The Roman Empire was divided into two equal parts. The Eastern Empire was destined to hold out on the pages of history for another thousand years, while the Western Empire would not withstand the pressure of the barbarians in a mere hundred years.
Formation of the Western Roman Empire
By the 4th century, the Roman Empire, which had reached a gigantic scale by the standards of the ancient world, could no longer function effectively in political and administrative terms. Despite the developed infrastructure, news from the border regions reached Rome with a huge delay.
In the 4th century, the Great Migration of Nations begins. The northern borders of the empire were increasingly attacked by barbarians. Due to stretched communications, a single empire could not quickly respond to a threat from outside, which also spoke of the logic of dividing empires to simplify control over existing lands.
In order to effectively manage the empire, the emperors of Rome several times divided it into two or four parts, where there was a governor who was responsible for many issues that were previously under the jurisdiction of the emperor.
But every time, as a result of the struggle for power, the empire was united under its own rule, until in 395 Theodosius I finally divided the Roman Empire, transferring the eastern part to the eldest son Arcadius, and giving the western part to the younger.
Rice. 1. Map of the Western Roman Empire.
Background of the fall of the Western Roman Empire
Honorius took over the empire as a child. Under him, the military leader Stilicho, who was a vandal in the service of Rome, became regent.
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A great event for the empire was the transfer of the capital of the new state formation from Rome to Ravenna by Honorius. This was done out of fear of barbarian attacks on the rich ancient capital.
At the beginning of the 5th century, the policy of the Western Empire towards the barbarians changed greatly.
In the territories of Gaul and other border areas, they began to settle in whole tribes, taking an oath to the emperor to protect the borders of the state from external threats and barbarians like them.
Service in the army was no longer honorable among the native population of the empire. Everyone had land plots and wealth, which means that there was no point in earning a fortune for themselves. Now the basis of the army was made up of barbarian mercenaries, who gradually filled the niches in both the command and political composition of the Romans.
The military weakness of the empire and its accessibility to the barbarians was shown by the sacking of Rome by the Visigoths led by Alaric in 410. The robberies continued for 3 days.
Rice. 2. Alaric.
These changes led to the fact that in 451 the strengthened tribe of the Huns, led by Attila, crossed the Rhine and invaded the Roman lands. In the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields, two huge armies met. During the battle, the Huns had to retreat and the victory remained with the Roman troops, but it was a feast during the plague. Already in 455, Rome was sacked for the second time in 50 years. Vandals along the Tiber reached the "eternal city", which even the inhabitants did not defend hotels.
Rice. 3. The sack of Rome by the Vandals.
In the 440s, Britain was lost forever to the Romans, conquered by the Angles, Saxons and Jutes.
The reason for the death of the Western Roman Empire was not only the barbarians. The Romans themselves lost interest in self-reproduction. Fewer native Romans were born, which led to the degeneration of the nation. It has long been clear to everyone that the collapse of the empire will be inevitable, so it did not cause horror and was perceived quite normally.
In the second half of the 5th century, the throne became a plaything in the hands of Roman military leaders who changed emperors at their whim. By 460, only Italy remained under state control.
In 475, Romulus Augustus came to power in Rome, who no longer played a special political role in the state.
476 is the date of the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The barbarian Odoacer, who was in the service of the Roman army, killed Romulus, declaring himself king of a united Italy. He ordered the Senate to send the mantle and diadem of Romulus to the eastern part of the empire, declaring that the West did not need an emperor.
Thus ended its short existence of the Western Roman Empire.
famous work "On the City of God" (412-425), in which he
pondered the reasons for the rise and fall of earthly kingdoms, including the Roman
empire. Augustine developed his theory of the divine city, which should
come to replace earthly kingdoms.
In the autumn of 410, the imperial government in Ravenna found itself in a very
difficult situation. The Visigoths who sacked Rome, and whose leader
after the unexpected death of the thirty-four-year-old Alaric in 410, he became his
nephew of King Ataulf, actually blockaded Italy. Ruled in Gaul
usurper Constantine, and in Spain the tribal
alliances of Alans, Vandals and Suebi. The gradual process of disintegration has begun
an empire that could no longer be stopped. Under such conditions
the government in Ravenna was forced to change its policy towards
barbarians: the Romans made new concessions. From now on, units of barbarians not only
hired into the service of the empire, as practiced since the 4th century, emperors
were forced to agree to the creation of semi-independent barbarian
states on the territory of the empire, which retained only the appearance of power over
them. So, in 418, in order to remove the Visigoths from Italy and
remove the usurper from power, the Visigoths led by King Theodoric
received for the settlement of Aquitania - the southwestern part of Gaul.
