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{{Infobox Former Country|native_name = IMPERIVM·ROMANVM·PARS·OCCIDENTALIS|conventional_long_name = Western Roman Empire|common_name = Western Roman Empire||national_motto = Senatus Populusque Romanus|government_type = Monarchy||year_start = 286|year_end = 476|event_start = Division of Diocletianus|event_end = Deposition of Romulus Augustulus||p1 = Roman Empire|flag_p1 = RomeConstantine'sArch03.jpg|s1 = [Kingdom of Italy (476–493)|s2 = Ostrogothic Kingdom|s3 = Domain of Soissons|s4 = Sub-Roman Britain|s5 = Byzantine Empire|s6 = Holy Roman Empire|flag_s6 = Banner_of_the_Holy_Roman_Emperor_(after_1400).svg‎

||image_map = Western-Roman-Empire-AD395.png|image_map_caption = The Western Roman Empire in 395.||capital = Milan(286-402)Ravenna(402-476)]|religion = Christianity, [Aureus, Denarius, Sestertius, As (coin)||leader1 = Flavius Augustus Honorius|leader2 = Romulus Augustulus|year_leader1 = 395–423|year_leader2 = 475-476|title_leader = Roman Emperor||title_representative = Roman consul|representative1 = Flavius Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius, Flavius Anicius Probinus|representative2 = Basiliscus, Armatus|year_representative1 = 395|year_representative2 = 476||legislature = Roman Senate||stat_year1 = 395, from its division by [Diocletian in 286; the other half of the Roman Empire became known as the Eastern Roman Empire, today widely known as the Byzantine Empire. The capital of the Western Roman Empire was in Mediolanum (modern Milan), until it was moved to Ravenna in 402.

The Western Empire existed intermittently in several periods between the 3rd century and 5th century, after Diocletian's Tetrarchy and the reunifications associated with Constantine I (emperor) and Julian the Apostate. Theodosius I was the last Roman Emperor who ruled over a unified Roman empire. After his death in 395, the Roman Empire was permanently divided. The Western Roman Empire ended officially with the abdication of Romulus Augustus under pressure of Odoacer on 4 September 476, and unofficially with the death of Julius Nepos in 480.

Despite a brief period of reconquest by its counterpart, the Eastern Roman Empire, the Western Roman Empire would not rise again. As the Western Roman Empire fell, a new era began in Western European history: the Middle Ages.

Background As the Roman Republic expanded, it reached a point at which the central government in Rome could not effectively rule the distant provinces. Communications and transportation were especially problematic, given the vast extent of the Empire. News of invasion, revolt, natural disaster, or epidemic outbreak was carried by ship or Cursus publicus, often requiring much time to reach Rome, and for Rome's orders to be realized in the province of origin. For this reason, provincial Roman Governors had de facto rule in the name of the Roman republic.

Prior to the establishment of the Empire, the territories of the Roman Republic had been divided among the Second Triumvirate, composed of Augustus, Mark Antony, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir). Antony received the provinces in the East: Achaea Province, Roman province of Macedonia and Epirus (region) (roughly modern Greece), Bithynia, Pontus and Asia (Roman province) (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 and Macedonian origin. The whole region, especially the major cities, had been largely assimilated into Greek culture, Koine Greek often serving as the lingua-franca. before the conquests of Augustus

Octavian, on the other hand, obtained the Roman provinces of the West: Italia (Roman province) (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 Province (roughly modern Tunisia). Octavian soon took Africa from Lepidus, while adding Greek-colonized Sicilia (province) (modern Sicily) to his holdings.

Upon the defeat of Mark Antony, a victorious Octavian controlled a united Roman Empire. While the Roman Empire featured many distinct cultures, all were often said to experience gradual Romanization (cultural). 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 consequences 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 First Jewish-Roman War .

In a full-blown military campaign, the Roman 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 Antica (archaeological site), 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 increasingly participated in the civil wars.

The main enemy in the West was arguably the Germanic peoples behind the rivers Rhine and Danube. Augustus had tried to conquer them but ultimately pulled back after the Teutonberg reversal., the arch-rival of Rome, at its greatest extent, c. 60 BC

Parthia, in the East, on the other hand, was too remote and powerful to be conquered. Any Parthian invasion was confronted and usually defeated, and the Parthians similarly repelled any Roman invasion, creating a stalemate situation.

