If we follow only the numbers and count the events from the time of Julius Caesar to the invasion of the Eternal City of the Visigoths under the leadership of Alaric I, then the Roman Empire lasted a little less than five centuries. And these centuries had such a powerful impact on the consciousness of the peoples of Europe that the phantom of empire still excites the general imagination. Many works are devoted to the history of this state, in which various versions of its “great fall” are expressed. True, if you put them in one picture, the fall as such does not work. Rather, it is a rebirth.

On August 24, 410, a group of rebellious slaves opened the Salt Gate of Rome to the Goths under the leadership of Alaric. For the first time in 800 years, since the day the Senon Gauls of King Brennus besieged the Capitol, the Eternal City saw an enemy within its walls.

A little earlier, in the same summer, the authorities tried to save the capital by giving the enemy three thousand pounds of gold (in order to "get" them, they had to melt the statue of the goddess of valor and virtue), as well as silver, silk, leather, Arabian pepper. As you can see, much has changed since the time of Brennus, to whom the townspeople proudly declared that Rome was redeemed not with gold, but with iron. But here even gold did not save: Alaric reasoned that by capturing the city, he would receive much more.

For three days, his soldiers plundered the former "center of the world." Emperor Honorius took refuge behind the walls of the well-fortified Ravenna, and his troops were slow to come to the aid of the Romans. The best commander of the state, Flavius ​​Stilicho (a vandal by birth) was executed two years earlier on suspicion of conspiracy, and now there was practically no one to send against Alaric. And the Goths, having received their huge booty, simply left without hindrance.

Who is guilty?

“Tears flow from my eyes when I dictate…” confessed a few years later from a monastery in Bethlehem Saint Jerome, a translator of Holy Scripture into Latin. He was echoed by dozens of less significant writers. Less than 20 years before the invasion of Alaric, the historian Ammian Marcellinus, talking about current military-political affairs, was still encouraging: “Ignorant people ... say that such a hopeless darkness of disasters has never descended on the state; but they are mistaken, struck by the horror of recent misfortunes. Alas, he turned out to be wrong.

The Romans immediately rushed to look for reasons, explanations and guilty parties. The population of the humiliated empire, already largely Christianized, could not help but wonder: did the city fall because it turned away from the gods of its fathers? After all, back in 384, Aurelius Simmachus, the last leader of the pagan opposition, called Emperor Valentinian II - return the altar of Victory to the Senate!

The opposite point of view was held by the Bishop of Hippo in Africa (now Annaba in Algeria) Augustine, later called the Blessed. “Did you believe,” he asked his contemporaries, “Ammianus when he said: Rome is “destined to live as long as humanity exists”? Do you think the world is over now?” By no means! After all, the domination of Rome in the Earthly City, unlike the City of God, cannot last forever. The Romans won world domination by their valor, but it was inspired by the search for mortal glory, and therefore its fruits turned out to be transient. But the adoption of Christianity, recalls Augustine, saved many from the fury of Alaric. And indeed, the Goths, also already baptized, spared everyone who took refuge in the churches and at the relics of the martyrs in the catacombs.

Be that as it may, in those years Rome was no longer the magnificent and impregnable capital that the grandfathers of the citizens of the 5th century remembered. Increasingly, even emperors chose other large cities as their residence. And the Eternal City itself got a sad lot - the next 60 years, deserted Rome was ravaged by barbarians twice more, and in the summer of 476 a significant event occurred. Odoacer, a German commander in the Roman service, deprived the throne of the last monarch - the young Romulus Augustus, after deposing in mockery nicknamed Augustulus ("Augustian"). How can one not believe in the irony of fate - only two ancient rulers of Rome were called Romulus: the first and the last. The state regalia were carefully preserved and sent to Constantinople, to the eastern emperor Zenon. So the Western Roman Empire ceased to exist, and the Eastern will last another 1000 years - until the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453.

Why it happened - historians do not stop judging and dressing up to this day, and this is not surprising. After all, we are talking about an exemplary empire in our retrospective imagination. In the end, the term itself came into modern Romance languages ​​(and into Russian) from the foremother of Latin. In most of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, traces of Roman domination remained - roads, fortifications, aqueducts. Classical education, based on ancient tradition, continues to be at the center of Western culture. The language of the disappeared empire until the 16th-18th centuries served as the international language of diplomacy, science, medicine, and until the 1960s it was the language of Catholic worship. Without Roman law, jurisprudence is unthinkable in the 21st century.

How did it happen that such a civilization collapsed under the blows of the barbarians? Hundreds of papers have been devoted to this fundamental question. Experts have discovered many factors of decline: from the growth of the bureaucracy and taxes to climate change in the Mediterranean basin, from the conflict between town and country to the smallpox pandemic ... The German historian Alexander Demandt has 210 versions. Let's try and figure it out.

	Flavius ​​Romulus Augustus(461 (or 463) - after 511), often referred to as Augustulus, nominally ruled the Roman Empire from October 31, 475 to September 4, 476. The son of an influential army officer, Flavius ​​Orestes, who in the 70s of the 5th century rebelled against the emperor Julius Nepos in Ravenna and soon succeeded by placing his young offspring on the throne. However, the rebellion was soon suppressed by the commander Odoacer on behalf of the same Nepos, and the unlucky young man was deposed. However, contrary to cruel traditions, the authorities saved his life, the estate in Campania and the state salary, which he received until old age, including from the new ruler of Italy, the Goth Theodoric.
	Charles, during his lifetime, nicknamed the Great (747-814), ruled the Franks from 768, the Lombards from 774, the Bavarians from 778. In 800 he was officially declared the Roman emperor (princeps). The path to the heights of success of the man, from whose name in the Slavic languages, by the way, the word “king” originated, was a long one: he spent his youth under the “wing” of father Pepin the Short, then fought for dominance in Western Europe with his brother Carloman, but gradually with every year he increased his influence, until he finally turned into that powerful ruler of the lands from the Vistula to the Ebro and from Saxony to Italy, the gray-bearded and wise judge of the peoples, whom historical legend knows. In 800, having supported Pope Leo III in Rome, whom his countrymen were about to depose, he received from him a crown, with which he was crowned with the words: “Long live and conquer Charles Augustus, crowned by God, the great and peace-giving Roman emperor.”
	Otto I, also called the Great by his contemporaries (912-973), Duke of Saxony, King of the Italians and Eastern Franks, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire since 962. He consolidated his power in Central Europe, Italy, and in the end repeated the "variant" of Charlemagne, only in a qualitatively new spirit - it was under him that the term "Holy Roman Empire" entered into official political use. In Rome, after a solemn meeting, the pope presented him with a new imperial crown in the church of St. Peter, and the emperor promised to return the former ecclesiastical possessions of the popes.
	Franz Joseph Karl von Habsburg(1768-1835), Austrian Emperor Franz II (1804-1835) and the last emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (1792-1806). The man who remained in history only as a kind family man and an implacable persecutor of revolutionaries is known mainly for the fact that he reigned in the era of Napoleon, hated him, fought with him. After the next defeat of the Austrians by Napoleonic troops, the Holy Roman Empire was abolished - this time forever, unless, of course, the current European Union is considered a peculiar form of Roman power (which, by the way, began with a treaty signed in 1957 in Rome).

