The Ruin of the Roman Empire: A New History (2008)

This is an in your face witty account of the decline of the Roman Empire. The political intrigue and the characters portrayed makes the United States White House appear like some chaotic nursery school. Our politicians could learn a lot by reading History. O”Donnell is a first class Latin scholar who deftly weaves and sometimes spins his players based on an intimate knowledge of resources and brings to bear a more modern approach to classical Roman studies. A good read and worth the effort. ( )

O'Donnell takes a hard look at the usual narrative which ascribes the fall of Rome to barbarian invasions and cultural and military decline. He argues strongly that Rome survived and successfully incorporated a number of "barbarian" invasions through a process of acculturation among border peoples who successively infiltrated themselves into the Empire and became Roman. O'Donnell proposes that a series of poor choices by Eastern emperors actually set in motion the disintegration of the Roman world beginning in the sixth century, quite a bit later than the conventional date of 476 AD. I found his thesis and his evidence fascinating. ( )

The title of this book caught my eye while I was browsing through my public library catalog, so I borrowed it on a whim, interested in the subject no doubt but knowing nothing about the author, James J. O’Donnell. I found it fantastic – a sweeping saga of late Roman/early Byzantine history massive in scope, with flashes of insight and wit to match Gibbon (yes, that Gibbon).

The Ruin of the Roman Empire covers a lot of topics, but is structured and well-written so that the segue ways between Roman senatorial villa economics and early Christian debates about the exact composition of Jesus’ divinity appear seamless. The careers of King Theoderic and Emperor Justinian are covered in detail. O’Donnell work is a revisionist look at the question of a) when exactly did the thing called the “Roman Empire” fall and b) (to a lesser extent) what sort of lessons does that empire’s demise have for 21th century western civilization in general and the USA in particular.

My only criticism would be that about three-quarters through the book there’s just so much information and historic detail the overall effect is a bit ponderous. But all in all, a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the Roman Empire, Byzantium, or Early Christian history. ( )

This is an erudite and well-written book about the declining daysof the Roman Empire, which is full of insight but was not of overly-great interest to me. The author is obviously a master of the subject, though a skeptic as to religion. His words on Theodoric, Justinian, and St Gregory the Great are deserving of more attention than I suppose I gave them. ( )