According to historians, 476 is considered a milestone date in the history of Europe. The Western Roman Empire ended its existence and the history of medieval Europe itself began. By the beginning of the 5th century, the Roman Empire, especially its western part, was in a state of deep crisis. The crisis affected different spheres of life - economy, politics, government and ideology. With termination wars of conquest Rome faced a serious labor problem.

The spread of Christianity and the struggle of Christianity with paganism meant numerous conflicts among the population of the Roman Empire. In general, the formation of the dogma of Christianity took place, and among the Christians themselves there was also no agreement.

An even more serious problem for the Roman Empire of this time was the invasion of the barbarians. By the beginning of the 5th century, barbarian tribes broke through the border of the Roman Empire and devastated the Roman provinces. Many of the Roman generals were actually barbarians in origin and fought successfully even against their fellow tribesmen. Many units of the Roman army consisted of barbarian mercenaries, and whole barbarian peoples, having received the status of federates or allies of Rome, also stood up to defend the Roman state.

The situation around Rome itself became a serious problem for the Roman Empire. The great eternal city, the center of the empire, the city from which Roman history began, in the 5th century already experienced serious problems and was repeatedly devastated. The first time the fall of Rome occurred in 410, when Rome was invaded by the Visigoth barbarians (Western Goths) under the leadership of Alaric. The Goths, having captured Rome, nevertheless spared the Christian basilicas, where many of the city's inhabitants took refuge.

A little time passed and a new threat loomed over Rome: in 452 to the territory Central Italy the army of the Huns approached - the army of Attila. However, it should be said that the Romans were lucky in 452 - either the disease that spread among the Huns, or the death of livestock (and for nomads this is always important), or those riches, the tribute that was collected by the population of Rome - all this helped to avoid bloodshed and avoid the capture of Rome by the Huns. The Huns did not go to devastate the territory of Central Italy.

But then, in 455, Rome underwent a new invasion, this time truly devastating. In 455, having sailed from the coast of North Africa, where these barbarian people came from the coast of the Baltic Sea, an army of Vandals devastated Rome. And the vandals this time really plundered Rome, taking away not only all the loot, in particular, metals (they removed the roof from the temple of Jupiter Capitoline), but also capture a lot of prisoners, among whom was the family of the emperor.

The years that have passed from 455 to 476 are years of constant strife, constant struggle for the throne. Over the years, 8 emperors were replaced on the Roman throne, and not all of them peacefully ended their days. In 476, as a result of another coup, the very young Romulus Augustus became emperor. Several months passed and in the summer of 476, this emperor was overthrown by mercenaries, and the regalia of imperial power, its symbol, were sent to Constantinople to Emperor Zeno. From that moment on, the Roman Empire in the West ceased to exist and, as we believe, the history of the medieval Western Europe.

Contemporaries did not particularly appreciate the event. They believed that the Roman Empire once again has one emperor, whose power extends to both western and eastern lands. Rome was not devastated, and the inhabitants of the empire were already accustomed to coups and rebellions of mercenaries by that time. They, of course, could not guess that now the empire will return to the western lands not soon, and that the time of barbarian kingdoms is coming, the time of the beginning of the Middle Ages.

Internal contradictions continued to tear apart an already devastated empire as the barbarian warlord made his way to supreme power... He killed everyone who got in his way, even close friends. The Roman Empire lost control of the once vast western provinces due to revolts and violent attacks from barbarian tribes. In this troubled time, a Roman commander appears, who hopes to restore Rome to its former glory. But a cruel barbarian ruler stands in his way. And the ringing of their swords will give countdown to the end of an empire.

Romans and Huns

By the 5th century AD due to hundreds of years of continuous wars from the Western Roman Empire only a shadow remains... The empire plunged into deep chaos. From outside, countless enemies pressed on her - barbarians seeking to take possession of her lands. But the main thing is the terrible economic situation, the empire did not receive the income necessary to maintain a strong army and maintain state administration.

Without strong army Rome was defenseless against the most numerous hordes of barbarians the empire had ever seen - led by a fierce leader.

5th century chronicler Kalinnik recalled their cruelty: “The Huns became so strong that they were able to conquer hundreds of cities. This was accompanied by so many killings and bloodsheds that it was impossible to count the corpses. "

The Huns, a nomadic tribe from the east, devastated what little remained of the empire.

