The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (a set of 7 volumes)

The first volume of the world-famous work by the 18th-century English historian is dedicated to the period of Roman history from the age of the Antonines to the unification of the empire by Constantine the Great. It describes not only the life and activities of emperors Marcus Aurelius, Caracalla, and Elagabalus; the author paints large-scale pictures of the everyday life and customs of the Germans, Persians, and Italians. Special attention is given to the "soldier emperors," the beginning of the invasions of German tribes, and the analysis of the collapse of what was once a mighty power.

In the second volume of his monumental work, E. Gibbon addresses the tumultuous history of the Roman Empire in the first half of the 4th century. The author brilliantly describes the evolution of Christianity, its relationship with the Roman state, the reforms enacted by the emperors, and, finally, the triumph of the new religion. Under the historian's pen, the characters of Constantine the Great, his sons, the young Julian the Apostate, Arius, and Athanasius of Alexandria come to life — people who shaped the face of this complex period in Roman history.

In the third volume of his monumental work, E. Gibbon paints a vivid picture of the era preceding the final fall of the once powerful Roman Empire. Relying on numerous writings of pagan and Christian authors from the 4th to the 5th centuries, the historian creates truthful images of outstanding political, state, and religious figures of that time, masterfully describing both the everyday history of the empire and the daily life of the barbarians.

From the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields and the death of Attila to the emergence of the Lombard Kingdom on Italian soil — this is the segment of European history that is the subject of the fourth volume. The fall of the Roman Empire, its causes, the shift of the center of life eastward, to Byzantium, Emperor Justinian, his wife, circus factions, the Nika Rebellion, construction, war with the Persians and barbarian kingdoms, the colonization of Britain by the Germans — these are the main plots of this book.

In the fifth volume of the English historian's work, the subject of his study is the era of the highest flourishing and qualitative changes in the history of the countries of Europe and the Mediterranean in the 6th to 8th centuries. The reign of Justinian and the codification of Roman law, the conquest of Italy by the Lombards and wars of Byzantium with the Persians, the development of Christian dogma and the struggle against heresies, iconoclasm, the activities of Charlemagne to recreate a vast empire, the emergence of Muhammad and the birth of Islam, skillfully outlined by the author, demonstrate to the reader the diverse historical realities of that time.

In this volume, E. Gibbon continues to recreate the expansive canvas of European history from the 7th to the 11th centuries, showing those events and historical trends that determined the further development of international relations and the internal history of European states for the next few centuries — the Arab conquests, the Crusades, the Norman raids on Southern Europe, and the formation of a Norman kingdom there, the emergence of the Turks-Seljuks on the historical stage. He pays special attention to the history of the Slavs and Rus.

The final volume of E. Gibbon's historical epic is dedicated to the final stage of the history of the Byzantine Empire, which ended with the fall of Constantinople and the conquest of part of Europe by Turkish invaders. Reflecting on the history of Byzantium and Rome, the author paints a broad picture of the tragic events of this time — the end of the Crusades, the Tatar-Mongol invasion of Eastern Europe, the campaigns of Timur the Great, civil strife in Italy — marking the end of the existence of what was once a formidable and great state.

For students of historical, oriental studies, political science, philological specialties, as well as anyone interested in world history.