The Visigoths settled here permanently with their entire tribe, they
came with their wives and children. Their warriors, as well as the nobility, received land plots
through confiscations from the local population. The Visigoths immediately set about
establishing their own economy, using the legal
norms and customs. With locals, Roman citizens and
landowners who continued to apply the norms of Roman law, here
relationships have been established. The Visigoths were seen as
conquerors, masters of the entire territory, although they were considered allies
(federates) of the imperial court. Thus, in 418, the first
barbarian kingdom in the territory of the Western Roman Empire.
But back in 411, the imperial government recognized as federates
empire, the tribal unions of the Suebi, who are now firmly settled in the north
western part of Spain. The tribal union of the Vandals was also recognized, which, not
were able to gain a foothold in Spain and took advantage of the invitation of the African
Viceroy Boniface, crossed in 429 to Africa and formed their own
Vandal kingdom led by King Genzirich. Unlike
Visigoths, who maintained peaceful relations with the locals, the Vandals
in their kingdom they established a cruel regime in relation to the local
Roman population, including landowners and Christian
hierarchs. They destroyed the cities, subjected them to robbery and confiscation,
turned the inhabitants into slaves. The local Roman administration made weak
attempts to force the vandals into submission, but this did not lead to any
results. In 435, the empire was forced to "recognize officially
Vandal kingdom as an ally of the empire, formally this kingdom took
the obligation to pay an annual tribute to Ravenna and to protect the interests
emperor, but in fact "a significant part of the African provinces for
the emperor was lost.
From other barbarian state formations on the territory of the empire, you can
name the kingdom of the Burgundians, which arose in Sabaudia (south
eastern. Gaul) in 443, and the kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons in the southeastern part
Britain (451).
New semi-independent kingdoms obeyed orders
the imperial court only if it corresponded to their
interests. In fact, they conducted their own internal and external
politics, the emperors were powerless to bring them into obedience. In such
difficult political situation, the imperial court with all sorts of maneuvers
maintained the appearance of the existence of the Western Roman Empire in the 420-450s
years. Barbarian kingdoms and regions were only considered to be its constituent parts.
The last relative unification of the Western Roman Empire took place in
years of terrible danger that threatened her from the side of the Hunnic tribes.
In 377, the Huns captured Pannonia and at the end of the 4th - and 1st of the 5th centuries did not
posed a serious threat to Rome. As we know, on the contrary, the Romans
willingly recruited Hun detachments to achieve their military-political
goals. So Flavius Azcius is one of the most famous Roman politicians,
who enjoyed great influence at the court of Emperor Valentinian III (425-
455), often used mercenary Hun troops against other tribes -
Burgundians, Visigoths, Franks, Bagauds, etc. However, in the early 440s
there was a sharp strengthening of the Huns, led by their leader Attila (433 -
The Huns joined a number of tribes to their alliance and, taking advantage of their weakness as
Western Roman Empire, and Byzantium, which at that time was
wars with the Vandals in Africa and with the Persians on the Euphrates, began devastating
raids on areas of the Balkan Peninsula. With the help of buyouts, as well as successful
fighting, the Byzantines managed to repel the attack of the Huns and then in
in the early 450s, they invaded the territory of Gaul, plundering and burning everything on
your way. The hordes of the Huns were a mortal danger not only for
Gallo-Romans, Roman citizens and landowners, but also for numerous
barbarian tribes who lived in Gaul on the territory of the empire and had already
taste the blessings of Roman civilization. A strong force was created against the Huns
coalition, which consisted of Franks, Alans, Armoricans, Burgundians,
Visigoths, Saxons, as well as military settlers. Anti-Hun coalition
led by Flavius Azcius, who had previously willingly used their mercenary units in
the interests of the empire.
The decisive battle between the coalition and the Hunnic tribes took place on
Catalaunian fields in June 451. This was one of the largest
bloodiest battles in human history. Gothic historian Jordanes
claims that the losses on both sides amounted to a huge figure of 165 thousand
people, there is evidence that the number of those killed reached 300 thousand
human. As a result of the battle on the Catalaunian fields, the Huns were defeated.
Their vast and fragile public education began to disintegrate, and
shortly after the death of the leader Attila (453), it is finally
fell apart.
For some time, the Hun danger rallied diverse forces together.
around the empire, but immediately after the Catalaunian victory and after repelling
Hun invasion processes of internal separation of the empire intensified.
The barbarian kingdoms, one by one, ceased to reckon with the emperors in
Ravenna and began to pursue an independent policy.
The Visigoths undertook the conquest of most of Spain. They expanded their
possessions at the expense of the imperial regions of Southern Gaul. At the same time vandals
captured a significant part of the African provinces and built their own
fleet, after which they began to make devastating raids on Sicily,
Sardinia and Corsica. Taking advantage of the impotence of the Ravenna court, the vandals attacked
the historical capital of the empire - the city of Rome (455), which remained
the seat of the head of the Western Roman Church - the pope. Vandals took and subjected
unprecedented in the history of the 14-day defeat of the "eternal city". They are pointless
destroyed everything that they could not take with them. This time has the word "
vandalism became a household word.
