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Western Roman Empire

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In historiography, the Western Roman Empire consists

of the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any Roman Empire
one time during which they were administered by a Senatus Populusque Romanus
separate independent Imperial court, coequal with (or Imperium Romanum
only nominally subordinate to) that administering the
eastern half. Both "Western Roman Empire" and Western division of the Roman
"Eastern Roman Empire" (or "Byzantine Empire") are Empire
modern terms describing de facto independent entities;
however, at no point did the Romans consider the 285476
Empire split into two, but rather considered it a single
state governed by two separate Imperial courts out of
administrative expediency. The view that the Empire was
impossible to govern by one emperor was established by
Diocletian following the disastrous civil wars and
disintegration of the Crisis of the 3rd century, and was
instituted in Roman law by his introduction of the
Tetrarchy in AD 285, a form of government which was
legally to endure in one form or another for centuries.
The Western Court was periodically abolished and Tremissis depicting Flavius Julius Nepos
recreated for the next two centuries until final abolition (474-480),
by Zeno in 480, by which time there was little effective the de jure last Emperor of the Western Court
central control left in the area legally administered by the
Western Court.

The Western Roman Empire existed intermittently in

several periods between the 3rd and 5th centuries, after
Diocletian's Tetrarchy and the reunifications associated
with Constantine the Great and Julian the Apostate
(331/2363). Theodosius I divided the Empire upon his
death (in 395) between his two sons. Finally, eighty-five
years later, Zeno of the Eastern Empire recognized the
reality of the Western Empire's reduced domainRoman The Western Roman Empire at its greatest
power ceased to exist even in the Italian Peninsulaafter extent ca. AD 395
the deposition of Romulus Augustus and the subsequent
death of Julius Nepos, and therefore proclaimed himself Capital Mediolanum
the sole emperor of the Roman Empire. (286402)
Ravenna
The rise of Odoacer of the Foederati to rule over Italy in (402476)
476 was popularized by eighteenth-century historian Languages Latin (official)
Edward Gibbon as a demarcating event for the end of the Koine Greek,

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Western Empire and is sometimes used to mark the Aquitanian,

transition from Antiquity to the Middle Ages. Imperial Gaulish, Common
rule was reimposed in large parts of the West in the sixth Brittonic, Gothic,
century by the armies of the Eastern Roman Empire but Neo-Punic
political upheaval in the East Roman heartlands saw the
Religion Roman religion
Western provinces slip away once more, this time for until 380
good. Frankish king Charlemagne would be declared in Christianity (state
AD 800 in an attempt to revive the Western Roman church) after 380
Empire; this new imperial line would evolve in time into
the Holy Roman Empire, which revived the imperial title Government Autocracy,
Tetrarchy
but was otherwise in no meaningful sense an extension
(293313)
of Roman traditions or institutions.
Emperor
395423 Honorius
457461 Majorian
Contents 475476 Romulus
Augustulus
1 Background Consul
1.1 Rebellions, uprisings, and political 395 Flavius Anicius
developments Hermogenianus
1.2 Economic stagnation in the West Olybrius, Flavius
1.3 Crisis of the 3rd century Anicius Probinus
1.4 Tetrarchy 476 Basiliscus, Flavius
Armatus
1.5 Constantine the Great
1.6 Second division Legislature Roman Senate
1.7 Final division
2 Economic factors Historical era Late Antiquity
3 Sack of Rome and Fall of the Western Roman Division of
Diocletianus 285
Empire
Division after
3.1 Last Emperor
Constantine I 337
4 Political change after the empire's fall
Division by
4.1 Theodoric Valentinian I 364
4.2 East Roman reconquest
Division after
5 Legacy Theodosius I 395
6 List of Western Roman Emperors Deposition of
6.1 Gallic Emperors (259 to 273) Romulus
6.2 Tetrarchy (293 to 313) Augustus 4 September 476
6.3 Constantinian dynasty (313 to 363)
Area
6.4 Non-dynastic (363 to 364)
6.5 Valentinian dynasty (364 to 392) 395[1] 2,000,000 km
6.6 Non-dynastic (392 to 394) (772,204 sq mi)
6.7 Theodosian dynasty (394 to 455) Currency Roman currency
6.8 Non-dynastic (455 to 480)

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7 See also Preceded by Succeeded by