Controlling the western border of Rome was reasonably easy, because it was relatively near, but controlling both frontiers at the same time 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, making the Empire doubly vulnerable. This wartime opportunism plagued many ruling emperors, and indeed paved the road to power for several future emperors.

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 (Roman province) 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 (emperor) was captured by Shapur I of Persia 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, the eastern provinces seceded as the Empire of Palmyra, or the Palmyrene Empire, under the rule of Queen Zenobia.

In 272, Emperor Aurelian finally managed to subdue Palmyra and reclaim its territory for the empire. With the East secure, he turned his attention 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 quiet 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 286, through the creation of the Tetrarchy, he gave the western part to Maximian as Augustus (title) and named Constantius Chlorus as his subordinate (Caesar (title)). This system effectively divided the empire into four parts 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. On 1 May 305, the two senior Augusti stepped down and were replaced by their respective Caesars.

Constantine The system of the Tetrarchy quickly ran aground when the Western Empire's Constantius died unexpectedly in 306, and his son Constantine I (emperor) 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 reconquering 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 they now competed 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 was dead, 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 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 reunified in 340, and 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 often regarded as the first emperor of the Byzantine Empire. Under his rule, the city of Byzantium, only recently refounded as Constantinople, was fully developed as a capital.

In 361, Constantius II became ill and died, and Constantius Chlorus' grandson Julian the Apostate, who had served as Constantius II's Caesar, took power. Julian was killed carrying on Constantius II's war against Persian Empire in 363 and was replaced by Jovian who ruled only until 364. Final division Following the death of Jovian, the empire fell again into a new period of civil war similar to the Crisis of the Third Century. In 364 Valentinian I emerged. 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 intensified, especially with the Huns and the Goths. A serious problem in the West was a political reaction caused by the indigenous paganism against the Christianizing emperors. 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 pagan altar from the Curia, and gave the title of Pontifex Maximus to the Pope.

In 388, a powerful and popular general named Magnus Maximus seized power in the west and forced Gratian's son Valentinian II to flee to the east for aid; Eastern Emperor Theodosius I promptly restored him to power. He also caused a ban on the native paganism to be implemented in the west in 391, enforcing Christianity. In 392 the Franks and pagan magister militum Arbogast (general) assassinated Valentinian II, and a senator named Eugenius was proclaimed emperor. Eugenius was overcome in 394 by Theodosius I, the latter ruling both East and West for a year up to his death in 395. This was the last instance in which a single ruler ruled both parts of the Roman Empire.

A short period of stability under Emperor Flavius Augustus Honorius (controlled by Flavius Stilicho) ended with Stilicho's death in 408. Now the two empires truly diverged, as the East began a slow recovery and consolidation, while the West began to collapse entirely. Economic factors While the West was experiencing an economic decline throughout the late empire, the East was not so destitute, as Emperors like Constantine the Great and Constantius II had invested heavily in the eastern economy. The economic decline of the West contributed to its eventual collapse. The Byzantine Empire could afford large numbers of professional soldiers and augment them with mercenaries while the Western Roman Empire couldn't afford this to the same extent. Even in the case of a major defeat the East could, certainly not without difficulties, buy its enemies off with a ransom.

As the central power weakened, the State also 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 Roman institutions collapsed along with the economic stability. Most invaders required a third of the land they conquered from their Roman subjects, and this could turn into much more, as different tribes conquered the same province.

Tens of square kilometres of carefully developed land was abandoned due to political instability. As most of the economy of Classical antiquity was based upon agriculture, this was a severe economic blow.

Conquest of Rome and fall of the Western Roman Empire With the death of Stilicho in 408, Honorius was left in charge, and although he ruled until his death in 423, his reign was filled with usurpations and invasions, particularly by the Vandals and Visigoths. In 410, Rome was sacked by outside forces for the first time since the Gallic invasions of the 4th century BC. The instability caused by usurpers throughout the Western Empire helped these tribes in their conquests, and in the 5th century the Germanic tribes became usurpers themselves. In 475, Orestes (Roman soldier), a former secretary of Attila the Hun, drove Emperor Julius Nepos out of Ravenna and proclaimed his own son Romulus Augustus as emperor.

