The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire

Written by Kyle Harper

Narrated by Andrew Garman

How devastating viruses, pandemics, and other natural catastrophes swept through the far-flung Roman Empire and helped to bring down one of the mightiest civilizations of the ancient world

Here is the monumental retelling of one of the most consequential chapters of human history: the fall of the Roman Empire. The Fate of Rome is the first book to examine the catastrophic role that climate change and infectious diseases played in the collapse of Rome’s power—a story of nature’s triumph over human ambition. Interweaving a grand historical narrative with cutting-edge climate science and genetic discoveries, Kyle Harper traces how the fate of Rome was decided not just by emperors, soldiers, and barbarians but also by volcanic eruptions, solar cycles, climate instability, and devastating viruses and bacteria. The Fate of Rome is a sweeping account of how one of history’s greatest civilizations encountered and endured, yet ultimately succumbed to, the cumulative burden of nature’s violence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9781501978241

Reviews for The Fate of Rome

[david_schutz_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An important contrite the understanding of the past, all readers will see the uncanny relevance to the present.

[kabogo2008 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very interesting to read in our COVID times. I wish to have read it before

[capewood · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

2022 Book #59. 2017. To the usual suspects (like barbarians) the author adds global climate change (normal sun variations and volcanoes) and disease (smallpox and bubonic plague) to the downfall of the Roman Empire. Very good read for the history buff (like me).

[deusvitae · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A thorough and chilling exploration into the fall of Rome.In 150 CE, a Roman would have lived in what he or she imagined was an enduring, robust civilization, having reached a pinnacle of development and growth which the world had never yet seen, manifesting stability which they would easily imagine would continue indefinitely.By 600, the world had completely changed for the Romans, and they knew their great age had passed. Civilization would not reach the same extent of strength, quality of life, etc. until the 19th century.The author explores the traditional understanding of the fall of Rome based on Gibbon and historians after him. He then provides his major critique of that posture: it treated the environment as a constant and a given. This whole work is the author's exploration into what archaeology and climatology have taught us regarding what allowed for the rise of Rome and why it so thoroughly collapsed. The bulk of the work tells the story of the Roman Climate Optimum and the growth and expansion of the Roman Empire and the Roman population. The author addresses the continual sources of sickness and death throughout the Roman Empire throughout its heyday - the pervasive gastrointestinal parasites and diseases that rendered Romans shorter than those who came before and after them and led to persistently high death rates - diarrhea as the primary cause of death in the Roman world.He speaks in detail on the Antonine plague which he identifies as smallpox and does well at tracing its likely origins from sub-Saharan Africa and the wide Indian Ocean trading route use which facilitated the spread of smallpox from Egypt outward. He would also speak of the Cyprianic plague and make the argument it was a virus related to Ebola. The author associated the rise of Christianity with the Christian treatment of plague victims and the disruption caused by the plague.The author addressed the climate variations - the Roman Climate Optimum (RCO) of 200 BCE to 150 CE, and then the intermediate period between it and the Late Antique Ice Age of 450 to 750. He explained how the Mediterranean climate was truly warmer and more humid and not at all consistent with the idea of the "Mediterranean climate" today during the RCO. He associated the end of the RCO with a lot of data regarding difficulties throughout the Empire in the disruptions of the 3rd century and afterward.He also addresses the history - the terrible times of 240-270 and how it could have ended the Empire, the impressive nature of the resurgence of Empire in the fourth century, and all to set up the ultimate disasters which would end the Roman Empire as a going concern in the fifth century and onward.The end of the book focuses on the disaster of the middle of the sixth century: the combination of less solar energy and intense volcanism that led to the coldest two decades of the past few thousand years from 540 to 560, and how those conditions facilitated the spread of bubonic plague in the days of Justinian and afterward. In great depth he explains how powerful the Justinian Plague was, how it also likely led to the death of half of Europe just as the Black Death of the 14th century would, and how the bubonic plague would persist and flare up throughout Europe and Western Asia from 540 until 750. He explained the truly apocalyptic situation this engendered, how it led to fervent eschatological expectations, and how that shaped Judaism, Christianity, and even the development of Islam. We see how the world of 520, even with Germanic invasions and incursions in the west, in many respects remained recognizably Roman; because of the inauguration of the Late Antique Ice Age and the coming of the plague, we see the almost complete collapse of Western civilization, and why it would not reach the heights it enjoyed in Roman times until the 19th century. In light of climate change and COVID-19 this is a thoroughly terrifying book. It reminds us that our world which we take for granted as "normal" has only been so for 200 or so years at maximum. We can see the disruption to Roman life caused by changes in climate which prove minute compared to what we have done in saturating the atmosphere in carbon dioxide and can only wonder what will happen to us soon. Likewise, COVID-19 is almost nothing compared to smallpox, the Ebola-like virus, and the bubonic plague's impact on Roman society, and yet look how disruptive COVID-19 has proven. Our civilization is not as stable or as normal as we would like to imagine.In its own way this book testifies to the satisfaction of all the plagues prophesied in the book of Revelation against the beast, false prophet, and whore known as Rome and its Empire and religion...and yet there's plenty to challenge Christian theology here, since the Empire experienced its great death knell at the height of its Christendom in the sixth century. As a result, many "Christianized" lands would be Islamicized as they have been until this day. Nevertheless, an indispensable work for understanding the fall of the Roman Empire, and all kinds of lessons for modern man to consider.

[shrike58 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Back in the day I was part of a circle of friends who enjoyed table-top gaming and one of our "go to" games was "Republic of Rome" where, essentially, you sought to be come the first emperor; unless you were defeated by cardboard and dice and the Republic collapsed on top of you. What one has with this book is a close examination of the real-life version of the process, and how pandemic disease and climate extremes brought about the collapse of the Roman Empire. Which, if nothing else, allowed for the rise of the Caliphate. While this is not exactly news, we now have more access to what the author calls "natural archives," which allows for a fuller picture of the process of dissolution and all but the most well-informed student of the classical world will take away something of value from this book.

[annbury_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book looks at Roman history in relation to two key variables -- disease and climate change. The author attributes the much of the ability of Roman civilization to reach its second century heights to a period of a warm, moist and relatively stable climate. As to the fall of Rome (a process that took several centuries, it should be remembered) he attributes this to a negative change in the climate, and to massive disease outbreaks with mortality that may have approached 50%. I find his arguments compelling, particularly when a third horseman of the apocalypse joins climate change and epidemic -- warfare. This is not coincidental: as climate and disease stress increased, populations began to move, triggering conflict. As to the writing, the author's style is more literary than most such works. At first this bothered me, but I settled nicely into his humanistic approach, and found the book an enjoyable read as well as a most enlightening one.