Tag Archives: Gibbon

We have finally arrived at the last stage of the history of the Roman Empire: the ultimate fall of the…

As we saw in the previous post, the events of the Fourth Crusade could have completely annihilated the Byzantine empire,…

At the end of the 10th century, when Pope Urban launched the first Crusade (1095), the Byzantine Empire had stood firm…

In the first 10 chapters of Volume III, Gibbon addresses the rise and progress of other nations across Europe, Asia,…

Heraclius reigned from 610 to 641. By this time, the Roman Empire was more aptly called (as it is by modern…

Justin II Justinian, who was childless, was succeeded by his favorite nephew Justin. Justin II began his reign with optimistic…

The Avars and the Persian War The Avars came from the people of the nation of the Ogors or Varchonites, originally living…

Compared to the pitiful decline of the Western Empire in the preceding decades, the reign of Justinian was a resurgence.…

The Rise of Theodoric The Western Roman Empire ended officially with the deposition of Augustulus by Odoacer in 476, but it…

The Establishment of the Frankish Kingdom Clovis was the illegitimate son of Childeric and the queen of the Thuringians. After…

From last time, we saw that the reign of Honorius resulted with the loss of Britain and all of the territory…

In the last two posts, we reflected on the latter half of Volume I of Gibbon. Struggling under its immense size…

Here we shall continue with the second half of Volume I, but focusing on Gibbon’s chapters on the progress of…

Having covered Rome’s Golden Age and the chaotic succession of short-lived or tyrannical emperors during the 2nd and 3rd centuries…

The time has finally come for the last part of the trio of Great Books volumes in our 5-year reading…