In 476, Orestes refused to grant the Odoacer-led Heruli federated status, prompting Odoacer to sack Rome and send the imperial insignia to Constantinople, installing himself as king over Italy. Although some 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. The remnants were conquered within a decade.

Last emperor Historical convention has determined that the Western Roman Empire ended on 4 September 476, when Odoacer deposed Romulus Augustus. However, the issue in practice is not clear-cut.

Julius Nepos still claimed to be Emperor of the West, ruling the rump state of Dalmatia, and was recognized as such by Byzantine Emperor Zeno (emperor) and by Syagrius, who had managed to preserve a Roman Enclave and exclave in northern Gaul, known today as the Domain of Soissons. Odoacer proclaimed himself ruler of Italy and began to negotiate with Zeno. The Byzantine emperor eventually did grant Odoacer patrician status as a recognition of his authority and accepted him as his own viceroy of Italy. Zeno however insisted that Odoacer payed homage to Nepos as western emperor. Odoacer accepted this condition and even issued coins in Nepos' name throughout Italy. This however was mainly an empty political gesture as Odoacer never returned any real power or territories to Nepos. Nepos was eventually murdered in 480 and Odoacer quickly invaded and conquered Dalmatia., which rose from the ruins of the late Western Roman Empire

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 recruited by Zeno to deal with a dangerous Odoacer. While in principle Theodoric was a subordinate, a viceroy of the emperor of the East, actually he was an equal.

Following Theodoric's death in 526, the West no longer resembled the East. The West was now fully controlled by invading outside tribes, while the East had retreated and Hellenized. While the East would make some attempts to recapture the West, the Roman Empire was never the same again. in 550. The re-conquests of Justinian I are in green

Byzantine reconquest Throughout the Middle Ages, the eastern Byzantine Empire laid claims on areas of the West which had been occupied by several tribes. In the 6th century, the Byzantine Empire managed to reconquer large areas of the former Western Roman Empire. The most successful were the campaigns of the Byzantine generals Belisarius and Narses on behalf of Emperor Justinian I from 533 to 554. The Vandal-occupied former Roman territory in North Africa was regained, particularly the territory centred around the city of Carthage. The campaign eventually moved into Italy and reconquered it completely. Minor territories were taken as far west as the southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.

It appeared at the time that perhaps Rome could be reconstituted. However, the tribal influence had caused far too much damage to these former Roman provinces, both economically and culturally. Not only were they extremely costly to maintain, the invasion and propagation of the Germanic tribes throughout these territories meant that much of the Roman culture and identity that had held the empire together had been destroyed or severely damaged.

Although some eastern emperors occasionally attempted to reconquer some parts of the West, none were as successful as Justinian. The division between the two areas grew, resulting in a growing rivalry. While the Eastern Roman Empire continued after Justinian, the eastern emperors focused mainly on defending its traditional territory. The East no longer had the necessary military strength, spelling the end of any hope for reunification. in Europe Legacy As the Western Roman Empire crumbled, the new Germanic rulers who conquered the provinces nonetheless upheld many Roman laws and traditions. Many of the invading Germanic tribes were already Christianised, though most were followers of Arianism. They quickly converted to Catholicism, gaining more loyalty from local Romanized populations, as well as the recognition and support of the powerful Roman Catholic Church. Although they initially continued to recognise indigenous tribal laws, they were more influenced by Roman Law and gradually incorporated it as well.

Roman Law, particularly the Corpus Juris Civilis collected by order of Justinian I, is the ancient basis on which the modern Civil law (legal system) stands. In contrast, Common law is based on the Germanic Anglo-Saxon law.