In the West there was no more state, The West just fell apart. There were many different armies and parties fighting for power, but the power itself was not.

The capital of the eastern part of the empire could survive the attack of the Huns, but the weaker Western Empire became the main target of their conquests and was forced to surrender the province of Attila.

Pannonia, 449 A.D.

In the former provinces of the empire, the Romans now had to get along with their rulers, the barbarians - the Huns.

The Romans and the barbarians differed from each other in clothing, hairstyle, preferences in food and everyday life. Although by that time the Romans and the barbarians had got used to each other, the age-old enmity has not gone away.

But one of the Romans felt free in this stormy sea and even managed to extract for himself some benefits from the rule of Attila. His name was.

Orestes was a Roman and he grew up in Pannonia, captured by the Huns. However, he became one of the confidants of Attila.

The empire was falling apart, but the Roman origins of Orestes and other natives in Pannonia earned them the favor of Attila. They are Romans, because they speak and behave like Romans, these people were brought up in Rome, absorbed its customs and cultures, they were real Romans and acted as their fellow citizens did for centuries.

Orestes, who received a Roman education, stood out among many of the barbarian allies and close associates of Attila. He soon took up a prominent post at the court of the ruler.

Orestes undoubtedly understood that Attila turned out to be a far-sighted politician who tried to link Huns and Romans marriage and political alliances to to lay the foundations of a new empire in the north.

Constantly being next to Attila, Orestes learned firsthand how cruel the justice of the barbarians can be. His Roman sensibility was easily offended.

We can say that Romans and barbarians did not understand and did not love each other, it was not easy for them to treat each other with tolerance. These different nations with different cultures had to live together and cooperate in many important matters, but they did not accept each other.

And although Orestes disgusted that the barbarians sacrificed their enemies, he felt that the rule of Attila opened up ways for him to achieve his own goals.

Orestes, being at the court of Attila, saw how he tried to create a state almost from scratch, and Orestes realized that this a real chance to re-create the Roman state led by a king who united the forces of the barbarians and the Romans to restore the glory of Rome in the days of its founders.

Although Orestes served the barbarians, he always remained a Roman and considered himself and his people above all others. He wanted to restore the former greatness of the empire.

The collapse of the power of the Huns

In 453 A.D. during the wedding night of Attila his reign suddenly ends, and this will soon lead to the collapse of the power of the Huns and their barbarian allies.

bride found him dead, as it turned out later, from hemorrhage, and fearing that she would be accused of murder, she spent the whole night next to the corpse.

Gundobad chose him, thinking that the emperor would remain loyal to him. It is clear that Glycerius was supposed to rule to please Gundobad, depending on his support.

Now there are many more barbarians around the emperor than the Romans. The army of the Western Empire was mainly, if not entirely, made up of barbarians. It is quite possible that there were still primordially Roman units, but when we read about this army, we see that there were Arabs, Germans and many other foreign soldiers in it.

At the head of the mercenaries of Glyceria was a barbarian named. He was promoted to the Emperor's guard in large part because he showed military ability and the makings of a leader.

This is exactly how Rome was discovered by Orestes when, after several decades of wandering, he finally appeared there. When he first met Odoacer, he had no idea how much the empire had changed since its former glory.

From the might of the Western empire in 470 A.D. almost nothing left but not everyone understood that she is doomed, many saw this as a temporary weakness, the result of some unfortunate mistakes, and it seemed that it was still possible to fix it.

Orestes's diplomatic experience earned him a high position in the imperial army. But he was surprised to see the barbarian Odoacer, who, not possessing the same talents, occupied the same position.

They were both quite ambitious. They survived very severe trials: Orestes served at the court of the bloodthirsty Attila, Odoacer was a military man and later in Rome literally climbed out of their poverty, occupying high position... It was probably their ambition and great ability that made them rivals.

Each of them saw the empire in its own way: one - through the eyes of a Roman, the other - through the eyes of a barbarian. After many years at the court of Attila, the Roman Orestes became the commander of the Roman army, but in Italy he discovers that the empire is falling apart and almost no longer belongs to the Romans, and real rulers- not the emperor Glycerius, but barbarian warlords, Odokar and the Burgundian King Gundobad.