8 Notes
9 References Roman Kingdom of
Empire Italy
10 External links
(476-493)
Visigothic
Kingdom
Background Domain of
Soissons
Domain of
As the Roman Republic expanded, it reached a point
Moor
where the central government in Rome could not
Sub-Roman
effectively rule the distant provinces. Communications Britain
and transportation were especially problematic given the Kingdom of
vast extent of the Empire. News of invasion, revolt, Burgundy
natural disasters, or epidemic outbreak was carried by Francia
ship or mounted postal service, often requiring much
Vandal
time to reach Rome and for Rome's orders to be realized Kingdom
in the province of origin. For this reason, provincial Alamannia
governors had de facto rule in the name of the Roman Suebic
Republic. Kingdom of
Galicia
Prior to the establishment of the Empire, the territories of Armorica
the Roman Republic had been divided in 43 BC among San Marino
the members of the Second Triumvirate: Mark Antony,
Octavian and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. Antony Today part of Various countries
received the provinces in the East: Achaea, Macedonia
and Epirus (roughly modern Greece, Albania and the
coast of Croatia), Bithynia, Pontus and Asia (roughly modern Turkey), Syria, Cyprus, and
Cyrenaica. These lands had previously been conquered by Alexander the Great; thus, much of the
aristocracy was of Greek origin. The whole region, especially the major cities, had been largely
assimilated into Greek culture, Greek often serving as the lingua franca.

Octavian obtained the Roman provinces of the West: Italia

The Roman Republic before the
conquests of Octavian
(modern Italy), Gaul (modern France), Gallia Belgica (parts
of modern Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg), and
Hispania (modern Spain and Portugal). These lands also
included Greek and Carthaginian colonies in the coastal
areas, though Celtic tribes such as Gauls and Celtiberians
were culturally dominant. Lepidus received the minor
province of Africa (roughly modern Tunisia). Octavian
soon took Africa from Lepidus, while adding Sicilia
(modern Sicily) to his holdings.

Upon the defeat of Mark Antony, a victorious Octavian

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controlled a united Roman Empire. While the Roman Empire featured many distinct cultures, all
were often said to experience gradual Romanization. While the predominantly Greek culture of the
East and the predominantly Latin culture of the West functioned effectively as an integrated whole,
political and military developments would ultimately realign the Empire along those cultural and
linguistic lines.

Rebellions, uprisings, and political developments

Minor rebellions and uprisings were fairly common events throughout the Empire. Conquered
tribes or cities would revolt, and the legions would be detached to crush the rebellion. While this
process was simple in peacetime, it could be considerably more complicated in wartime, as for
example in the Great Jewish Revolt.

In a full-blown military campaign, the legions, under generals such as Vespasian, were far more
numerous. To ensure a commander's loyalty, a pragmatic emperor might hold some members of the
general's family hostage. To this end, Nero effectively held Domitian and Quintus Petillius Cerialis,
governor of Ostia, who were respectively the younger son and brother-in-law of Vespasian. The
rule of Nero ended only with the revolt of the Praetorian Guard, who had been bribed in the name
of Galba. The Praetorian Guard, a figurative "sword of Damocles", were often perceived as being
of dubious loyalty. Following their example, the legions at the borders increased participation in the
civil wars.

The main enemy in the West was arguably the Germanic tribes behind the rivers Rhine and
Danube. Augustus had tried to conquer them but ultimately pulled back after the Teutoburg
reversal.

The Parthian Empire, in the East, on the other hand, was too
remote and powerful to be conquered. Any Parthian invasion
was confronted and usually defeated; similarly, Parthians
repelled some attempts of Roman invasion, however, even
after successful wars of conquest, such as those implemented
by Trajan and Septimius Severus. Those distant territories
were forsaken to prevent unrest and also to ensure a more
healthy and lasting peace with the Persians. The Parthians
were followed by the Sasanian Empire, which continued
hostilities with the Roman Empire.

Controlling the western border of Rome was reasonably easy

The Parthian Empire, arch-rival of
because it was relatively close and also because of the disunity
Rome, at its greatest extent, c. 60
between the Germanic foes, however, controlling both
BC
frontiers altogether during wartime was difficult. If the
emperor was near the border in the East, chances were high
that an ambitious general would rebel in the West and vice versa. This wartime opportunism
plagued many ruling emperors and indeed paved the road to power for several future emperors.

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Economic stagnation in the West

Rome and the Italian peninsula began to experience an economic slowdown as industries and
money began to move outward. By the beginning of the 2nd century AD, the economic stagnation
of Italia was seen in the provincial-born Emperors, such as Trajan and Hadrian. Economic
problems increased in strength and frequency.

Crisis of the 3rd century

Starting on 18 March 235, with the assassination of the

Emperor Alexander Severus, the Roman Empire sank into a
50-year civil war, known today as the Crisis of the Third
Century. The rise of the bellicose Sassanid dynasty in
Parthia posed a major threat to Rome in the east.
Demonstrating the increased danger, Emperor Valerian was The Roman Empire in 268
captured by Shapur I in 259. His eldest son and
heir-apparent, Gallienus, succeeded and took up the fight on
the eastern frontier. Gallienus' son, Saloninus, and the Praetorian Prefect Silvanus were residing in
Colonia Agrippina (modern Cologne) to solidify the loyalty of the local legions. Nevertheless,
Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus - the local governor of the German provinces rebelled; his
assault on Colonia Agrippina resulted in the deaths of Saloninus and the prefect. In the confusion
that followed, an independent state known as the Gallic Empire emerged.