Latin (language) as a language never really disappeared. It combined with neighboring Germanic and Celtic languages, giving rise to many modern Romance languages such as Italian (language), French (language), Spanish (language), Portuguese (language), Romanian (language) and Romansh language. Latin also influenced Germanic (language) such as English (language), German (language), and Dutch (language). It survives in its "purer" form as the language of the Roman Catholic Church (the Mass (liturgy) was spoken exclusively in Latin until Ecclesiastical Latin) 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 with the letters J, K, W and Z and 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 seduce many powerful rulers. Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Lombards, was even crowned as Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III in 800. Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire like Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and mighty Sultans like Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire, among others, tried to a certain extent to resurrect it, but none of their attempts were successful.

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. As Rome was invaded by Germanic tribes, many assimilated, and by the middle of the medieval period (c.9th century and 10th Century) the central, western and northern parts of Europe had been largely converted to the Roman Catholicism and acknowledged the Pope as the Vicar of Christ.

List of Western Roman emperors Gallic Emperors (259 to 273)

Tetrarchy (293 to 313) Augusti are shown with their Caesares and regents further indented

Constantinian dynasty (313 to 363)

Non-dynastic (363 to 364)

Valentinian dynasty (364 to 392)

Non-dynastic (392 to 394)

Theodosian dynasty (394 to 455)

Non-dynastic (455 to 480)

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

See also

References External links

{{Infobox Former Country|native_name = IMPERIVM·ROMANVM·PARS·OCCIDENTALIS|conventional_long_name = Western Roman Empire|common_name = Western Roman Empire||national_motto = Senatus Populusque Romanus|government_type = Monarchy||year_start = 286|year_end = 476|event_start = Division of Diocletianus|event_end = Deposition of Romulus Augustulus||p1 = Roman Empire|flag_p1 = RomeConstantine'sArch03.jpg|s1 = [Kingdom of Italy (476–493)|s2 = Ostrogothic Kingdom|s3 = Domain of Soissons|s4 = Sub-Roman Britain|s5 = Byzantine Empire|s6 = Holy Roman Empire|flag_s6 = Banner_of_the_Holy_Roman_Emperor_(after_1400).svg‎

||image_map = Western-Roman-Empire-AD395.png|image_map_caption = The Western Roman Empire in 395.||capital = Milan(286-402)Ravenna(402-476)]|religion = Christianity, [Aureus, Denarius, Sestertius, As (coin)||leader1 = Flavius Augustus Honorius|leader2 = Romulus Augustulus|year_leader1 = 395–423|year_leader2 = 475-476|title_leader = Roman Emperor||title_representative = Roman consul|representative1 = Flavius Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius, Flavius Anicius Probinus|representative2 = Basiliscus, Armatus|year_representative1 = 395|year_representative2 = 476||legislature = Roman Senate||stat_year1 = 395, from its division by [Diocletian in 286; the other half of the Roman Empire became known as the Eastern Roman Empire, today widely known as the Byzantine Empire. The capital of the Western Roman Empire was in Mediolanum (modern Milan), until it was moved to Ravenna in 402.

The Western Empire existed intermittently in several periods between the 3rd century and 5th century, after Diocletian's Tetrarchy and the reunifications associated with Constantine I (emperor) and Julian the Apostate. Theodosius I was the last Roman Emperor who ruled over a unified Roman empire. After his death in 395, the Roman Empire was permanently divided. The Western Roman Empire ended officially with the abdication of Romulus Augustus under pressure of Odoacer on 4 September 476, and unofficially with the death of Julius Nepos in 480.

Despite a brief period of reconquest by its counterpart, the Eastern Roman Empire, the Western Roman Empire would not rise again. As the Western Roman Empire fell, a new era began in Western European history: the Middle Ages.

Background As the Roman Republic expanded, it reached a point at which the central government in Rome could not effectively rule the distant provinces. Communications and transportation were especially problematic, given the vast extent of the Empire. News of invasion, revolt, natural disaster, or epidemic outbreak was carried by ship or Cursus publicus, often requiring much time to reach Rome, and for Rome's orders to be realized in the province of origin. For this reason, provincial Roman Governors had de facto rule in the name of the Roman republic.

