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Alaric the Goth: An Outsider's History of the Fall of Rome by Douglas Boin is a work of fiction available to read on EtoBox.

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Denied citizenship by the Roman Empire, a soldier named Alaric changed history by unleashing a surprise attack on the capital city of an unjust empire. Stigmatized and relegated to the margins of Roman society, the Goths were violent “barbarians” who destroyed “civilization,” at least in the conventional story of Rome’s collapse. But a slight shift of perspective brings their history, and ours, shockingly alive. Alaric grew up near the river border that separated Gothic territory from Roman. He survived a border policy that separated migrant children from their parents, and he was denied benefits he likely expected from military service. Romans were deeply conflicted over who should enjoy the privileges of citizenship. They wanted to buttress their global power, but were insecure about Roman identity; they depended on foreign goods, but scoffed at and denied foreigners their own voices and humanity. In stark contrast to the rising bigotry, intolerance, and zealotry among Romans during Alaric’s lifetime, the Goths, as practicing Christians, valued religious pluralism and tolerance. The marginalized Goths, marked by history as frightening harbingers of destruction and of the Dark Age

Who reads Alaric the Goth: An Outsider's History of the Fall of Rome?

Author

Douglas Boin

Publisher

W. W. Norton Company

Published

2020

Language

EN

Category

work of fiction

Subjects

Historical Fiction, Fiction

Rating

4.1 / 5 (383 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-14