Its capital was Augusta Treverorum (modern Trier), and it quickly expanded its control over the
German and Gaulish provinces and over all of Hispania and Britannia. It had its own senate, and a
partial list of its consuls still survives. It maintained Roman religion, language, and culture, and
was far more concerned with fighting the Germanic tribes than other Romans. However, in the
reign of Claudius Gothicus (268 to 270), large expanses of the Gallic Empire were restored to
Roman rule. At roughly the same time, several eastern provinces seceded under the Palmyrene
Empire, under the rule of Queen Zenobia.

In 272, Emperor Aurelian finally managed to reclaim Palmyra and its territory for the empire. With
the East secure, his attention was turned to the West, taking the Gallic Empire a year later. Because
of a secret deal between Aurelian and Gallic Emperor Tetricus I and his son Tetricus II, the Gallic
army was swiftly defeated. In exchange, Aurelian spared their lives and gave the two former rebels
important positions in Italy.

Tetrarchy

The external borders were mostly stable for the remainder of the Crisis of the Third Century,
although, between the death of Aurelian in 275 and the accession of Diocletian ten years later, at
least eight emperors or would-be emperors were killed, many assassinated by their own troops.

Under Diocletian, the political division of the Roman Empire began. In 285, he promoted

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Maximian to the rank of Augustus (Emperor) and gave him

control of the Western regions of the Empire. In 293,
Galerius and Constantius Chlorus were appointed as their
subordinates (Caesars), creating the First Tetrarchy. This
system effectively divided the Empire into four major
regions and created separate capitals besides Rome as a
way to avoid the civil unrest that had marked the 3rd
century. In the West, the capitals were Maximian's
Mediolanum (now Milan) and Constantius' Trier. In the
East, the capitals were Sirmium and Nicomedia. On 1 May
The organization of the Empire under
305, the two senior Augusti stepped down, and their
the Tetrarchy.
respective Caesars were promoted to Augusti and appointed
two new Caesars, thus creating the Second Tetrarchy.

Constantine the Great

The system of the Tetrarchy quickly ran aground when the Western Roman Empire's Constantius
died unexpectedly in 306, and his son Constantine the Great was proclaimed Augustus of the West
by the legions in Britain. A crisis followed as several claimants attempted to rule the Western half.
In 308, the Augustus of the East, Galerius, arranged a conference at Carnuntum which revived the
Tetrarchy by dividing the West between Constantine and a newcomer named Licinius. Constantine
was far more interested in conquering the whole empire. Through a series of battles in the East and
the West, Licinius and Constantine stabilized their respective parts of the Roman Empire by 314,
and began to compete for sole control of a reunified state. Constantine emerged victorious in 324
after the surrender and murder of Licinius following the Battle of Chrysopolis.

The Tetrarchy ended, but the idea of dividing the Roman Empire between two emperors had been
validated. Very strong emperors would reunite it under their single rule, but with their death the
Roman Empire would be divided again and again between the East and the West.

Second division

Constantius was born in 317 at Sirmium, Pannonia. He was the third son of Constantine the Great,
and second by his second wife Fausta, the daughter of Maximian. Constantius was made Caesar by
his father on 13 November 324.[2] The Roman Empire was under the rule of a single Emperor, but,
with the death of Constantine in 337, civil war erupted among his three sons, dividing the Empire
into three parts. The West was unified in 340 under Constans, who was assassinated in 350 under
the order of the usurper Magnentius; after Magnentius lost the Battle of Mursa Major and
committed suicide, a complete reunification of the whole Empire occurred in 353, with Constantius
II.

Constantius II focused most of his power in the East and is regarded as the first emperor of the
Byzantine Empire. Under his rule, the city of Byzantium - only recently re-founded as
Constantinople - was fully developed as a capital. In 361, Constantius II became ill and died, and

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Constantius Chlorus' grandson Julian, who had served as

Constantius II's Caesar, assumed power. Julian was killed in
363 in the Battle of Samarra against the Persian Empire and
was succeeded by Jovian, who ruled only until 364.

