Western Roman Empire

Western Roman Empire Senatus Populusque Romanus Imperium Romanum
395–476/480
Labarum of Constantine the Great Chi Rho
The Western Roman Empire in 418 AD, following the abandonment of Britannia and the settlement of the Visigoths, Burgundians, and Suebi within imperial territory as foederati
Status	Western division of the Roman Empire a
Capital	Mediolanum (395–402) Ravenna (402–455, 473–476) Romec (455–473) Spalatumd (475–480)
Capital-in-exile	Spalatum (475–480)
Common languages	Latin (official) Regional / local languages
Religion	Polytheistic Roman Religion until 4th century Nicene Christianity (state church) after 380
Government	Autocracy
Notable emperors
• 395–423	Honorius
• 457–461	Majorian
• 474–480	Julius Nepos
• 475–476	Romulus Augustulus
Legislature	Roman Senate
Historical era	Late antiquity
• Death of Emperor Theodosius I	17 January 395
• Deposition of Emperor Romulus Augustulus	4 September 476
• Murder of Emperor Julius Nepos	25 April 480
Area
395	2,000,000 km2 (770,000 sq mi)
Currency	Roman currency
Preceded by Succeeded by Roman Empire Eastern Roman Empire Kingdom of Italy Kingdom of the Visigoths Kingdom of the Vandals Kingdom of the Franks Kingdom of the Suebi Kingdom of the Burgundians Kingdom of the Romans Kingdom of the Moors and Romans Alamannia Armorica Sub-Roman Britain
^ Since the Western Roman Empire was not a distinct state separate from the Eastern Roman Empire, there was no particular official term that designated the Western provinces or their government, which was simply known at the time as the "Roman Empire". Terms such as Imperium Romanum Occidentalis and Hesperium Imperium were never in official usage or were invented by later medieval or modern historians long after the Western Roman court had fallen. In the ancient era, the Latin term that was often used was "S.P.Q.R." ("Senatus Populusque Romanus" ["Senate and People of Rome"] Latin) in documents, on flags and banners and carved/engraved on buildings ^ The deposition of Emperor Romulus Augustulus in 476 is the most commonly-cited end for the Western Roman Empire, but the last Western Roman Emperor, Julius Nepos, was assassinated in 480, when the title and notion of a separate Western Roman Empire were abolished. Another suggested end date is the reorganisation of the Italian Peninsula and the abolition of separate Western Roman administrative institutions under Emperor Justinian during the latter half of the 6th century. ^ The Theodosian dynasty Emperors Honorius and Valentinian III reigned from Ravenna. In the period between Valentinian and Glycerius, who once again reigned from northern Italy, most emperors appear to have reigned from Rome. Both Emperors Petronius Maximus and Anthemius reigned from and died in Rome. ^ The de jure last emperor, Julius Nepos, reigned for five years in exile from Spalatum in Dalamatia.

The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire, which was divided by Diocletian in 286 AD. The other half of the Roman Empire became known as the Eastern Roman Empire.

The Roman Empire had been in difficulties since 190 AD, when large Gothic tribes began moving into areas under Roman control. The Empire had weak leadership, which caused instability. Various power groups in the Roman armies kept trying to install their own emperors and killed those who belonged to other groups. That helped the invasions by the Germanic tribes.

Diocletian ended Rome's Crisis of the Third Century and tried to bring back stable government by dividing the empire into sections. The Western Empire included Iberia, France, southern Britain, Italy, North Africa and parts of Germany. The Eastern Empire included the Balkans, Turkey, the Levant and Egypt.

Rome ceased to be the capital from the time of the division. In 286, the capital of the Western Roman Empire became Mediolanum (now Milan). In 402, the capital was again moved, this time to Ravenna.

Animated map of the Roman Republic and Empire between 510 BC and 530 AD

  Republic

  Empire

  Eastern/Byzantine Empire

  Western Empire

The division did not help the Western Empire, which came under increasing invasions from the north: the Ostrogoths, Huns, Franks, Visigoths and Burgundians. Its armies were brought back towards Rome and abandoned Britain and France. The Empire's economy could not cope since the increased need for military spending caused inflation. Citizens were unhappy with the rising taxes and rising prices.

In AD 398, Alaric led the Visigoths and began making attacks closer and closer to the capital. By 410, he had sacked Rome. In 455, the Vandals captured the city. In 476, the Goths captured the city.

The fall of the Western Roman Empire took place in 476 AD, when the leader of the Goths, Odoacer, removed Emperor Romulus Augustus. Odoacer became King of Italy, and the Western Roman Empire ended. By then, however, the empire had existed in name only, and the Emperor no longer had military, financial or political power.

Why the Empire Split

By the 3rd-century, the Roman Empire was too big to be governed by an individual. It was as far as Britain to Egypt. Emperor Diocletian subdivided the empire into two to ease its management in 286 AD.

• The West: Spoke mostly Latin. It consisted of Italy, France (Gaul), Spain (Hispania), Britain and North Africa.
• The East: Spoke mostly Greek. It comprised Turkey, Greece, Egypt and the Middle East.

Life in the West

Rome was not necessarily the capital of Western Empire. Due to the indefensibility of Rome, the emperors shifted the capital to Mediolanum (nowadays Milan) and then Ravenna. Western Empire was largely known to be:

• Laws: A lot of the contemporary laws in Europe and America trace their origin to Roman laws.
• Religion: Initially the Romans had numerous gods. In future, the Roman Catholic Church was in the Western Empire.
• Language: Latin finally became the Romance languages such as Spanish, French and Italian.

The Fall of the Empire

There were numerous issues that occurred simultaneously in the Western Roman Empire, and as a result, it collapsed:

• Invasions: The Vikings, who were a tribe of the north, such as Goths, Vandals and Huns, started attacking the Roman territory. They wanted more favorable land and refuge against other enemies.
• Poor Economy: Taxes were high and most individuals were poor in the empire. It was now too costly to afford the huge army to secure the borders.
• Bad Leadership: Most of the emperors were feeble or slain by their soldiers. This rendered the government insecure.

The End of the Empire

The city of Rome was captured and looted by a tribe known as Visigoths in 410 AD. This was devoid of sensibility to the world as Rome had not been occupied by an adversary in 8 decades.

In 476 AD, the Western Empire came into its official end. The last Western emperor, a young boy called Romulus Augustulus, was overthrown by a Germanic leader by the name Odoacer. Odoacer did not claim the title of the emperor but referred to himself as the King of Italy.

Related pages

• Holy Roman Empire
• The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Other websites

• www.roman-empire.net
• De Imperatoribus Romanis Archived 2011-02-16 at the Wayback Machine