Books by Thomas S. Burns

At the death of the Emperor Valentinian I in 375, Rome had behind it centuries of dealing with barbarian people along its frontiers. This book shows that the Roman policy toward the barbarians was evolutionary rather than revolutionary, even though crisis upon crisis befell Rome during this period.

Kaegi "Burns has achieved much for the modern study of Ostrogoths.-Antiquaries Journal

What he describes is, in fact, a drawn-out period of acculturation, characterized more by continuity than by change and conflict and leading to the creation of a new Romano-barbarian hybrid society and culture that anticipated the values and traditions of medieval civilization.