Italy, A.D. 473

In the past, Rome employed mercenaries, but they were always kept away from power. In the 5th century they are part of the army as a monolithic group of Germans. They wore their clothes, ate their food, adhered to their customs, maintaining their usual hierarchy and management methods. Oddly enough, they managed not to dissolve in this seething imperial cauldron.

Gundobad's warriors could achieve the same position in the army as the noble Romans. The army of Glyceria, in contrast to the army of Gundobad, was more heterogeneous, including the Burgundians and the warriors of many other peoples, but together they formed a single army in Italy.

Barbarians and Romans in the Roman army, for sure, disliked each other: The Romans believed that since this is the Roman Empire, then they, the Romans, should stand in it above the barbarians, many believed that the barbarians should be expelled from the army altogether.

Roman the army was no longer a single organism, in its ranks ripe split... Even the commander Orestes, a skilled diplomat, was powerless here.

While Rome suffered heavy losses in battles against tribes like Gaul, Roman soldiers began to doubt the loyalty of their barbarian allies.

At that moment, everyone had their own interests, the former unity disappeared. Even among the Romans themselves, groups with conflicting interests formed in the army.

The army is in chaos: no one fought for the emperor anymore, everyone was for himself.

Emperor Julius Nepos at the head of the Western Empire

The weakened Western Empire could no longer save its Mediterranean coasts from plunder, and the stronger Eastern empire with the capital in Constantinople, finally, intervened.

Constantinople, A.D. 473

In the imperial palace in the capital, the aging Eastern emperor lived in complete safety.

In the Roman Empire of the mid-5th century, there was a clear division between East and West. Unlike the West, the East grew stronger and flourished.

Blaming Glyceria for all the failures of Rome, Leo hoped to expand his sphere of influence by planting a new emperor in the West.

Nepot was chosen as Emperor of the West for his position at the court of Leo. Nepos's position was very reliable: he was married to a relative of the emperor and was quite suitable for lead the invasion of Italy.

In 474 A.D. Nepot gathered an army and led her from Constantinople to Italy. The East was going to once again strengthen its power and influence in the West, replacing Glyceria with its protégé. This reaction is not surprising.

As the new emperor, Nepotus had to work hard to justify the trust, but if he could not expel the barbarians from the Western Empire, he was in for ruin.

While Nepot's army sailed from Constantinople, the western emperor Glycerius in Rome feverishly prepared to fight back. But as soon as Glycerius gave the order to Orestes and Odoacer to prepare an army, he became convinced that he had in vain relied on the loyalty of the barbarians: Gundobad with his burgundy threw it in difficult times.

Gundobad left his post and became king of the burgundy... It seemed to him much more attractive than being the commander-in-chief of Glycerius.

This was no longer the Roman Empire. Its soldiers, brought up in completely different traditions and values, were strikingly different from the popular militia of Rome.

Without the support of the Burgundians, even the army of Orestes and Odoacer could not save Glyceria from the invasion of Nepot.

When Nepos approached Rome, Glycerius with the commanders went to meet him, but not for battle, but to beg for mercy.

Glyceria found itself in a very difficult position. He could not count on military support either from the hired barbarian mercenaries or from his own soldiers. Therefore, when the eastern emperor sent Nepotus to take the throne of the Western Empire, Glycerius made the only sensible decision: he surrendered without a fight.

Nepos, who expected to have to wage a bloody war to overthrow Glyceria, is now bestowed life on the deposed emperor.

Nepot wanted to give the whole thing a semblance of legitimacy. It looked as if he had become emperor with the support of the eastern sovereign and with the consent of the western one, who would voluntarily leave, recognizing that Nepos was better suited for this.

He made Glyceria bishop and sent into a link away from Rome.

In June 474 CE, when Nepos became emperor of the West, he was recognized by both Orestes and Odoacer. Equally ambitious, they vied with each other to show their loyalty to the new emperor.

Orestes, himself a Roman, was still convinced that Rome was alive and must be defended. Odoacer, it seems, was convinced that Rome no longer exists. At the very time when the very fate of Rome was being decided, interests collided these two, undoubtedly, very capable people.

