Corruption and the Decline of Rome

By Ramsay MacMullen

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300043139
• ISBN13: 9780300043136
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 332 Pages
• Weight: 1.51 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Tells the How very well. But what about the why?

MacMullen is a Roman historian. No doubt about it. His knowledge and use of source material is unmatched. And his subject is the most tantilizing of all for Roman Empire fans. What really caused the decline? The cause he posits, out of control corruption throughout the official and unofficial bureacracy, is one that has long captivated historians. It resonates through all ages and societies. Why? Why that cause and not the standard one of military defeat? Because in govenment corruption we see what we expect ( and hope?) to find in our own times. And in finding it we want to make it uniquely the crime of the opposing party, whoever that is. But MacMullen who does such a good job in describing how corruption worked in the empire and when it began, does not tell us WHY it happened? What made the late 3rd century AD the pivot point ( which it so obviously was) in a system of genial bribery to one of violent rapaciousness able to destroy an empire? Why not the 2nd century? Why not the 4th century? MacMullen never tells us. And maybe because he, nor anyone, knows why.

Who to Read about The Decline of Rome

If you want a pleasant fantasy about Rome's decline, influenced by Tacitus's writings from another period entirely, read Gibbon. If you want to read a standard version that rehashes much of the myth of decline and fall, read Grant. If you want to get a handle on the the conditions of the later Roman Empire, read Ramsay MacMullen.