The fall of Rome. The problem of the fall of Rome ; The principate ; Military anarchy ; Military despotism ; Bureaucracy and taxation ; Occupational status ; Citizenship ; Roman law ; Byzantine strength ; German conquest of the west ; The German kingdoms ; Decline of central authority ; The Roman heritage in the German states -- Economic and social change. Imperial government and economic decline ; Economy of the empire ; Means of transport and production ; Decline of slavery ; Decline and localization of markets ; Decay of manufacture ; Peasant farming and the colonate ; The villa ; Physical theories of agricultural decay ; Loss of fertility? ; Climatic change? ; Racial degeneracy? ; Decay of Roman public spirit ; Cosmopolitanism ; Theory of life-cycle -- The cultural heritage of the Roman Empire. Decline of the classic tradition ; Decay in literature and education ; Oriental and Christian influence ; Use of allegory ; Classicism of the church fathers ; Manuscripts ; Localism in language ; Romance speech ; The arts ; Architecture ; Sculpture and mosaic ; Minor arts ; The eclipse of Greek science ; The failure of classical ethics ; Rise of faith ; The Christian view of life.