The Roman Empire did not fall overnight, under the spears of the barbarians in 476 - the final collapse marked only the final scene of many years of tragedy. According to Adrian Goldsworthy, the first signs of the decomposition of the empire appeared already under the enlightened rule of the "emperor-philosopher" Marcus Aurelius. But why hasn't the process of destruction stopped? And what caused the death of the state - the mediocrity of emperors, a change of religion, omnipotent corruption, the fear of late Roman rulers before social reforms? In search of answers to these questions, Adrian Goldsworthy attracts the most modern finds of researchers of the history of late Rome - evidence both documentary and archaeological.