The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, a major literary achievement of the
18th century published in six volumes, was written by the celebrated
English historian Edward Gibbon. Volume I was published in
1776, and went through six printings (a remarkable feat for its time). Volumes II and III were published in
1781; volumes IV, V, VI in
1788-
89. The original volumes were published as
quartos, a common publishing practice of the time.
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