Peter Heather

Not earlier.

You know, this is, you know, it's the total game changer, actually.

Amazing.

I think we're all still kind of wrestling with the significance of that and what that does to your understanding of Roman collapse.

Because it basically takes out all the old explanations about social and economic collapse.

There might be other internal reasons, but it's not going to be straightforward social and economic.

It's not that.

Yeah, yes, you wouldn't be looking at it and thinking crisis and actually the sort of material or non-material cultural remains of the 4th century suggest creativity, they're plentiful, there's a lot of people doing a lot of interesting things.

The amount of writing, once you realize, which a lot of classicists didn't, that Christian fourth century people are still Romans.

You do look at what Christians are writing as well as in the traditional genres, but you add it all in.

The amount of creative writing generated in the fourth century is colossal.

Okay, so things are fine.

You would think so.

Well, apart from that, you've had to divide the empire.

Yes, yeah.

There are issues, and no human state that we've ever seen is without its problems.

Well, we get a very interesting effect.

There's some kind of problem on the Great Eurasian Steppe in the world of the nomads.

So east of the River Volga.

Not exactly sure what causes it.