To many historians, the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century CE has always been viewed as the end of the ancient world and the onset of the Middle Ages, often improperly called the Dark Ages, despite Petrarch's assertion. Since much of the west had already fallen by the middle of the 5th century CE, when a writer speaks of the fall of the empire, he or she generally refers to the fall of the city of Rome. Although historians generally agree on the year of the fall, 476 CE, and its consequences for western civilization, they often disagree on its causes.
Unlike the fall of earlier empires such as the Assyrian and Persian, Rome did not succumb to either war or revolution. On the last day of the empire, a barbarian member of the Germanic tribe Siri and former commander in the Roman army entered the city unopposed. The one-time military and financial power of the Mediterranean was unable to resist. Odovacar easily dethroned the sixteen-year-old emperor Romulus Augustalus, a person he viewed as posing no threat.
Romulus had recently been named emperor by his father, the Roman commander Orestes, who had overthrown the western emperor Julius Nepos. With his entrance into the city, Odovacar became the head of the only part that remained of the once great west: the peninsula of Italy. By the time he entered the city, the Roman control of Britain, Spain, Gaul, and North Africa had already been lost, in the latter three cases to the Goths and Vandals. Odovacar immediately contacted the eastern emperor Zeno and informed him that he would not accept that title of emperor. Zeno could do little but accept this decision. In fact, to ensure there would be no confusion, Odovacar returned to Constantinople the imperial vestments, diadem, and purple cloak of the emperor.
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
Last Stand Against the Barbarians | Rome: Rise And Fall Of An Empire
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Funny that Odovacer and his successors kept roman culture and systems in place. This didn't change until the Justinian Conquests turned Italy into a wasteland and then did nothing to improve it.
There's an argument to be made that the western Roman state continued to exist until Justinian killed it, and that the traditional dating of Romulus Augustulus' reign marking the end of the Western Roman empire is really just historians' unconscious acceptance of Justinian's propaganda.
In a sense yes, there was no Emperor in the west anymore but Italy was somewhat aligned to the Eastern Empire and didn't try to contest the title. The society still followed Roman Laws and still had Roman Government systems in place to a degree.
The "Fall of the Roman Empire" is western Europe centric bullshit which generally goes with the line of "The barbarians invaded and destroyed our perfect civilisation".
Western Europe did their best to attach themselves to the Roman empire, often undermining the state of the empire after 476. They have tried their best to rebrand the Eastern empire into something else since Karl got crowned Emperor.
Theodoric basically could have been an emperor from what I understand as he basically was the hegemon of the west.
Yeah but he is considered a "Barbarian" so was never acknowledged.
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Nah. The OG empire died died in 1204. After that it was basically a Greek rump state that the ottomans later took over.
If I was more sober I might argue that the Roman empire ended with the Justinian reforms, which changed the old Roman laws.
Then we got the funniest state ever, the Holy Roman Empire
The sheer number of European states that called their leader some variation of "Caesar" is and remains very funny. Yes, Nicholas, you are definitely the Caesar.
Bulgaria is the only one that kinda makes sense because the Tsar of Bulgaria title was literally given by the Eastern Emperor.
Everyone should read Peter Heather's Fall of the Roman Empire