Classic tome about the very long fall of Rome, basically from the reign of Commodus onwards... all the way to the fall of the Byzantium. Which is an awfully long fall, longer than the rise. It's probably fairer to say Rome fell a number of times (Crisis of the third century, Gothic invasion) but managed to live on in one form or another until the final defeat at the hands of the Turks.
Once you get used to his style of writing, its entertaining to read and Gibbon has no doubts as to the bad things human beings can get up to. His anti-Christian slant means this feels surprisingly modern (although less so his views on sexuality - namely the famous quote that of the early Emperors only Claudius' tastes were "entirely correct"). He has man crushes on the Antonines, and lesser known emperors like Alexander Severus, and Decius. A little tricky to read but worth it.
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