tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post3651299209533345878..comments2023-05-02T23:19:12.706+10:00Comments on Armarium Magnum: The Fall of the West: The Death of the Roman Superpower by Adrian GoldsworthyTim O'Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00292944444808847980noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-41371238052392388512011-03-26T09:59:53.615+11:002011-03-26T09:59:53.615+11:00I just finished reading Ammianus Marcellinus, and ...I just finished reading Ammianus Marcellinus, and the picture he paints is of the Romans, at least under Julian and then Valentinian I, successfully pushing back the Germanic tribes and conducting campaigns on the other side of the Rhine and Danube rivers. That seems to be evidence in Peter Heather's favor that the empire was stabilizing militarily.<br /><br /><em>Obviously a vulnerable Tommykeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14751182125861177379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-24816809938909281472010-02-06T06:56:31.344+11:002010-02-06T06:56:31.344+11:00Anonymous asked:
The question I want to ask is th...Anonymous asked:<br /><br /><i>The question I want to ask is this, just how extensive was Goldsworthy's biblography?</i><br /><br />Sixteen pages.<br /><br /><i>Did he rely on the works done by German historians for instance? A fair number of works on the third century is done by the german historians.</i><br /><br />He cites a number of German works and works by German scholars, including Tim O'Neillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00292944444808847980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-32143925450245307952010-02-06T06:51:23.094+11:002010-02-06T06:51:23.094+11:00tenthmedieval said:
Excellent review as ever, Tim...tenthmedieval said:<br /><br /><i>Excellent review as ever, Tim</i><br /><br />Thanks.<br /><br /><i>The problem with this is that it makes one of history's most disparate and discontinuous groupings, `the barbarians', behave like a machine with programmed responses to certain stimuli that remain the same over centuries. On rare occasions barbarian groups do seem to have operated on a Tim O'Neillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00292944444808847980noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-22268919136233536022010-02-05T12:22:30.532+11:002010-02-05T12:22:30.532+11:00The question I want to ask is this, just how exten...The question I want to ask is this, just how extensive was Goldsworthy's biblography? <br /><br />Did he rely on the works done by German historians for instance? A fair number of works on the third century is done by the german historians. <br /><br />Also, what primary sources is he using?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-56703295393368587602010-02-05T11:34:18.137+11:002010-02-05T11:34:18.137+11:00Interesting review.
I found Goldworthy's book...Interesting review.<br /><br />I found Goldworthy's book sometimes a bit long. His style lacks a I-don't-know-what to make things more interesting, like Heather for instance. He does not really bring anything new to the debate about the end of the Roman Empire. The idea of the growing danger of usurpation because of the introduction of the equestrians to higher command is old.<br /><br />Aetiusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6774463840913796679.post-89624059836503579512010-02-04T01:06:23.069+11:002010-02-04T01:06:23.069+11:00Excellent review as ever, Tim, but, assuming that ...Excellent review as ever, Tim, but, assuming that you report accurately, several things here set my historical senses to `concern':<br /><br /><i>Firstly, he notes how barbarian invasions are a symptom of Roman weakness and instability, not a cause of it. Over and over again during the Third Century renewed boughts of Roman civil strife invited larger and deeper raids by barbarians over the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com