The Falls of Rome: Crises, Resilience, and Resurgence in Late Antiquity (Adventures in Music)

Over the course of the fourth through seventh centuries, Rome witnessed a succession of five significant political and military crises, including the Sack of Rome, the Vandal occupation, and the demise of the Senate. Historians have traditionally considered these crises as defining events, and thus critical to our understanding of the 'decline and fall of Rome.' In this volume, Michele Renee Salzman offers a fresh interpretation of the tumultuous events that occurred in Rome during Late Antiquity. Focusing on the resilience of successive generations of Roman men and women and their ability to reconstitute their city and society, Salzman demonstrates the central role that senatorial aristocracy played, and the limited influence of the papacy during this period. Her provocative study provides a new explanation for the longevity of Rome and its ability, not merely to survive, but even to thrive over the last three centuries of the Western Roman Empire. "To paraphrase Huxley, this book is about what generations of men and women experienced and then did in the wake of the great political and military crises that overtook the city of Rome in late antiquity, a period that spans from the late third through the early seventh centuries. Rome was still the largest city in the western Mediterranean and an imperial capital, with a resident aristocracy and prestigious institutions that had enabled Romans to rule an empire since the third century BC"-- Provided by publisher. Contents 5 Maps 6 Figures 7 Acknowledgments 8 Abbreviations for Frequently Cited Works 11 Abbreviations for Imperial Offices in Late Antiquity 14 Approaches to the Fate of the Late Antique City 19 The Constantinian Compromise 54 Responses to the Sack of Rome in 410 114 Rome after the 455 Vandal Occupation 166 Why Gibbon Was Wrong 215 The Fall of Ostrogothic Rome and the Justinianic Reconstruction 261 The Demise of the Senate 318 Tables 355 Bibliography 418 Index 449