NICK HOLMES
THE ROMAN REVOLUTION
The Roman Revolution is the first book in my series on the Fall of the Roman Empire. It describes the little known “crisis of the third century”. Long before the collapse of the Roman Empire in the fifth century, in the years between AD 235-275, barbarian invasions, civil war and plague devastated ancient Rome. Out of this ordeal, a revolutionary new order arose. It was the first step in the history of the Fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the modern world.
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THE FALL OF ROME
WHY DID ROME FALL?
The Fall of Rome is the second book in my series on the Fall of the Roman Empire. In this gripping retelling of the sack of the city of Rome in AD 410 by the Goths, a new interpretation of an old story is presented. 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 suffered from mistakes on the battlefield, civil war, religious unrest and political incompetence.
ROME & ATTILA
WHO WAS THE REAL ATTILA?
Rome and Attila is the third book in my series on the Fall of the Roman Empire. It is the first major work written about Attila for decades. I try to unravel the truth about this legendary figure. Contrary to popular opinion, Attila was a complex and captivating personality.
He led his steppe nomads further west than Genghis Khan or Tamerlane. He nearly destroyed the Roman Empire. But his vast ambition undid him. This book is a must read for those interested in Rome, the Huns and military history.
JUSTINIAN'S EMPIRE
IT WAS AN AGE OF GLORY...
...BUT ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD.
'A riveting account of Justinian's reign that challenges traditional consensus' Kirkus Reviews
The sixth-century AD witnessed a remarkable turn-around in the Roman Empire's fortunes. Justinian’s general, Belisarius, recovered North Africa and Italy from the barbarians. An impressive new law code was inaugurated that would endure to this day. Astonishing building projects, like the iconic Hagia Sophia, rivalled the great monuments of Old Rome.
But rather than restoring Rome’s greatness did Justinian in fact pave the way for its collapse less than a century after his death?
THE END OF ANTIQUITY
How did a remote desert people change the course of world history?
In the seventh century AD, the Eastern Roman Empire collapsed—defeated by the rising power of Arabia. How did this happen? And why then?
In this gripping new history, Nick Holmes offers a fresh view of the end of the Ancient World and the rise of Islam—it wasn’t just religion and war that shaped history, but a hidden force also played a vital role—climate change. A mysterious climatic shift—the Late Antique Little Ice Age—devastated the Roman and Persian empires while Arabia thrived.
THE INHERITORS OF ROME
WHAT HAPPENED AFTER ROME FELL?
In The Inheritors of Rome, Nick Holmes concludes his series on the Fall of the Roman Empire with a bold and thought-provoking examination of the world that followed the fall.
From the collapse of Roman civilization to the rise of Charlemagne’s empire, from the explosive expansion of early Islam to the resilience of Byzantium, and from the devastation of the Vikings to the birth of medieval Europe, he paints a sweeping, interconnected portrait of a world in upheaval.
Holmes sheds new light on forgotten turning points, revealing how environmental pressures, religious conflict, economic dislocation and cultural reinvention laid the foundations for modern Europe and Islam.