The Later Roman Empire

The Later Roman Empire is a historical account of the end of the Roman Empire, penned by Ammianus Marcellinus, the last great Roman historian. His writings hold a prestigious place alongside those of Livy and Tacitus.

This chronicle spans a period of twenty-five years during Marcellinus' lifetime, covering the reigns of Constantius, Julian, Jovian, Valentinian I, and Valens. It provides eyewitness accounts of significant military events, including the Battle of Strasbourg and the Goth's Revolt.

Marcellinus portrays a time of rapid and dramatic change, describing an Empire exhausted by excessive taxation, rampant corruption, the financial ruin of the middle classes, and the progressive decline in army morale. In this magisterial depiction of the closing decades of the Roman Empire, the seeds of events that would lead to the fall of the city, just twenty years after Marcellinus' death, can be discerned.