The Demise of the Western Empire
After Constantine's death in 337 AD imperial unity was for some time maintained under his son, Constantius II, and his successor, Julian. But in 364 AD Valentinian I again divided the administration of the empire, giving the rule of the eastern half to his brother Valens.
In 378 AD Valens was killed in battle trying to repel an invasion by the Visigoths and was succeeded by Theodosius who, after defeating several rebellious officers in the West, became sole ruler of the empire in 394 AD. Theodosius succeeded in keeping the Visigoths in check and was able to maintain the unity of the empire, but the difficulties besetting the government (economic decay, depopulation, corruption, decline of the urban centres, growth of the power of the great landlords) increased rather than diminished during his reign. A staunch supporter of Christianity, he took drastic measures to eliminate both paganism and Christian heresies and asserted the right of the emperor to exercise authority in Church matters. Theodosius died in 395 AD having divided the empire between his two sons Arcadius, who was given the rule of the East, and Honorius, who was made Augustus of the West. Although during their reign imperial unity was in theory preserved, in reality the empire had been split into two independent states and this division now became permanent. But by the end of the fourth century the Western empire could no longer be defended as successive invasions by the Goths, Vandals, Franks and other Germanic tribes had reduced the imperial authority to a shadow of its former self. By the beginning of the fifth century Spain, Gaul and Britain had been lost, and in 410 AD Rome herself was sacked by the Goths, although the invaders finally withdrew from Italy. In the years that followed true power in the West was in the hands of the German generals who now commanded the barbarised Roman armies. One puppet emperor succeeded another until 476 AD when the last of them, Romulus Augustulus, was overthrown by the German troops which had placed him on the throne. This date is traditionally regarded as marking the end of the Roman empire in the West.
More on the topic The Demise of the Western Empire:
- 11 THE END OF THE WESTERN EMPIRE
- 1. The demise of the actio furti
- The Demise of Popular Legislation
- CHAPTER NINE The Demise of Public Law, 69-44
- A Western Legal Tradition
- 1. The dynamic nature of Western contract law
- Chapter 7 The Survival and Resurgence of Roman Law in Western Europe
- The Survival of the Empire in the East
- 9 THE DIVISION OF THE EMPIRE
- 1.3 Empire
- The later Roman Empire
- CHURCH AND EMPIRE
- The struggle against the Empire
- THE EMPIRE AND THE LAW
- CONTEXTUALISING ‘THE UNIVERSAL LAWS OF THE ROMANS': THE EARLY EMPIRE
- Sources of law in the Empire
- GERMANY, BRITAIN AND THE ROMAN EMPIRE
- EFFECTS OF EMPIRE AT THE CENTRE: GENDER AND NATION
- CONUBIUM UNDER THE EMPIRE