Anatomy of decline

By the 5th century, apparently, living in an empire that stretched from Gibraltar to the Crimea became noticeably harder. The decay of cities is especially noticeable to archaeologists. For example, in the III-IV centuries, about a million people lived in Rome (centers with such a large number of inhabitants in Europe did not then arise until the 1700s). But soon the population of the city is sharply reduced. How is this known? From time to time, bread, olive oil and pork were distributed to the townspeople at public expense, and from the surviving registers with the exact number of recipients, historians figured out when the decline began. So: 367 - about 1,000,000 Romans, 452 - 400,000 of them, after Justinian's war with the Goths - less than 300,000, in the X century - 30,000. A similar picture can be seen in all the western provinces of the empire. It has long been noted that the walls of medieval cities, which grew up on the site of the ancient ones, cover only about a third of the former territory. The immediate causes lie on the surface. For example: barbarians invade and settle on imperial lands, cities now have to be constantly defended - the shorter the walls, the easier it is to defend. Or - barbarians invade and settle on imperial lands, trade becomes more difficult, large cities do not have enough food. What's the way out? The former townspeople, of necessity, become farmers, and behind the fortress walls they only hide from endless raids.

Well, where cities fall into decay, handicrafts also wither. Disappears from everyday life - which is noticeable during excavations - high-quality ceramics, which during the Roman heyday was literally produced on an industrial scale and was widely distributed in villages. The pots used by the peasants during the period of decline cannot be compared with it, they are molded by hand. In many provinces, the potter's wheel is forgotten and will not be remembered for another 300 years! The manufacture of tiles almost ceases - roofs made of this material are replaced by easily rotting wooden planks. How much less ores are mined and metal products are smelted is known from an analysis of traces of lead in the Greenland ice (it is known that the glacier absorbs human waste products for thousands of kilometers around) carried out in the 1990s by French scientists: the level of deposits, contemporary to early Rome, remains unsurpassed until the industrial revolution at the beginning of modern times. And the end of the 5th century is at a prehistoric level ... Silver coins continue to be minted for some time, but it is clearly not enough, more and more Byzantine and Arab gold money is found, and small copper pennies completely disappear from circulation. This means that buying and selling has disappeared from the everyday life of the common man. There is nothing more to regularly trade and there is no need.

True, it is worth noting that simply changes in material culture are often taken as signs of decline. A typical example: in Antiquity, grain, oil, other bulk and liquid products were always transported in huge amphoras. Many of them have been found by archaeologists: in Rome, fragments of 58 million discarded vessels made up a whole hill of Monte Testaccio (“Pottery Mountain”). They are perfectly preserved in the water - they are usually used to find sunken ancient ships at the bottom of the sea. The stamps on the amphorae traced all the routes of Roman trade. But since the 3rd century, large clay vessels are gradually replaced by barrels, of which, naturally, there are almost no traces - it’s good if an iron rim can be identified somewhere. It is clear that estimating the volume of such new trade is much more difficult than the old one. It is the same with wooden houses: in most cases, only their foundations are found, and it is impossible to understand what once stood here: a miserable hut or a mighty building?

Are these reservations serious? Quite. Are they sufficient to cast doubt on the decline as such? Yet no. The political events of that time make it clear that it happened, but it is not clear how and when it began? Was it a consequence of the defeats from the barbarians, or, on the contrary, the cause of these defeats?

"The number of parasites is growing"

To this day, economic theory enjoys success in science: the decline began when taxes “suddenly” increased sharply at the end of the 3rd century. If initially the Roman Empire was actually a “state without bureaucracy” even by ancient standards (a country with a population of 60 million inhabitants kept only a few hundred officials on allowance) and allowed extensive local self-government, now, with an expanded economy, it became necessary to “strengthen the vertical authorities". There are already 25,000-30,000 officials in the service of the empire.

In addition, almost all monarchs, starting with Constantine the Great, spend funds from the treasury on the Christian church - priests and monks are exempt from taxes. And to the inhabitants of Rome, who received free food from the authorities (for votes in elections or simply so as not to rebel), Constantinopolitans are added. “The number of parasites is growing,” the English historian Arnold Jones caustically writes about these times.

It is logical to assume that the tax burden has increased unbearably as a result. In fact, the texts of that time are full of complaints about large taxes, and imperial decrees, on the contrary, are full of threats to non-payers. This is especially true of curials - members of municipal councils. They were responsible for making payments from their cities with their personal property and, naturally, constantly tried to evade the burdensome duty. Sometimes they even fled, and the central government, in turn, forbade them menacingly from leaving their posts even for the sake of joining the army, which was always considered a holy deed for a Roman citizen.

All these constructions are obviously quite convincing. Of course, people have complained about taxes since they appeared, but in late Rome this indignation sounded much louder than in early Rome, and not without reason. True, charity, which spread along with Christianity (assistance to the poor, overnight stays at churches and monasteries), gave some outlet, but in those days it had not yet had time to go beyond the walls of cities.

In addition, there is evidence that in the 4th century it was difficult to find soldiers for a growing army, even with a serious threat to the fatherland. And many combat units, in turn, had to engage in farming in places of long-term deployment by the artel method - the authorities no longer fed them. Well, since the legionnaires are plowing, and the rear rats are not going to serve, what is left for the inhabitants of the border provinces to do? Naturally, they arm themselves spontaneously, without "registering" their detachments with the imperial authorities, and they themselves begin to guard the border along its entire huge perimeter. As the American scientist Ramsey McMullen aptly remarked: “The townsfolk became soldiers, and the soldiers became townsfolk.” It is logical that the official authorities could not rely on anarchist self-defense units. That is why barbarians are beginning to be invited into the empire - first individual mercenaries, then entire tribes. This worried many. The Bishop of Cyrene, Synesius, in his speech "On the Kingdom" stated: "We hired wolves instead of watchdogs." But it was too late, and although many barbarians served faithfully and brought much good to Rome, everything ended in disaster. Approximately according to the following scenario. In 375, Emperor Valens allows the Goths to cross the Danube and settle in Roman territory, who retreat west under the onslaught of the Hunnic hordes. Soon, due to the greed of the officials responsible for the supply of provisions, hunger begins among the barbarians, and they raise a riot. In 378, the Roman army was utterly defeated by them at Adrianople (now Edirne in European Turkey). Valens himself fell in battle.

Similar stories of a smaller scale occurred in many. In addition, the poor from among the citizens of the empire itself began to show increasing dissatisfaction: what kind of homeland is it, which not only smothers with taxes, but also invites its own destroyers to itself. Richer and more cultured people, of course, remained patriots longer. And the detachments of the rebellious poor - the Bagauds ("militant") in Gaul, the Scamars ("navigators") in the Danube, the Bukols ("shepherds") in Egypt - easily entered into alliances with the barbarians against the authorities. Even those who did not openly rebelled were passive when they invaded and did not offer much resistance if they were promised not to be plundered too much.

