The Fall Of Rome Bryan Ward-Perkins Summary

In “The Fall of Rome — an author discussion,” authors Bryan Ward-Perkins and Peter Heather present and confer their stances related to the fall of Rome. Though the two historians disagreed on a few concepts, they both definitely agreed that the fall of Rome was caused by a violent struggle through several “series of unfortunate events.” Contrary to other historians, like Walter Goffart, Ward-Perkins and Heather agreed that each time the Romans ceded land to foreign adversaries, their internal state of affairs were disrupted. For 70 years, Heather states, the Romans “struggled to survive” amid their “loss of vital, agricultural, tax base,” and their difficulty to maintain their military manpower. For example, Alexander Severus, who was Emperor from 222-235, was murdered by his own troops when he refused to increase their pay. This led to what is referred to as the Barracks Emperor (235-284), in which soldiers heavily influenced the emperors.
In his statements, Ward-Perkins reiterated that “the …show more content…
To analyze history with an “events and chance” perspective means recognizing the causes of different historical events, the effects of each event, and the possible alternative effects that might have existed if the events occurred differently, or not at all. For example, historians might use an “events and chance” perspective to predict what would have happened if Odoacer, an Ostrogothic soldier would not have sent all imperial regalia from Rome to Constantinople. On the other hand, historians may analyze history through a “structural change” lens, where their attention is focused on intentional, purposeful, and long-term changes rather than incidental events. A “structural change” perspective is more likely to examine alterations in societal fundamentals, such as changes in constitutions, social classes, or political