First published in 1734, it is widely considered by scholars to be among Montesquieu's best known works and was an inspiration to Edward Gibbon's more extensive The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

[1] He begins in the year 753 BC, the traditional date for the founding of Rome, and continues until the Fall of Constantinople in AD 1453 to an invading army of the Ottoman Empire.

In Chapters I to X, Montesquieu postulates that the wealth, military might and expansionist policies, which were by most historical accounts a source of great strength for Rome, actually contributed to the weakening of the spirit of civic virtue of Roman citizens.

"[2] In the remainder of the book, Montesquieu details a pattern of steady moral decline interrupted with several short periods of remission caused by the leadership of great emperors, such as Titus, Nerva, Trajan, Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius and Julian as examples of this.

[2][1] When the Ottoman Empire was pressing in on Byzantine territory, "people were more preoccupied with the Council of Florence than with the Turkish army.