	The main monetary unit throughout most of imperial history was the denarius, first issued back in the 3rd century BC. e. Its denomination was equal to 10 (later 16) smaller coins - asses. At first, even under the Republic, denarii were minted from 4 grams of silver, then the content of the precious metal dropped to 3.5 grams, under Nero they were generally produced in an alloy with copper, and in the 3rd century inflation reached such a huge scale that this money disappeared altogether meaning to release.
	In the Eastern Roman Empire, which far outlived the Western one and used Greek more often than Latin in official everyday life, money was also naturally called in Greek. The basic unit of calculation was a liter, which, depending on the sample and the metal, was equal to 72 (gold liter), 96 (silver) or 128 (copper) drachmas. At the same time, the purity of all these metals in the coin, as usual, decreased over time. In circulation there were also old Roman solidi, which are usually called nomisms, or bezants, or, in Slavic, goldsmiths, and silver miliarises, which make up one thousandth of a liter. All of them were minted until the 13th century, and were in use even later.
	The Holy Roman Empire of the German nation, and especially its era when Maria Theresa ruled, was most famous in monetary terms for the thaler. They are now famous, they are popular with numismatists, and in some places in Africa they are said to be used by shamans. This large silver coin, minted in the 16th-19th centuries, was approved by a special Esslingen imperial mint charter in 1524 according to the standard of 27.41 grams of pure precious metal. (From it, by the way, comes the name of the dollar in English voicing - that's the continuity of empires in history.) Soon the new financial unit took a leading place in international trade. In Russia they were called efimki. Moreover, money of the same standard was widely used: ecu and piastres are only variants and modifications of the thaler. He himself existed in Germany until the 1930s, when a coin of three marks was still called a thaler. Thus, he long outlived the empire that gave birth to him.

unfortunate coincidences

But why did the empire suddenly find itself in such a position that it had to take unpopular measures - to invite mercenaries, raise taxes, inflate the bureaucracy? After all, the first two centuries of our era, Rome successfully held a vast territory and even captured new lands without resorting to the help of foreigners. Why was it suddenly necessary to divide the state between the co-rulers and build a new capital on the Bosporus? Something went wrong? And why, again, did the eastern half of the state, unlike the western, survive? After all, the invasion of the Goths began precisely from the Byzantine Balkans. Here, some historians see an explanation in pure geography - the barbarians could not overcome the Bosphorus and penetrate into Asia Minor, therefore, vast and not devastated lands remained in the rear near Constantinople. But it can be objected that the same vandals, heading for North Africa, for some reason easily crossed the wider Gibraltar.

In general, as the famous historian of Antiquity Mikhail Rostovtsev said, great events do not happen because of one thing, they always mix demography, culture, strategy ...

Here are just some of the points of such disastrous contacts for the Roman Empire, in addition to those that have already been discussed above.

First, the empire seems to have suffered from a massive smallpox epidemic at the end of the second century, which reduced the population by 7-10%, according to the most conservative estimates. Meanwhile, the Germans north of the border were experiencing a birth boom.

Secondly, in the 3rd century, gold and silver mines in Spain dried up, and the new, Dacian (Romanian), state lost by 270. Apparently, there were no more significant deposits of precious metals at his disposal. But it was necessary to mint a coin and in huge quantities. In this regard, it still remains a mystery how Constantine the Great (312-337) managed to restore the solidus standard, and the successors of the emperor managed to keep the solidus very stable: the gold content in it did not decrease in Byzantium until 1070. The English scientist Timothy Garrard put forward a witty conjecture: perhaps in the 4th century, the Romans received yellow metal along caravan routes from trans-Saharan Africa (although the chemical analysis of the solids that have come down to us does not confirm this hypothesis yet). Nevertheless, inflation in the state is becoming more and more monstrous, and it is not possible to cope with it in any way.

It also fails because the government turned out to be psychologically unprepared for the challenges of the time. Neighbors and foreign subjects have changed their combat tactics and way of life quite a lot since the founding of the empire, and upbringing and education taught governors and generals to look for managerial models in the past. Flavius ​​Vegetius wrote a characteristic treatise on military affairs just at that time: he thinks that all troubles can be dealt with if the classic legion of the Augustan and Trajan eras is restored. Obviously, this was a delusion.

Finally - and this is perhaps the most important reason - the pressure on the empire from outside objectively intensified. The military organization of the state, created under Octavian at the turn of the era, could not cope with the simultaneous war on many frontiers. For a long time, the empire was simply lucky, but already under Marcus Aurelius (161-180), hostilities were taking place simultaneously in many theaters in the range from the Euphrates to the Danube. The resources of the state experienced a terrible strain - the emperor was forced to sell even personal jewelry in order to finance the troops. If in the I-II centuries, on the most open border - the eastern - Rome was opposed by Parthia, which was not so powerful at that time, then from the beginning of the III century it was replaced by the young and aggressive Persian kingdom of the Sassanids. In 626, shortly before this power itself fell under the blows of the Arabs, the Persians still managed to approach Constantinople itself, and Emperor Heraclius drove them away literally by a miracle (it was in honor of this miracle that the akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos was composed - “The Chosen Governor ...”) . And in Europe, in the last period of Rome, the onslaught of the Huns, who moved west along the Great Steppe, set in motion the entire process of the Great Migration of Nations.

Over the long centuries of conflict and trade with the bearers of high civilization, the barbarians have learned a lot from them. Prohibitions on selling them Roman weapons and teaching them maritime trade appear in laws too late, in the 5th century, when they no longer have any practical meaning.

The list of factors can be continued. But in general, Rome did not seem to have a chance to resist, although no one will probably ever answer this question exactly. As for the different fates of the Western and Eastern empires, the East was originally richer and more powerful economically. It was said about the old all-Roman province of Asia (the “left” part of Asia Minor) that it had 500 cities. In the West, there were no such indicators anywhere except Italy itself. Accordingly, here the strongest positions were occupied by large farmers, who beat out tax benefits for themselves and their tenants. The burden of taxes and administration fell on the shoulders of city councils, and the nobility spent their leisure time on country estates. At critical moments, the Western emperors did not have enough people or money. The authorities of Constantinople have not yet been threatened with this. They had so many resources that they were even enough to go on the counteroffensive.

Together again?

Indeed, it did not take long before a large part of the West returned to the direct rule of the emperors. Under Justinian (527-565), Italy with Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, Dalmatia, the entire coast of North Africa, southern Spain (including Cartagena and Cordoba), and the Balearic Islands were recaptured. Only the Franks did not cede any territories and even received Provence for maintaining neutrality.

In those years, the biographies of many Romans (Byzantines) could serve as a clear illustration of the newly triumphant unity. Here, for example, is the life of the commander Peter Marcellinus Liberius, who won back Spain for Justinian. He was born in Italy around 465 into a noble family. He began his service under Odoacer, but the Ostrogoth Theodoric kept him in his service - someone educated had to collect taxes and keep the treasury. Around 493, Liberius became prefect of Italy - head of the civil administration of the entire peninsula - and in this position showed zealous concern for the deposed Romulus Augustulus and his mother. The son of a worthy prefect took the post of consul in Rome, and his father soon received also a military command in Gaul, which the German leaders usually did not trust the Latins. He was friends with the Bishop of Arelat, Saint Caesarius, founded a Catholic monastery in Rome, while continuing to serve the Arian Theodoric. And after his death, he went to Justinian on behalf of the new king of the Ostrogothic Theodohad (he had to convince the emperor that he had justly overthrown and imprisoned his wife Amalasunta). In Constantinople, Liberius remained in the service of a co-religionist emperor and first received Egypt in control, and then in 550 he conquered Sicily. Finally, in 552, when the commander and politician were already over 80, he managed to see the triumph of his dream - the return of Rome under the general imperial authority. Then, having conquered southern Spain, the old man returned to Italy, where he died at the age of 90. He was buried in his native Arimina (Rimini) with the greatest honors - with eagles, lictors and timpani.

