Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, published between 1776 and 1788, is the undisputed masterpiece of English historical writing which can only perish with the language itself. Its length alone is a measure of its monumental quality: seventy-one chapters, of which twenty-eight appear in full in this edition. With style, learning and wit, Gibbon takes the reader through the history of Europe from the second century AD to the fall of Constantinople in 1453 - an enthralling account by 'the greatest of the historians of the Enlightenment'. This edition includes Gibbon's footnotes and quotations, here translated for the first time, together with brief explanatory comments, a precis of the chapters not included, 16 maps, a glossary, and a list of emperors.

‘Instead of inquiring why the Roman empire was destroyed, we should rather be surprised that it had subsisted so long’

Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire compresses thirteen turbulent centuries into an epic narrative shot through with insight, irony and incisive character analysis. Sceptical about Christianity, sympathetic to the barbarian invaders and the Byzantine Empire, constantly aware of how political leaders often achieve the exact opposite of what they intend, Gibbon was both alert to the broad pattern of events and significant revealing details. The first of its six volumes, published in 1776, was attacked for its enlightened views on politics, sexuality and religion, yet it was an immediate bestseller and widely acclaimed for the elegance of its prose. Gripping, powerfully intelligent and wonderfully entertaining, it is among the greatest works of history in the English language and a literary masterpiece of its age.

This abridgement is based on David Womersley’s definitive three-volume Penguin Classics edition of Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Complete chapters from each volume, linked by extended bridging passages, vividly capture the style, argument and structure of the whole work.

Gibbon's historic book on the latter portion of the Roman Empire remains both a landmark in long books and a classic, well worth reading for a more complete view of the world.

The foreword to this work, first published over a century ago, provides the following recommendation: 'The narrative of Simon Ockley, which Edward Gibbon characterised as instructive, and his translation of Arabic MSS as 'learned and spirited', make his 'History of the Saracens' a fitting sequel to what has been offered in this volume from Gibbon's great work.' The combined essence of the writings of these two historians on Saracenic history, is here combined in a single volume of unsurpassed scholarship. Its republication will be welcomed by a wide readership.Simon Ockley (1678-1720) was born in Exeter and educated at Cambridge where, in 1711, he became Professor of Arabic at the University. His great work on the Saracens, published between 1708 and 1757, was the result of years of study in the Bodleian Library in Oxford. The second part of the present volume is an abridgement of this work.Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) is best known for his monumental history 'The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'. He was an admirer of Ockley's early translations from Arabic sources. Gibbon's own work forms the first part of the present work.

Gibbon’s masterpiece, which narrates the history of the Roman Empire from the second century a.d. to its collapse in the west in the fifth century and in the east in the fifteenth century, is widely considered the greatest work of history ever written. This abridgment retains the full scope of the original, but in a compass equivalent to a long novel. Casual readers now have access to the full sweep of Gibbon’s narrative, while instructors and students have a volume that can be read in a single term. This unique edition emphasizes elements ignored in all other abridgments—in particular the role of religion in the empire and the rise of Islam.

EDITED WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND APPENDICES BY DAVID WOMERSLEY Although it covers no less than thirteen centuries of history, writes David Womersley, Gibbon's Decline and Fall 'is never routine, always alert with humanity and intelligence, often surprising in its sympathies'. It counts, quite simply, as 'one of the greatest narratives in European literature'. This definitive three-volume edition presents a complete and unmodernized text, the author's own comments and notes, and his famous Vindication. The first volume considers the extent and constitution of the empire under the Antonines and then takes events down to the end of the fourth century. It includes the controversial chapters on the early Church and examines in detail the reign of the first Christian and last pagan emperors, Constantine and Julian.