Gibbon, Edward (1737-1794), was a British scholar who wrote The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, a masterpiece of historical writing. The Decline and Fall, as it is sometimes called, was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788 and made Gibbon the most famous historian of his day. Today, historians still admire the work's careful scholarship, powerful narration, vast range, and ironic wit. The book became controversial because it argued that Christianity was a major cause of the fall of the Roman Empire.