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How long did the Roman Empire last? -

The Roman Empire was one of the largest and most successful civilizations in human history. From the birth of the Roman Republic in 510 BCE to the fall of the Western capital at the hands of the Ostrogoths in 476 CE, Rome stood tall for just shy of 1,000 years.

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How big was the Roman Empire at its height? -

From its beginnings as a modest city-state on the Italian Peninsula, Rome grew into one of the farthest-reaching empires the world has ever known. At its height, the Roman Empire spread over nearly two million square miles (five million square kilometers), from as far north as the British Isles and as far south as Egypt.

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Emperor Trajan -

Emperor Trajan was responsible for this massive expansion of territory. Trajan reigned from 98 CE until his death in 117 CE. A beloved ruler of his time, Trajan spent most of his life in conquest, conquering new territories to the East in modern-day Romania and Iran.

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What did the empire look like by the end? -

After centuries of expansion, and just as many disastrous leaders as successful ones, Rome was too big to properly control. Settlements in the outer frontiers were only technically Roman, receiving no support from the capital nor pledging much allegiance to it.

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East versus West -

Emperor Constantine, who ruled in the early 4th century CE, was one of the most influential leaders of the late empire. Not only was he the first emperor to convert to Christianity and spread the infant religion across his empire, he also officially split the empire into the Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire, and made Constantinople the capital of the eastern empire. While the dissection rendered the empire easy to govern, Christianity undermined many deeply-ingrained Roman religious customs, weakening the society's integrity. Some historians say that the rule of Constantine was the beginning of the end.

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Internal economic issues -

An empire as large as Rome was massively expensive to run. Between the upkeep of Rome's massive road system, the countless soldier salaries that had to be paid, and the opulent tastes of the ruling classes, it soon began to cost more than the empire could bring in through taxes.

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Constant power struggles -

The halls of the Roman senate were also no strangers to betrayal and overall drama. While the assassination of Julius Caesar, in the early days of the Empire, is by far the most famous story of Roman betrayal, similar incidents were common throughout Rome's history, leaving the question of leadership in a chronically shaky position.

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Troubles with the Goths -

One of Rome's most persistent issues was the constant threat of invasion from the Germanic tribes north of the border. As the Roman military became more spread out and less organized, Gothic tribes began to cross into Roman territories and set up settlements of their own, posing a great and immediate danger to the integrity of the Empire.

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Troubles with the Huns -

Threats to Rome's border also came from the East. The Hunnic Empire, under the leadership of one of history's most feared and ruthless leaders, Atilla, was growing and spreading rapidly, pushing further and further westward from Central Asia.

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Atilla and the great migration -

Atilla's empire-building caused a domino effect that saw serious problems for Rome. As the Huns pushed westward, they forced many Germanic and Nordic tribes that lived on the Roman Empire's frontiers to migrate further into Roman territory.

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Emperor Valens and the Battle of Adrianople -

One of the first crucial defeats that marked the beginning of the end for the greatest empire was the Battle of Adrianople, in 378 CE. Emperor Valens, named emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, still in its infancy, was killed in this battle against the Gothic tribes.

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Emperor Valens and the Battle of Adrianople -

The Gothic tribes had first sought to become Roman citizens after being pushed further into Roman territory by the encroaching Huns. However, after numerous broken promises from Valens and the Roman authorities, the Goths instead banded together and not only sacked Adrianople, but killed Valens in the process. The apparent ease with which the Gothic "barbarians" destroyed a Roman city and emperor shook the rest of the Empire, and was a clear sign of Rome's power slipping away. Gothic and other Germanic tribe invasions became a regular occurrence after the Battle of Adrianople.

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Ravenna: The new capital -

The worsening fragility on all sides of the Empire caused many within the Western Roman leadership to question the security of the capital city. As a result, the capital city was moved to the city of Ravenna, in northern Italy, in 402 CE.

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The Crossing of the Rhine -

Another crucial moment in the degradation of Rome's integrity was the historic Crossing of the Rhine during the last days of 406 CE. A joint effort between various Gothic tribes including the Ostrogoths, Visigoths, and Vandals, the Crossing of the Rhine sparked a massive wave of destruction throughout Rome's northwestern territories.