Final division

Following the death of Jovian, Valentinian I emerged as

Emperor in 364. He immediately divided the Empire once
again, giving the eastern half to his brother Valens. Stability
was not achieved for long in either half, as the conflicts
with outside forces (tribes) intensified. In 376, the
Visigoths, fleeing before the Ostrogoths, who in turn were
fleeing before the Huns, were allowed to cross the river
Danube and settle into the Balkans by the Eastern
government. Mistreatment caused a full-scale rebellion, and
in 378 they inflicted a crippling defeat on the Eastern
Roman field army in the Battle of Adrianople, in which
Valens also died. The campaigns to subdue them were only
partly successful, and they officially became
semi-independent foederati under their own leaders.
Division of the Roman Empire among
the Caesars appointed by Constantine
I: from west to east, the territories of
Constantine II, Constans I, Dalmatius
and Constantius II. After the death of
Constantine I (May 337), this was the
formal division of the Empire, until
Dalmatius was killed and his territory
divided between Constans and
Constantius.

More than in the East, there was also opposition to the

Christianizing policy of the Emperors in the western half of
the Empire. In 379, Valentinian I's son and successor
Gratian declined to wear the mantle of Pontifex Maximus,
and in 382 he rescinded the rights of pagan priests and
removed the Altar of Victory from the Roman Curia, a
decision which caused dissatisfaction among the
traditionally pagan aristocracy of Rome. Theodosius I later The division of the Empire after the
decreed a ban on all religions except orthodox Christianity.
death of Theodosius I, ca.395 AD
superimposed on modern borders.
The political situation was unstable. In 383, a powerful and
popular general named Magnus Maximus seized power in Western Roman Empire
the West and forced Gratian's half-brother Valentinian II to Eastern Roman Empire
flee to the East for aid; in a destructive civil war, the
Eastern Emperor Theodosius I restored him to power. In
392, the Frankish and pagan magister militum Arbogast assassinated Valentinian II and proclaimed
an obscure senator named Eugenius as Emperor. In 394 the forces of the two halves of the Empire
again clashed with great loss of life. Again Theodosius I won, and he briefly ruled a united Empire
until his death in 395. He was the last Emperor to rule both parts of the Roman Empire; his older
son Arcadius inherited the eastern half while the younger Honorius got the western half. Both were
still minors and neither was capable of ruling effectively. Honorius was placed under the tutelage of
the half-Roman/half-barbarian magister militum Flavius Stilicho while Rufinus became the power

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behind the throne in the east. Rufinus and Stilicho were rivals,
and their disagreements were exploited by the Gothic leader
Alaric I who again rebelled following the death of Theodosius I.
Neither half of the Empire could raise forces sufficient even to
subdue Alaric's men, and both tried to use Alaric against the
other half. Alaric himself tried to establish a long-term
territorial and official base, but was never able to do so.

Stilicho tried to defend Italy and bring the invading Goths under
control, but to do so he stripped the Rhine frontier of troops and
the Vandals, Alans, and Suevi invaded Gaul in large numbers.
Stilicho became a victim of court intrigues and was killed in
408. While the East began a slow recovery and consolidation,
the West began to collapse entirely. Alaric's men sacked Rome
in 410.

Economic factors
The West, less urbanized with a spread-out populace, may have
experienced an economic decline throughout the Late Empire in
some provinces. Southern Italy, northern Gaul (except for large
towns and cities) to some extent Spain and the Danubian areas
may have suffered. The East was not so destitute, especially as
Stone-carved relief depicting the
Emperors like Constantine the Great and Constantius II had
liberation of a besieged city by a
invested heavily in the eastern economy. As a result, the Eastern
Empire could afford large numbers of professional soldiers and relief force, with those defending
augment them with mercenaries, while the Western Roman the walls making a sortie (i.e. a
Empire could not afford this to the same extent. Even in major sudden attack against a besieging
defeats, the East could, certainly not without difficulties, buy enemy from within the besieged
off its enemies with a ransom. town); Western Roman Empire,
early 5th century AD
The political, economic and military control of the Eastern
Empire's resources remained safe in Constantinople, which was
well fortified and located at the crossroads of several major trade and military routes. In contrast,
the Western Empire was more fragmented. Its capital was transferred to Ravenna in 402 largely for
defensive reasons, and it had easy access to the imperial fleet of the Eastern Empire but was
isolated in other aspects as it was surrounded by swamps and marshes. The economic power
remained focused on Rome and its hyper-rich senatorial aristocracy which dominated much of Italy
and Africa in particular. After Gallienus banned senators from army commands in the mid-3rd
century, the senatorial elite lost all experience ofand interest inmilitary life. In the early 5th
century the wealthy landowning elite of the Roman Senate largely barred its tenants from military
service, but it also refused to approve sufficient funding for maintaining a sufficiently powerful
mercenary army to defend the entire Western Empire. The West's most important military area had
been northern Gaul and the Rhine frontier in the 4th century, when Trier frequently served as the

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capital of the Empire and many leading Western generals were Barbarians. After the civil war in
394 between Theodosius I and Eugenius, the new Western government installed by Theodosius I
increasingly had to divert military resources from Britain and the Rhine to protect Italy. This, in
turn, led to further rebellions and civil wars because the Western imperial government was not
providing the military protection the northern provinces expected and needed against the
barbarians.

