<p>The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire[a]&nbsp;is a six-volume work by the English historian&nbsp;Edward Gibbon. It traces Western civilization (as well as the&nbsp;Islamic&nbsp;and&nbsp;Mongolian&nbsp;conquests) from the&nbsp;height&nbsp;of the&nbsp;Roman Empire&nbsp;to the&nbsp;fall&nbsp;of&nbsp;Byzantium. Volume&nbsp;I was published in 1776 and went through six printings.&nbsp;Volumes&nbsp;II and III were published in 1781;&nbsp;volumes&nbsp;IV, V, and VI in 1788-1789.</p><p>The six volumes cover the history, from 98 to 1590, of the&nbsp;Roman Empire, the history of&nbsp;early Christianity&nbsp;and then of the&nbsp;Roman State Church, and the history of Europe, and discusses the&nbsp;decline of the Roman Empire&nbsp;among other things.</p>