Nepos appointed Orestes and Odoacer to high posts at court, giving them both a power that no one else in Rome had. Raising both Orestes and Odoacer at the same time, and endowing them equal powers, he thereby planted the seeds future collapse of your own power... Nepot did not understand that it was risky to elevate such strong and strong-willed people, it could become a threat.

The overthrow of Nepot

But the nuances of Roman court politics soon faded against the background relentless attacks by the Visigoths to the only province left by the Western Empire in Gaul.

During the heyday of the empire, in these lands, now known as Provence in France, civilization flourished, but in the 470s AD. they became the target of constant attacks by the Visigoths and their king Eurich.

The proud and ambitious king of the Visigoths, eager to expand the boundaries of his possessions, decided to attack the Roman territories in southern France.

The Visigoths did have a numerical advantage. This led to the constant reduction of the Gallic possessions of the Roman Empire, until a tiny piece of land remained in modern southern France.

Bloodthirsty Visigoth warriors devastated settlements in Provence, not sparing the helpless Roman inhabitants.

The poorly armed and untrained Imperial legionaries were no match for the barbarians. It seems, the goths were better organized and their kingdom was stronger. They could muster more troops, and they were excellent warriors, ready for any vicissitudes of hostilities.

The battle was fierce, a real massacre, urgent action was needed.

Although the Roman commander Orestes was not such an experienced warrior, the emperor Nepos sends him from Rome to Gaul to drive out the barbarians.

He was to become the commander in Gaul. But the question is: is this really such a great honor and high office, because in Gaul there are almost no territories subject to Rome? So it may well have been just a convenient excuse. take Orestes away from Rome.

But having arrived at the troops stationed on the Italian border, the former diplomat Orestes intends to prove himself as a commander and strategist, hoping to bypass both Odoacer and the emperor Nepot himself.

He offers his barbarian warriors a deal: if they go with him against the emperor Nepot, Orestes will give them lands in Italy.

We know that Orestes went against Nepot... Instead of submitting to the authority of the emperor, he decided to take the power for himself. Why did he do it? Most likely, he wanted to restore the empire.

Leaving Gaul to the Visigoths, Orestes with the troops moved from northern Italy back to rome, but when the emperor Nepos found out about this, he escaped v .

In August 475 A.D. Orestes came to Ravenna and ordered a search of the city to find the emperor. The barbarians began to plunder, instilling fear in the inhabitants with their fury.

It can be assumed that Orestes either believed that the emperor Nepos was selling the empire to barbarians, or he himself craved power in the empire.

But even on pain of death no one gave out where the emperor is hiding... Nepot managed to secretly escape from the city, as the 6th century chronicler Jordan testifies: “Nepot fled to... Deprived of power, he languished, leading a lonely life in the very city where he had recently made exiled Glyceria bishop. "

Orestes believed that since Nepos had disappeared, and the barbarian warriors obeyed his orders, he would now be able to restore order in an empire mired in chaos.

Surprisingly, Orestes did not sit on the throne himself, but did emperor of his 10-year-old son... Orestes believed that since he was brought up among the barbarians and served at the court of the Huns, the Italic nobility would not want to see him, Orestes, as emperor, but they would accept the pure-blooded Roman Romulus, because this was well within their tradition. Although now the views of the Romans on power have changed greatly.

The boy remained in the well-fortified city of Ravenna. He remained under the protection of his uncle Paul. Romulus was a teenager and not yet mature, his name Augustul meant "Little August".

Young Romulus was just his father's puppet. Exactly Orestes will rule the empire, finally pushing back his rival Odoacer and preventing him from becoming the most influential man in Rome.

Orest full of pride forgot about his promises to barbarians... They did what they promised - they helped Orestes to displace Nepot, and now they demanded lands.

The barbarians wanted to settle in Italy on the original Roman lands, many of which belonged to hereditary senators. Orestes was a true Roman and could not allow this: he refused.

Orestes could not pay the barbarians, but the soldiers obeyed the emperor only if he paid them. Therefore, when Orestes, who deceived him, seized power and put his son on the throne, could not give them the money they wanted or the land they demanded, they had only one thing left: to replace the emperor with another who would give them what they want.

With the help of his bodyguards, Orestes escapes. But he underestimated the determination of the barbarians seeking revenge.

