THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
'The Fall of the Roman Empire' is an enduring subject of interest amonghistorians and students alike and one that has sparked more passionatedebates than many contemporary issues. The reason behind this is simply theweb of enigma and intrigue that surrounds Roman Empire and its downfall.Part of this mystery has been created by the contradictory accounts of thefall given by various historians. It appears that every new book on thesubject leaves the reader with more questions than answers and it is forthis reason fall of this glorious empire and civilization remain foreverArther Ferrill's book on Roman Empire's shocking disintegration is ascholarly account of the 'fall' that many would find interesting because ofits readability and its clear thesis. Unlike Edward Gibbon who mademillions agree with his conclusion that Roman Empire died because of "thetriumph of barbarism and religion", Ferrill maintains that militaryweaknesses and blunders were the actual cause of Rome's collapse.The full title of the book makes it clear what the author chooses to arguein his account of the famous demise of a great civilization. It reads: TheFall of the Roman Empire: The Military Explanation a
The barbarian allies ""beganimmediately to demand great rewards for their service and to show anindependence that in drill, discipline, and organization meant catastrophe. Indeed as time went by, the frontier troops of the Roman Empire (the so-called limitanei and ripenses) became virtually worthless while the mobile army (comitatenses) was expected to do all the fighting. 'NationalLiberation' was definitely not their aim and all Marxists myths surroundingthis group are effectively dispelled in this book. Ferrill maintains that there were two basic military causes of the fall ofRoman Empire. The destruction of Roman military power in the fifth century AD was the obvious cause of the collapse of Roman government in the West. However Ferrill chooses not to discuss them for that could sway hisaway from his main topic that was military explanation of the fall. Thesebarbarians were assigned autonomous rule and were not accountable to thestate for anything. Ferrill explains: "Lax troops in a lax age are the mostdifficult to reform, and there are political costs of various kindsconnected with the effort, not the least of which is open rebellion. nd the best thing aboutthe book is Ferrill's close and deep analysis of the subject from oneprecise viewpoint i. It will simply not do to call that fall a myth or to ignore its historical significance merely by focusing on those aspects of Roman life that survived the fall in one form or another. Apart from these two majorerrors, there were some other factors responsible for the disintegration ofthe empire and actually helped barbarian forces in the long run. For one, Ferrill feels that creation ofmobile reserve to augment the forces at the forts was one of the mainmilitary blunders. Another major error was inclusion of barbarian forces in the empire.
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