The Western Empire's resources were much limited, and the lack of available manpower forced the
government to rely ever more on confederate barbarian troops operating under their own
commanders, where the Western Empire would often have difficulties paying. In certain cases deals
were struck with the leaders of barbaric mercenaries rewarding them with land, which led to the
Empire's decline as less land meant there would be less tax revenue to support the military.

As the central power weakened, the State gradually lost control of its borders and provinces, as well
as control over the Mediterranean Sea. Roman Emperors tried to maintain control of the sea, but,
once the Vandals conquered North Africa, imperial authorities had to cover too much ground with
too few resources. The loss of the African provinces might have been the worse reversal on the
West's fortunes, since they were among its wealthiest territories and supplied the essential grain
imports to Italy. In many places, the Roman institutions collapsed along with the economic stability.
In some regions, such as Gaul and Italy, the settlement of barbarians on former Roman lands seems
to have caused relatively little disruption.

Sack of Rome and Fall of the Western Roman Empire

Remaining as emperor after the death of Stilicho in 408,
Honorius reigned until his own death in 423. His reign was
filled with usurpations and invasions. In 410, Rome was
sacked by Alaric's forces. This event made a great
impression on contemporaries, as this was the first time
since the Gallic invasions of the 4th century BC that the
city had fallen to a foreign enemy. Under Alaric's
successors, the Goths then settled in Gaul (412418), from
where they operated as Roman allies against the Vandals,
Alans, and Suevi in Spain, and against the usurper Jovinus Germanic and Hunnic invasions of the
(413). Meanwhile, another usurper, Constantine (406411), Roman Empire, 100500 AD
had stripped Roman Britain of its defenses when he crossed
over to Gaul in 407, leaving the Romanized population
subject to invasions, first by the Picts and then by the Saxons, Angli, and the Jutes who began to
settle permanently from about 440 onwards.

Honorius' death in 423 was followed by turmoil until the Eastern Roman government with the force
of arms installed Valentinian III as Western Emperor in Ravenna, with Galla Placidia acting as
regent during her son's minority. After a violent struggle with several rivals, and against Placidia's
wish, Aetius rose to the rank of magister militum. Aetius was able to stabilize the Western Empire's

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military situation somewhat, relying heavily on his

Hunnic allies. With their help, he defeated the
Burgundians, who had occupied part of southern
Gaul after 407, and settled them in Savoy as Roman
allies (433). Later that century, as Roman power
faded away, the Burgundians extended their rule to
the Rhone valley.

Meanwhile, pressure from the Visigoths and a

rebellion by Bonifacius, the governor of Africa,
induced the Vandals under their king Gaiseric to
cross over from Spain in 429. They temporarily
halted in Numidia (435) before moving eastward and
capturing Carthage, from where they established an
independent state with a powerful navy (439). The
Vandal fleet became a constant danger to Roman sea
trade and the coasts and islands of the western and
central Mediterranean.
The Roman Empire during the reigns of
Majorian (west) and Leo I (east) in 460 AD.
Roman rule in the west would last less than
two more decades, whereas the territory of the
east would remain static until the reconquests
of Justinian I.

In 444, the Huns, who had been employed as Roman allies

by Aetius, were united under their ambitious king Attila.
Turning against their former ally, the Huns became a
formidable threat to the Empire. Attila then received a plea
for help and the ring of Honoria, the Emperor's sister. The Western and the Eastern Roman
Threatening war, he claimed half of the Western Empire's Empires by 476
territory as his dowry.

Faced with refusal, he invaded Gaul and was only stopped in the battle of the Catalaunian Plains by
a combined Roman-Germanic army led by Aetius. The next year, Attila invaded Italy and
proceeded to march upon Rome, but an outbreak of disease in his army, Pope Leo's plea for peace,
and reports of a campaign of Marcianus directed at his headquarters in Pannonia induced him to
halt this campaign. Attila unexpectedly died a year later (453).

Aetius was slain in 454 by Valentinian, who was then himself murdered by the dead general's
supporters a year later. With the end of the Theodosian dynasty, a new period of dynastic struggle
ensued. The Vandals took advantage of the unrest and sailed up to Rome, which they plundered in
455.

The instability caused by usurpers throughout the Western Empire helped these tribes in their
conquests, and by the 450s the Germanic tribes had become usurpers themselves. During the next
twenty years, several Western Emperors were installed by Constantinople, but their authority relied
upon barbarian commanders (Ricimer (456472), Gundobad (473475)). Majorian was the last
emperor to campaign in Gaul and Spain in 458-460 before being deposed and murdered by
Ricimer. From the 460s onwards, imperial control was effectively restricted to Italy and southern
Gaul as the remaining Western provinces refused to accept Ricimer's appointment of Libius

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Severus in 461.