Revenge of the barbarians to Orest

Rome, A.D. 476

When Orestes refused to provide the barbarians with land in Italy, they turned to his main rival Odoacer for help.

The warriors acted very wisely in turning to Odoacer, because he, as they believed, was able to satisfy their requirements. Odoacer himself was a barbarian, and the warriors expected that he would no doubt give them land and money, wherever they had to take them - the main thing was that the warriors were happy. And Odoacer had to agree to the offer of the barbarian army.

They came to him and said: "If you can get land for us, you will become our king." It was tempting. Now under his command was the Roman army, but in fact - a hodgepodge of Germanic tribes.

Together they will perform to end Roman rule in the empire... Now Odoacer, as he had long wanted, could take revenge on Orestes who dared to deprive him of his power in Rome.

And they immediately began to attack Italian cities... Cities were plundered for many days, everything that was of any value was taken away from the inhabitants.

Risking their lives for an empire that they did not even consider their own, the barbarians realized that the time had come to make Rome pay with blood for what it could not pay with money or land.

Imagine for a moment that you are a warrior. You have to live on the meager means you get. And now you haven't been paid at all. Nothing can happen for one time, but if it happens two, three, four times in a row, you will starve to death. Will you continue to serve those who made you starve to death?

Odoacer was secretly pleased that he could finally subdue Italy and settle accounts with Orestes.

Then, in 476, there was no question of an ordinary war, there was no battle, no sieges. It was just that the hungry warriors were looking for a livelihood, doing what they could do. They were trained to fight, and they killed anyone who got in the way. That's why there were attacks, violence, robberies.

While Odoacer approached, Orestes left his son, the young emperor Romulus, in Ravenna in the care of his uncle Paul, while he himself escaped v Titinus in Northern Italy.

Orestes was forced to seek refuge from Odoacer in Titinus, in the city that is now called. We know that the bishop of the city granted him asylum.

But even the temple of God could not protect him from the barbarians. Orestes fled while Odoacer and his warriors ravaged the church, they desperately tried to find him.

All the collected offerings were taken away from the bishop, all the money collected to help the poor were taken away by the soldiers of Odoacer. They also burned down many buildings, including the church.

As the church perished in the fire, so did Orestes' hopes for an empire revival. Odoacer did not care about the preservation of Rome, he had long since realized that Rome no longer exists. But what role did he play? What was he going to use his power for?

Orestes flees Ticinus with a handful of bodyguards, hoping to buy time to prepare for the decisive encounter with Odoacer. Once they both occupied a high position at court, now they are forced to fight for their lives.

They were proud of the position they held, and neither was willing to allow the other to have a drop of power. And of course a collision is inevitable.

Orestes with the army reached Placenta modern in Italy, until finally met at Odoacer.

Northern Italy, A.D. 476

Inexperienced in military affairs, Orestes had little chance of surviving the battle against the barbarians of Odoacer. It was fierce, bloody battle... In such a battle, morale played an even greater role than skill. Someone had to win and someone had to lose. The soldiers stepped over the corpses, the wounded groaned, the people lost their composure in horror.

Surprisingly, but in the last, tragic years of the empire there was always someone who was ready to cling to the imperial power and try to rebuild the empire. They believed that the empire could still be saved, that it had not collapsed yet, but we understand that these attempts were doomed.

Though it looked reckless, he refused to admit defeat.

Odoacer and Orestes were key figures in the West. On their shoulders lay the future of Rome, and they had to find mutual language together. A compromise should have been found, but it did not work out, and Italy is overwhelmed by violence and chaos.

It was a battle to the death, and in this battle at the end of the empire, the Romans were forced to yield to the stronger barbarians.

We don't know exactly what happened when Odoacer managed to get to Orestes, but most likely a quick and cruel end awaited the Roman. There was no complicated ceremony, no funeral, Orestes had to disappear. Undoubtedly waiting for him secret and speedy execution.

Fall of the Western Roman Empire

Having won, Odoacer with his troops went to Ravenna to deal with the remaining case - with the young son of Ores, the last emperor of the Western Empire.

12-year-old emperor Romulus Augustulus and his uncle Paul did not know about the death of Orestes and were not ready for Odoacer's attack.

