The Fall of the Roman Empire

The fall of the western Roman empire is regarded as one of the most significant transformations throughout the whole of human history. A hundred years before it happened, Rome was an immense power, defended by an all-conquering army. But the power and the army vanished. Michael Grant, who has produced more than two-dozen popular histories of the ancient world, here identifies and discusses thirteen defects of internal conflict he sees as being responsible for the fall of the Roman empire. These flaws within their society set Roman against Roman, dividing the nation and thereby eviscerating its ability to resist invasion.