The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume I

By: Edward Gibbon

Narrated by: David Timson

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire has always maintained its initial appeal to both the general public and scholars alike. Its sheer scale is daunting, encompassing over a millennium of history, covering not merely the Western Empire from the days of the early emperors to its extinction in AD 476, but also the Eastern Empire, which lasted for another thousand years until the Turks vanquished it in 1453. But Gibbon’s style, part historical fact and part literature, is enticing, and the sheer honesty of the man, who endeavours to be scrupulously impartial in his presentation, endears him to the reader. In this recording, David Timson incorporates the most salient of Gibbon’s footnotes.

In Volume I (chapters I-XV), Gibbon opens by setting the scene with the Empire as it stood in the time of Augustus (d. AD 14) before praising the time of the Antonines (AD 98-180). The death of Marcus Aurelius and the accession of Commodus and his successors ushers in turbulent and dangerous times which were only occasionally marked by a wise and temperate ruler. The volume ends in AD 324, with Constantine the Great becoming undisputed Roman emperor, uniting both the East and Western Empires.

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2014 Naxos AudioBooks

Map

I will get a map or maps for the remaining volumes so I can see where Gibbons has jumped to.

If you want detailed and meticulously researched history, you hit the jackpot with this. Otherwise, I do not recommend it.

Density

This was a struggle for me, not for the narration or writing style (which are both excellent), but due to density and breadth of the information presented. This must be one of the most thoroughly researched and executed historical works of all time. Truly epic.

Expand Your Vocabulary in Just 146 hours

Since all six volumes are of a piece I am reviewing it as such. This is a massive work and I will not attempt to extol all its virtues here. I have always had this on my reading list but knew that I would never devote months of reading time to tackling this history. This is a prime example of the superiority of the audio format in facilitating the assimilation of such lengthy books.

Here are my general impressions:

History is primarily an account of the leaders and ruling class. The vast unwashed masses pass through the halls of recorded history in abject silence.

The Roman Empire persisted for a very long time in many different forms. It is beyond my attention span to try to hold the entire span in my head. I admire Edward Gibbon for his ability to seemingly relate all these different eras with equal perspicuity. I will require a second pass through to more fully grasp

The influence of Christianity is the primary cause for the decline of the Roman Empire. One cannot hope to understand the underlying causes of the Roman Empire’s downfall without having a firm grasp of the doctrinal battles within the church. In order to make his reasoning clear to the listener Gibbon is careful to explain the fine points of Christian doctrine. He expounds, at length, the Arian heresy and its political implications. And, in a related episode, he relates the origins and expanse of the Mohammadan religion because of its impact on the Romans.

This is not merely a narrative history. Gibbon writes with high style and great aplomb. His humor is witty and droll and quite pervasive. The byzantine convolutions of this history are made beautiful by his flowing prose. This is a work of literature.

Either the common vocabulary of people in the eighteenth century was higher than that of people today or Gibbon has an incredible mastery of the English language, uncommon in any time. I prefer the latter.

David Timson has a wonderful sonorous voice; one quite suitable to hours of critical listening. His enunciation is crisp and his inflection perfectly suited to delivering Gibbon’s frequent backhanded compliments.

Narration turned me off early

How could the performance have been better?

For Pete sakes...the narration was terrible....constantly reverting to footnote....end of footnote....couldn't take it any longer and gave up.....much better to just read it

Genial. Para amantes de la historia,ç.

Increíble como escribe el auto y como es narrado. No me di cuenta de la antigüedad del libro hasta que llevaba ya unas horas. Nada esto engancha tanto que de cabeza a por los siguientes volúmenes. La leche que gusto.

one of the best

Timson's dlivery of Gibbons'
magnificent work captures its true escense . I think Gibbons would approve.

good

epic and interesting, except for the chapters on early christians. those I could do without

A Classic Book that worths to be listen

Edward Gibbon is a classic writer and an Historian classic. He has the ability to build historical texts using beautiful images and should be a poet. Audible Amazon Co. certainly hits a point of excellence offering us this masterpiece of History read by David Timson, who is a fantastic reader. His accent, his voice, his own interpretation of the text take us to the Ancient Rome, following the armies, watching the battles, listening the great roman orators, admring the archicteture of the big cities. The listening of these volumes let us learn the History of Rome through his decline and, finally, the fall of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. The ascension of the Germanic Kingdoms is explained also in an historic romantic way, showing the palacian coups and intrigues. You probably will stop only when David annouces: the end.

great narration - even Gibbons pedantry is sweet

David Timson is the best narrator so far of all the audio editions. Crisp, clear, agile, precise. No dropped syllables at the end of the sentence, and no overly posh inserted rhotics. Timson's excellent delivery is the crucial element that makes this very very long story a fairly easy listen.

Although sometimes ponderous and tedious [especially in recounting the endless military battles] Gibbon's legendary six volumes are essential reading. They have been best-sellers for 250 years. When the first volume was published in 1776, the Decline and Fall was quite expensive [26 guineas!] yet it was quickly sold-out of numerous London printings. Despite some bitter attacks by his critics, each subsequent volume became a must-have for educated households.

Gibbon originally intended to write the history in one volume and in French. He was persuaded by David Hume to use English, in order to reach a wider audience. He did, and Hume was right. However, Gibbon was a colleague of the Philosophes. and his erudite literary style is overburdened by French conceptual philosophical vocabulary. He uses very little household English phrasing. Rather he prefers long chains of Latinate, multi-syllabic academic words - which sound rather pedantic to modern ears. Fortunately, Timson's brisk narration does help to move the story along,

Still, the knowledge gained is of lasting value. For long-view thinkers, it is entirely worth the effort to hear the whole detailed history, covering more than 1000 years. Gibbon's human character analysis of emperors, generals, bishops, and popes is wise -- and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. Along with the public events and legal regimes, the reader will obtain a much enriched understanding of the great repeating cycles of human mass behavior.

Immersion in all six volumes remains the best way to gain the fullest perspective on the administrative structures [both sacred and secular] that kept civilization alive during the Dark and Medieval periods. It is a gigantic spectrum and nobody handles this huge scale better than master Gibbon. In the ensuing 250 years, some of his historical sources have been found to be fraudulent -- but only a few. His overall assessments are still considered to frame the standard integrated viewpoint. Well recommended if you have the time!

Long, but informative

Truly amazing the events and capturing it through all the historic texts that must have been reviewed. At times the wording is difficult to understand and often the footnotes would only make sense to someone who was as literary familiar with those ancient and modern authors. Definitely educational.