When Odoacer came to Ravenna, Romulus could not resist, but Paul, who was Romulus's guardian, tried to protect his nephew. People of Odoacer killed Paul and they followed the emperor Romulus Augustulus.

Frightened by the noise of his uncle's murder, the boy tried to escape. The last Roman emperor, driven away like an animal, could not escape the barbarian's sword, there was nowhere to run.

Romulus was just a puppet, so Odoacer didn't need to touch him. The ruthless warrior did an amazing thing: he saved the boy's life by sending that one to link.

Keeping Romulus alive, Odoacer showed mercy to the Romans and made it clear that he could act like a just ruler.

In the summer of 476 A.D. Odoacer became the first barbarian ruler of Italy.

Now Odoacer is king. He did not become the king of Italy or the Roman Empire, he was the king of his warriors, this motley horde, which was then called the Roman army.

Odoacer is now king, but not emperor, because The Roman Empire more than 500 years after its inception in 27 BC. now finally collapsed.

It has become the end of the rule of the Roman emperor in the West... Now the king will be there. The Roman Empire still existed in the East, but the Western lands were not subject to it, the Western world had changed beyond recognition.

The news of the fall of Rome quickly reached the new eastern emperor in Constantinople.

The messengers brought the news that the Eastern Empire had awaited in fear for many years. They brought the last word from the boy emperor.

The last thing Odoacer forced Romulus Augustulus to do before removing him from the throne was send an envoy on behalf of the Senate and the Emperor with a message about transfer of imperial power to Constantinople and that there will be no more emperor in the West.

Since Italy was now ruled by a barbarian, the need for the former symbols of imperial power disappeared.

We know that Odoacer announced that he was not going to wear purple clothes and a golden wreath - signs of the emperor's power, he threw away these regalia of the past, he brought something new, becoming in the West king, not emperor... Clothes, wreaths, jewelry and other imperial clothes now belonged only to the Eastern emperor.

But in his hands, they were no longer symbols of power and authority, but only signs of failure and defeat.

In Italy, the families of barbarian warriors finally got the lands for which they fought. The West was now in their hands.

Odoacer of course fulfilled what he promised his warriors... He kept his word, giving what was due to them, remaining in the eyes of his relatives an honest and generous leader.

But it was the distribution of lands, and women with children of barbarians who settled within the empire, had a much greater impact than armed attacks.

At first, the mighty Rome willingly accepted outsiders, taking advantage of this for itself. But at the end when the barbarians came in great numbers and wanted to become part of the Roman Empire, the Romans were no longer ready to accept them as it was before. This inability to turn the influx of strangers into a source of strength and became one of the main reasons for the death of the Roman Empire.

Legacy of the roman empire

But despite the fall of the empire, in some corners, such as monasteries, libraries, these repositories of knowledge and other achievements of Roman civilization were miraculously saved and preserved.

Rome has stood the test of time because where there was still an emphasis on teaching, education and books, everything was rooted in Roman tradition, and Roman literature and culture was considered the foundation of civilization.

Legacy of the roman empire, especially in its western part, is very large: a lot of new things were introduced, including new terms, concepts, and in the languages ​​we speak, traces of Roman influence can be traced, the Roman heritage is all around us, and we must not forget about it.

The dawn and fall of Rome, its path from the republic to the fall of the empire, and what was created and accumulated along the way, largely predetermined further development of the entire western world.

This civilization has survived centuries of war, disaster, corruption and plague in order to disappear from the hand of one barbarian warrior.

We will always be fascinated by both the history of the Roman Empire itself and the history of its fall. She, of course, largely predetermined the formation modern world, but let's face it: the last fifteen hundred years about the empire has been talked and written a lot, a lot. Should I bring this up again? The answer is simple: we must remember Rome, because all the wonderful, as well as all the terrible, features of human nature were manifested in it. If we look at them carefully, we can understand: perhaps we can follow good examples and not become like the bad.

