The Fall of the Roman Empire
The Fall of the Roman Empire by Arther Ferrill (1986) provides wellwritten and interesting reading for the non-historian. While Ferrillbreaks down many areas of the Roman Empire and it's decline, there areother areas where the author's description of some important detailsremains sketchy and leaves the reader wanting more information. Ferrillbreezes over some very important explanations concerning why the EasternEmpire survived despite the Eastern army suffering the two major defeats ofAdrianople and Julian's failed Persian campaign. Ferrill also does notsupport the argument that the Fall of Rome was the result of a successfulconquest of barbarism and religion. He instead maintains thatuncomplicated military failures contributed to Rome's decline. The case hepresents supports that these were created by political blunders, and thatenough of the blunders created the misfortune that resulted in the decline Ferrill's descriptions of the Roman way of life lead the reader toview the people as very cultured, sophisticated and comfortable. Theircleanliness for the time was exceptional and their water system was uniqueto that historical time. This style of life
Barbaric allies who were allowed privilegesand a federated status within the empire. With time, thesefrontier troops of the Roman Empire became practically worthless while themobile army was expected to do all the fighting. The barbarians werestrictly barbaric and not worthy of much explanation or compassion fortheir hideous deeds. The lessons presented within this work should be studiedby politicians so that the same disasters do not reoccur. Descriptions within Ferrill's book somewhat discredit the new breed ofclassicist who encourage a Marxist version of Roman history which view thatbarbarians are just oppressed minorities engaging in justifiable wars of"national liberation". This historical account isnot only fascinating, but also an instructive study that should concern allpeople who care about preserving the American Republic. The result was the civil wars that sapped the strength of the empire. Rome basically defeated itself by allowing thebarbarians into the Roman army. Ferrill justifies this stand by explaining that the emperormight have the illusion of residing in comfort since a mobile army unit wasposted nearby, however, the enemy failed to appreciate or respect theposition of the emperors office and would attack regardless of who might benearby. The troops then gotout of hand due to lowering of standards of discipline. First, was the adoption of the idea of defense-in-depth. may have contributed to theiridealistic views that all people wanted to work toward a more civilized andproductive lifestyle. He also argues that men and battles do not muchmatter and that all history is some sort of inevitable process governed bythe class struggle.
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