Title: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol 3
Author: Edward Gibbon
Publisher: Everyman’s Library, 1993
(First published 1788)
ISBN: 9781857150957
Pages: 556
At
the end of the third volume, we stand at the desolate pavements of Rome whose
claims and privileges as the capital of the Western empire were cruelly ripped
off by the terrible arms of the barbarians. This volume includes chapters 26 to
36, which begins narration with the ascent of Gratian, successor of Valentinian
I, in 367 CE and ends with the deposing of Romulus in 476 CE in which year the
Germanic prince Odoacer ends the royal line and starts ruling in his own name. This
century saw not merely the eclipse of the western half, but the growth of
barbarians first as servants, then allies and finally masters of the empire. At
the height of the empire’s growth, a vast multitude of people with all possible
variations of culture came under its ambit. The citizens and officials of the
metropolitan state then indulged in luxury and leisure, leaving the hard areas
of governance, including waging wars against neighbours, to trusted servants
who happen to be those very same barbarians who had been defeated and tamed only
a few decades back. Over time, the barbarians learn the skills of their masters
and excel on the military front. The empire is then never safe from the
neighbours or their mercenaries in the empire’s own legions who are ironically
tasked with the duty to protect its borders. We read about Rome being sacked
many times in this period, beginning with Alaric in 410 CE. We also see in the
successful spread of the barbarians the germination of the future nations of
Europe. At the end of this volume, the Western Empire is extinguished for all
practical purposes and the Eastern half begins its precarious existence till
1453 CE.
Since
Rome’s eclipse took place at the behest of the barbarians, Gibbon starts the volume
with a survey of the nomadic way of life. Scythians and Tartars are taken as
the examples to identify a common framework on which the society is organized.
The camp, and not the soil, is the native country of the genuine Tartar. Within
the precincts of the camp, his family, companions and property were always
included. This helps the nomad to surround himself with the objects which are
dear and valuable to him even in the most distant marches. Their migrations
were in search of a more plentiful subsistence or a less formidable enemy.
Agriculture was not widely practiced by the nomads, making pastoral life the
preferred career that was undoubtedly ideal as compared to farming or
manufactures. The Tartars assigned their captives to servile and assiduous
duties. The shepherd’s leisure was devoted to hunting either for killing or to
tame and train the strong and serviceable breed of horses.
The
author is usually harsh on religious practices and worship which do not benefit
the society. By the time Volume 3 starts, Christianity had become the religion
of the emperor and most of the aristocracy.After paganism was subdued, fanatics
among the Christian clergy targeted heretical sects among their own
co-religionists. For the next century we see persecution and counter
persecutions by the Arians and Orthodox/Catholic Christianity. The major schism
of the Christian faith which we observe today had not come into being. Emperor
Theodosius inaugurated the era of persecution of heretic Christian sects by the
state with the declared aim to root out Arian heresy. The heretical teachers
were excluded from the privileges and emoluments so liberally granted to
Orthodox clergy. Prohibition of building places of worship was also in place.
On the practice of religion involving mysteries and miracles, the old customs
took on a new form. The progress of Christianity had silenced the oracles of
Delphi and Dodona. In their stead, Christian monks turned to prophesy. John of
Lycopolis in Egypt dwelt for fifty years on the summit of a lofty mountain in a
crude cell. He never opened the door and lived without seeing the face of a
woman and without tasting any food that was prepared by fire or any human art.
Five days of the week he spent on prayer and on Saturdays and Sundays he opened
a small window and gave audience to the crowd of supplicants. Paganism’s
downfall is linked to the lack of organisation and concerted action. The
obstinate zeal to stand by their gods was not congenial to the loose and
careless temper of polytheism. The violent and repeated strokes of the Orthodox
princes were broken only by the soft and yielding substance and ready obedience
of paganism. Instead of asserting or maintaining the superiority of their gods,
they desisted with a ‘plaintive murmur’ from the use of those sacred rites
which their sovereign had condemned. Chapter 28 is an enlightening piece on how
Christianity overwhelmed the traditional religion which provides some
illuminating lessons on what happened in some parts of India from the modern
representatives of the same religion. So rapid was the fall of paganism that
only 28 years after the death of Theodosius, its minutest vestiges were no
longer visible.