In Gaul, the kingdom of the Burgundians strengthened its position more and more.
The influx of Franks increased here, who firmly settled in its northern
areas. The local nobility of Spain and Gaul believed that it was more profitable for her to establish
cooperative relations with barbarian kings that were real
masters of the territories they have captured than to maintain relations with distant and
powerless Ravenna emperor.
The result of the collapse of the Western Roman Empire was a squabble over a ghostly
imperial power that began among various factions
courtiers and commanders of individual armies. Groupings one after another became
to elevate their proteges to the equal throne, with whom no one
was considered and who were quickly thrown off the throne.
The only exception was the emperor Julius Majorian (457-461). He tried
to find among all the chaos and ruin the means for internal and external
empire consolidation. Majorian proposed several important reforms that
were supposed to streamline taxation itself, as well as to strengthen urban
curia and mid-city landownership. All this was supposed to revive the city
life and restore cities, free from debt the inhabitants of the remaining
Roman provinces. In addition, Majorian managed to stabilize the complex
internal situation in Gaul and Spain, where for some time he strengthened
Roman dominance.
One could get the impression that the power of the empire was being revived. However
recovery strong. The Western Roman Empire was no longer profitable either
representatives of the provincial nobility, nor, especially, barbarian kings.
Emperor Majorian was killed, and the last attempt was buried in the place with him
restoration of the empire. From now on, the throne of the Western. Roman Empire became
a toy in the hands of the leaders of the barbarian squads. Puppet Ravennas
emperors quickly succeeded each other depending on the influence of one or another
court group.
In 476, the commander of the imperial guard, which consisted of German
mercenaries, 0doacre, himself by origin from the Germanic tribe of the Skirs,
deposed the 16-year-old emperor, who, ironically, bore the name
the mythical founder of the city of Rome and the Roman state, Romulus. For my
early childhood Romulus was nicknamed not August, but Augustulus. In this way
Odoacer destroyed the very institution of the Western Roman Empire, and the signs
Imperial dignity sent to Constantinople. He formed in Italy
own kingdom - the state of Odoacer. Western Roman Empire
ceased to exist, new states began to emerge on its ruins,
new political formations within which feudal
socio-economic relations. And although the fall of the power of the Western Roman
emperor, who had long lost prestige and influence, was not perceived
as a major event, in world history, 476 became the milestone when
the ancient world ceased to exist - the slave-owning social
economic formation. A new period has begun in history - the Middle Ages.
Thus the world-historical significance of the fall of the Western Roman Empire
lies not in the very fact of her death, but in the fact that the collapse of the Western
Roman Empire marked the death of the slave system and
slave-owning mode of production in general. Following the decomposition
slaveholding relations in the East, which collapsed first of all in China,
the main stronghold of slavery in the West fell. Developed a new
historically more progressive way of production.
Speaking of the death of the slave-owning society of the Western Roman Empire,
should, first of all, keep in mind the deep internal causes that
led to this. The slave-owning mode of production has long outlived its usefulness,
he exhausted the possibilities of his development, which led to the slaveholding
relations and slave society to a standstill. Slavery became a hindrance
further development of production.
In Roman; society during the late empire experienced complex
contradictory combinations of old slave relations with elements
new relations - feudal. These relationships and forms are sometimes bizarre
intertwined with the old ones: they coexisted, for the old foundations were still
quite persistent and tenacious, and the emerging new forms were shrouded
a dense network of the same old relationships and survivals;
In those years, the expansion of the slave-owning form of ownership began. What already
more than once mentioned above, small and medium-sized land ownership associated with cities
and preserved to the greatest extent the features of a slave-owning economy
of earlier times, experienced a deep decline during the late empire. Together
with this, there was an increase in large estates (saltus), which were no longer
associated with cities. As they developed, these estates turned into
a closed whole both economically and politically. They are
became virtually independent of the central government. Such estates
already differed significantly from the classical slave-owning latifundia and
anticipated in their structure some features of the feudal estate. However
under the conditions of the late Roman Empire, this new form of property could not
get unhindered and complete development and estates of the Roman magnates
IV - V centuries were to become only the embryo of a new form of ownership.