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The Crossing of the Rhine -

For centuries, the Rhine river, which runs from the Swiss Alps into the Netherlands, was one of the Empire's most secure borders. The violation of this boundary is seen by historians today as one of the major blows to Rome's influence in Western Europe.

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The Sack of Rome -

Just four years after the Germanic tribes broke across the Rhine, the unimaginable occurred: Rome, the eternal city, was sacked by foreign invaders for the first time in nearly eight centuries.

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The Sack of Rome -

Although Rome was no longer the official capital of the Western Empire, it was still the cultural and religious center of Europe, and its destruction was felt throughout the Empire. As Saint Jerome wrote from Bethlehem at the time, "The city which had taken the whole world was itself taken."

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Alaric the Visigoth -

The Sack of Rome was led by Alaric, the first king of the Visigoths. Alaric was also involved in the Battle of Adrianople, and proved himself to be one of Rome's greatest individual threats.

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The fall of Carthage -

The next major defeat took place on the Eastern front, with the fall of the Egyptian city of Carthage at the hands of Gaiseric, leader of the Vandals, in 439 CE.

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The fall of Carthage -

Carthage was Rome's door into its North African territories, and a large source of wealth for the Empire. Very few valuables escaped the city before it was taken, and the fall of Carthage was a severe economic blow to an empire already in crisis.

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The death of Libius Severus -

By the middle of the 5th century CE, the Western Empire was in tatters. There were constant vies for power, and few of the Western emperors were recognized by their more successful contemporaries in the Eastern Empire. This pattern was most apparent after the death of Libius Severus, a decidedly minor and ineffective leader. After his death, the Western Empire had no official leader for two years.

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The two-year interregnum -

During this two-year interregnum, the Western Empire fell deeper into chaos, with General Flavius Ricimer maintaining de facto control and fighting off Visigothic and Vandal invaders as best he could. Meanwhile, the Eastern Empire promptly sent their own replacement emperor, along with a massive military unit, in a last-ditch attempt to save the Western Empire.

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The arrival of Anthemius -

The new Western emperor was Procopius Anthemius, considered to be the last true and "capable" emperor of the Western Empire. Anthemius made admirable efforts to fight back the ever-encroaching Germanic invaders, but was eventually killed by Ricimer, who had initially ceded his power peacefully to act as Anthemius' general, but soon thirsted for power once more. Ricimer himself died only six weeks later.

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Romulus Augustus -

After a string of brief and ineffective emperors, Romulus Augustus took the throne in 475 CE. Perhaps as young as 10 years old, Romulus Augustus was placed on the throne by his father, the general Orestes. Ruling for less than a year, Romulus Augustus would be the last emperor of the Western Empire.

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Odovacer: The first king of Italy -

Finally, in 476 CE, a true end befell the Western Roman Empire when Odovacer, leader of the Ostrogoths, captured Ravenna, killed Orestes, and deposed Romulus. Having no desire to remain associated with the Eastern Roman Empire, Odovacer founded the Kingdom of Italy, or the Ostrogothic Kingdom, and declared himself its first king.

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The Byzantine Empire -

While the Western half of the Roman Empire crumbled into chaos after Emperor Constantine split the empire into two in the 4th century CE, the Eastern Roman Empire thrived and grew stronger and stronger, based around its new capital of Constantinople.

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The Byzantine Empire -

Once the Western Empire fell, the Eastern Roman Empire became known as the Byzantine Empire. Over the years, the Byzantine Empire had become different from its western counterpart in many ways, most obviously by being founded on Christianity rather than the traditional Roman pantheon. The Byzantines would remain major players on the European stage until they finally succumbed to the Ottomans in the 15th century.

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The Holy Roman Empire -

More than 300 years after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, a new governmental entity was created in 800 CE after Pope Leo III named the Frankish king Charlemagne the first official Roman emperor in centuries, in an attempt to rekindle the Western Roman Empire as the one and only true Catholic empire.

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The Holy Roman Empire -

The similarities between ancient Rome and the Holy Roman Empire, however, stop at the name. Although it was, for a time, the most powerful body in Europe, it neither acted, operated, or looked like the once-great empire from which it borrowed its name.

Sources: (History Hit) (ThoughtCo.) (History)

See also: Facts about ancient Rome that you had no idea about

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