised.
Nations who were not converted or put to the sword; enslaved.
September 17, 2022
this took 5 years to read and I barely understand it. This was very painful to read is all I'll say. That's not useful or helpful.
One thing I'll say is how Byzantine and Europe have changed to such a degree it's unrecognisable to the first volume. It does show that something that stands for so long, like a Monarchy, may stay around for so long it was far different an entity that it originally was
(writing 17 sept 2022 where in the UK, the late Queen Elizabeth II lay in state before her funeral - finishing this book at this time feels to add context to the present day)
One thing I'll say is how Byzantine and Europe have changed to such a degree it's unrecognisable to the first volume. It does show that something that stands for so long, like a Monarchy, may stay around for so long it was far different an entity that it originally was
(writing 17 sept 2022 where in the UK, the late Queen Elizabeth II lay in state before her funeral - finishing this book at this time feels to add context to the present day)
August 21, 2019
This review is for the Everyman's Library edition.
Volume 5 was facinating to me for the particular reason that, of the five volumes of Gibbon I have thus far consumed, this volume held the largest amount of information new to me. From the failures and infrequent successes of the Greek empire, to the rise and seemingly unending success of the 'Mohammedans', to the ventures of the Normans outside of Normandy itself. Well worth reading.
Volume 5 was facinating to me for the particular reason that, of the five volumes of Gibbon I have thus far consumed, this volume held the largest amount of information new to me. From the failures and infrequent successes of the Greek empire, to the rise and seemingly unending success of the 'Mohammedans', to the ventures of the Normans outside of Normandy itself. Well worth reading.
November 7, 2019
Volume 5 was the best volume yet! Great stuff covering the rise of Islam and the history of the Crusades. I'm getting pretty comfortable with Gibbons' vocabulary and style finally so loving the prose and flow. I had to keep reminding myself that this was written in the 18th century so the landscape and politics in the Levant looked quite a bit different than they do today.
September 14, 2019
Мене трохи гнітять ці суб'єктивні несправедливі оцінки слов'ян, які Едвард Гіббон дає у цьому томі. Зразу ж пригадалася книжка "Винайдення Східної Європи"
February 6, 2025
A must read for anyone interested in Roman, as well as contemporary history.
March 19, 2025
Covers the rise of the Saracens, their civil wars, and their subsequent effects on Asia, Afirca, and the Roman world. A fairly gloomy period for Byzantium.
October 9, 2012
As Gibbon starts devoting his entire attention on the remnants of the original Roman Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire, he is able to give a much more succinct history of the slow decay of that government. This allows Gibbon to give a more global narrative of the events leading from the 5th century ACE to the 11th century ACE without bogging the reader with details of the increasingly similar and short reigns of the Byzantine emperors.
In this overview of the trends of the last centuries of the Byzantine Empire, Gibbon takes an opportunity to introduce the players, so to speak, that will ultimately lead to the destruction of the eastern empire. Among these he introduces the increasingly greater role played by the Roman pontiff on the western remnants of the empire and his alliance with the Carolingian dynasty in central Europe. Likewise Gibbon is able to devote quite detailed attention to those who would become the more direct threat to the eastern empire, the Muslim dynasties.
Gibbon is able to relate the story of the genesis and growth of the Islamic faith with a surprising candor that is refreshingly welcomed. Similarly, Gibbon follows the same early offshoots of Islam with the level of minutia with which he dealt with the early “heresies” of the Christian faith. This allows the reader to understand quite thoroughly the spread and division of the early Islamic empire. Lastly, Gibbon dedicates his attention to the introduction of the eastern European ethnicities into the theater of the decline of the eastern Empire. This finally allows Gibbon to start lining up the dramatis personae for the 6th and last volume of his epic history.
In this overview of the trends of the last centuries of the Byzantine Empire, Gibbon takes an opportunity to introduce the players, so to speak, that will ultimately lead to the destruction of the eastern empire. Among these he introduces the increasingly greater role played by the Roman pontiff on the western remnants of the empire and his alliance with the Carolingian dynasty in central Europe. Likewise Gibbon is able to devote quite detailed attention to those who would become the more direct threat to the eastern empire, the Muslim dynasties.
Gibbon is able to relate the story of the genesis and growth of the Islamic faith with a surprising candor that is refreshingly welcomed. Similarly, Gibbon follows the same early offshoots of Islam with the level of minutia with which he dealt with the early “heresies” of the Christian faith. This allows the reader to understand quite thoroughly the spread and division of the early Islamic empire. Lastly, Gibbon dedicates his attention to the introduction of the eastern European ethnicities into the theater of the decline of the eastern Empire. This finally allows Gibbon to start lining up the dramatis personae for the 6th and last volume of his epic history.
January 19, 2011
Stowed off with four out of the seven volumes of this behemoth from the community room of a pool I worked at; best decision of my summer, perhaps the most fruitful theft of my life thus far. Gibbon is a eminent force to my reckoned with; a historical pièce de résistance; a most cunning, and comedic, linguist (and I have no doubts that my main mayn Gibbon here put his mastery of the tongue to good use on the ladies, as well—a cunnilingus on and off the page, if you will); a dramatic, tragic, and triumphant masterpiece. If you desire insight into the complexity of the human mind, and the expansive range of experience, behavior, and characters it can manifest, for God's sake read some, any, of The Decline and Fall, you proles. The richness of history + literature > psychology, philosophy (of mind), other such oft vapid drivel. Also, I have a newfound respect for the semicolon which heretofore I have had a severe distaste for. Gah, goddamnit Gibbon! you're such an exquisite stylist—reading you is like having your skull overbrimming with the kind of nerve ending activity usually reserved solely for the tip of a man's dickhead. History as a lascivious, sensuous act.
