My copy is one single book and I can't remember which volume I stopped on
random thoughts Send a noteboard - 05/03/2010 06:06:29 PM
The emperors ran together worst in parts of Volume I and II. Volume III was clearer in that regard as it only dealt with Theodosius, the reigns of Honorius and Arcadius after the final split of the Empire, and then the denouement of forgotten and insignificant emperors with virtually no power for the next 25 years or so in the West under the power of Odoacer.
Volume IV deals almost solely with Justinian and his son, and then Volume V and VI (if the Hugh Trevor-Roper introduction is to be believed) really doesn't even track the emperors of the East because Gibbon focuses on East-West relations, particularly of a religious nature (and the Crusades).
Volume IV deals almost solely with Justinian and his son, and then Volume V and VI (if the Hugh Trevor-Roper introduction is to be believed) really doesn't even track the emperors of the East because Gibbon focuses on East-West relations, particularly of a religious nature (and the Crusades).
It has been a year or so since I last picked it up so I may be kidding myself about how far into the book I actually got. My Roman history is better then the average smuck on the street but it still may be a little weak for this book. On multiple occasions I had to stop and look at other sources because I didn’t know what else was happening outside of what Gibbon was covering. History is less interesting if you don’t have the proper framework to flesh it out.
So...I only finished half of Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
- 05/03/2010 02:11:08 AM
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I found it hard to finish
- 05/03/2010 02:10:19 PM
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The emperors tend to run together far before the middle
- 05/03/2010 02:34:55 PM
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My copy is one single book and I can't remember which volume I stopped on
- 05/03/2010 06:06:29 PM
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Ah...you probably have the abridged version.
- 05/03/2010 08:01:57 PM
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Finish it. It's an important piece of literature.
- 05/03/2010 02:22:08 PM
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I own Norwich's History of Venice (Folio Society edition) but haven't read it yet.
- 05/03/2010 02:30:55 PM
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The Dutch Republic takes a while to get into. Too much back story. Far far too long for
- 05/03/2010 04:10:20 PM
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Finish it
- 05/03/2010 04:47:15 PM
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It is well written. Of course, it's hard to stay excited about it.
- 05/03/2010 08:12:21 PM
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I need to get into Byzantium. I'm hoping to do a senior thesis on Byzantine diplomacy. *NM*
- 07/03/2010 06:42:49 AM
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