Empires and Barbarians presents a fresh, provocative look at how a recognizable Europe came into being in the first millennium AD. With sharp analytic insight, Peter Heather explores the dynamics of migration and social and economic interaction that changed two vastly different worlds--the undeveloped barbarian world and the sophisticated Roman Empire--into remarkably similar societies and states. The book's vivid narrative begins at the time of Christ, when the Mediterranean circle, newly united under the Romans, hosted a politically sophisticated, economically advanced, and culturally developed civilization--one with philosophy, banking, professional armies, literature, stunning architecture, even garbage collection. The rest of Europe, meanwhile, was home to subsistence farmers living in small groups, dominated largely by Germanic speakers. Although having some iron tools and weapons, these mostly illiterate peoples worked mainly in wood and never built in stone. The farther east one went, the simpler it became: fewer iron tools and ever less productive economies. And yet ten centuries later, from the Atlantic to the Urals, the European world had turned. Slavic speakers had largely superseded Germanic speakers in central and Eastern Europe, literacy was growing, Christianity had spread, and most fundamentally, Mediterranean supremacy was broken. Bringing the whole of first millennium European history together, and challenging current arguments that migration played but a tiny role in this unfolding narrative, Empires and Barbarians views the destruction of the ancient world order in light of modern migration and globalization patterns.

By the year 1000, Mediterranean domination of the European landscape had been destroyed. Europe - from the Atlantic almost to the Urals - was home to an interacting commonwealth of Christian states. This book tells the story of the transformations which changed western Eurasia forever: of the birth of Europe itself.

'Barbarism and Religion' - Edward Gibbon's own phrase - is the title of a sequence of works by John Pocock designed to situate Gibbon, and his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, in a series of contexts in the history of eighteenth-century Europe. In the fourth volume in the sequence, first published in 2005, Pocock argues that barbarism was central to the history of western historiography, to the history of the Enlightenment, and to Edward Gibbon himself. As a concept it was deeply problematic to Enlightened historians seeking to understand their own civilised societies in the light of exposure to newly discovered civilisations which were, until then, beyond the reach of history itself.

"This book will give the reader a perspective into the core theory and practice of data mining and knowledge discovery (DM & KD). Its chapters combine many theoretical foundations for various DM & KD methods, and they present an array of examples - many of which are drawn from real-life applications. Most of the theoretical developments discussed are accompanied by an extensive empirical analysis, which should give the reader both a deep theoretical and practical insight into the subjects covered." "The intended audience for this book includes graduate students studying data mining who have some background in mathematical logic and discrete optimization as well as researchers and practitioners in the same area."--BOOK JACKET.

With The Emperor and the Army in the Later Roman Empire, AD 235–395 Mark Hebblewhite offers the first study solely dedicated to examining the nature of the relationship between the emperor and his army in the politically and militarily volatile later Roman Empire. Bringing together a wide range of available literary, epigraphic and numismatic evidence he demonstrates that emperors of the period considered the army to be the key institution they had to mollify in order to retain power and consequently employed a range of strategies to keep the troops loyal to their cause. Key to these efforts were imperial attempts to project the emperor as a worthy general (imperator) and a generous provider of military pay and benefits. Also important were the honorific and symbolic gestures each emperor made to the army in order to convince them that they and the empire could only prosper under his rule.

Edward Gibbon's 'The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' is a monumental work that spans six volumes, chronicling the collapse of one of the most powerful empires in history. Gibbon's writing style is both eloquent and meticulous, providing readers with a comprehensive account of the political, social, and cultural factors that led to Rome's decline. The book is a masterpiece of historical analysis, blending scholarly research with engaging narrative that keeps readers captivated throughout. Gibbon's work is considered a classic in the field of History, shaping the way we understand the rise and fall of civilizations. Edward Gibbon, a renowned historian and member of the British Parliament, was inspired to write this magnum opus after extensive travels throughout Europe and the Mediterranean. His firsthand encounters with ancient Roman ruins fueled his fascination with the empire's history and eventual demise. Gibbon's meticulous research and attention to detail have made 'The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' a timeless masterpiece that continues to be studied and revered by scholars and history enthusiasts alike. I highly recommend Gibbon's 'The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' to readers interested in delving into the complexities of Roman history and the broader themes of empire, power, and decline. This magisterial work provides a thorough and compelling narrative of one of the most pivotal periods in Western civilization, making it a must-read for anyone passionate about history and its lasting impact on society.