The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

<b>Edited abridged and with a critical Foreword by Hans-Friedrich Mueller</b><br> <b>Introduction by Daniel J. Boorstin</b><br> <b>Illustrations by Giovanni Battista Piranesi</b><br><br>Edward Gibbon&#146;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 breadth comparable to a novel. Casual readers now have access to the full sweep of Gibbon&#146;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&#151;in particular the role of religion in the empire and the rise of Islam.