‘A skilled storyteller, Holmes presents a riveting account of the wars, intrigues and personalities that contributed to Rome’s decline, with entire chapters devoted to single battles.’ Kirkus Reviews WHY DID ROME FALL? In this gripping retelling of one of the most momentous chapters in history, Nick Holmes presents a new interpretation of an old story. The fate of Rome was decided not just by emperors, soldiers and barbarians but also by an environmental disaster. A catastrophic megadrought on the Asian steppes in the fourth century AD forced the migration of entire peoples - Huns, Goths, Vandals and others - west into the Roman Empire. They met an empire weakened from war with Persia. Rome’s misfortunes multiplied as it made tactical errors on the battlefield. Civil war, religious unrest and political incompetence compounded a worsening situation. The result was one of the greatest disasters in the ancient world - the sack of Rome by the Goths in AD 410. This is the second book in a multi-volume series on the Fall of the Roman Empire. The first book, The Roman Revolution , describes ‘the crisis of the third century’ and Rome’s adoption of Christianity. The third book, Rome and Attila, covers the part played by Attila the Hun in the Western Roman Empire's downfall. Further volumes will continue Rome's turbulent history, from its revival under the emperor Justinian to the rise of Islam, the beginnings of Byzantium and the dawn of the Middle Ages. Praise for The Roman Revolution and other books by Nick Holmes “An enlightening and lively interpretation of an important but neglected historical period.” Kirkus Reviews about The Roman Revolution . “Clear, succinct and compelling…” AudioFile Magazine about The Byzantine World War. “A thrilling blend of historical rigor and dramatic storytelling.” Kirkus Reviews about The Byzantine World War. This second installment of a nonfiction series on the decline of the Roman Empire explores the pivotal events that led to the Goths' sacking of Rome in 410 C.E. The book begins with a gripping description of the Battle of Adrianople (378 C.E.), where ostensibly disciplined Roman legionaries lost to disorderly, "savage" Goths. Just 32 years later, Goth fighters would occupy the streets of Rome itself. The rapid decline of antiquity's most powerful military empire has long captivated historians, who have pointed to a myriad of sometimes paradoxical explanations that range from moral decay to the rise of Christianity. One German historian, Holmes notes, listed more than 200 contributing factors to the empire's collapse. Offering "new answers to the old questions," this book concurs with many contemporary scholars in stressing the "failure of Roman political leadership" and other internal factors but adds a convincing, novel explanation of its own. Drawing on cutting-edge paleoclimatology, the author argues that a fourth-century "megadrought" in the Asian steppes sparked a mass migration of nomadic Huns to "find new pastures" in Europe. This migration initiated a "domino effect that pushed the Germans west" and into inevitable competition with Rome. A skilled storyteller whose books are accompanied by a popular podcast ( The Fall of the Roman Empire ), Holmes presents a riveting account that eschews jargon for an engaging retelling of the wars, intrigue, and personalities that contributed to Rome's decline, with entire chapters devoted to single battles. This emphasis on accessibility is accompanied by more than two dozen images and maps as well as useful appendices that offer timelines of the reigns of Roman emperors and major events. This absorbing history emphasizes climate change, delivering important lessons about the Roman Empire's decline. Kirkus Reviews Nick Holmes is an author, podcaster and historian. His passion is Roman history. He is currently writing a multi-volume series on the fall of the Roman Empire. It is intended to be the most comprehensive account of this momentous event since Edward Gibbon's legendary 'History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' over two hundred years ago.