The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (sometimes shortened to Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire) is a book of history written by the English historian Edward Gibbon, which traces the trajectory of Western civilization (as well as the Islamic and Mongolian conquests) from the height of the Roman Empire to the fall of Byzantium. It was published in six volumes and covers the history of the Roman Empire, Europe, and the Catholic Church from 98 to 1590 as well as discussing the decline of the Roman Empire in the East and West.