Gradually, the conquests of Justinian were lost, but not immediately - part of Italy recognized the power of Constantinople even in the XII century. Heraclius I, pressed by the Persians and Avars in the east in the 7th century, was still thinking of moving the capital to Carthage. And Constans II (630-668) spent the last years of his reign in Syracuse. By the way, he was the first Roman emperor after Augustulus to personally visit Rome, where, however, he became famous only for tearing off the gilded bronze from the roof of the Pantheon and sending it to Constantinople.

	Ravenna rose at a late stage of the Western Roman Empire due to its very convenient geographical position at that time. In contrast to the "shapeless" Rome that had grown over the centuries and spread far beyond the seven hills, this city was surrounded by swampy backwaters on all sides - only a specially constructed causeway, which was easy to destroy in a moment of danger, led to the walls of the new capital. Emperor Honorius was the first to choose this former Etruscan settlement as the place of his permanent residence in 402, at the same time majestic Christian churches grow in abundance in the city. It was in Ravenna that Romulus Augustulus was crowned and deposed by Odoacer.
	Constantinople, as its name undoubtedly indicates, was founded by the largest Roman statesman of the late empire, a kind of "sunset Augustus" and the establisher of Christianity as the state religion - Constantine the Great on the site of the ancient Bosphorus settlement of Byzantium. After the division of the empire into Western and Eastern, it turned out to be the center of the latter, which it remained until May 29, 1453, when the Turks broke into its streets. A characteristic detail: already under Ottoman rule, being the capital of the empire of the same name, the city formally retained its main name - Constantinople (in Turkish - Konstantininiyo). Only in 1930, by order of Kemal Ataturk, did it finally become Istanbul.
	Aachen, founded by Roman legionnaires near the source of mineral waters under Alexander Severus (222-235), "hit" in the Roman capitals almost by accident - Charlemagne settled in it for permanent residence. Accordingly, the city received great trade and craft privileges from the new ruler, its brilliance, fame and size began to grow steadily. In the XII-XIII centuries, the population of the city reached 100,000 people - the rarest case at that time. In 1306, Aachen, decorated with a powerful cathedral, finally received the status of a free city of the Holy Roman See, and until very late, congresses of imperial princes were held here. A gradual decline began only in the 16th century, when the procedure for the wedding of sovereigns began to take place in Frankfurt.
	Vein it was never officially considered the capital of the Holy Roman Empire, however, since since the 16th century the imperial title, which was gradually depreciating even then, belonged almost invariably to the Austrian Habsburg dynasty, the status of the main center of Europe automatically passed to the city on the Danube. At the end of the last era, the Celtic camp of Vindobona was located here, which already in 15 BC was conquered by legionnaires and turned into an outpost of the Roman power in the north. The new fortified camp defended itself from the barbarians for a long time - until the 5th century, when the whole state around was already blazing and falling apart. In the Middle Ages, the Margraviate of Austria gradually formed around Vienna, then it was she who consolidated the empire, and it was in it that in 1806 its abolition was announced.

So was it a fall?

So why does the year 476 end the history of Antiquity in school textbooks and serve as the beginning of the Middle Ages? Was there a turning point at that moment? In general, no. Long before that, most of the imperial territory was occupied by "barbarian kingdoms", whose names often in one form or another still appear on the map of Europe: Frankish in the north of Gaul, Burgundian a little southeast, Visigoths - on the Iberian Peninsula, Vandals - in North Africa (from their short stay in Spain the name Andalusia remained) and, finally, in Northern Italy - the Ostrogoths. Only in some places at the time of the formal collapse of the empire was the old patrician aristocracy still in power: the former emperor Julius Nepos in Dalmatia, Syagrius in the same Gaul, Aurelius Ambrosius in Britain. Julius Nepos would remain emperor for his supporters until his death in 480, and Syagrius would soon be defeated by the Franks of Clovis. And the Ostrogoth Theodoric, who will unite Italy under his rule in 493, will behave as an equal partner of the Emperor of Constantinople and heir to the Western Roman Empire. Only when, in the 520s, Justinian needed a reason to conquer the Apennines, his secretary would turn his attention to 476 - the cornerstone of Byzantine propaganda would be that the Roman power in the West had collapsed and it had to be restored.

So, it turns out that the empire did not fall? Is it not more correct, in agreement with many researchers (of whom the Princeton professor Peter Brown enjoys the greatest authority today), to believe that she was simply reborn? After all, even the date of her death, if you look closely, is conditional. Odoacer, although he was born a barbarian, in all his upbringing and worldview belonged to the Roman world and, sending the imperial regalia to the East, symbolically restored the unity of the great country. And a contemporary of the commander, the historian Malchus from Philadelphia, certifies that the Senate of Rome continued to meet both under him and under Theodoric. The pundit even wrote to Constantinople that "there is no longer a need to divide the empire, one emperor will be enough for both of its parts." Recall that the division of the state into two almost equal halves occurred as early as 395 due to military necessity, but it was not considered as the formation of two independent states. Laws were issued in the name of two emperors throughout the territory, and of the two consuls, whose names denoted the year, one was elected on the Tiber, the other on the Bosphorus.

So how much has changed in August 476 for the inhabitants of the city? Perhaps it became harder for them to live, but the psychological breakdown in their minds did not happen overnight. Even at the beginning of the 8th century in distant England, Bede the Venerable wrote that “as long as the Colosseum stands, Rome will stand, but when the Colosseum collapses and Rome falls, the end of the world will come”: therefore, for Bede, Rome has not yet fallen. It made it easier for the inhabitants of the Eastern Empire to continue to consider themselves Romans - the self-name "Roma" survived even after the collapse of Byzantium and survived until the twentieth century. True, they spoke Greek here, but that was always the case. And the kings in the West recognized the theoretical supremacy of Constantinople - just as before 476 they formally swore allegiance to Rome (more precisely, Ravenna). After all, most of the tribes did not seize the land in the vastness of the empire by force, but once received it under an agreement for military service. A characteristic detail: few of the barbarian leaders dared to mint their own coin, and Syagrius in Soissons even did it on behalf of Zeno. Roman titles also remained honorable and desirable for the Germans: Clovis was very proud when, after a successful war with the Visigoths, he received the post of consul from Emperor Anastasius I. What can I say, if in these countries the status of a Roman citizen remained valid, and its holders had the right to live according to Roman law, and not according to new codes of laws like the well-known Frankish “Salic Truth”.

Finally, the most powerful institution of the era, the Church, also lived in unity, before the delimitation of Catholics and Orthodox after the era of the seven Ecumenical Councils was still far away. In the meantime, the primacy of honor was firmly recognized for the bishop of Rome, the vicar of St. Peter, and the papal office, in turn, dated its documents until the 9th century according to the years of the reign of the Byzantine monarchs. The old Latin aristocracy retained influence and connections - although the new barbarian masters did not have real confidence in it, but in the absence of others, it was necessary to take its enlightened representatives as advisers. Charlemagne, as you know, did not even know how to write his own name. There is a lot of evidence for this: for example, just around 476, Sidonius Apollinaris, Bishop of Arverny (or Auvergne) was thrown into prison by the Visigothic king Eurych for urging the cities of Auvergne not to change direct Roman authority and to resist aliens. And he was saved from imprisonment by Leon, a Latin writer, at that time one of the main dignitaries of the Visigothic court.

Regular communication within the collapsed empire, commercial and private, also remained for the time being, only the Arab conquest of the Levant in the 7th century put an end to intensive Mediterranean trade.

