The Darkening Age cover art

The Darkening Age

The Christian Destruction of the Classical World

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Darkening Age

By: Catherine Nixey
Narrated by: Lalla Ward
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

'Bold, dazzling and provocative' – Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads

'This book uncovers what was lost when Christianity won' – The Times

In The Darkening Age, historian Catherine Nixey tells the little-known – and deeply shocking – story of how a militant religion deliberately tried to extinguish the teachings of the Classical world, ushering in unquestioning adherence to the 'one true faith'.

The Roman Empire had been generous in embracing and absorbing new creeds. But with the coming of Christianity, everything changed. This new faith, despite preaching peace, was violent, ruthless and intolerant. And once it became the religion of empire, its zealous adherents set about the destruction of the old gods. Their altars were upturned, their temples demolished and their statues hacked to pieces. Books, including great works of philosophy and science, were consigned to the pyre. It was an annihilation.

'A searingly passionate book' - Bettany Hughes, author of The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

A Book of the Year in the Daily Telegraph, the Spectator, the Observer, and BBC History Magazine

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice

Winner of the Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Award for Nonfiction

©Catherine Nixey 2018 (P)2018 Macmillan Digital Audio Ancient Christianity Europe Italy Religious Studies Rome Scary Ancient History

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Thirty Years War cover art
The First Ghosts cover art
Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician cover art
Faith of Our Fathers cover art
How the Choir Converted the World cover art
Jesus, Interrupted cover art
1177 B.C. (Revised and Updated) cover art
Byzantium cover art
The Ancient Celts, Second Edition cover art
A Little History of the World cover art
Heroes of History cover art
The Jesus I Never Knew cover art
The Complete Heretic's Guide to Western Religion, Book One: The Mormons cover art
Our Oriental Heritage cover art
Martin Luther cover art
The Rage Against God cover art

Critic reviews

Superb (Richard Dawkins)
A book for the 21st century . . . Nixey has a great story to tell, and she tells it exceptionally well. As one would expect from a distinguished journalist, every page is full of well-turned phrases that leap from the page . . . finely crafted, invigorating . . . [The Darkening Age] succeeds brilliantly. (Tim Whitmarsh)
As Catherine Nixey points out in her vivid and important new book, the idea of the widespread persecution of Christians is a product of the Church’s marketing and recruitment techniques . . . Nixey is a funny, lively, readable guide through this dark world of religious oppression. She wisely insists at the start of her book that this account of cultural violence should not be read as an attack on those who are “impelled by their Christian faith to do many, many good things”. It is instead a reminder that “monotheism” (or, one could say, religion in general and Christianity in particular) can be used for “terrible ends”. (Emily Wilson)
Clever, compelling . . . Readers raised in the milky Anglican tradition will be surprised to learn of the savagery of the early saints and their sledgehammer-swinging followers . . . exceptionally well written. (Thomas W. Hodgkinson)
Nixey has done an impressive job of illuminating an important aspect of late-antique Christianity. (Levi Roach)
Engaging and erudite, Catherine Nixey's book offers both a compelling argument and a wonderful eye for vivid detail. It shines a searching spotlight on to some of the murkiest aspects of the early medieval mindset. A triumph. (Edith Hall, author of The Ancient Greeks: Ten Ways They Shaped the Modern World)
Nixey's elegant and ferocious text paints a dark but riveting picture of life at the time of the 'triumph' of Christianity, reminding us not just of the realities of our own past, but also of the sad echoes of that past in our present. (Dr Michael Scott)
Captivating and compulsive, Catherine Nixey's debut challenges our whole understanding of Christianity's earliest years and the medieval society that followed. A remarkable fusion of captivating narrative and acute scholarly judgment, this book marks the debut of a formidable classicist and historian. (Dan Jones, bestselling author of The Plantagenets)
A devastating book, written in vivid, yet playful prose. Catherine Nixey reveals a level of intolerance and anti-intellectualism which which echoes today's headlines but is centuries old. (Anita Anand)
All stars
Most relevant  
Not a good account of the early church, though I dare say it's mostly true. Too much attention paid to ancient scholars who were anti Christian in my opinion. I guess that's the whole point of the book however. Yes, I am sure that the early church authorities acted like the Stasi or KGB &c. enforcing the rule of probably the world's first one party dictatorship, but it was a great disappointment for me to hear it in such bleak, harsh terms, though in recognition of the work put in by the author who may be passionate about her subject I have given it a high star rating. I hesitate to recommend though as I don't know who might enjoy this type of thing. Certainly not a Christian like myself and probably not anyone anti Christian either because it's not scholarly enough or doesn't go far enough.

Bleak

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I don't think I have ever enjoyed being made so angry, until starting this book. Very well read, very well written. Currently feeling numb at the senseless losses described within.

Deeply troubling to listen to

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A huge eye opener on the 'dark ages' and why it so named. Really challenging the perception we have of those times and subsequent history into early medieval period. Would like to read more...

Outstanding

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Beautiful narration of the greatest destruction of wisdom in the history of humanity. As the author states, the book is not a chronological history, it succeeds in taking the reader into many places and events, each one building on the next giving a sense of the growing threat this zealous and infantile faith was to become.

Wonderful conveying of the holocaust of wisdom

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I was fascinated from start to finish with the depth of this book. So much I didn’t know! It was wonderful to be entertained, saddened, angered, and educated - all at once. The author is outstanding, the narrator I could listen to all day, everyday - a happy mix of all the elements required for a great audiobook.

Outstanding

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book was a real education for me . It explains how history has been manipulated. It is extremely thought-provoking. I can not recommend it highly enough. Gripping , so much information- I may re read it .

Fascinating

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
a fascinating glimpse into the world of theocracy and its destruction of cultures and people

the succinct narrative by Lala Ward

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book is so provoking with its information about the persecution BY the Christian in the Centuries.

If Jesus did say all the things that the Bible tells us about, he must have been heartbroken and devastated at what went on in his name.

As someone who grew up in a fundamental Christian household, I can hear shadows to this day of the Dogma and sheer arrogance of these early Christians. I have also been under the false impression that they were the persecuted and even taught that it was good to be so. Even in this day and age.

This is one of the reasons why I have turned my back on any church. Especially Fundamentalist movements.

Thank you Catherine for writing this book. I hope I’m among many readers who have been enlightened.

So enlightening

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really enjoyed the book. It is clearly well researched on a subject that gets far too little coverage. I have three comments to make though: 1) it is a subjective portrait of early christianity, not a balanced analysis, despite being informative. For example, the gruesome graphic murder of Hypatia could be seen as a power struggle between elements of christianity rather than an assault on philosophy. 2) it is somewhat repetitive: lots of statues (nearly all) were torn down and destroyed, but we dont need to hear about each individually 3) the decision to jump around dates makes it a confusing structure as an audio book. This is less confusing as a print book. Nonetheless, it was very informative and a pleasure to listen to.

Interesting portrait

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The triumph of Christianity, the violent and intolerant religion. One can see the imposition of unique thinking that’s spreads all over the words nowadays.

A must read book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews