Edward Gibbon

Biography

Edward Gibbon (1737–1794) was an English historian and Member of Parliament best known for The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776–89), one of the greatest works of historical writing in any language. Published in six volumes over thirteen years, the work traces the history of the Roman Empire from the height of the Antonine age through the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Gibbon's majestic prose, ironic wit, and skeptical treatment of religion—particularly his controversial chapters on the rise of Christianity—made the Decline and Fall both a literary masterpiece and a landmark in the development of modern historical method.