In addition, one should not underestimate the share of small and medium
land ownership in the economy of the late empire. Smallholder farms
owners and curials were not completely absorbed by large estates. Row
legal (first of all - the code of Theodosius) and literary (Sidonius
Apollinaris, Salvian) of sources unambiguously confirms the existence
curiae and related forms of landed property up to the destruction
Western Roman Empire. This circumstance becomes even more
meaning that the decline of cities cannot be imagined as a phenomenon
simultaneous and ubiquitous, not to mention the important role of the cities of the eastern
parts of the empire or Africa. It should be noted that the cities of the western provinces in
in some cases continued to retain the importance of local economic and
political centers, especially in the Rhine and Mezhdunai regions.
A serious obstacle to the development of a new form of ownership was that
the circumstance that in the late Roman saltus this new form was entangled
a dense network of still unexploited slaveholding relations. Use of labor
columns and slaves planted on the ground, has not yet acquired the character of feudal
exploitation - this is the fundamental difference between the late Roman
saltus from a feudal estate.
Despite the preservation of large masses of slaves and the use of their labor both in
large and medium landownership, the leading figure
agricultural production of the late empire, no doubt, steel columns.
This is especially true of the last two centuries of the existence of the Western Roman
empire, when there was a certain leveling of the provisions of all categories
dependent population. The peculiar nature of this leveling was
that it, as it were, united two processes going towards each other:
along with the general restriction of freedom, the enslavement of various categories
dependent population has spread to all these categories, including
number and on columns, legal status, which was based on
economic relations of the slave-owning society.
Significant proximity of the column to the entire system of slaveholding relations,
the intermediate character of his position between the classical slave and
medieval serf is defined, in particular, by the fact that
tools of production. From ancient sources it is well known that during the period
early empire, the owner of the land gave the colonies all the tools for use
labor. In the last centuries of the existence of the empire, the rights of landowners
on the inventory used by the columns, and in general on all property
columns, were enshrined in law. For example, in legislation
times of Arcadius and Honorius (end of the 4th century), it is indicated that all property
the column belongs to his master, the code of Theodosius says that the column is not
has the right to alienate land and in general anything from his property without
the consent of the lord. At the beginning of the 6th century, the code of Justinian legislated
confirmed that all the property of the column belongs to his master. So
Thus, the colon, although he led an independent household, did not use
no property legal capacity and had no ownership of tools
production. This was the essential feature that distinguished the column from
feudal peasant. Relations to the instruments of production and those forms
distribution of products of production (due taxes and duties of the columns), which
dominated in: the late Roman empire, to a large extent brought together
column and slave in the sense of their little interest in the results of their own
labor. One of the most characteristic contradictions of the slaveholding method
production was thus preserved under this new form of exploitation.
and in the labor of a new category of direct producers.
The lack of ownership of the colon on the tools of production was
at the same time, the feature that distinguished the late Roman saltus from
feudal estate. The most characteristic and defining feature of the latter
there is the individual ownership of the peasant on the instruments of production and on
own private economy based on personal labor. property
the incapacity of the column, which in this sense brought him closer to a slave, excluded
a similar opportunity. So over all these new forms of more progressive
social system (a new form of land ownership, new forms
dependency) weighed heavily on the old relations of slave-owning society, which
slowed down and limited the development of elements of the feudal method
production.
The dominant aristocracy of the late Roman Empire was also in
state of decomposition. The top land magnates stood out, who were
associated with large land ownership - the owners of saltus. certain
the significance was retained by a rather narrow stratum of monetary and commercial nobility.
The position of the curial slave owners in the last centuries of the existence of the Roman
empire deteriorated catastrophically, but still the curia, as it is said,
were preserved, and, consequently, curials were still a certain
social and political power.
The ruling class of Roman society, both in the period of the early empire, and even in
the period of the republic was never a single whole, but the new
was that the late Roman land magnates owned their
huge estates on a different basis than the large landowners of the era
republic or early empire - not as members of the collective of free
slave owners and landowners. At one time, belonging to such
collective, as you know, was a necessary condition for owning land
property. The late Roman land magnates, on the contrary, emerged from
these collectives, separated from the cities, and in some cases, from the central
power, and therefore often felt themselves in their huge estates
independent rulers and independent kings. But the rebirth of this
the ruling elite into the class of feudal lords did not happen and could not happen, since
at the basis of their economic and political power was not yet
feudal form of ownership.
It should also be emphasized the conservative nature of the superstructure of the late Roman
society and, above all, its political superstructure. transformation
Roman state into a gigantic machine for extorting taxes and extortions
quite clearly testifies to its inhibitory role, that it was
a serious obstacle to the development of more progressive relations. So,
for example, legally fixing the lack of property rights to the colon
tools of production, the state, to the best of its ability, prevented
turning them into producers like medieval peasants.
