Escape from Rome

The gripping story of how the end of the Roman Empire was the beginning of the modern world

The fall of the Roman Empire has long been considered one of the greatest disasters in history. But in this groundbreaking book, Walter Scheidel argues that Rome's dramatic collapse was actually the best thing that ever happened, clearing the path for Europe's economic rise and the creation of the modern age. Ranging across the entire premodern world, Escape from Rome offers new answers to some of the biggest questions in history: Why did the Roman Empire appear? Why did nothing like it ever return to Europe? And, above all, why did Europeans come to dominate the world?

In an absorbing narrative that begins with ancient Rome but stretches far beyond it, from Byzantium to China and from Genghis Khan to Napoleon, Scheidel shows how the demise of Rome and the enduring failure of empire-building on European soil ensured competitive fragmentation between and within states. This rich diversity encouraged political, economic, scientific, and technological breakthroughs that allowed Europe to surge ahead while other parts of the world lagged behind, burdened as they were by traditional empires and predatory regimes that lived by conquest. It wasn’t until Europe "escaped" from Rome that it launched an economic transformation that changed the continent and ultimately the world.

What has the Roman Empire ever done for us? Fall and go away.

"his book is a monument of sophisticated argument backed by an enormous amount of empirical data. It is an instant classic, one of the great books of the last quarter century."---European Journal of Sociology, John A. Hall

"A stimulating, thought-provoking work that will be of interest to professional and lay readers alike."---Paolo Tedesco, Jacobin

"Escape from Rome is a well-written survey of an enormous literature on the history of the world. . . . It is fun and interesting to read. . . . An admirable book."---Peter Temin, EH.Net

"A sweeping academic survey comparing empires and eras. . . . Escape From Rome makes bold claims about the nature of empire and the roots of the modern world and backs them up with thoughtful analysis."---Dominic Lynch, America

"Insightful. . . an outstanding modern summation of a strand of research which goes back at least as far as Montesquieu and David Hume."---Mark Koyama, Journal of Economic Literature

"A tour de force of world history."---Tony Jones, The Christian Century

"Fascinating and arresting."---Stephen Davies, Reason Magazine

"A challenging, detailed and thought-provoking study of how the end of Rome benefited the West rather than the reverse."---Richard Owen, The Tablet

"Thought-provoking. . . . Impressive."---P.G. Wallace, Choice Reviews

"Escape from Rome deserves to be taken very seriously . . . . this is a fiercely intelligent, closely argued book."---Peter Thonemann, Times Literary Supplement

"Walter Scheidel’s Escape from Rome: The Failure of Empire and the Road to Prosperity is an outstanding, epic history of the fall of the Roman Empire and rise of the European West."---Simon Sebag Montefiore, Evening Standard

"Scheidel makes a bracing case, backed by every counterfactual tool of contemporary scholarship, against resurgent European empire at any time. . . . What did the Romans do for us? Scheidel does not give the usual answers."---Peter Stothard, Financial Times

"Scheidel marshals his facts with verve and force . . . . the abiding impression left by reading this book is not that human progress was inevitable – even at such a bloody cost – but that it was profoundly fragile."---Robert Colvile, The Times

"One of the Financial Times' Best Books of 2019: Economics"

"One of the Evening Standard's Best Books of 2019"

"Finalist for the PROSE Award in Archaeology and Ancient History, Association of American Publishers"

"Escape from Rome presents a fascinating account of why modernity appeared first in western Europe—it was precisely the failure of the Roman project and not its legacy that allowed the emergence of a decentralized and competitive system that became the ultimate platform for modern economic growth. A challenging and counterintuitive hypothesis."—Francis Fukuyama, author of The End of History and the Last Man

"Walter Scheidel has done more to reveal the hidden patterns of human existence than any other historian of our era. Quite simply, he has no peer. Erudite, enlightening, and wonderfully provocative, Escape from Rome is destined to become a classic."—Amanda Foreman, author of A World on Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War

"If a new Roman Empire had appeared in medieval Europe, it would have aborted modernity and everything would be different today! This is the remarkable, but tightly argued, conclusion of Walter Scheidel's virtuoso exploration of counterfactual world histories."—David Christian, author of Maps of Time: An Introduction to Big History

"A bold, provocative, and brilliant book in which Walter Scheidel does not just ask big questions—but sets out to answer them too. And better still, it's immensely enjoyable to read as well."—Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads: A New History of the World

"Lucid and provocative, this book makes an iconoclastic case for why Europe's luckiest break was losing its only internal empire. A must-read for anyone curious about the long shadow of Rome."—Sheilagh Ogilvie, author of The European Guilds: An Economic Analysis

"Astonishingly learned, hugely ambitious, and deeply thoughtful, the indefatigable Walter Scheidel has written another innovative and provocative book that will turn global history upside down."—Joel Mokyr, author of A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy

"In a masterpiece of global history spanning over two millennia, Walter Scheidel tells us why western Europe remained politically fragmented after the collapse of Rome, why the rest of the world gravitated toward empire, and why that enduring political contrast explains the origins of sustained economic growth. A fascinating book."—Philip T. Hoffman, author of Why Did Europe Conquer the World?

"Escape from Rome is a brilliant and very important book by a great scholar at the top of his powers. This is a wholly convincing and innovative account, logically driven and based on stunning scholarship. It will become a classic."—John A. Hall, coauthor of The Paradox of Vulnerability: States, Nationalism, and the Financial Crisis