Eternal Rome

When Byzantium, having got bogged down in wars with the Arabs, nevertheless lost control over the West ... there again, like a phoenix, the Roman Empire was reborn! On the day of the Nativity of Christ in 800, Pope Leo III laid her crown on the Frankish king Charlemagne, who united most of Europe under his power. And although under the grandchildren of Charles, this large state collapsed again, the title was preserved and outlived the Carolingian dynasty. The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation lasted until modern times, and many of its sovereigns, up to Charles V of Habsburg in the 16th century, tried to unite the entire continent again. To explain the shift of the imperial “mission” from the Romans to the Germans, the concept of “transfer” (translatio imperii) was even specially created, which owes much to the ideas of Augustine: the state as a “kingdom that will never be destroyed” (an expression of the prophet Daniel) always remains, but peoples worthy of it are changing, as if taking over the baton from each other. The German emperors had grounds for such claims, so that formally they can be recognized as the heirs of Octavian Augustus - all the way to the good-natured Franz II of Austria, who was forced to lay down the ancient crown only by Napoleon after Austerlitz, in 1806. The same Bonaparte finally abolished the name itself, which had hovered over Europe for so long.

And the well-known classifier of civilizations, Arnold Toynbee, generally proposed ending the history of Rome in 1970, when the prayer for the health of the emperor was finally excluded from Catholic liturgical books. However, let's not go too far. The collapse of the state really turned out to be extended in time - as it usually happens at the end of great eras - the very way of life and thoughts gradually and imperceptibly changed. In general, the empire died, but the promise of the ancient gods and Virgil is fulfilled - the Eternal City stands to this day. The past is perhaps more alive in it than anywhere else in Europe. Moreover, he combined what was left of the classical Latin era with Christianity. The miracle did happen, as millions of pilgrims and tourists can testify. Rome is still the capital not only for Italy. So be it - history (or providence) is always wiser than people.

What city was the first residence of the emperor of the Western Roman Empire? What started the war between Emperor Valentinian and Attila? What event ended not only the Western Roman Empire, but the entire ancient period of history? You can learn about this and much more from this article.

Western Roman Empire (lat. Imperium Romanum Occidentale) - the name of the western part of the Roman Empire at the end of the 3rd-5th centuries. The other part was called the Eastern Roman Empire or (later historiographical term) Byzantium.

In 395, Mediolan (modern Milan) became the residence of the first emperor of the Western Roman Empire, Honorius. In 402, fleeing from the invasion of the Goths, Honorius moved his residence to Ravenna, and from 423 under Valentinian III, the emperor's residence returned to Rome again.

Emperor Valentinian refused to give his sister, the beautiful Honoria, to the leader of the Huns, Attila. Honoria asked Attila for help. He declared her his wife and demanded half of the Western Empire as a dowry. When he was refused, he started a war that turned the country into ruins.

The Western Empire existed from the 3rd to the 5th centuries. Partitions of the unified Roman Empire happened repeatedly. At the end of the 3rd century, Emperor Diocletian divided it into two parts (each of which was divided into two more), creating the so-called. tetrarchy. The system of tetrarchy did not last long, and after long wars, the state was again united under the rule of one person - Constantine the Great. After his death, he bequeathed the empire to his three sons (there is an assumption according to which Constantine wanted to divide the empire into 4 parts, recreating the tetrachy). However, in 350, after the death of two brothers - Constantine II and Constans, the empire was again united by Constantius II, who successfully suppressed the usurpers. A new division took place in 364, after the death of Emperor Jovian.

Thanks to the Italian campaign of the Huns, one of the most beautiful cities in the world arose - Venice. The inhabitants of Northern Italy who survived from the barbarians fled to the lagoons of the Adriatic Sea, settled them and built a city. Venice soon became one of the richest merchant ports in the Mediterranean.

The title "emperor" has long been an honorary military rank, and only over time they began to call the head of state. Until the middle of the 3rd century, emperors received the title several times (for example, Octavian - 21 times).

Valentinian I, chosen by the emperor, began to rule the western part of the empire, and gave the eastern part to his brother Valens II. Such a separate administration of the empire (despite the fact that it was officially considered one) continued until 394. This year, Emperor Theodosius I, having overthrown the usurper Eugene, who had seized power in the West, for a short time united both parts of the empire under his rule, becoming the last ruler of a single state. Theodosius died in 395, bequeathing the western part to his son Honorius and the eastern part to his son Arcadius. After 395, both parts no longer had a common ruler, although the empire was still considered one, only ruled by two emperors and two courts. Theodosius I (379-395) was the last emperor to rule over the unified Roman Empire. After his death in 395, it was finally divided.

In the western, Roman half, the descendants of Theodosius reigned for 60 years, but not in Rome, but in Ravenna. After Honorius, Valentinian III (423-455) took the throne, but the history of Rome in the 5th century is no longer measured by years of rulers, but by years of disasters from the invasion of northern barbarians. Under the onslaught of the Huns, the Germanic tribes advance along the entire line: in 410, Rome was taken and sacked by the Visigoths. Then southern Gaul, Spain and Africa were occupied by Germanic tribes and torn away from Rome; in 452 Rome narrowly escaped the ruin of the Huns, and three years later it was taken, plundered and destroyed by vandals from Africa. In Rome itself, the power of the Germans is established: the unavoidable, spontaneous infiltration of German elements into the Roman Empire is growing. Rome is able to fight the Germans only with the help of the Germans in her service. Vandal Stilicho rules the empire instead of Honorius and saves it from the Visigoths Alaric and the hordes of Radagaisus; The Visigoth Theodoric I helps Flavius ​​Aetius repel Attila on the Catalaunian fields (451). But the German defenders of Rome are becoming more and more numerous and, finally, are aware of their strength: from 456 to 472, the Roman state is ruled by Sev Ricimer, and in 476 Herul Odoacer removes the purple from the minor last emperor of Rome, Romulus Augustus, and sends the regalia of the emperors of the West to Constantinople with a request for reunification.

The Western Roman Empire lasted less than 80 years after the division.

Emperor Flavius ​​Zeno proclaims the unification of the Empires, and Odoacer receives the official title of patrician and viceroy in Italy, although in reality he becomes an independent ruler

The Western Roman Empire unofficially came to an end on September 4, 476, following the abdication of Romulus Augustulus under pressure from Odoacer, although Emperor Julius Nepos (recognized as the legitimate ruler by the Eastern Empire) continued to claim the throne until his death in 480. Officially, the empire never ceased to exist, Odoacer, who overthrew Romulus Augustulus, sent the imperial regalia to Constantinople, arguing that "as there is one Sun in the sky, so there must be one emperor on earth." The Eastern emperor Flavius ​​Zeno had no choice but to recognize the fait accompli and grant the title of patrician to Odoacer, although he became the de facto independent ruler of Italy.

The Western Roman Empire never revived, despite a brief period when part of its territory was reclaimed by the Byzantines. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, a new period began in the history of Europe: the Middle Ages, otherwise the Dark Ages.

The Roman Empire

Western Roman Empire (lat. Imperium Romanum Occidentale)- the name of the western part of the Roman Empire at the end of the III-V centuries. The other part was called the Eastern Roman Empire or (later historiographical term) Byzantium.

In 395, Mediolan (modern Milan) became the residence of the first emperor of the Western Roman Empire, Honorius. In 402, fleeing the invasion of the Goths, Honorius transferred the residence to Ravenna, and from 423 under Valentinian III, the residence of the emperor returned to Rome again.