Division of the Roman Empire

The last emperor of the united Roman Empire, Theodosius I, before his death in 395, carried out the division of the state between his sons, so the eastern part appeared with the capital in Constantinople (future Byzantium) and the western territories with the capital in Mediolana (modern Milan), and then in Ravenna (since 402). This division led to a serious weakening of the state, as the two parts became hostile to each other. The invasions of barbarian tribes were not long in coming: in 401, the Visigoths, led by Alaric, invaded Aquileia, and in 404, the Ostrogoths, Vandals and Burgundians under the leadership of Radagais invaded the Western Roman Empire. In 408, the Visigoths unsuccessfully laid siege to Rome, but during a new campaign by Alaric, on August 24, 410, for the first time in history, the city fell, and part of the city perished in a fire.

Barbarian invasions

The next formidable force that threatened Rome was the Hunnic tribes led by Attila. After a series of devastating raids into the Eastern Roman Empire, they even began to pay tribute, after which their eyes turned to the western lands of the empire. In 452, they invaded Italy, and only the death of the leader and the disintegration of the tribal union averted the threat from the empire. But already in June 455, the Vandal king Geyserich took advantage of the turmoil in Rome, ferried troops from Carthage, seized the city without a fight and subjected it to terrible ruin. Thousands of captives were taken from Rome and many valuables were stolen. Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica were annexed to the kingdom of the Vandals. Soon, only Italy remained from all the vast possessions of the Western Roman Empire.

The fate of the Roman throne was often decided as a result of intrigue and the influence of certain barbarian military leaders. One of the last, relatively independent rulers was Flavius ​​Procopius Anthemius, who tried to build allied relations with the Eastern Roman Empire. But after unsuccessful military campaigns against the Vandals and Visigoths, as a result of the outbreak of internal divisions, he was killed. After him, emperors quickly succeeded each other on the throne.

The last Roman emperor

The last Western Roman emperor was Romulus Augustus, who ascended the throne as a result of the military coup of his father, Master Flavius ​​Orestes, who overthrew Emperor Julius Nepos (who fled to Dalmatia) and became regent with his young son. The Eastern Roman Empire refused to recognize the new emperor. His reign was also compounded by discontent among the barbarian mercenaries who formed the backbone of the Roman army. Their demands were not satisfied, and soon the closest military commander Flavius ​​Orestes, Odoacer, led a conspiracy, as a result of which in 476 Romulus Augustus abdicated the throne, and the highest signs of imperial power were sent to Constantinople to the emperor Zinon. The latter bestowed the title of patrician on Odoacer, but demanded from him the formal recognition of Julius Nepot, who lived at that time in the Salon. After the death of the latter in 480 at the hands of his own bodyguard, Zinon never appointed a new West Roman emperor.

The next coup in 476 was not perceived by contemporaries as any significant event, and only in the period of modern times the overthrow of Romulus Augustus was proclaimed "the fall of the Western Roman Empire", along with which the era of Antiquity went into the past.

Fall of the Western Roman Empire

The embassy was on its way to Sardica (now Sofia), where it was distributed, then to Nis, which was then in ruins from the Hunnic raids. Istres-Danube sailed on one-tree, barbarians were the carriers. Beyond the Danube was already enemy land, where Attila reigned. Further, the ambassadors continued their journey through Pannonia and Ugria. Attila, who was then on the way to the Danube, sent two Scythians to meet them, who were the guides of the Byzantine embassy. But when they were already near Attila's tents, an unexpected difficulty arose. First of all, they began to be asked about the purpose of the embassy, ​​to which they replied that they were ordered to personally convey this to Attila, and not through other persons. But it turned out that Attila already knew about the purpose of the embassy and did not want to personally receive the ambassadors. Thanks to personal acquaintances, Priscus managed, however, to achieve the representation of Attila. He was sitting in a tent, guarded by numerous soldiers, on a wooden bench. Maximinus approached him, handed him the royal charter and expressed his best wishes on behalf of the king to him and his household, to which Attila answered ambiguously: "Let the Romans be what they want me." Then, in anger, he turned to the translator of the embassy Vigil and expressed his strong indignation. The embassy generally had to endure a lot of unpleasant things, because Attila was prejudiced against him, did not believe in the sincerity of Maximinus and Priscus and in their innocence to the conspiracy on his life.

