The author describes the attitude of some on the frontier at Rome’s twilight as exhibiting “a kind of London-in-the-blitz determination to carry on being more Roman than usual.

Biberunt ut Gothi – ‘drinking like Goths’ – would be a proverbial expression in Italy by the sixth century.

One answer to the transitory nature of imperial rule, in short, is that there is a Newtonian third law of empires. The exercise of imperial power generates an opposite and equal reaction among those affected by it, until they so reorganize themselves as to blunt the imperial edge.

The way to a landowner’s heart was to tax gently.

An emphasis on reading individual texts with a view to understanding the ideological visions of the world that underlie them has also had a dramatic impact. This type of interpretation requires historians to treat ancient authors, not as sources of fact, but rather like second-hand-car salesmen whom they would do well to approach with a healthy caution.

Having sliced Odovacar in half in early spring 493, Theoderic ruled his Italian kingdom for the next thirty-three years, until his own death on 30 August 526.

Cultures reflect the interactions of mixed populations.

The most important thing for morale was to maintain a united front among the officers.

Foreign policy often involved nothing more than the decision whom to make war upon.

The author describes the attitude of some on the frontier at Rome's twilight as exhibiting "a kind of London-in-the-blitz determination to carry on being more Roman than usual.