When did the Romans empire fall?

Answer 1

The most commonly found date for the fall of the Roman Empire is September 4, 476 CE. Specifically, what happened on that date was that Odoacer, a Germanic general in the Roman army, deposed Romulus Augustulus, widely regarded as the last emperor of the West Roman Empire.

This is certainly a date of convenience, and many modern historians are unwilling to accept it for several reasons. Some problems with using this as the end of the Roman Empire are as follows:

• The government of the East Roman Empire was still operating in Constantinople as usual.
• The Senate of Rome, which officially governed in the West Roman Empire, continued to operate, acknowledging the emperor in Constantinople as its ruler, until at at least 603 AD, when its last known act was recorded.
• Odoacer, the Germanic chief who took over most of Italy, did not dissolve the empire. Instead, he officially asked Zeno, the emperor in the East Roman Empire, to reunite the empire, and take control of the whole.
• At the time, Romulus Augustulus was officially considered an usurper. Julius Nepos, who was recognized by the senate as the emperor of the West Roman Empire, continued to rule parts of the country until he died in 480.
• The East Roman Empire, which we now call the Byzantine Empire, continued operating, and was called the Roman Empire by nearly everyone, until 1453. It was not called the Byzantine Empire until modern times.
• Almost nobody noticed any real change. The daily lives of almost everyone went on, including not only the general population, but people in the government as well.

Given these facts, it is difficult to say that Rome actually fell in 476. On the other hand, the date is as good as any, and if we have to pick a date, we might as well pick the one everyone else picks. We could argue for a different date, but in the end, it would almost certainly be no better. Imperial control declined through the entire 5th century. Some kings, such as the kings of the Vandals in North Africa, refused to acknowledge the emperor at all. Others, such as some of the kings of the Ostrogoths, Franks, and Visigoths, acknowledged the emperor and that their kingdoms were within the Roman Empire, but they gave virtually no other support. This situation existed before 476, and continued to exist after for nearly two hundred years.

Many historians today talk of the fall of the West Roman Empire, instead of the fall of the Roman Empire as a whole. But some are quite unwilling to describe it as an event that took place at a specific time in history, rather than as a process that went on for decades, at least, and possibly centuries. This said, the attack of European tribes probably went on for a considerable amount of time.

Answer 2

The conventional date given for the fall of the western part of the Roman Empire is given as 476, when the last emperor of the west, Romulus Augustus, was deposed.

The eastern part of the Roman Empire, which was not affected by the Germanic invasions in the west, continued to exist for another 1,000 years.