The imperial power in Rome in the 4th-5th centuries tried to maneuver between new
land magnates and the old curial slave-owners. If, how easy
to be convinced from the above, the government of Emperor Constantine is open
supported large land magnates, then at a later time, namely
under the emperor Julian, there is a desire to revive the city curia. AT
this maneuvering also manifested the well-known conservatism of the Roman
state, it lost its social support. Perhaps it continued
necessary curials, but they, gradually weakening more and more, do not themselves
could serve as a fairly strong support. For the landlords
which increasingly departed from the central government, the state from a certain
moment, namely from the middle of the 4th century, became a hindrance. True, in those cases
when it came to suppressing uprisings, the big land magnates turned out to be
interested in the existence of the state and its assistance. Roman
the state, even in the last centuries of its existence, is based on
remained slaveholding, for it was the product of the development precisely
slaveholding relations, guarded and maintained purely
slaveholding law (legal consolidation of the absence of the right
property of the columns on tools) and a purely slave-owning ideology
Education in free citizens of contempt for slaves.
However, significant changes have also taken place in the field of ideology, the largest of which
them was the victory of Christianity. Christian doctrine, which arose in the form
social protest of urban plebeians, then turned into
the state religion of the slave-owning empire, but this happened already in
the period of decomposition of slave-owning relations, during the crisis of the polis
ideology - ancient philosophy, morality, law. Precisely because
Christianity was the most striking expression of this crisis, subsequently
it was possible to adapt it to the needs of that social system,
which replaced the slave. In general, the elements of the new, those
feudal institutions, which arose in embryo in Roman society, did not
had prospects for free development and were hampered by persistent, still unexpired
slave relations. This situation is quite natural and
understandable, since all these institutions were formed in the Roman Empire. AT
in the setting of a dying civilization, in the setting of a slave-owning society,
which was in deep crisis.
The only means that could ensure the free development of the new
forces, there was a "radical revolution" capable of finally burying
slave-owning society with its still quite powerful political
structure. However, this coup could not be carried out only by internal
forces of Roman society. Wide popular movements of the III - V centuries, which
there were uprisings of the Bagauds, movements of the agnostics, undoubtedly shook the Roman
empire, but were unable to completely destroy it.
This required a combination of struggle within society with such an external
factor as the invasion of barbarians on the territory of the empire. As a result
the combined impact of these historical factors, the death of
Western Roman Empire, the death of the slave system.
3. Conclusion.
Ancient Rome became the final stage in the history of the ancient world as a whole, and
therefore in the evolution of his society and state. Found a clear manifestation
specific features of Roman statehood and culture, as well as general
features of many ancient societies.
A socially dissected society and statehood began to take shape on
Italian soil later than in the countries of the East and in the Greek world. Most
early sprouts of civilization in Italy appeared in the second half of the 8th century. BC
e. in the Etruscan cities and the first Greek colonies, while in the environment
tribal relations were still preserved among the Italian tribes. In the 5th century BC e.
primary statehood is being formed in Rome, apparently the most developed
the center of the Italic tribes. Formation of Roman statehood proper
and social structure from early times took place in an atmosphere of powerful
influence on Rome from the Etruscan cities and colonies of Magna Graecia, which
determined the complex multi-ethnic and cultural basis of the emerging Roman
civilization. By the middle of the III century. BC e. a well-known smoothing has occurred
heterogeneity of different areas of the Apennine Peninsula, overcoming
polycentrism of the cultural process and some socio-political
unification, which intensified during the gradual conquest of Italy by Rome
and the creation of the Roman-Italian Union as a new type of political
associations. The process of Romanization of Italy that had begun meant the creation of a new
economic system, significant changes in the social class
structures, a new type of government, the foundations of a new culture.
The most important feature of the Romanization process was, on the one hand,
the formation and flourishing of polis-communal institutions, on the other hand, was
outlined the way to overcome them.
Romanization of Italy, on the one hand, led to the leveling of polis-communal
structures under the Roman model, on the other hand, the Roman civitas itself was enriched for
by borrowing a number of institutions from Greek policies, Etruscan cities,
Italian tribal formations. However, within the framework of the state
unification of Italy the transformation of the union of policies and communities into a new political and
the socio-economic whole was completely new than
traditional civitas, socio-political education. Consolidation and
Romanization of Italy intensified due to the fact that from the middle of the III century. BC e.
Rome embarked on the path of conquering non-Italian territories. After the Punic
3rd century wars BC e. the first non-Italian administrative
province units. In the 1st century BC e. such provinces covered all
Mediterranean. Establishment of a provincial system with special status
management of both conquered and occupied territories sharply distinguished
Italy in its political and legal position as a country where
live Roman citizens or their allies, often belonging to the same
ethnos. The robbery of the provinces and the influx of slave power and wealth
to Italy contributed to the creation and implementation of the classical
slavery, a new type of commodity economy. Establishment of economic
connections between different areas led to unification around Rome
separate polis-communal formations, the creation of new supra-polis
institutions and relationships.
