About the Author

Edward Gibbon (1737-1794), English historian. It was on a visit to Rome that he conceived the idea of his magnificent and panoramic history The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (6 vol., 1776-88) which won immediate acclaim, despite some harsh criticism. Gibbon himself was assured of the greatness of his work, which is, indeed, one of the most-read historical works of modern times.