In 475, Orestes, a former secretary of Attila, drove Emperor Julius Nepos out of Ravenna and
proclaimed his own son Romulus Augustus as emperor. In 476, Orestes refused to grant Odoacer
and the Heruli federated status, prompting an invasion. Orestes was killed and Odoacer deposed
Romulus Augustus, installed himself as ruler over Italy and sent the Imperial insignia to
Constantinople. Although isolated pockets of Roman rule continued even after 476, the city of
Rome itself was under the rule of the barbarians, and the control of Rome over the West had
effectively ended.

Three rump states continued under Roman rule in some form or another after 476: Julius Nepos
controlled Dalmatia until his murder in 480. Syagrius ruled the Domain of Soissons until his
murder in 487. Lastly, a Roman-Moor realm survived in north Africa, resisting Vandal incursions,
and becoming a part of the Eastern Roman Empire c.533 when Belisarius defeated the Vandals.

Last Emperor

By convention, the Western Roman Empire is deemed to

have ended on 4 September 476, when Odoacer deposed
Romulus Augustulus, but the historical record calls this
determination into question.

Julius Nepos still claimed to be Emperor of the West, and

ruled a rump state in Dalmatia. He was recognized as such
Europe in 477 AD. Highlighted areas
by Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno and by Syagrius, who had
are Roman lands that survived the
managed to preserve Roman sovereignty in an exclave in
northern Gaul, known today as the Domain of Soissons. deposition of Romulus Augustulus.

Odoacer proclaimed himself ruler of Italy and began to negotiate with Zeno. Zeno eventually
granted Odoacer patrician status as recognition of his authority and accepted him as his own
viceroy of Italy. Zeno, however, insisted that Odoacer had to pay homage to Julius Nepos as the
Emperor of the Western Empire. Odoacer accepted this condition and issued coins in the name of
Julius Nepos throughout Italy. This, however, was mainly an empty political gesture, as Odoacer
never returned any real power or territories to Julius Nepos. The murder of Julius Nepos in 480
prompted Odoacer to invade Dalmatia, annexing it to his Kingdom of Italy.

Political change after the empire's fall

Theodoric

The last hope for a reunited Empire came in 493, as Odoacer was replaced by Theodoric the Great,
king of the Ostrogoths. Theodoric had been forced to appear subservient to Zeno in order to deal
with a dangerous Odoacer. While in principle Theodoric was a subordinate, a viceroy of the
Emperor of the East, in fact he was his equal.

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Following Theodoric's death in 526, the Western half of the

Empire was now fully controlled by Germanic tribes (though
many of them continued to recognize Roman law and made
claims to continuity), while the Eastern half had established
itself under the Justinian dynasty. While the East would make
some attempts to recapture the West, the Roman Empire was
never reunited.

East Roman reconquest

Barbarian kingdoms in 526
Throughout Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages, the
Eastern Roman Empire, or the Byzantine Empire, laid
claims on areas of the West which had been occupied by
several tribes. In the 6th century, the Eastern Roman Empire
managed to reconquer large areas of the former Western
Roman Empire. The most successful were the campaigns of
the generals Belisarius and Narses on behalf of the Eastern
Roman Emperor Justinian I from 533 to 554. The Vandal-
occupied former Roman territory in North Africa was The Ostrogothic Kingdom, which rose
regained, particularly the territory centered around the city from the ruins of the late Western
of Carthage. Less than a year later, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Roman Empire
Dalmatia, and the Balearic Islands were easily captured by
the invading Roman legions. The campaign eventually
moved into Italy and the Byzantines reconquered it
completely. Minor territories were taken as far west as the
southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. Only three years
after Justinian had died, the Lombards had invaded Italy,
but the wealthiest parts of the province remained securely
in Roman hands throughout the seventh century.[3] The Eastern Roman Empire, by
reoccupying some of the former
Although some eastern emperors occasionally attempted to
Western Roman Empire's lands,
campaign in the West, none were as successful as Justinian.
enlarged its territory considerably
After 600, events conspired to drive the Western provinces
during Justinian's reign from 527 (red)
out of Constantinople's control, with imperial attention
to 565 (orange).
focused on the pressing issues of war with Sasanian Iran
and then the rise of Arab power. For a while, the West
remained important, with the Emperor Constans II ruling from Sicily a Roman Empire that still
stretched from North Africa to the Caucasus in the 660s, but thereafter imperial attention declined
rapidly, with Constantinople itself being besieged in the 670s, renewed war with the Arabs in the
680s, and then a period of chaos between 695 and 717, during which time Africa was finally lost to
the Romans once and for all. The Emperor Leo III restored order, but his doctrinal reforms, known
as the Iconoclastic Controversy, proved extremely unpopular in the West, and led to the final
breakdown in imperial rule over Rome itself.