The Western Empire existed from the 3rd to the 5th centuries. Partitions of the unified Roman Empire happened repeatedly. At the end of the 3rd century, Emperor Diocletian divided it into two parts (each of which was divided into two more), creating the so-called. tetrarchy. The tetrarchy system did not last long, and after long wars the state was again united under the rule of one person - the Great. After his death, he bequeathed the empire to his three sons (there is an assumption according to which he wanted to divide the empire into 4 parts, recreating the tetrachy). However, in 350, after the death of two brothers - II and Constans, the empire was again united by Constantius II, who successfully suppressed the usurpers. A new division took place in 364, after the death of Emperor Jovian.

Valentinian I, chosen by the emperor, began to rule the western part of the empire, and gave the eastern part to his brother Valens II. Such a separate administration of the empire (despite the fact that it was officially considered one) continued until 394. This year, Emperor Theodosius I, having overthrown the usurper Eugene, who had seized power in the West, for a short time united both parts of the empire under his rule, becoming the last ruler of a single state. Theodosius died in 395, bequeathing the western part to his son Honorius and the eastern part to his son Arcadius. After 395, both parts no longer had a common ruler, although the empire was still considered one, only ruled by two emperors and two courts. Theodosius I (379-395) was the last emperor to rule over the unified Roman Empire. After his death in 395, it was finally divided.

In the western, Roman half, the offspring of Theodosius reigned for 60 years, but not in Rome, but in Ravenna. After Honorius, Valentinian III (423-455) took the throne, but the history of Rome in the 5th century is no longer measured by years of rulers, but by years of disasters from the invasion of northern barbarians. Under the onslaught of the Huns, the Germanic tribes advance along the entire line: in 410, Rome was taken and sacked by the Visigoths. Then southern Gaul, Spain and Africa were occupied by Germanic tribes and torn away from Rome; in 452 Rome narrowly escaped the ruin of the Huns, and three years later it was taken, plundered and destroyed by vandals from Africa. In Rome itself, the power of the Germans is established: the unavoidable, spontaneous infiltration of German elements into the Roman Empire is growing. Rome is able to fight the Germans only with the help of the Germans in her service. Vandal Stilicho rules the empire instead of Honorius and saves it from the Visigoths Alaric and the hordes of Radagaisus; The Visigoth Theodoric I helps Flavius ​​Aetius repel Attila on the Catalaunian fields (451). But the German defenders of Rome are becoming more and more numerous and, finally, are aware of their strength: from 456 to 472, the Roman state is ruled by Sev Ricimer, and in 476 Herul Odoacer removes the purple from the minor last emperor of Rome, Romulus Augustus, and sends the regalia of the emperors of the West to Constantinople with a request for reunification. Emperor Flavius ​​Zeno proclaims the unification of the Empires, and Odoacer receives the official title of patrician and viceroy in Italy, although in reality he becomes an independent ruler.

The Western Roman Empire unofficially came to an end on September 4, 476, following the abdication of Romulus Augustulus under pressure from Odoacer, although Emperor Julius Nepos (recognized as the legitimate ruler by the Eastern Empire) continued to claim the throne until his death in 480. Officially, the empire never ceased to exist, Odoacer, who overthrew Romulus Augustulus, sent the imperial regalia to Constantinople, arguing that "as there is one Sun in the sky, so there must be one emperor on earth." The Eastern emperor Flavius ​​Zeno had no choice but to recognize the fait accompli and grant the title of patrician to Odoacer, although he became the de facto independent ruler of Italy.

The Western Roman Empire never revived, despite a brief period when part of its territory was reclaimed by the Byzantines. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, a new period began in the history of Europe: the Middle Ages, otherwise the Dark Ages.

The collapse of the unified Roman Empire and the death of the Western Roman Empire.

Christianity has been the state religion since 363. Julian the apostate made an attempt to return to the Roman political and religious system, for which he was called an apostate.

The decline of internal political relations. Farm naturalization. market decline. De-urbanization. Road desolation. Life closes in the latifundia. The private power of the magnates living in the latifundia is greater than the central one.

Church. This is the only thing that keeps the empire from falling apart. Bishops have strong temporal power and decent wealth. In contrast to them, first single, and then collective settlements of ascetic monks (monasteries). By 3-4 c. are overgrown with a charter, an economy. The power in the monastery is on the authority of the 12 apostles. After the split, the church got out of control of the emperor (this did not happen in the East) and became an important political force. Distributions to the poor (contrast with the emperor's economic policy) and support for the magnates.

Western Roman Empire and its decline. The power of the emperor is weak and is being destroyed due to the decline of internal political relations. The social strata associated with the city (curials) are ruined, the magnates are getting richer. They receive privileges from weak emperors. Barbarian kingdoms are formed.

Economy. Taxes are being tightened, and there is nothing to pay from, since the ruin of the curials. Tycoons usually don't pay taxes. The people are worried, turning to the weakening emperor, but he cannot help. Public unrest. Varieties in composition. They are no longer suppressed by the emperor, but by local magnates. They ignore the orders of the emperors, they themselves are fighting the barbarians. An example is the uprising of the Bagauds of the 5th century. Heresy. A special form of social protest. Army. Falling apart due to evasion. It's getting harder and harder to track the fugitives. Formed from bonded and bandits. Often serves private interests. collapse. to stabilize the emperor concludes agreements with the barbarian tribes on the border (Valens; federates). This is dangerous, because they are not always obedient. Revision of Roman classical law. There are many codices, the most famous is Justinian. Great Migration of Nations (since 375). From the east, the Huns come to Europe, pushed the Goths, and so on. In 378 they rebelled, in 379 Theodosius reconciled with them, in 395 he died and the Empire finally fell apart into Western (Ravenna) and Eastern (Constantinople). Formally, the empire is united, in fact it is not. In 401 Alaric entered the Empire. In 419 the Visigoths form the first kingdom (Toledo). Further - the kingdoms of the Vandals and others. Attila. Plundered Italy. In 451 - the battle of the Catalan fields, Aetius. Then Odoacer deposed Romulus Augustulus in 476 and the empire died. Insignia sent to Zeno in Constantinople.

22. Fall of the Western Roman Empire.

The collapse and death of the Western Roman Empire. At the beginning of the 5th century the central government, headed by the guardian of the young emperor Honorius (395-423), a vandal by origin, Stilicho, had to solve two urgent tasks - repulsing barbarian invasions of Italy and suppressing the separatist movement in Gaul.

In 401-402 years. with great difficulty, it was possible to repel the invasion of the Visigothic squads led by Alaric and resume contractual relations with them. In 404 - 405 years. Italy was in terrible danger from an invasion from behind the Eastern Alps by the hordes of the Goth Radagaisus, who reached Florence, but was utterly defeated not far from that city. These invasions showed that the most serious danger threatens the center of the state, Italy, and directly the capitals of the state - the historical capital city of Rome and the residence of the emperor, which has become a heavily fortified, surrounded by impenetrable swamps of Ravenna. To protect the imperial capital, Stilicho transferred to Italy part of the maneuverable field troops from Britain and Gaul, thereby weakening the defense of the Rhine borders and all of Gaul. The withdrawal of part of the troops meant that the Empire was actually leaving the western provinces to their fate. This was immediately taken advantage of by tribal coalitions of the Alans, Vandals and Suebi, who broke through the Rhine border in 407 and, crossing the Rhine, broke into Gaul, devastating everything in their path. The Gallo-Roman aristocracy was forced to take the defense of the provinces into their own hands. The troops stationed in Britain and Gaul proclaimed Emperor Constantine (407-411), who managed to restore the situation on the Rhine border, push the Vandals and Suebi back to Spain, somewhat stabilize the internal situation in Gaul itself, and suppress the activity of the Bagauds.

