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Terry Jones' Barbarians Terry Jones Alan Ereira 9780563493181 Books

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Terry Jones' Barbarians Terry Jones Alan Ereira 9780563493181 Books

Terry Jones gleefully sets a torch to the Romans' reputation as the great civilizers of the ancient world. Just start with the rich irony of the spectacle of the gladiatorial games - Rome's national pasttime, being an orgy of murder and death, replayed over and over for centuries. The right of this society to call others "barbarians" is laughable, but the problem is, they were victorious for so long that they managed to wipe the record clean of exactly who their opponents were, what those societies and civilizations were like, what they achieved. And the Romans had this wonderful habit of taking all the innovations, technology, and cultural refinements from other peoples and act as if the Romans had invented it all. I mean, what can we really find out about the Huns, the Celts, the Goths and Vandals? There are some clues out there and it's eye-opening, with a lot of Roman perpetuated myths exploded. And the very great question: did the Dark Ages come about because Rome fell - or because Rome eventually consumed, destroyed, and rotted out everything along with it's own empire?

Jones may not be an accredited historian exactly, but he sure has a talent for sniffing out the BS and absurdities that still somehow survive in the Roman's all too successful attempts to paint themselves as the good guys.


Tags : Terry Jones' Barbarians [Terry Jones, Alan Ereira] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <DIV><I>Terry Jones’ Barbarians</I> takes a completely fresh approach to Roman history. This is the story of the Roman Empire as seen by the Britons,Terry Jones, Alan Ereira,Terry Jones' Barbarians,BBC Books,0563493186,Ancient - Rome,Ancient Rome,Civilization, Ancient,Civilization, Germanic,Europe - History - To 476,Europe - History, Military,Germanic peoples,Mediterranean Region - History - To 476,Rome - Civilization,Rome - History - Empire, 30 B.C.-476 A.D,Rome - History, Military - 30 B.C.-476 A.D,Rome;History;Empire, 30 B.C.-476 A.D.,ANCIENT ROME - HISTORY,Ancient - General,Empire, 30 B.C.-476 A.D,European history: BCE to c 500 CE,GENERAL,General Adult,Great BritainBritish Isles,HISTORY Ancient General,HISTORY Ancient Rome,History,History - General History,History Europe General,History Europe Great Britain General,History Europe Medieval,History Military General,History Military Weapons,HistoryWorld,History: World,Italy,Mediterranean Region - History - To 476,Non-Fiction,Rome,Rome - Civilization,Rome - History - Empire, 30 B.C.-476 A.D,Rome - History, Military - 30 B.C.-476 A.D,Rome;History;Empire, 30 B.C.-476 A.D.,Ancient - General,HISTORY Ancient General,HISTORY Ancient Rome,History Europe General,History Europe Great Britain General,History Europe Medieval,History Military General,History Military Weapons,History - General History,Ancient Rome - History,Empire, 30 B.C.-476 A.D,Rome,History,History: World,European history: BCE to c 500 CE

Terry Jones' Barbarians Terry Jones Alan Ereira 9780563493181 Books Reviews

An interesting read. It's always refreshing to look at history from a different point of view. Mr. Jones does a good job of showing that those we have considered barbarians might not have been so barbaric after all.
My issues with the book are that he drifts around telling the story and characters appear and reappear very suddenly. I'm sure it was easier to keep track when watching the story being told on television, but reading it this way was sometimes confusing. Also, while I recognize that the author is not a Christian and that one can find examples of Christians not living up to the teachings of the Bible, many people who are interested in history are practicing Christians. There was no need for the author to treat the faith as dismissively as he does.
This book is a well researched and very detailed history of Europe and The Middle Easy from200BC to 500AD. Lots of great information but it
gets very hard to follow. The narrative jumps forward and backward and the assortment of names and places is very hard to follow. A lot more maps would help follow the movements of invasions and migrations because of the large number of names and locations that have been lost to modern times. Google helps clarify some of the locations and names.
Interesting point of view, It shows that the so called late barbarians were not as uncivilized as we always thought. They reduced or eliminated taxes and ran the provinces much as they had always been run. Although infrastructure and many towns declined, life in the countryside continued much as before and some cities did thrive.
An interesting but simplistic and often flawed approach to the civilizations that challenged and eventually brought down the Western Roman Empire. It is not new to say that by 476 AD most barbarians had absorbed great gobs of Roman culture, nor is it eye-opening to say that Roman government had become so corrupt and inefficient that the local populations often greeted Goths, Vandals, and Franks as liberators. But, the notion that the Huns were not particularly violent is laughable. And, the examination of the Persians is very superficial, particularly after the rise of the Sassanids. Altogether, I was unimpressed and dissatisfied, but I think more efforts should be made to examine the Persians in particular.
Nothing really new or surprising, but a much-needed overall view of the egregious falsehoods perpetrated by Roman and Early Church "historians." But, if you have read the original works of the classical writers, not just the secondary sources, Pax Romana, enforced by the Legions, can be seen for what it was a ruthless, evil, destructive force, that was just as likely to kill and brutally torture non-combatants, including women and babies, as fight bravely. The "Pax" was, in reality, brutal oppression, a pretext for Rome's rapacious governors to tax and steal what they could from the annexed territories. Their commanders, with some few exceptions, such as Ventidius, were conscienceless killers, with about the same capacity for empathy as Hitler or Stalin. If "The Great," was attached to your name, it is a sure sign that you were a butcher. Pompey Magnus, Constantine the Great, Charlemagne. All for the glory of the Roman Empire and its stepchild the Holy Roman Empire.
The book has much to offer. Mr. Ereira mentions the Marian reforms that ultimately turned citizen soldiers into the professional killers called "Marius' Mules," and the tremendous advantage gained by combining the professionally-trained and led legions with engineering corps. The hypocrisy of the "Pax Romana," Constantine's profound political insight to reorganize and preserve the Roman Empire by utilizing the Church's organizational apparatus. The bloody internecine fighting of the early Church that surpasses even the ferocity of the sectarian warfare of today's Islam. The intolerance, the ruthlessness, the willingness to lie, the absence of mercy and empathy, of the early Church is mind-numbing.
But, weren't the Jews also the "other," that is, don't they fit the Roman concept of Barbarians? Why are they exempted? Where are Pompey's, Vespasian's and Titus's exploits in Judea mentioned? Their failed efforts to extirpate a people, just as Rome did to the Dacians and many others. Where is a discussion of how those rampages forever affected Middle Eastern history? I'm not sure why, but it certainly would have extended the book.
Terry Jones gleefully sets a torch to the Romans' reputation as the great civilizers of the ancient world. Just start with the rich irony of the spectacle of the gladiatorial games - Rome's national pasttime, being an orgy of murder and death, replayed over and over for centuries. The right of this society to call others "barbarians" is laughable, but the problem is, they were victorious for so long that they managed to wipe the record clean of exactly who their opponents were, what those societies and civilizations were like, what they achieved. And the Romans had this wonderful habit of taking all the innovations, technology, and cultural refinements from other peoples and act as if the Romans had invented it all. I mean, what can we really find out about the Huns, the Celts, the Goths and Vandals? There are some clues out there and it's eye-opening, with a lot of Roman perpetuated myths exploded. And the very great question did the Dark Ages come about because Rome fell - or because Rome eventually consumed, destroyed, and rotted out everything along with it's own empire?

Jones may not be an accredited historian exactly, but he sure has a talent for sniffing out the BS and absurdities that still somehow survive in the Roman's all too successful attempts to paint themselves as the good guys.