Corruption & the Decline of Rome (Paper) - Softcover

Macmullen, R

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0300047991 ISBN 13: 9780300047998

Publisher: Yale University Press, 1990

Synopsis

A radical rethinking of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, with resonance for today
 
“It is a seductive thesis, told with brio and all the guarantees of scholarship.”―The Economist
 
Prominent historian Ramsay MacMullen here offers a new perspective on the decline and fall of Rome. MacMullen argues that a key factor in Rome’s fall was the steady loss of focus and control over government as its aims were thwarted for private gain by high-ranking bureaucrats and military leaders. Written in an informal and lively style, his book―the culmination of years of research and thoughtful analysis―provides a fascinating, fresh line of investigation and shows convincingly that the decline of Rome was a gradual, insidious process rather than a climactic event.

About this title

About the Author

Ramsay MacMullen (1928–2022), a widely regarded historian of Rome and early Christianity, was Dunham Professor Emeritus of History and Classics at Yale University. His many books include Roman Social Relations, 50 B.C. to A.D. 284; Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries; Christianizing the Roman Empire; Romanization in the Time of Augustus; and Voting About God in Early Church Councils.

From the Back Cover

Ramsay MacMullen, Dunham Professor of History and classics at Yale, here offers a new perspective on the decline and fall of Rome. He argues that a key factor in the empire's military and administrative failures was a steady loss of control over government, as its aims and focus were thwarted for private gain by officials and military men at all ranks. The fruit of a decade of research and analysis presented in an informal and lively style, this book offers the first survey of just what evidence exists for the 'decline, ' and provides a fascinating, fresh line of explanation for the empire's most obvious inadequacies in the face of its economic and military challenges.

Edition details

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0300047991
• ISBN 13: 9780300047998
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 332