Great Collapses Codexery

The Fall of the Western Roman Empire

Loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire.

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The fall of the Western Roman Empire was the loss of central political control over its western provinces, which were divided among successor polities.[1] Modern historians point to factors such as army effectiveness, population health, economic strength, and internal power struggles.[1] Invaders from beyond Roman culture, applying mounting external pressure, were a major factor in the collapse.[1]

Quick Facts

Field
Historical event
Known for
Loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire
Key location
Western Roman Empire

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

The Roman Empire reached its greatest geographical extent under Trajan, ruling a prosperous state from Armenia to the Atlantic.[2] The Antonine Plague of 165–180 caused heavy mortality and seriously impaired attempts to repel Germanic invaders.[3] Diocletian reorganized the empire with more emphasis on the military, but his tetrarchy system broke down within one generation.[4] From 376, massive populations moved into the Empire, driven by the Huns, leading ultimately to barbarian kingdoms over much of the former Western territory.[5]

A period from roughly 200 BCE until 150 CE, known as the Roman climatic optimum, provided generally warm and well-watered conditions across Mediterranean lands.[6]

What the cited sources add

Alexander Demandt enumerated 210 different theories on why Rome fell.[7][8] A recent summary interprets disease and climate change as important drivers of the political collapse of the empire.[6] Contemporary scholarship, unlike Gibbon, draws on data from archaeology, epidemiology, climatic history, and genetics to form its understanding.[9][10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Fall of the Western Roman Empire" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Harper 2017; Ward-Perkins 2005, p. 1; e.g. Why Nations Fail. Acemoglu D and Robinson JA. Profile Books (Random House Inc.) 2012. . pp. 166–175; Diamond, "Collapse", Penguin Books, 2011, p. 13–14 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Fall of the Western Roman Empire" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Piganiol 1950, p. 66–67; Ward-Perkins 2005, p. 1 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Fall of the Western Roman Empire" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Harper 2017; Turchin, "Coin hoards speak of population declines in Ancient Rome", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 2009, p. 17276–17279; Harper 2017; Scheidel, "A model of demographic and economic change in Roman Egypt after the Antonine plague", Journal of Roman Archaeology, 2015, p. 97; Gibbon 1782, p. Chapter I: The Extent Of The Empire In The Age Of The Antonines. Chapter II: The Internal Prosperity In The Age Of The Antonines. Chapter III: The Constitution In The Age Of The Antonines. (or en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Fall of the Western Roman Empire" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Heather 2006, p. 63–64 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Fall of the Western Roman Empire" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Harper 2017; McMichael, "Climate Change and the Health of Nations", 2017 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Fall of the Western Roman Empire" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Harper 2017; McCormick, "Climate Change during and after the Roman Empire: Reconstructing the Past from Scientific and Historical Evidence", The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, August 2012, p. 169–220; Harper 2017 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Fall of the Western Roman Empire" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Demandt, "Der Fall Roms", 1984, p. 695; Galinsky 1992, p. 53–73 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Demandt, "Der Fall Roms", 1984, p. 695. facts only, no text reused. courses.washington.edu
  9. Wikipedia, "Fall of the Western Roman Empire" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Drancourt, "Molecular history of plague", Clinical Microbiology and Infection, November 2016, p. 911–915; Rebenich, "A Companion to Late Antiquity", John Wiley & Sons, 2012, p. 78; Rives, "Graeco-Roman Religion in the Roman Empire: Old Assumptions and New Approaches", Currents in Biblical Research, 2010, p. 240–299 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Open Library record, ISBN 9781118293478 ("Companion to Late Antiquity"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Fall of the Western Roman Empire (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Named in this entry

Late antiquity

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The Bronze Age CollapseThe Fall of ConstantinopleThe Sack of Rome, 410 ADThe Black DeathThe Plague of JustinianThe Library of AlexandriaThe Haitian RevolutionThe Taiping RebellionThe Children's CrusadeThe AnarchyThe Berlin AirliftShackleton's Endurance Expedition

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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