How can it be argued that the Roman Empire did not really "fall" in 476 C.E.?

  • Thread starter Thread starter matthewbc02
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Well, by 476, it was a pretty feeble state with little outside Italy. So it really fell earlier.

Plus, for a long time in the Middle Ages people in the West believed that the Roman Empire survived in the Holy Roman Empire.
 
The only argument I have for that is the Roman Empire split into two separate empires in 395 CE (& not by Constantine as stated above). The western empire officially "did" fall in 476 CE when the Visigoth chieftain Odoacer deposed the last western emperor Romulus Augustulus & declared himself King of the Romans. The eastern empire however lasted another 1000 years. It fell officially in 1453 CE when Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks. Although historians call the eastern empire "Byzantine Empire", this name comes in retrospect. The Byzantines always referred to themselves as "Roman Empire". So in this sense, the Roman empire didn't fall in 476 CE if you take into account the eastern Roman empire.
 
To be precise, only the Western Empire fell in 476 CE. Constantine had long before divided the Empire into Western and Eastern parts, the latter based on Constantinople. That part of the Empire lasted much longer, until the 15th century in fact, although by then it was known as the Byzantine Empire and was more heavily influenced by Greece than Rome (as, however, had always been the case with that part of the Empire)
 
First, please use AD, not that politically-correct CE nonsense.

When did the Roman Empire fall? It might've fallen in AD 410 when Alaric and the Vandals sacked Rome.

There again, given that the capital had been moved to Byzantium (Constantinople) in AD 330, it might've fallen much later - such as in 1204 or 1453.

The Roman Empire was a big beast; and it's fall was drawn-out and cataclysmic. It was also not arranged in a clear-cut manner for the benefit of historians.


Edit: Dear Calnicke. I'm glad you use AD. Now would you care to use it correctly? It's AD 476. Saying 476 AD is totally wrong.
 
Because it fell in 476 AD (sorry, couldn't resist).

It did fall, just like the British Empire fell in the last half of the 20th century. The legacy and a few imperial footnotes of both continue to this day, but they alone do not constitute an empire.
 
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