The Histories
Polybius · Ancient · History / political thought
Enlightenment · History
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
by Edward Gibbon. A monumental narrative traces Rome’s transformation and collapse with irony, erudition, and a secular theory of historical change.
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- Date
- 1776–1789
- Origin
- England
- Genre
- History
- Canon tier
- Essential core
- Difficulty
- Challenging
- Length
- Very long
- Collection
- The Western Canon
Subjects and themes
Why it matters
A monumental narrative traces Rome’s transformation and collapse with irony, erudition, and a secular theory of historical change.
This work is included on the basis of great books / harvard. Its cataloged influence level is 5 out of 5.
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Essential 100
A century of works that gives the broadest useful first view of the Western canon. 100 books · Advanced.