Gibbon and Toynbee

Edward Gibbon was an English historian who had his own idea of how the Roman Empire fell. He is famous for writing The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. He was also a part of The Parliament. His book was written in prose. When he wrote about the fall of the Roman empire he talked more about the good things about the Roman Empire. He believed that Rome was a very powerful empire and that the reason it fell was because it gained too much power. He said the fall was unavoidable since there was so much power. He also says that when we think about the fall of Rome we should think of how long it actually lasted.

Arnold Toynbee was a British historian. His views on the fall of the Roman Empire were very different then Edward Gibbons. He is famous for writing A Study of History. He as also a part of the Parliament. Unlike Gibbons, he didn't write about the good things about Roman Empire. He thought that Christianity was the problem and was what cause the roman Empire to fall. He said that the civilization destroyed itself.

sources:

"Arnold Toynbee - Christianity and Civilization." Welcome to MYRIOBIBLOS - The Etext Library of the Church of Greece. Web. 20 Mar. 2010. http://www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/english/toynbee.html

"Medieval Sourcebook: Gibbon: The Fall of the Roman Empire." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 19 Mar. 2010. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/gibbon-fall.html