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Byzantine rule continued in Sicily throughout the eighth century, with the island slowly being
overrun by the Arabs over the course of the ninth century. In Italy, a few strongholds in Calabria
ultimately provided a base for modest imperial expansion, which reached its peak in the early
eleventh century, with most of southern Italy under "Roman" rule of a sort. This, however, was
undone by further Byzantine civil war, and the slow conquest of the region by the Byzantines'
former mercenaries, the Normans, who finally put an end to imperial rule in Western Europe in
1071.

Legacy
As the Western Roman
Empire crumbled, the new
Germanic rulers who
conquered the provinces
upheld many Roman laws and
traditions. Many of the
invading Germanic tribes
were already Christianized,
although most were followers
of Arianism. They quickly
converted to official imperial
Christianity, gaining more
loyalty from the local Roman
populations, as well as the
recognition and support of the
powerful Bishop of Rome.
Although they initially
continued to recognize
indigenous tribal laws, they
were more influenced by
On the left: Emperor Honorius on the consular diptych of Anicius
Roman Law and gradually
Petronius Probus (406)
incorporated it as well.
On the right: Consular diptych of Constantius III (a co-emperor with
Roman Law, particularly the Honorius in 421), produced for his consulate in 413 or 417
Corpus Juris Civilis collected
by order of Justinian I, is the ancient basis on which the modern Civil law stands. In contrast,
Common law is based on the Germanic Anglo-Saxon law.

Latin as a language never really disappeared. It combined with neighboring Germanic and Celtic
languages, giving rise to many modern Romance languages such as Italian, French, Spanish,
Portuguese, Romanian and a large number of minor languages and dialects. Today, more than 900
million people are native speakers worldwide.

Latin also influenced Germanic languages such as English, German, and Dutch; all surviving Celtic

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languages, Albanian, and such Slavic languages as Polish and Czech, and even the non-Indo-
European Hungarian. It survives in its "purer" form as the language of the Catholic Church (the
Mass was spoken exclusively in Latin until 1969), and was used as a lingua franca between many
nations. It remained the language of medicine, law, diplomacy (most treaties were written in Latin),
of intellectuals and scholarship.

The Latin alphabet was expanded due to the splits of I into I and J and of U into U, V, and in places
(especially Germanic languages and Polish) W; it is the most widely used alphabetic writing system
in the world today. Roman numerals continue to be used, but were mostly replaced by Arabic
numerals.

The ideal of the Roman Empire as a mighty Christian Empire with a single ruler continued to
appeal to many powerful rulers. Under the principle of translatio imperii, the Holy Roman Empire
explicitly proclaimed itself as the continuation of the Western Roman Empire. The title of the
Western Roman Emperor was revived when Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Lombards, was
crowned as Emperor of the Romans of the West by Pope Leo III in 800. The status of the Holy
Roman Emperor as the rightful Western Roman Emperor in the medieval era was further
legitimated by the recognition as "co-emperor" from the Eastern Roman Emperor, who was in
direct succession to the ancient Roman Emperors. The Holy Roman Empire continued to regard
itself as the successor state of the Western Roman Empire until its downfall in 1806. The French
King Louis XIV, as well as French Emperor Napoleon I, and the Italian Fascist dictator Benito
Mussolini, among others, also tried to resurrect the Empire, albeit unsuccessfully.

A very visible legacy of the Western Roman Empire is the Roman Catholic Church. The Church
slowly began to replace Roman institutions in the West, even helping to negotiate the safety of
Rome during the late 5th century. In many cases the only source of law and civil administration was
the local bishop, often himself a former governor like St. Ambrose of Milan and St. Germanus of
Auxerre. As Rome was invaded by Germanic tribes, many assimilated, and by the middle of the
medieval period (c. 9th and 10th centuries) the central, western, and northern parts of Europe had
been largely converted to Roman Catholicism and acknowledged the Pope as the Vicar of Christ.

List of Western Roman Emperors

Gallic Emperors (259 to 273)

Postumus: 259 to 268

Laelianus: 268 Usurper
Marcus Aurelius Marius: 268
Victorinus: 268 to 271
Domitianus: 271 Usurper
Tetricus I: 271 to 273
Tetricus II: 271 to 273 Son and co-emperor of Tetricus I

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Tetrarchy (293 to 313)

Augusti are shown with their Caesares and regents further indented

Maximian: 293 to 305

Constantius Chlorus: 293 to 305
Constantius Chlorus: 305 to 306
Flavius Valerius Severus: 305 to 306
Flavius Valerius Severus: 306 to 307
Constantine I: 306 to 313
Maxentius/Maximian: 307 to 308
Licinius: 308 to 313
Maxentius: 308 to 312 Usurper
Domitius Alexander: 308 to 309 African usurper