Prior to the establishment of the Empire, the territories of the Roman Republic had been divided among the Second Triumvirate, composed of Augustus, Mark Antony, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir). Antony received the provinces in the East: Achaea Province, Roman province of Macedonia and Epirus (region) (roughly modern Greece), Bithynia, Pontus and Asia (Roman province) (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 and Macedonian origin. The whole region, especially the major cities, had been largely assimilated into Greek culture, Koine Greek often serving as the lingua-franca. before the conquests of Augustus

Octavian, on the other hand, obtained the Roman provinces of the West: Italia (Roman province) (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 Province (roughly modern Tunisia). Octavian soon took Africa from Lepidus, while adding Greek-colonized Sicilia (province) (modern Sicily) to his holdings.

Upon the defeat of Mark Antony, a victorious Octavian controlled a united Roman Empire. While the Roman Empire featured many distinct cultures, all were often said to experience gradual Romanization (cultural). 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 consequences 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 First Jewish-Roman War .

In a full-blown military campaign, the Roman 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 Antica (archaeological site), 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 increasingly participated in the civil wars.

The main enemy in the West was arguably the Germanic peoples behind the rivers Rhine and Danube. Augustus had tried to conquer them but ultimately pulled back after the Teutonberg reversal., the arch-rival of Rome, at its greatest extent, c. 60 BC

Parthia, in the East, on the other hand, was too remote and powerful to be conquered. Any Parthian invasion was confronted and usually defeated, and the Parthians similarly repelled any Roman invasion, creating a stalemate situation.

Controlling the western border of Rome was reasonably easy, because it was relatively near, but controlling both frontiers at the same time 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, making the Empire doubly vulnerable. This wartime opportunism plagued many ruling emperors, and indeed paved the road to power for several future emperors.

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 (Roman province) 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 (emperor) was captured by Shapur I of Persia 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, the eastern provinces seceded as the Empire of Palmyra, or the Palmyrene Empire, under the rule of Queen Zenobia.

In 272, Emperor Aurelian finally managed to subdue Palmyra and reclaim its territory for the empire. With the East secure, he turned his attention 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 quiet 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 286, through the creation of the Tetrarchy, he gave the western part to Maximian as Augustus (title) and named Constantius Chlorus as his subordinate (Caesar (title)). This system effectively divided the empire into four parts 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. On 1 May 305, the two senior Augusti stepped down and were replaced by their respective Caesars.

Constantine The system of the Tetrarchy quickly ran aground when the Western Empire's Constantius died unexpectedly in 306, and his son Constantine I (emperor) 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 reconquering 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 they now competed 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 was dead, 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 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 reunified in 340, and 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 often regarded as the first emperor of the Byzantine Empire. Under his rule, the city of Byzantium, only recently refounded as Constantinople, was fully developed as a capital.

In 361, Constantius II became ill and died, and Constantius Chlorus' grandson Julian the Apostate, who had served as Constantius II's Caesar, took power. Julian was killed carrying on Constantius II's war against Persian Empire in 363 and was replaced by Jovian who ruled only until 364. Final division Following the death of Jovian, the empire fell again into a new period of civil war similar to the Crisis of the Third Century. In 364 Valentinian I emerged. 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 intensified, especially with the Huns and the Goths. A serious problem in the West was a political reaction caused by the indigenous paganism against the Christianizing emperors. 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 pagan altar from the Curia, and gave the title of Pontifex Maximus to the Pope.

In 388, a powerful and popular general named Magnus Maximus seized power in the west and forced Gratian's son Valentinian II to flee to the east for aid; Eastern Emperor Theodosius I promptly restored him to power. He also caused a ban on the native paganism to be implemented in the west in 391, enforcing Christianity. In 392 the Franks and pagan magister militum Arbogast (general) assassinated Valentinian II, and a senator named Eugenius was proclaimed emperor. Eugenius was overcome in 394 by Theodosius I, the latter ruling both East and West for a year up to his death in 395. This was the last instance in which a single ruler ruled both parts of the Roman Empire.

A short period of stability under Emperor Flavius Augustus Honorius (controlled by Flavius Stilicho) ended with Stilicho's death in 408. Now the two empires truly diverged, as the East began a slow recovery and consolidation, while the West began to collapse entirely. Economic factors While the West was experiencing an economic decline throughout the late empire, the East was not so destitute, as Emperors like Constantine the Great and Constantius II had invested heavily in the eastern economy. The economic decline of the West contributed to its eventual collapse. The Byzantine Empire could afford large numbers of professional soldiers and augment them with mercenaries while the Western Roman Empire couldn't afford this to the same extent. Even in the case of a major defeat the East could, certainly not without difficulties, buy its enemies off with a ransom.