The maturation of new suprapolis structures, the withering away or transformation of communal
THE FALL OF ROME THE FALL OF ROME
THE FALL OF ROME (476), the death of the Western Roman Empire under the blows of the barbarian tribes of the Visigoths, Huns, Vandals and Ostrogoths, stretching for more than half a century. Around 376 Visigoth king Alaric (cm. ALARIC I) invaded the Roman possessions, after he had ravaged the Balkan provinces and Greece for 30 years. In 408, he appears in Italy, besieges Rome twice, but leaves, satisfied with a huge ransom, and proclaims Attalus emperor, who, however, quickly gets out of control of Alaric. Then Alaric again besieges Rome, on August 24, 410 captures it and plunders it for three days, leaving only the Christian churches intact. Leaving then to the south of Italy, he soon dies suddenly near the city of Cosenza in Calabria. The fall of Rome made a huge impression on his contemporaries. Inspired by this event, Augustine (cm. AUGUSTINE Blessed) wrote his essay "On the City of God", in which he considered the death of Rome as a natural punishment for countless sins.
In the 430-440s, the Romans hardly repulsed the attack of the leader of the Hun tribes, Attila (cm. ATTILA), who devastated with the help of his 700,000th army the provinces of Pannonia, Moesia and Gaul. A new test fell on Rome in the 450s in connection with the invasions of the Vandals. These tribes came from the territory of Meotida (the modern Sea of Azov), about 410 invaded Spain, and then North Africa, where they founded their kingdom with its capital in Carthage. Having built an impressive fleet, the Vandals began to make devastating raids on Sicily, Sardinia and Italy. At the end of May 455, the leader of the Vandals, Geiseric, landed with an army at the mouth of the Tiber under the pretext of the refusal of the Roman emperor Petronius Maximus to marry the son of Geiseric with the daughter of Emperor Valentinian III, Evdokia. Panic broke out in Rome, Petronius Maxim died. Gaiseric plundered Rome for 14 days, and then, having captured the widow and daughters of Emperor Valentinian III and several thousand Roman artisans, left the ruined capital. Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and the Balearic Islands came under the rule of the Vandals. The Western Roman Empire was reduced to the size of Italy.
From the time of Alaric's invasion, the power of the emperors of the Western Roman Empire becomes purely nominal. The real power is in the hands of military leaders, mostly of barbarian origin. In 475, the commander of the Roman patrician Orestes, who was once the secretary of the Hun leader Attila, and who had actual power under Emperor Nepos, declares his 16-year-old son Romulus Mommilius Augustulus emperor. (cm. ROMULUS AUGUSTULUS), who became the last official emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Already in the next year, 476, mercenary troops revolted. Odoacer was at the head of the rebellious mercenaries. (cm. ODOACR), Rugian by origin, who served in the Praetorian Guard. He killed Orestes and dethroned Romulus Augustulus. He saved Romulus himself and his freedom, giving him an estate in Campania as an inheritance. Declared king by the mercenaries, he renounced the imperial title, sending the insignia of imperial power to Constantinople. Odoacer motivated this by the fact that the Italians themselves and the Roman Senate consider the existence of an independent empire in the West unnecessary. This event is already in the 6th century. began to be considered the official date of the death of the Western Roman Empire.
encyclopedic Dictionary. 2009 .
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- (May 29, 1453) the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Turks by the Ottomans, which led to its final fall. The offensive of the Ottoman Turks (the name is given after the sultanate of the Ottoman dynasty formed in Asia Minor in 1299 (see OSMANS)) against Byzantium led ... encyclopedic Dictionary
Romulus Augustus was deposed as emperor of the Western Roman Empire in 476 while still young. Julius Nepos, however, continued to demand the title of Western Emperor after his deposition. The fall of the Western Roman Empire is one of the problems in the history ... Wikipedia
This term has other meanings, see Fall of Constantinople (meanings). Fall of Constantinople Turkish Byzantine Wars ... Wikipedia
The capture of Rome by the Goths (August 24, 26, 410) the sack of Rome by the Goths in August 410. During the invasion of Italy in the fall of 408, the Visigoth army, led by King Alaric, besieged Rome for the 1st time. Having received a rich ransom, Alaric ... ... Wikipedia
The capture of Rome by the Goths (August 24, 26, 410) the sack of Rome by the Goths in August 410. During the invasion of Italy in the fall of 408, the Visigoth army, led by King Alaric, besieged Rome for the 1st time. Having received a rich ransom, Alaric took off ... ... Wikipedia
Founding of Rome ... Wikipedia
Books
- The greatness and fall of Rome. Book 1 (Volume I - II), Ferrero Guglielmo. The five-volume work of the outstanding Italian historian and publicist, first published in 1902-1907, is dedicated to the civil wars in Rome, which led to the fall of the Republic and the establishment ...
