The Ruin of the Roman Empire: A New History
Written by James J. O'Donnell
Narrated by Mel Foster
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Sweeping and accessible, The Ruin of the Roman Empire captures the richness of late antique life and the colorful characters of the age while offering insight into today's debates about barbarism, religion, empires, and their threatened borders.
James J. O'Donnell
James J. O'donnell is a classicist who served for ten years as Provost of Georgetown University and is now University Librarian at Arizona State University. He is the author of several books including Augustine, The Ruin of the Roman Empire, and Avatars of the Word. He is the former president of the American Philological Association, a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America, and the chair of the Board of Directors of the American Council of Learned Societies. He is seen here at an ancient monastery on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire, in Syria.
Related to The Ruin of the Roman Empire
Related audiobooks
Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hadrian's Wall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rise of Rome: The Making of the World's Greatest Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Eternal City: A History of Rome Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rise of Athens: The Story of the World's Greatest Civilization Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Justinian's Flea: Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hadrian and the Triumph of Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Forgotten Peoples of the Ancient World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Anglo-Saxons: A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 – 1066 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Fall of Rome: And the End of Civilization Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lords of the Sea: The Epic Story of the Athenian Navy and the Birth of Democracy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rise and Fall of Alexandria: Birthplace of the Modern Mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Vanished Kingdoms: The Rise and Fall of States and Nations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alaric the Goth: An Outsider's History of the Fall of Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the Shadow of the Sword: The Birth of Islam and the Rise of the Global Arab Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Middle Ages Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Antiquity: From the Birth of Sumerian Civilization to the Fall of the Roman Empire Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Classical World: An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ghost on the Throne: The Death of Alexander the Great and the Bloody Fight for His Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Augustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Charlemagne Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Istanbul: City of Majesty at the Crossroads of the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of An Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Ancient History For You
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Volume I Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mary Magdalene: Women, the Church, and the Great Deception Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chariots of the Gods Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/51177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed: Revised and Updated Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Epic of Gilgamesh Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When God Had a Wife: The Fall and Rise of the Sacred Feminine in the Judeo-Christian Tradition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of An Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Histories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Killing Jesus: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Greek Mythology: An Elaborate Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Harems, Sagas, Rituals and Beliefs of Greek Myths Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Emperor's Handbook: A New Translation of The Meditations Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meditations Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gnosticism: The History and Legacy of the Mysterious Ancient Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hekate Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book of the Dead: The History and Legacy of Ancient Egypt’s Famous Funerary Texts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alexander the Great Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Egyptian Mythology: A Concise Guide to the Gods, Heroes, Sagas, Rituals and Beliefs of Egyptian Myths Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Caesar: Life of a Colossus Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The book of Thoth: A Short Essay on the Tarot of the Egyptians Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Be: Life Lessons from the Early Greeks Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Our Occulted History: Do the Global Elite Conceal Ancient Aliens? Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Past Mistakes: How We Misinterpret History and Why it Matters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for The Ruin of the Roman Empire
9 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The title of this book caught my eye while I was browsing through my public library catalog, so I borrowed it on a whim, interested in the subject no doubt but knowing nothing about the author, James J. O’Donnell. I found it fantastic – a sweeping saga of late Roman/early Byzantine history massive in scope, with flashes of insight and wit to match Gibbon (yes, that Gibbon). The Ruin of the Roman Empire covers a lot of topics, but is structured and well-written so that the segue ways between Roman senatorial villa economics and early Christian debates about the exact composition of Jesus’ divinity appear seamless. The careers of King Theoderic and Emperor Justinian are covered in detail. O’Donnell work is a revisionist look at the question of a) when exactly did the thing called the “Roman Empire” fall and b) (to a lesser extent) what sort of lessons does that empire’s demise have for 21th century western civilization in general and the USA in particular.My only criticism would be that about three-quarters through the book there’s just so much information and historic detail the overall effect is a bit ponderous. But all in all, a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the Roman Empire, Byzantium, or Early Christian history.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is an erudite and well-written book about the declining daysof the Roman Empire, which is full of insight but was not of overly-great interest to me. The author is obviously a master of the subject, though a skeptic as to religion. His words on Theodoric, Justinian, and St Gregory the Great are deserving of more attention than I suppose I gave them.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5O'Donnell takes a hard look at the usual narrative which ascribes the fall of Rome to barbarian invasions and cultural and military decline. He argues strongly that Rome survived and successfully incorporated a number of "barbarian" invasions through a process of acculturation among border peoples who successively infiltrated themselves into the Empire and became Roman. O'Donnell proposes that a series of poor choices by Eastern emperors actually set in motion the disintegration of the Roman world beginning in the sixth century, quite a bit later than the conventional date of 476 AD. I found his thesis and his evidence fascinating.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is an in your face witty account of the decline of the Roman Empire. The political intrigue and the characters portrayed makes the United States White House appear like some chaotic nursery school. Our politicians could learn a lot by reading History. O”Donnell is a first class Latin scholar who deftly weaves and sometimes spins his players based on an intimate knowledge of resources and brings to bear a more modern approach to classical Roman studies. A good read and worth the effort.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rapturous narrative of new visions and perspectives on one of the most over told tales of western civ ... The fall of that famous empire.