As the central power weakened, the State also 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 Roman institutions collapsed along with the economic stability. Most invaders required a third of the land they conquered from their Roman subjects, and this could turn into much more, as different tribes conquered the same province.

Tens of square kilometres of carefully developed land was abandoned due to political instability. As most of the economy of Classical antiquity was based upon agriculture, this was a severe economic blow.

Conquest of Rome and fall of the Western Roman Empire With the death of Stilicho in 408, Honorius was left in charge, and although he ruled until his death in 423, his reign was filled with usurpations and invasions, particularly by the Vandals and Visigoths. In 410, Rome was sacked by outside forces for the first time since the Gallic invasions of the 4th century BC. The instability caused by usurpers throughout the Western Empire helped these tribes in their conquests, and in the 5th century the Germanic tribes became usurpers themselves. In 475, Orestes (Roman soldier), a former secretary of Attila the Hun, drove Emperor Julius Nepos out of Ravenna and proclaimed his own son Romulus Augustus as emperor.

In 476, Orestes refused to grant the Odoacer-led Heruli federated status, prompting Odoacer to sack Rome and send the imperial insignia to Constantinople, installing himself as king over Italy. Although some 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. The remnants were conquered within a decade.

Last emperor Historical convention has determined that the Western Roman Empire ended on 4 September 476, when Odoacer deposed Romulus Augustus. However, the issue in practice is not clear-cut.

Julius Nepos still claimed to be Emperor of the West, ruling the rump state of Dalmatia, and was recognized as such by Byzantine Emperor Zeno (emperor) and by Syagrius, who had managed to preserve a Roman Enclave and exclave in northern Gaul, known today as the Domain of Soissons. Odoacer proclaimed himself ruler of Italy and began to negotiate with Zeno. The Byzantine emperor eventually did grant Odoacer patrician status as a recognition of his authority and accepted him as his own viceroy of Italy. Zeno however insisted that Odoacer payed homage to Nepos as western emperor. Odoacer accepted this condition and even issued coins in Nepos' name throughout Italy. This however was mainly an empty political gesture as Odoacer never returned any real power or territories to Nepos. Nepos was eventually murdered in 480 and Odoacer quickly invaded and conquered Dalmatia., which rose from the ruins of the late Western Roman Empire

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 recruited by Zeno to deal with a dangerous Odoacer. While in principle Theodoric was a subordinate, a viceroy of the emperor of the East, actually he was an equal.

Following Theodoric's death in 526, the West no longer resembled the East. The West was now fully controlled by invading outside tribes, while the East had retreated and Hellenized. While the East would make some attempts to recapture the West, the Roman Empire was never the same again. in 550. The re-conquests of Justinian I are in green

Byzantine reconquest Throughout the Middle Ages, the eastern Byzantine Empire laid claims on areas of the West which had been occupied by several tribes. In the 6th century, the Byzantine Empire managed to reconquer large areas of the former Western Roman Empire. The most successful were the campaigns of the Byzantine generals Belisarius and Narses on behalf of Emperor Justinian I from 533 to 554. The Vandal-occupied former Roman territory in North Africa was regained, particularly the territory centred around the city of Carthage. The campaign eventually moved into Italy and reconquered it completely. Minor territories were taken as far west as the southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.

It appeared at the time that perhaps Rome could be reconstituted. However, the tribal influence had caused far too much damage to these former Roman provinces, both economically and culturally. Not only were they extremely costly to maintain, the invasion and propagation of the Germanic tribes throughout these territories meant that much of the Roman culture and identity that had held the empire together had been destroyed or severely damaged.

