Bryan Ward-Perkins

Examines the causes and consequences of the fall of the Roman Empire.

And the End of Civilization

The Fall of Rome

Jeni Enjaian

Ward-Perkins posits that the Roman Empire definitively fell at the time of the barbarian invasions. This fall, according to Ward-Perkins, precipitated the destruction of a previously robust civilization. Ward-Perkins divides the book into two distinct sections. Before the first section Ward-Perkins surveys the historiography of Rome ending with dismissal of historians like Peter Brown who re-imagine the time period as one of cultural robustness. In the first section Ward, Perkins discusses Rome’s fall at the hand of the German invasions and what Rome looked like under Germanic rule. In the second section he analyzes physical evidence such as pottery shards to prove by their later absence that Roman civilization ended.
Ward-Perkins proved his thesis with a clear, well-executed structure supported by copious artifact evidence. His writing style is easy to understand without being condescending. He includes plenty of supplementary maps, photographs and charts to illustrate the text. After examining the evidence Ward-Perkins presents, it is difficult to disbelieve his thesis. Ward-Perkins also includes an appendix that further explains the artifactual evidence he cited as support. This appendix also helps establish his expertise in the area. I would definitely use this book again.

The Fall of Rome And the End of Civilization

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