Constantinian dynasty (313 to 363)

Constantine the Great: 306 to 337 Sole emperor of the empire from 324 to 337
Constantine II: 337 to 340 Emperor of Gaul, Britannia, and Hispania
Constantius II: 337 to 361 Emperor of the east from 337 to 353, Sole emperor of the empire
from 353 to 360
Constans I: 337 to 350 Emperor of Italy and Africa 337-340, emperor of the west from 340 to
350
Magnentius: 350 to 353 Usurper
Julian: 355 to 363 Emperor of the west from 355 to 361, Sole emperor of the empire from 361
to 363

Non-dynastic (363 to 364)

Jovian: 363 to 364

Valentinian dynasty (364 to 392)

Valentinian I: 364 to 375

Gratian: 367 to 375
Gratian: 375 to 383
Valentinian II: 375 to 383
Magnus Maximus: 383 to 388 Usurper
Valentinian II: 383 to 392

Non-dynastic (392 to 394)

Eugenius: 392 to 394

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Theodosian dynasty (394 to 455)

Theodosius I: 394 to 395 Sole emperor

Honorius: 395 to 423
Flavius Stilicho: 395 to 408 Power behind the throne
Constantius III: 421
Constantine III: 407 to 411 Usurper
Priscus Attalus: 409 to 410/414 to 415 Usurper
Jovinus: 411 to 412 Usurper
Valentinian III: 423 to 455
Galla Placidia: 423 to 433 Regent
Atius: 433 to 454 Regent
Joannes: 423 to 425 Usurper

Non-dynastic (455 to 480)

Petronius Maximus: 455 not recognized in Constantinople

Avitus: 455 to 456 not recognized in Constantinople
Ricimer: 456 to 472 Power behind the throne
Majorian: 457 to 461
Libius Severus: 461 to 465 not recognized in Constantinople
Anthemius: 467 to 472
Olybrius: 472 not recognized in Constantinople
Glycerius: 473 to 474 not recognized in Constantinople
Julius Nepos: 474 to 480 In exile 475 to 480
Romulus Augustus: 475 to 476 not recognized in Constantinople
Flavius Orestes: 475 to 476 Power behind the throne

Flavius Orestes was killed by revolting Germanic mercenaries. Their chieftain, Odoacer, assumed
control of Italy as a de jure representative of Julius Nepos and Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno.

See also
Byzantine Empire
Holy Roman Empire
Legacy of the Roman Empire

Notes
1. Taagepera, Rein (1979). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D".
Social Science History. Duke University Press. 3 (3/4): 24. doi:10.2307/1170959. JSTOR 1170959.
2. DiMaio Jr., M. & Frakes, R. 'DIR-Constantius II' from De Imperatoribus Romanis [1]
(http://www.roman-emperors.org/constaii.htm)

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3. The Making of Orthodox Byzantium

References
Henning Brm: Das westrmische Kaisertum nach 476 (http://www.academia.edu/1013050
/Das_Westromische_Kaisertum_nach_476_in_H._Borm_-_N._Ehrhardt_-
_J._Wiesehofer_eds._Monumentum_et_instrumentum_inscriptum_Stuttgart_Franz_Steiner_V
erlag_2008_pp._47ff). In: Josef Wiesehfer et al. (eds.), Monumentum et instrumentum
inscriptum. Stuttgart 2008, pp. 4769.
Henning Brm: Westrom. Von Honorius bis Justinian (http://www.academia.edu/3577658
/Westrom._Von_Honorius_bis_Justinian_UT_735_._Stuttgart_Kohlhammer_2013). Stuttgart
2013, ISBN 978-3-17-023276-1 (Review in English (http://sehepunkte.de/2016/05
/23732.html)).
Neil Christie: The Fall of the Western Roman Empire. London 2011, ISBN
978-0-340-75966-0.
Kaj Sandberg: The So-Called Division of the Roman Empire. Notes On A Persistent Theme in
Western Historiography. In: Arctos 42 (2008), 199-213.
El Housin Helal Ouriachen: La ciudad btica durante la Antigedad Tarda. Persistencias y
mutaciones locales en relacin con la realidad urbana del Mediterraneo y del Atlntico, PhD
thesis, Universidad de Granada. Granada 2009.

External links
Roman-Empire.net (http://www.roman-empire.net) Wikimedia Commons
De Imperatoribus Romanis (http://www.roman- has media related to
emperors.org/impindex.htm) Western Roman
Map of the Roman state according to the Compilation Empire.
'notitia dignitatum' (http://members.iinet.net.au/~igmaier
/613-map.htm)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Western_Roman_Empire&

oldid=774839406"

Categories: Former countries in Europe Former empires

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Former empires of Europe Former empires of Africa 3rd century in the Roman Empire
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