Latin 1BMagistra Kelleher
Roman Emperors #8: The Fall of the Western Empire
After the fall of the Constantinian dynasty in 363 AD the Roman Empire quickly declined over the next century. Because Julian had left no heir to the empire, the officers and officials in Constantinople elected Valentinian emperor. Valentinian in turn appointed his brother Valens emperor of the east so that he could rule in the west. Both men had a difficult time handling various barbarian invasions. In 375 AD Valentinian died from a stroke brought on by a fit of rage in front of Germanic barbarian envoys. He left his 16 year old son Gratian in charge of the west. Valens was killed in a battle against the Osogoths in 378. Gratian appointed the commander Theodosius as the eastern emperor. Gratian was killed in 383 by rebellious troops. His brother Valentinian II briefly held the throne but he too was assassinated by his military commander Arbogast. In 394 Theodosius defeated Arbogast and became the sole emperor of Rome.
Theodosius, who ruled as emperor from 379-395, made serious changes to the empire. In 382 he negotiated a treaty with the Goths which allowed them to settle within the empire under the jurisdiction of their own kings. While this did end conflict with the Goths, it set a dangerous precedent that allowed other nations to settle within the empire and rule themselves. Eventually these kings would become the new emperors of the west. After defeating Arbogast, Theodosius rule for one more year and then died in 395 AD. Although he had just unified the empire, in death he again divided the empire between his two sons. He left the eastern half of the empire to his 18 year old son Arcadius and the western half of the empire to his 10 year old son Honorius. Rebellions and invasions kept Honorius weak and he spent his rule hiding out in his palace in Ravenna. In the meantime Arcadius died in 408 AD and left the eastern empire to his 7 year old son Theodosius II. Theodosius II had a successful rule for over 40 years. He built a defensive wall around Constantinople and published the Theodosian Code which was a compilation of Roman laws. He also paid massive tributes to the Goths and Huns so that they would not invade Constantinople. When Theodosius II fell from his horse and died in 450 AD the division between the eastern and western halves of the empire was solidified. Theodosius II died without an heir and eastern officials were left to fight for the role as emperor. Never again would Rome be united as one empire, nor would it be ruled by members of the same dynasty again.
In the meantime Honorius ruled in the west from 395-423 AD. During this time he had many troubles with the barbarian forces particularly the Visigoths. Although he had allowed the Visigoths the right to settle their own kingdom within the empire, Honorius could not come to a firm agreement with the Visigothic king Alaric. Relations between the two men worsened and in 410 his forces sacked Rome. This was the first time that Rome had been sacked in the past 800 years and indicated that the fall of Rome was imminent. Alaric died soon after the sack, but his damage had been done. In 423 Honorius died and his nephew Valentinian III became emperor at the age of 6. Because he obviously could not rule on his own, his mother Gallia Placidia and his military commnader Aetius became the true rulers of Rome. This arrangement worked well for about 20 years, but then Gallia Placidia became wary of Aetius’ power and prestige. In 451 Aetius defeated Attila the Hun which earned him greater prestige and made it clear to Gallia Placidia that she needed to eliminate him. In 454 Gallia Placidia and a Roman senator Potronius Maximus lured Aetius to a meeting and there Valentinian III killed him. Aetius is considered the last “Roman” because he was the only one left with the power and skill to keep the west together. After Aetius’ death the empire soon fell out of Roman hands. Maximus became angry that Valentinian III did not give him Aetius’ position so he then conspired with Aetius’ soldiers to assassinate Valentinian. Upon coming to power Maximus immediately angered the Vandals and they murdered him in 455 AD (the same year he came to power).
After Maximus’ death, the Visigoths decided to elect one of their own, Avitus, as emperor. Avitus appointed a Visigothic official named Rimicer as his military commander. Rimicer soon betrayed Avitus and had him murdered. Rimicer then manipulated the Roman emperors over the next 16 years (the names of the emperors are not important; Rimicer was the one in power). During this 16 year period the power of the western “Roman” empire shrunk to include only Italy. The Vandals ruled in north Africa; the Visigoths ruled Gaul, Hispania and Germania; the eastern Roman empire controlled the east. When Rimicer finally died in 472 AD two factions fought for control of the western empire. The barbarian faction, led by Orestes, fought against the eastern empire for control. The barbarian faction won and crowned Orestes’ son, 16 year old Romulus Augustulus, as the final emperor in the west. Unfortunately for Romulus his father had hired German mercenaries to secure his victory and had promised them land. Orestes reneged on the deal and the German leader Odacer killed him. Odacer then sent Romulus Augustulus into exile and the fall of the western empire was complete.
Although Romulus Augustulus is credited as the final Roman emperor, there are many factors that contributed to the fall of Rome. Historians attribute the fall to the gradual poisoning of the aristocracy by its own lead pipes, economic problems in the west (the west was expense to defend and larger in scale, but produced only a small amount of money from farming), the size of the Empire was too great for the technology of the day, invasions by increasingly strong barbarian forces, the use of barbarian mercenaries, Christianity, unclear rules governing succession. While many factors contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire, Rome’s impact on modern history is substantial. From it’s founding in 753 BC to its fall in 476 AD, Rome was one of the most powerful states in the world and defined the idea of “civilization”.