Traditional histories of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire in the west portray a centuries-long decline,
ending in that final overthrow of the last western emperor in AD 476. The Eastern, or Byzantine, Empire,
endured until the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks, in 1453. Historian Donnell presents a
more nuanced and probably more accurate view in an engrossing and wonderfully descriptive portrait of
late antiquity. Donnell focus is the sixth century, when the reimposition of imperial control over lost territory
in Italy and the west was still feasible. As Donnell illustrates, the city of Rome had long ceased to be the
center of the empire; commercial hubs such as Alexandria and other prosperous eastern cities were more
influential. It was the failure of the elites of this civilization, particularly the emperor Justinian, that made
the loss of western territories irrevocable. As he explores his thesis, Donnell provides a sweeping panorama
that includes diverse Christian sects, surprisingly civilized barbarians, and ordinary humans striving to survive
in an unstable world.

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