October 11, 2016
Rome barely gets mentioned here. Gibbon deals with the Arabs, the rise of Islam, conquests by the Arabs, and more conquests by the Arabs, for a good half of this volume. This is however most interesting reading. I wish though there was more about the people, customs, traditions, instead of a tour de force of battles, rapine, and the worst in history.
There is little or nothing on logistics but much detail on battles, movements of huge armies over long weeks and months. I wanted to know how such great numbers were fed. The numbers thrown about are not infrequently 200,000 even 360,000.
What I was led to believe from general knowledge about the Crusades was that they were intended to recapture the Holy Land from the Moslem Arabs. So far up to this volume the First Crusade seems to have worked that way but by the Fourth Crusade it is the Latin West against the Greek East or basically Christians against Christians.
There is little or nothing on logistics but much detail on battles, movements of huge armies over long weeks and months. I wanted to know how such great numbers were fed. The numbers thrown about are not infrequently 200,000 even 360,000.
What I was led to believe from general knowledge about the Crusades was that they were intended to recapture the Holy Land from the Moslem Arabs. So far up to this volume the First Crusade seems to have worked that way but by the Fourth Crusade it is the Latin West against the Greek East or basically Christians against Christians.
May 1, 2024
"A pernicious tenet has been imputed to the Mahometans, the duty of extirpating all other religions by the sword. This charge of ignorance and bigotry is refuted by the Koran, by the history of the Mussulman conquerers, and by their public and legal toleration of the Christian worship." Sadly, this perniciousness continues in the Western world. The best volume so far - with one to go. This volume is essentially about the rise of Islam to the First Crusade: "At the voice of their pastor, robber, the incendiary, the homocide, arose by thousands to redeem their souls, by repeating on the infidels the same deeds which they had exercised against their Christian brethren."
July 18, 2015
Honor, glory, empire. Betrayal, deceit, war. Way before Machiavelli wrote his cynical piece on politics, there was Rome and its emperors. If you can get through the thick scholastic details, the stories of the men who ruled – or tried to rule – The Roman Empire are as interesting as any modern drama. For instance, one rich man spent his fortune to buy Emperorship from a traitorous group of Praetorian guards, only to be executed days later. Another ruler was a was foreigner who proved himself in battle. The stores of the emperors are vast because there were so many of them in that short-lived title.
August 30, 2016
This, the longest volume of the 6 covers the largest amount of time in the increasing isolation and decline of the Eastern Roman Empire. Gibbon's narrative retains it's narrative thrust, irony, and poignancy with classic lines like, "If we remember the 700 wives and 300 concubines of the "wise" Solomon, we shall applaud the modesty of Mohammed, who espoused no more than 17 or 15 wives..." In this volume we see the emergence of Mohammed and his followers and the rise and fall of Saracen, Norman, and Byzantine factions all while the politics of Constantinople become much more bitter and fractured. A long but worthwhile read, almost 700 years of history in this volume alone!
Currently reading
February 18, 2008Was surprised to learn that Mr. Gibbon was a leading figure in the British Age of Enlightenment. He received much obloquy in his time from the Church of England and other clerics. The fall of Rome is intimately connected with the rise of Christianity. Mr. Gibbon views the transition with the dispassionate view of a deist, seeing the replacement of one official religion with another. A vast project, but the reading is surprisingly easygoing. Since going to Rome last year, have been very interested in reading about the Roman civilization.
October 31, 2011
Volume 5 documents primarily the rise and power of the Islamic Sultans in the East and in Europe. Toward the end of this volume, Gibbon documents the rise and pushback that came from the Christan countries. He emphasizes not only the role of religion in this political changes, but equally the dynamic leadership changes, the land issues, the military strengths adn weakenesses and the other power interests involved. He reserves surprisingly high praise for many of the Islamic leaders, considering the era and location in which the book was written, as well as, Gibbon's own faith perspective.
January 12, 2008
An exhaustive look at the decline of the Roman Empire that had once dominated the Mediterranean and beyond. If you want to know how the empire evolved over the years and about the power struggles they faced, and the rampant Emporers who affected the entire world. This is an interesting book, although a bit too much information is provided throughout, so only hardcore historians will really 'enjoy' this narration a lot of the time.
September 12, 2010
it got bogged down in The Justinian Law for the middle section. and the general theme of The Decline at this point seems to be How Low Can They Go. it get repetitious. I'm reading a different edition than this, so there are still four volumes to go, but where!
February 16, 2008
I have an original copy of this work in six volumes.
May 21, 2015
Really enjoyed the origin of Islam. The later material is less engaging: too many peoples and centuries are covered in too few pages.
May 28, 2016
2016 Book #28/35 The party just keeps rolling. A couple of places it got a little church heavy, but still enjoyed it immensely.
June 29, 2019
Suppose it's ok
I'm finding these books hard to get into. If you've made it this far you must be really into Roman history. One more volume to go!
I'm finding these books hard to get into. If you've made it this far you must be really into Roman history. One more volume to go!
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