The Roman Empire and its Germanic peoples
By: Herwig Wolfram ; translated by Thomas Dunlap.
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Berkeley, Calif
Language: eng
Number of pages: 361
Subjects: Germanic peoples -- Rome.; Rome -- History -- Germanic Invasions, 3rd-6th centuries.; Rome -- History -- Germanic Invasions, 3rd-6th centuries -- Historiography.
Description: The names of early Germanic warrior-tribes and leaders resound in songs and legends, and the real story of the part they played in transforming the ancient world is no less gripping. Herwig Wolfram's panoramic history spans the great migrations of the Germanic peoples and the rise and fall of their kingdoms between the third and eighth centuries, as they invaded, settled in, and ultimately transformed the Roman Empire.

Wolfram's narrative is far from the "decline and fall" interpretation that held sway until recent decades. He describes the transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages as a generally unsettled, frequently violent time of decentralization, depopulation, and shifts of power. Byzantium became the only center of the old Roman Empire while the western empire ceased to exist as such.

Only the increasing authority of the papacy in the Christian-Catholic world helped Rome survive as an imperial capital for the medieval Frankish kingdom and the Holy Roman Empire. This story, based on Wolfram's sweeping grasp of documentary and archaeological evidence, brings new clarity to a poorly understood period of Western history.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 335-345) and index.
Table of contents: title: List of Genealogical Charts
pagenum: ix; title: Chronologies
pagenum: xi; title: Introduction
pagenum: 1; label: One
title: Kings, Heroes, and Tribal Origins
pagenum: 14; label: Two
title: The Empire and the "New" Peoples
pagenum: 35
subtitle: From the Marcomannic Wars to the End of the Third Century; label: Three
title: The Germanic Peoples as Enemies and Servants of the Empire in the Fourth Century
pagenum: 51; label: Four
title: Emperorship and Kingship on Roman Soil
pagenum: 102; label: Five
title: The Hunnic Alternative
pagenum: 123; label: Six
title: The Kingdom of Toulouse (418-507)
pagenum: 145
subtitle: Pioneering Achievement and Failed Accommodation; label: Seven
title: The Vandals (406-534): A Unique Case?
pagenum: 159; label: Eight
title: Odovacar, or the Roman Empire That Did Not End
pagenum: 183; label: Nine
title: Theodoric (451-526) and Clovis (466/467-511)
pagenum: 194; label: Ten
title: A Battle for Rome (526/535-552/555)
pagenum: 224; label: Eleven
title: Britain Too Was Not Conquered: {"subtitle":"The Making of England in the Fifth and Sixth Centuries"}
pagenum: 240; label: Twelve
title: The Burgundians: Weakness and Resilience (407/413-534)
pagenum: 248; label: Thirteen
title: The Spanish Kingdom of the Visigoths (507/568-711/725)
pagenum: 260
subtitle: The First Nation of Europe; label: Fourteen
title: The Longobard Epilogue (488-643/652)
pagenum: 279; label: Fifteen
title: The Transformation of the Roman World
pagenum: 301; title: List of Abbreviations
pagenum: 315; title: Notes
pagenum: 317; title: Bibliography
pagenum: 335; title: Index
pagenum: 347; title: Maps
pagenum: 363