The strengthening of the position of the usurper Constantine in Gaul was facilitated by the inaction of the central government, busy repelling a new threat to Italy from the same Alaric, who was in Illyria. In 408, after the removal from power and the murder of the all-powerful temporary worker Stilicho, the court group that came to power broke off allied relations with Alaric and his squads again moved to Italy. Alaric this time chose the path to Rome and in the autumn of 408 laid siege to the "eternal city". Only at the cost of a large ransom did the inhabitants of Rome succeed in lifting the siege and leaving the Visigoths. Alaric's attempts to negotiate an acceptable peace with Ravenna were again thwarted by the court group, and Alaric, in order to intimidate the Ravenna court, led his squads to weakly defended Rome. On the way to Rome, runaway slaves joined the Goths. Left to the mercy of fate, having received no support from the emperor, who took refuge in the beautifully fortified Ravenna, Rome was taken on August 24, 410 (moreover, the gates of Rome were opened by city slaves) and brutally plundered. The fall of Rome made a strong impression on his contemporaries. Rome, the conqueror of so many states and tribes, the historical capital of the world state, the symbol of Roman power and civilization, the "eternal city", itself became a victim of barbarian squads. The fall and brutal sack of Rome awakened in all cultured people of the Mediterranean an understanding of the doom of the Roman state in general, the imminent decline of the Western Roman Empire, its culture, and the entire social structure. One of the largest figures of the Christian church of the beginning of the 5th century. Bishop of the city of Hippo Regia Augustine, under the influence of this catastrophe, began work on his later famous essay “On the City of God” (412-425), in which he reflected on the reasons for the rise and fall of earthly kingdoms, including the Roman Empire, and developed his own the concept of the divine city, which is replacing the earthly kingdoms.

The imperial government in Ravenna after 410 found itself in a very difficult position. The Visigoths who plundered Rome (after the unexpected death of the 34-year-old Alaric in 410, his nephew Ataulf was proclaimed king of the Goths) blockaded Italy, the self-proclaimed emperor Constantine ruled in Gaul, and in Spain the hordes of Alans, Vandals and Sueves who broke through there were in charge. The empire was falling apart. Under these conditions, Ravenna was forced to change its policy towards the barbarians and make new concessions: instead of the usual hiring of barbarian detachments for the service of the Empire, as was done back in the 4th century, the Western Roman emperors were forced to agree to the creation of semi-independent barbarian state formations on the territory An empire that retained an illusory sovereignty over them. So, in 418, in order to remove the dangerous Visigoths from Italy and at the same time

to free themselves from the usurpers, the Visigoths, led by King Theodoric, were given Akhvitania, the southwestern part of Gaul, for the settlement.

The Visigoths settled here for permanent residence as a whole tribe, with their wives and children. Their warriors and nobility received land allotments due to confiscations from 1/3 to 1/2 of the land from the local population. The Visigoths began to establish their own economy, using the legal norms and customs existing in their environment. Certain relations were established with local residents, Roman citizens and landowners, who continued to have the norms of Roman law. The Visigoths were regarded as conquerors, masters of the entire territory, although they were considered allies (federates) of the imperial court. Thus, in 418, the first barbarian kingdom arose on the territory of the Western Roman Empire.

Back in 411, the court of Ravenna recognized as federates of the Empire the tribal formations of the Suebi, firmly settled in the northwestern part of Spain, and the Vandals, who, however, could not gain a foothold in Spain and, taking advantage of the invitation of the African governor Boniface, not without the consent of Ravenna, in 429 they crossed over to Africa, forming the Vandal kingdom there, headed by King Genzeric. Unlike the Visigoths, who maintained peaceful relations with the locals, the Vandals in their kingdom established a harsh regime in relation to the Roman population, including landowners, Christian hierarchs, destroyed cities, subjected them to robberies and confiscations, turned the inhabitants into slaves. Weak attempts by the provincial administration and the Ravenna court itself to force the Vandals into submission did not lead to any results, and in 435 the Empire officially recognized the Vandal Kingdom as an ally of the Empire with a formal obligation to pay an annual tribute to Ravenna and protect the interests of the emperor. A significant part of the African provinces was actually lost.

Other barbarian formations on the territory of the Empire were the kingdoms of the Burgundians, which arose in Sabaudia, that is, in southeastern Gaul (443), and the Anglo-Saxons in the southeastern part of Britain (451). The new semi-independent barbarian kingdoms obeyed the orders of the imperial court only if it suited their interests, but more often pursued their own policies. The emperors were powerless to bring them into obedience. Skillfully maneuvering in a difficult political situation, the Ravenna court in the 420-450s still retained the appearance of the existence of the Western Roman Empire, in which the barbarian kingdoms and regions were considered its constituent parts. Some cohesion of the Western Roman Empire was facilitated by the terrible danger that began to threaten it from the Hunnic tribes. The Huns, who captured Pannonia in 377, at the end of the 4th - beginning of the 5th century. behaved relatively calmly and did not yet pose a serious danger to Rome. On the contrary, the Romans willingly recruited Hun troops to achieve their military and political goals. For example, one of the famous Roman commanders, who enjoyed great influence at the court of Emperor Valentinian III (425-455), Flavius ​​Aetius often used mercenary Hun troops against other tribes - Burgundians, Visigoths, Franks, Bagauds, etc.

However, by the beginning of the 440s, there was a sharp increase in the military activity of the Huns, led by their leader Attila (434-453). The Huns join a number of tribes to their alliance and, taking advantage of the weakness of both the Western Roman Empire and Byzantium (Byzantium at that time was waging heavy wars with the Vandals in Africa and the Persians on the Euphrates), they begin devastating raids on the regions of the Balkan Peninsula. The Byzantines managed, partly by ransom, partly by military force, to repel the attack of the Huns, and in the early 450s they invaded the territory of Gaul, plundering and burning everything in their path. The Hun hordes were a mortal danger not only for the Gallo-Romans, Roman citizens, landowners, but also for numerous barbarian tribes living in Gaul on the territory of the Empire and having already tasted the benefits of Roman civilization. A strong coalition was created against the Huns, consisting of Franks, Alans, Armoricans, Burgundians, Visigoths, Saxons, military settlers -lets and Riparians. Ironically, the anti-Hunnic coalition was led by Flavius ​​Aetius, who had previously willingly used the Hunnic mercenary units in the interests of the Empire. The decisive battle - one of the largest and bloodiest battles of antiquity - took place on the Catalaunian fields in June 451. According to the Gothic historian Jordanes, the losses on both sides amounted to a huge figure - 165 thousand soldiers, according to other sources - 300 thousand. The Huns were defeated , their vast and fragile state association began to disintegrate, and soon after the death of Atilla (453) it finally collapsed.