Although some eastern emperors occasionally attempted to reconquer some parts of the West, none were as successful as Justinian. The division between the two areas grew, resulting in a growing rivalry. While the Eastern Roman Empire continued after Justinian, the eastern emperors focused mainly on defending its traditional territory. The East no longer had the necessary military strength, spelling the end of any hope for reunification. in Europe Legacy As the Western Roman Empire crumbled, the new Germanic rulers who conquered the provinces nonetheless upheld many Roman laws and traditions. Many of the invading Germanic tribes were already Christianised, though most were followers of Arianism. They quickly converted to Catholicism, gaining more loyalty from local Romanized populations, as well as the recognition and support of the powerful Roman Catholic Church. Although they initially continued to recognise indigenous tribal laws, they were more influenced by Roman Law and gradually incorporated it as well.

Roman Law, particularly the Corpus Juris Civilis collected by order of Justinian I, is the ancient basis on which the modern Civil law (legal system) stands. In contrast, Common law is based on the Germanic Anglo-Saxon law.

Latin (language) as a language never really disappeared. It combined with neighboring Germanic and Celtic languages, giving rise to many modern Romance languages such as Italian (language), French (language), Spanish (language), Portuguese (language), Romanian (language) and Romansh language. Latin also influenced Germanic (language) such as English (language), German (language), and Dutch (language). It survives in its "purer" form as the language of the Roman Catholic Church (the Mass (liturgy) was spoken exclusively in Latin until Ecclesiastical Latin) 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 with the letters J, K, W and Z and 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 seduce many powerful rulers. Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Lombards, was even crowned as Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III in 800. Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire like Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and mighty Sultans like Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire, among others, tried to a certain extent to resurrect it, but none of their attempts were successful.

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. As Rome was invaded by Germanic tribes, many assimilated, and by the middle of the medieval period (c.9th century and 10th Century) the central, western and northern parts of Europe had been largely converted to the Roman Catholicism and acknowledged the Pope as the Vicar of Christ.

List of Western Roman emperors Gallic Emperors (259 to 273)

Tetrarchy (293 to 313) Augusti are shown with their Caesares and regents further indented

Constantinian dynasty (313 to 363)

Non-dynastic (363 to 364)

Valentinian dynasty (364 to 392)

Non-dynastic (392 to 394)

Theodosian dynasty (394 to 455)

Non-dynastic (455 to 480)

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

See also

References External links



Western Roman Empire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Western Roman Empire refers to the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire ...

Roman Empire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Western Roman Empire declined and fell apart (see Decline of the Roman Empire) in the course of the 5th century. The Eastern Roman Empire, known largely today as the Byzantine ...

Western Roman Empire - definition of Western Roman Empire by the Free ...
Western Roman Empire. See Western Empire. Thesaurus Legend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms. Noun: 1. Western Roman Empire - the western part after the Roman Empire was divided in ...

Category:Western Roman Empire - Wikimedia Commons
Media in category "Western Roman Empire" The following 2 files are in this category, out of 2 total.

Amazon.co.uk: The End of the Western Roman Empire: An Archaeological ...
Amazon.co.uk: The End of the Western Roman Empire: An Archaeological Investigation: Ellen Swift: Books

Western Roman Empire (gaming) - What does WRE stand for? Acronyms and ...
Acronym Definition; WRE: Work-Related Education: WRE: Weekday Religious Education (Barren Springs, VA) WRE: Water Resources Equipment: WRE: Western Roman Empire (gaming)

Western Roman Empire definition of Western Roman Empire in the Free ...
West Roman Empire: see Roman Empire under Rome Rome, Ital. Roma, city (1991 pop. 2,775,250), capital of Italy and see of the pope, whose residence, Vatican City , is a sovereign ...

Western Empire definition of Western Empire in the Free Online ...
Western Empire: see Roman Empire under Rome Rome, Ital. Roma, city (1991 pop. 2,775,250), capital of Italy and see of the pope, whose residence, Vatican City , is a sovereign state ...

e-Prints Soton - Cultural change on the north-western frontiers of the ...
Cultural change on the north-western frontiers of the Roman Empire: case studies in Britannia and Germania Inferior

The Roman Empire::
The Roman Empire included most of what would now be considered Western Europe. The empire was conquered by the Roman Army and a Roman way of life was established in these conquered ...

 

Western Roman Empire



 
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