---
product_id: 7511641
title: "The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians Bilingual Edition"
brand: "peter heather"
price: "VT15481"
currency: VUV
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 7
url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/7511641-the-fall-of-the-roman-empire-a-new-history-rome
store_origin: VU
region: Vanuatu
---

# The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians Bilingual Edition

**Brand:** peter heather
**Price:** VT15481
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians Bilingual Edition by peter heather
- **How much does it cost?** VT15481 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/7511641-the-fall-of-the-roman-empire-a-new-history-rome)

## Best For

- peter heather enthusiasts

## Why This Product

- Trusted peter heather brand quality
- Free international shipping included
- Worldwide delivery with tracking
- 15-day hassle-free returns

## Description

Full description not available

## Images

![The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians Bilingual Edition - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81g5Brv6I5L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Truly great book--with a minor caveat
  

*by B***Y on Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2006*

This is history as history should be written.  By turns witty, incisive, and far reaching, Heather draws on his broad reservoirs of knowledge of not only of the Barbarians and Rome, but also of modern one-party states and economics--surprisingly relevant topics.  I very much appreciated how Heather gave context to the motivations of the sources he quoted, taking nothing at face value and wittily translating the sense of old quotes so that the modern reader could understand them.The book's main thesis is that growing numbers of Huns armed with devilishly engineered bows caused Goths to scuttle for safety onto Roman territory, and ultimately wreak havoc.  Even further havoc was wrought when the Huns themselves showed up at the boundaries of the Roman Empire.  Ultimately, the Goths and the Huns proved too much for the Empire to handle, and it fell into disarray.  Heather's sweeping thesis is told so plainly and well that it seems, in retrospect, to be obvious.  For Heather to have come to such dramatically different, but well-grounded conclusions on such a well-explored topic is really a stunning achievement.I have only one quibble with the book, which certainly won't change my five star rating.Heather spends nearly the entire 459 pages of the book making the case for his thesis involving the domino effect of Huns and Goths that toppled the empire.  However, he ends the book with a left hook you don't even see coming.  The final line reads: "By virtue of its unbounded aggression, Roman imperialism was ultimately responsible for its own destruction."  Why spend some 449 pages--the other 98% of the book--expounding the Barbarian domino thesis, then?  In fact, earlier, Heather describes how Germania was specifically and purposefully not taken into the Roman Empire because of the logistics and economics involved (this is all described in a section beginning on page 55).  Does this sound like Rome had complete and unbounded aggression?  Moreover, it was precisely because Rome did not take these areas under its wing that the groups would arise that would eventually bring Rome down.Heather speaks with rightful wonder of the great technical and social advances of the Roman Empire, including everything from aqueducts to heating to roofing tiles.  But, although Heather does discuss the technical innovation of the Hunnish bow that allowed the Huns to be so successful in their predations, he doesn't make the ultimate conclusion "The Fall of the Roman Empire" might quite correctly have made.  That conclusion would be--it doesn't matter how many bells and whistles a society has or doesn't have.  The only thing that really matters is whether a society has a war machine that provides a distinct edge.  Of course, that's not a very politically correct conclusion, but it's a thesis that is nicely explored in Victor Hanson's "Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power."All in all, however, I believe Heather's "The Fall of the Roman Empire" to be a stunning achievement, and highly recommend it.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Solid Analysis
  

*by D***Y on Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2006*

Peter Heather has written a very informative and readable book on the late Roman Empire and his take on the reasons for the fall of the Western Empire. In essence, his thesis is that the fall of the Western Empire was not due to internal imperial breakdown, but rather by the nature and extent of the impact of various groups collectively known as the Barbarians. Rome's imperial expansion, as he concludes in the last chapter, laid the seeds of its own ultimate destruction by the late fifth century AD. Heather begins by laying the groundwork for our understanding of the history and status of the Roman Empire, how it functioned and how it evolved, in other words, what Romanness was about. He also gives us a glimpse of the Barbarians who lived outside the boundaries of the Empire, in Central and Northern Europe and other locations. The great pressure points of the Roman Empire fell roughly along the Rhine and Danube Rivers and Persia to the East. Long before the great challenges during the Fourth and Fifth Centuries AD, Rome had faced the annihilation of three legions under Varus near the Teotoburg Forest in the Empire's early history. During the Third Centrury AD, the Eastern part of the Empire had been threatened and humbled by the Sasanian Dynasty of Persia, which for a time posed the greatest threat to the Empire. His descriptions of the changing nature of Rome are very good and give us a good sense of how the empire was evolving while at the same time adhering to its basic traits. The landowning classes, the military, the division of power at the top (i.e. two emperors, one East, one West), the imperial bureaucracy and other facets are all discussed. The changing nature of the Germanic speaking regions and their economy are also discussed, even with fairly limited evidence. The conflicts between Rome and those across its borders had been occurring for some time, but by the late fourth century AD, things changed  in dramatic ways. In AD 376, thousands of these Barbarians sought refuge in Roman territory, a decision that would have grave consequences for Valens and his army at Hadrianople a few years later. Heather argues that it was the Huns migration westwards, in turn pushing these other groups like the Goths into Roman territory, that ultimately had more impact on the decline and fall of the Western Empire than Attila's own raid on the West in the mid fifth century. In AD 410, Alaric's Goths had sacked Rome, though Heather makes it out to be more of a symbolic blow than a life threatening blow for the Empire. There were imperial leaders like Flavius Constantius and later Aetius who managed to check and defeat numerous barbarian forces and usurpers who sought to exact more territory from the Empire, which was gradually weakening the Empire's revenue source and hence it's ability to survive. Ironically, Aetius had been able to enlist the support of Hunnic forces to confront the Visigoths at one point and later when Attila was attacking the West, Aetius employed Visigoths, including their king, Theoderic, against the Huns. The seizure of most of the Roman territory in North Africa by the Vandal-Alan coalition, including its richest provinces like Carthage, was a major blow to the Empire's revenue and supply source. Heather also argues that Attila's death in some ways precipitated the decline of the West as the Hunnic Empire would soon dissolve and the various tribes would be asserting their own desire for independent kingdoms. A final attempt to take back Carthage and Rome's former territories in North Africa with massive assistance from Constantinople in terms of their large fleet would end up in total failure by AD 468. In AD 476, the last Western Emperor was deposed, thus ending the Western Roman Empire. As Heather argues, if internal problems had been the sole reason for Rome's fall, why did the Eastern Empire continue and even flourish for some time afterwards? He also uses the later Carolingian Empire as an example of an empire possessing  fatal internal problems.  Heather's arguments are sound and seem to be based on pretty solid research. I still don't think there will ever be one definitive explanation for the reasons or the events that led to the fall of the Western Roman Empire. I guess since I'm not an expert on it I'm taking a safe approach to this issue. Heather's book is still impressive and displays some sturdy interpretations. Of course one of the difficulties in understanding this period is the lack of surviving evidence from written sources to material remains. There will always be so many unanswered questions. Heather utilizes both the written records and archaeological evidence very effectively. Many of the historians and writers from this period I had never heard of. Overall, a very good book.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
    Bom livro
  
  

*by A***O on Reviewed in Brazil on December 18, 2018*

Gostei. Ainda estou lendo.

---

## Why Shop on Desertcart?

- 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016
- 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories
- 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price
- 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members)
- 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection
- ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews

**Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.vu/products/7511641-the-fall-of-the-roman-empire-a-new-history-rome](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/7511641-the-fall-of-the-roman-empire-a-new-history-rome)

---

*Product available on Desertcart Vanuatu*
*Store origin: VU*
*Last updated: 2026-03-17*