The end of the 5th century, when the Western Roman Empire ceased to exist, was the end of the era of antiquity. Together with the Roman Empire, an entire era with its values, ideals and special worldview has gone into the past. The ancient foundations gave way to medieval, essentially Christian principles.
Roman society and the state on the eve of the fall
The decay of Roman society began long before 476. It was extremely difficult for the state to survive the Crisis of the III century, when soldier emperors were constantly replaced on the throne, unable to strengthen the empire. In the III-IV centuries, there were people on the Roman throne who thought on a national scale and were capable of serious reforms. Thanks to the emperors Diocletian and Constantine, Roman greatness was revived for a while. However, the process of destruction could no longer be stopped. The main reasons for the impending disaster, the researchers include:
- The political and ethnic heterogeneity of the empire. Already in the 2nd century, there was a noticeable difference between the eastern aristocracy, whose representatives ascended to noble ancient Greek families, and the western nobility. In the future, cultural, historical and political differences will lead to the division of a single state into the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. There was no unity among the Roman citizens themselves and the ruling elite, as evidenced by a whole series of civil wars that took place during the III-V centuries.
- Decay of the Roman army. By the 4th century, the image of the courageous Roman legionnaire was completely in the past. The Romans lost all interest in military service and only went there for the money. Even under Septimius Severus (193-211), due to the lack of volunteers, barbarians began to be accepted into the army, which later resulted in a fall in military discipline. In addition, the North, in order to raise the prestige of the military craft, allowed legionnaires to buy land and marry before completing their service. The reforms of the North, of course, played a role in strengthening the combat capability of the state, but later the reverse side of its transformations began to appear. Legion camps began to turn into villages where ordinary peaceful life flowed. Roman units were losing their mobility, and the warriors were losing their dexterity. From now on, the chiefs of the camps had to combine military leadership with the solution of civilian tasks, because of which the process of bureaucratization began in the headquarters, in which the entire state apparatus would later become mired.
- The crisis of the pagan worldview. Over time, the Romans also lost their former religious and ideological ideals, which were the basis of Roman statehood. Ideas about former heroes and gods already seemed naive to educated people, the attempt of the authorities to introduce the cult of the “genius” of emperors also failed. From the 1st century A.D. e. the Roman aristocracy was inclined to the teachings of the Stoics, and among the lower class and slaves, the idea of the appearance of a savior who would restore justice was increasingly spreading. The image of the savior was combined with the images of pagan dying and resurrecting gods (Osiris, Attis, Mitra), as well as with the idea that a new life begins beyond the line of death, where everyone will be rewarded according to their deeds. Gradually, Christianity began to develop on this basis, the foundations of which radically differed from the ideals of ancient Roman mythology. Emperor Constantine in 313 proclaimed religious tolerance, which actually meant the victory of the Christian Church and the final collapse of the pagan worldview.
- economic situation. In the 4th century, the collapse of the slave system began in the empire, which led to the decay of cities, a return to subsistence farming, the destruction of economic ties between different regions, and the coarsening of crafts. Since the role of centers of crafts and trade passed from cities to large landowners, the latter began to seriously compete with imperial power. The last Roman emperors could no longer compete with the appetites of their subjects. To maintain the state and its treasury, the emperors raised taxes, because of which the peasants and artisans were massively ruined.
- Barbarian raids. Many historians consider this factor to be the main reason for the destruction of the Western Roman Empire. The Romans first encountered the barbarians in the 2nd century, but then they managed to repel the threat quite easily. However, small skirmishes on the borders of the empire have since become permanent for the Roman legionnaires. In the second half of the 3rd century, the Great Migration of Peoples began, when entire hordes of Asian nomads moved from the expanses of Eastern Siberia, Mongolia, China, etc. to the west. At the forefront of this movement were the Huns - formidable and fearless conquerors. Due to the constant military threat, Emperor Constantine was forced to move the capital of his state to Constantinople, which served as an impetus for the development and growth of the wealth of the eastern part of the empire, but at the same time also caused the decline of its western half. Many European tribes, fleeing the Huns, asked the Roman emperors for asylum. In 378, a battle took place between the Roman emperor Valens and the Visigoths, who settled on the outskirts of the empire. In this battle, the barbarians not only defeated the Roman army, but also killed the emperor. All further relations between the Roman emperors and the barbarians can be characterized as maneuvering. Rome either bribed the barbarian leaders, or tried to pit them against each other, or tried to repulse them. In 395, the empire was officially divided into Western and Eastern parts. The forces of the Western Empire were too weak to deal with the barbarian threat on their own. The tribes of the Suebi, Vandals and others began to seize vast areas and establish their own states here. Every year the Roman emperors were forced to make more and more concessions to the barbarians.
