S M – The line and Fall of the Roman Empire is the most famous historical narrative ever told. To the Roman historians the course was equally clear and defined. THE FALL OF ROME AND ITS AFTERMATH. An all-encompassing empire that controlled the known world from Scotland to Syria collapsed and in its place, sprung up small kingdoms ruled by brutal barbarians – Franks, Ostrogoths, Visigoths Christian Classics Ethereal Library The line and Fall of the Roman Empire, historical work by Edward Gibbon,