The Hunnic danger rallied heterogeneous forces around the Empire for a short time, but after the Catalaunian victory and the repulse of the Hunnic invasion, the processes of internal separation of the Empire intensified. The barbarian kingdoms cease to reckon with the Ravenna emperors and pursue an independent policy. The Visigoths are undertaking the conquest of most of Spain, expanding their possessions at the expense of the imperial regions of Southern Gaul. The Vandals seize a significant part of the African provinces and, having built their own fleet, devastate the coasts of Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. Taking advantage of the impotence of the Ravenna court, the vandals attacked the historical capital of the Empire and the residence of the head of the Western Roman Church - the pope, took Rome (455) and subjected it to an unprecedented 14-day rout in history. Everything that could not be taken with them, the vandals subjected to senseless destruction. Since that time, the word "vandalism" has been used to refer to the extremely cruel, senseless destruction of cultural property.

In Gaul, the kingdom of the Burgundians is strengthening, the influx of Franks is increasing, which are firmly established in its northern regions. The local nobility of Spain and Gaul finds it more advantageous to establish cooperative relations with the barbarian kings, the real masters of the regions they have captured, than with the distant and powerless Ravenna court. As if a belated squabble over the illusory power of the emperor among various cliques of courtiers and commanders of individual armies became a natural epilogue to the collapsing Western Roman statehood. One group or another raises their puppets to the Ravenna throne, with whom no one is already considered and who are quickly thrown off the throne.

Some exception was the emperor Julius Majorian (457-461). Amid the general chaos and devastation, Majorian tried to find means for the internal and external consolidation of the Empire. He proposed several important reforms that were supposed to ease the tax burden and streamline taxation, strengthen urban curia and average urban land tenure, revitalize urban life and restore cities, and free the inhabitants of the remaining Roman provinces from debt. Majorian managed to stabilize the difficult situation in Gaul and Spain and strengthen Roman domination there.

It seemed that the power of the Empire was being revived. However, the restoration of a strong Western Roman Empire was no longer beneficial to either the representatives of the provincial aristocracy, or even more so to the barbarian kings: Majorian was killed, and with him the last attempt to restore the Empire was buried. After that, the puppet Ravenna emperors quickly replaced each other, depending on the influence of one or another court clique. In 476, the commander of the imperial guard Odoacer, who came from the Germanic tribe of the Skirs, deposed the 16-year-old emperor, who, ironically, bore the name of the mythical founder of the city of Rome and the Roman state, Romulus, nicknamed for his infancy not August, but Augustulus, destroyed the institute itself Western Roman Empire, and sent the signs of imperial dignity to Constantinople and formed his own kingdom in Italy - the state of Odoacer.

The Western Roman Empire ceased to exist. On its ruins, new states, new political formations arose, within which the formation of feudal socio-economic relations began. And although the fall of the power of the Western Roman emperor, who had long lost prestige and influence, was not perceived by contemporaries as a major event, in world history the year 476 became an important milestone - the end of the ancient world, the slave-owning ancient formation, and the beginning of the medieval period of European history, the feudal historical formation.

The Roman Empire has a rich history, in addition, a long and full of many events. If we consider the chronology, then before the empire there was a republic. Signs of the Roman Empire were the autocratic system in government, that is, the unlimited power of the emperor. The empire owned vast territories in Europe, as well as the entire Mediterranean coast.

The history of this large-scale state is divided into the following time periods:

• Ancient Rome (since 753 BC)
• Roman Empire, Western and Eastern Roman Empires
• Eastern Roman Empire (lasted about a whole millennium).

However, some historians do not single out the last period. That is, it is believed that the Roman Empire did not exist in 476 AD.

The structure of the state could not quickly switch from a republic to an empire. Therefore, in the history of the Roman Empire there was a period called the principate. It implies a combination of features of both forms of government. This stage lasted from the first century BC to the third century AD. But already in the "dominate" (from the end of the third to the middle of the fifth), the monarchy "absorbed" the republic.

The collapse of the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern.

This event took place on January 17, 395 AD. Theodosius I the Great died, but managed to divide the empire between Arcadius (eldest son) and Honorius (younger). The first received the Eastern part (Byzantium), and the second - the Western.

Prerequisites for the collapse:

• Decline of the country
• Degradation of the ruling and military strata
• Civil strife, barbarian raids
• The end of the external expansion of the borders (that is, the flow of gold, labor and other benefits ceased)
• Defeat from the Scythian and Sarmatian tribes
• Degradation of the population, the motto "to live for pleasure"
• Demographic crisis
• The collapse of religion (the predominance of paganism over Christianity) and culture

Western Roman Empire.

It existed from the end of the fourth to the end of the fifth century AD. Since Honorius came to power at the age of eleven, he could not cope alone. Therefore, the commander-in-chief, Stilicho, essentially became the ruler. At the beginning of the fifth century, he defended Italy admirably against the barbarians. But in 410, Stilicho was executed, and no one could save the Apennines from the Western Goths. Even earlier, in 406-409, Spain and Gaul were defeated. After a series of events, the lands partially returned to Honorius.

From 425 to 455 the Western Roman Empire passed to Valentinian III. During these years there were fierce attacks from the vandals and the Huns. Despite the resistance of the Roman state, it lost part of the territory.

Fall of the Western Roman Empire.

This is a significant event in world history. The cause of her “death” was the invasion of barbarian tribes (mostly Germanic) as part of the worldwide migration of peoples.

It all started with the Western Goths in Italy in 401, in 404 the situation was aggravated by the Eastern Goths and Vandals, the Burgundians. Then came the Huns. Each of the tribes created their own kingdoms on the territory of the Western Roman Empire. And in the 460s, when only Italy remained from the state, Odoacer (he led a detachment of hired barbarian soldiers in the Roman army) also captured it. Thus, on September 4, 476, the Western Roman Empire came to an end.

Eastern Roman Empire.

Its other name is Byzantine. This part of the Roman Empire was more fortunate than the western part. The system was also autocratic, the emperor ruled. It is believed that the years of her "life" are 395 to 1453. Constantinople was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.

In the fourth century Byzantium passes to feudal relations. Under Justinian I (in the middle of the sixth century), the empire managed to regain vast territories. Then the vastness of the state began to slowly but surely decrease. The merit of this is in the raids of the tribes (Slavs, Goths, Lombards).

In the thirteenth century, the "crusaders" did not give peace to Constantinople, who "liberated" Jerusalem from the followers of Islam.

Gradually, Byzantium was losing power in the economic sphere. The sharp lag behind other states also contributed to its weakening.

In the fourteenth century, the Turks advance into the Balkans. After the capture of Serbia and Bulgaria, in 1453 they also conquered Constantinople.

Holy Roman Empire.

This is a special association of some European countries from the end of the first millennium almost to the end of the second (962-1806). The acceptance of the papacy made her "sacred". In general, its full name is the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation.

The Germans considered themselves a strong nation. They embraced the idea of ​​founding an empire. Otto I was its creator in 962. The dominant position in this union of states was occupied by Germany. In addition to it, there were Italy and Bohemia, Burgundy, Switzerland and the Netherlands. In 1134, only Burgundy and Italy remained, of course, Germany remained dominant. A year later, the Czech Kingdom also joined the association.

Otto's idea was to revive and reanimate the Roman Empire. Only the new empire was fundamentally different from the ancient one. First, there were signs of decentralized power, rather than a strict monarchical one. But the emperor still ruled. He was, however, chosen by the college, not by the hereditary line. The title could only be awarded after the coronation by the Pope. Secondly, the actions of the emperor were always limited to a layer of the German aristocracy. The emperors of the Holy Roman Empire were very numerous. Each of them left an imprint of their activities in history.

As a result of Napoleon's wars, the Holy Roman Empire ceased to exist. Its head, Franz II, simply refused the power given to him.

History of the Roman Empire. Documentary