The last years of the empire
By the 5th century, the state finally ceased to cope with the functions assigned to it. The emperors could neither stop the chaos within their state, nor put an end to the constant raids of the barbarians. Meanwhile, the barbarians were no longer limited to campaigns on the outskirts of the state, the threat hung over the Eternal City itself. In 410, Rome was taken and sacked by the Visigoth king Alaric, while Emperor Honorius was hiding from the barbarians in Ravenna. For contemporaries, this event was a real collapse of the old world. However, the empire still continued to exist. In 451, in the Catalaunian fields, the Romans, temporarily united with their enemies - the Visigoths, Saxons and other tribal unions, even managed to stop the formidable leader of the Huns - Attila.
However, this victory did not have much significance for the further fate of Rome. Four years later, the city was sacked by the Vandals. After the pogrom that was perpetrated in the city, the name of this tribe began to mean any acts of senseless destruction.
The last truly significant person in ancient Roman history was Emperor Julius Majorian (457-461). He initiated a series of reforms aimed at reviving the former greatness of the empire. However, Majorin's undertakings frustrated the plans of the barbarian kings and the provincial nobility, accustomed to independence. Therefore, the emperor was soon killed. After his death, several completely insignificant figures were replaced on the Roman throne. In 476, the commander Odoacer (a German by birth) overthrew the last Roman emperor, who, ironically, was called Romulus - just like the legendary founder of Rome, and founded his own state. Thus ended the existence of the Western Roman Empire.
According to historians, the year 476 is considered a landmark date in the history of Europe. The Western Roman Empire ended its existence and the actual history of medieval Europe began. By the beginning of the 5th century, the Roman Empire, especially its western part, was in a state of deep crisis. The crisis has affected different spheres of life - the economy, politics, government and ideology. With the cessation of Rome's wars of conquest, a serious problem arose regarding the provision of labor.
The spread of Christianity and the struggle of Christianity against paganism meant numerous conflicts among the population of the Roman Empire. In general, the formation of the dogma of Christianity was taking place, and there was also no agreement among the Christians themselves.
An even more serious problem for the Roman Empire of this time was the invasion of the barbarians. By the beginning of the 5th century, barbarian tribes broke through the borders of the Roman Empire and devastated the Roman provinces. Many of the Roman generals were actually barbarians by origin and fought successfully even against their fellow tribesmen. Many detachments of the Roman army consisted of barbarian mercenaries, and entire barbarian peoples, having received the status of federates or allies of Rome, also rose to the defense of the Roman state.
A serious problem for the Roman Empire was the situation around Rome itself. The great eternal city, the center of the empire, the city from which Roman history began, in the 5th century already experienced serious problems and was devastated more than once. The first time the fall of Rome took place in 410, when Rome was invaded by the barbarians of the Visigoths (Western Goths) under the leadership of Alaric. The Goths, having captured Rome, nevertheless spared the Christian basilicas, where many of the inhabitants of the city took refuge.
A little time passed and a new threat loomed over Rome: in 452, the army of the Huns, the army of Attila, approached the territory of Central Italy. However, it should be said that the Romans were lucky in 452 - either the disease that spread among the Huns, or the death of cattle (and for nomads this is always important), or those riches, the tribute that was collected by the population of Rome - all this helped to avoid bloodshed and to avoid the capture of Rome by the Huns. The Huns did not go to devastate the territory of Central Italy.
But then, in 455, Rome was subjected to a new invasion, this time truly devastating. In 455, sailing from the coast of North Africa, where these barbarian people came from the coast of the Baltic Sea, the army of the Vandals devastates Rome. And this time the vandals really plundered Rome, taking away not only all the booty, in particular, metals (they removed the roof from the temple of Capitoline Jupiter), but also captured a lot of captives, among whom was the emperor's family.
The years that have passed from 455 to 476 are years of constant civil strife, constant struggle for the throne. Over the years, 8 emperors have changed on the Roman throne, and not all of them peacefully ended their days. In 476, as a result of another coup, a very young Romulus Augustus becomes emperor. Several months passed and in the summer of 476, this emperor was overthrown by mercenaries, and the regalia of imperial power, its symbol, were sent to Constantinople to Emperor Zeno. From that moment on, the Roman Empire in the West ceases to exist and, as we believe, the history of medieval Western Europe begins.
Contemporaries did not particularly appreciate the event. They believed that in the Roman Empire once again there is one emperor, whose power extends to both the western and eastern lands. Rome was not devastated, and the inhabitants of the empire were already used to coups and rebellions of mercenaries by that time. Of course, they could not guess that now the empire would not return to the western lands for a long time, and that the time of the barbarian kingdoms, the time of the beginning of the Middle Ages, was coming.
