Clifford Ando 
David B. and Clara E. Stern Professor; Professor of Classics, University of Chicago
Cosponsored by Archaeological Institute of America

The Roman Empire remains one of the world's longest lived polities.  Its collapse has therefore endured as a great historical puzzle.  Was it barbarians or internal decay?  Or was Christianity to blame?  The lecture will explore a range of theories and consider in detail why the two famous theories, those of St. Augustine and Edward Gibbon, have found so little favor.