Robert Payne (1) (1911–1983)

An opulent, at the same time erudite and content-rich, account of the best period of the Roman Empire of the dictators and proconsuls. There are good accounts of the greatest of the emperors, starting with Julius Caeser, and ending with the overrunning of Rome by the northern tribes like the Goths and Vandals, and just touching on the final eclipse by the taking of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453. The Decline and fall of the Roman Empire' is relegated to the end, so this book provides a good counter-weight to Gibbon's scasting, if scholarly, account of demise and doom. The author gives a fine assessment (that reads like a peroration!) of the longer-lasting bequest of the Roman civilization, such as the rule of law, equality of citizens, administrative framework including the maintenance of a competent bureaucracy, and of course their astonishing prowess with public constructions like roads, canals, harbours, citi planning, and so on. The fatal weaknesses are also well brought out, such as the inordinate dependence on mercenary armed forces, the intractable problem of succession (for which, ironically, one of the greatest, Marcus Aurelius, is held responsible for starting the hereditary line of succession with disastrous results), and the self-absorption of the rich. This story surely has important lessons for the regimes of the present day.… (meer)