We
have seen fortune’s wheel turn to transform Christianity from the role of the
persecuted to that of the religion of the emperor. With this advent of
spiritual power, clergy began to intervene in civil affairs of the state over
which they had no moral or sacerdotal duty or obligation. Ambrose was the
archbishop of Milan who was greatly revered by the flock as well as Emperor
Theodosius who afforded every civil measure of the government to exalt the
position of the bishop. But Ambrose was a fanatic too who claimed that the
toleration accorded to the Jewish community in itself was a persecution of the
Christian religion. The birth of antisemitism thus occurred in the Roman
empire. Ambrose boldly intervened in political disputes and succession
struggles also. When Eugenius usurped the Western throne by killing young
Valentinian, Ambrose stoutly denied him the glories of sovereignty. He rejected
the gifts of Eugenius, declined his correspondence and withdrew from Milan till
the usurper was killed by Theodosius in battle.
So,
what caused the downfall of Rome and the victory of their barbarian neighbours?
Gibbon does not disclose the answer in a simple sentence or paragraph or even a
chapter, but his idea permeates the book which become legible once the reader
applies his mind to look at the direction various hints are pointing to. The
loss of martial spirit was the single reason caused by enervation that set in
following a life of luxury and well-regulated freedom. The more secure and
established the rule of law, the less likely that the citizens care to take up
arms, be it for the empire or for their own safety. The barbarians too readily
succumbed to the mentally corrosive indulgence of civilization over time. But
the empire slowly lost its power to diffuse its culture and enroll more of them as citizens before they came in hordes to overwhelm the
metropolis. Pusillanimous indolence and relaxation of discipline accelerated
the downfall. The citizen soldiers complained about the weight of armour and
obtained permission for laying aside their cuirasses and helmets. This made
them very vulnerable to archers in battle which was the specialty of barbarians
such as the Goths, Huns and Alani. The emperors could not even enforce
discipline and punishment over those barbarians recruited for imperial service.
Alaric the Goth invaded the province of Greece and robbed the citizens of their
riches, but he was quickly forgiven with impunity and was made the
master-general of Illyricum and king of the Visigoths by the Emperor of the
East.
The
sack of Rome in 410 CE by Alaric is graphically described. Even though Rome was
not the centre of the Sovereign’s residence, it still commanded great respect
in the whole of the empire. The life inside the city on the face of the long
siege prior to its capture is given special attention. The description of the
enormous wealth accumulated in the city over the ages deeply impresses the
readers of the high level of trade and commerce. The nominal emperor watched
the proceedings from Ravenna, situated on the other side of Italy’s long coast.
However, the Goths of Alaric were intent only to negotiate a treaty with the
emperor rather than usurping him. Once this was achieved, they cheerfully
vacated Rome with their captured treasures and entered into imperial service.
In fact, the barbarians were in de facto total control of Italy and the
provinces when the Western empire was finally extinguished.
We
read about the great pioneers of Christian spirituality in this volume with the
likes of Ambrose of Milan, Martin of Tours, John Chrysostom of Antioch, Leo of
Rome and several others. All of them came into contact with the empire and
either got persecuted or was offered the most reverent submission of the ruler.
The Arian sect still exerted its defiant influence, often at the irritation of
the Orthodox/Catholic faith. Gibbon’s treatment of the Mongols presents an
amusing fact to Indian readers. While narrating the upheaval and influx of
barbarian hordes, the Mongols play a prominent role, but Gibbon calls them Moguls
which in the strictest sense must be addressed to the Muslim dynasty that ruled
India for two centuries and claimed their descent from the Mongols. In the
eighteenth century when this book was first published, both these terms must
have seemed ambiguous to scholars.
The
book is highly recommended.
Rating: 4 Star
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