Attila moved on without making any instructions regarding the letter from the emperor received through the embassy, ​​and the Byzantine ambassadors followed him through Pannonia and Ugria. They crossed many rivers in single-tree boats and on rafts, which the barbarians carry with them in carts. In the villages, they were given millet and a drink called honey by the natives for food, while the servants received a drink extracted from barley called kumis or, perhaps, kvass, since kumis is made from mare's milk. After a long journey, the ambassadors finally arrived at the capital of Attila, which Priscus described in great detail. The palace was built of logs and planks, skillfully hewn, and surrounded by a wooden fence, more serving for decoration than for protection. After the Tsar's house, the most excellent was the Onigisian house, there was a large bathhouse nearby ...

“At the entrance to the village, Attila was greeted by girls who walked in rows under thin white bedspreads. Under each of these long veils, supported by the hands of women on either side, there were up to seven or more virgins, and there were many such rows. These virgins, preceding Attila, sang the Scythian dogs. Near the house, Onigisia went out to meet Attila, the husband of the first, with the attendants carrying food and wine. She greeted the king and asked him to taste bread and wine. Attila, sitting on a horse, to please the wife of his favorite, ate food from a silver dish and drank wine from a cup and went to the royal palace. "

Attilla several times received the Byzantine embassy and treated it to dinner. “When the ambassadors arrived at the appointed time, the cup bearer handed them the cup. After drinking from the bowl, they sat down on the benches that stood against the walls of the room on either side. Attila sat on a couch in the middle of the room; behind them was a bed, covered with colorful curtains. Onigisy was sitting on a bench along right side from Attila, ambassadors on the left. Opposite Onigisius sat two sons of Attila, and his eldest son sat next to him, on the edge of the bed with his eyes downcast. When everyone was seated, the cup-bearer went up to Attila and brought him a cup of wine. Attila, taking the cup, greeted the one who was sitting first in the row. The one who was honored with the greeting did not get up and sit down before Attila passed the cup to the cupbearer. After all had been honored, the cupbearers went out. Then food was served. Beside Attila, tables were set for several people with food, so that the guests nearest to him could take food directly from their seats. For each guest, a special attendant brought in a dish and set it in front of him. In general, it was noticed that luxurious dishes were served to guests, and Attila himself was content with very simple ones. As evening fell, torches were lit and the entertainment began. The barbarians sang songs in which Attila's valor and his victory over his enemies were extolled. Others amused themselves with poems and memories of battles. Finally, a jester or a holy fool spoke out, saying nonsense things and making everyone laugh. " A few days later, the embassy received permission to return.

In Priscus's description, some traits deserve special attention... First of all, it should be remembered that the land occupied by the Huns, on which the Byzantine embassy headed its way, soon then becomes a Slavic property. But it is quite possible that the Huns already found the Slavs here and conquered them to their power. From this point of view, Priscus's reports on the lifestyle of the population of the country occupied by the Huns acquire exceptional interest. Such is the arrangement of houses, the preparation of a drink from barley, in which one cannot fail to see kvass, especially the round dance and the songs of the girls when Attila meets. In addition, one cannot but pay attention to one place near Priscus, where the general cultural state of the Hunnic state in relation to Byzantium is characterized. By chance, Priscus met in Attila's camp one, judging by the dress and haircut on his head, a Scythian, who said to him the usual greeting between the Greeks in Greek... Prisca became interested in this barbarian, and he entered into a conversation with him. It turned out that this was a pure Greek who had got on trade affairs in the city of Viminakia (maybe Kostolach) and there was taken prisoner by the Huns; that he was enrolled in military service, fought with the Romans, distinguished himself in the war and gained freedom. But when then, beyond any expectation for Priscus, this interlocutor began to brag about the Hunnic order in comparison with the Roman and found his present state under the rule of Attila better and calmer than the previous one in the Roman Empire, by this recognition Priscus was extremely amazed and to a certain extent offended in his patriotism and tried to find out from his interlocutor: what exactly does the Hunnic order bribe him with? From the conversation it became clear that foreigners enjoy complete freedom and inviolability in the Hunnic kingdom, while Roman citizens are exposed, on the one hand, to constant raids from external enemies and therefore completely defenseless, and on the other hand, if there is no war, then their situation is extremely difficult from unbearable taxes levied unjustly and in violation of the law, as well as from a bribery and biased court in which the victim will never find justice if he does not bribe the judge and his assistants. Priscus tried, from his point of view, to justify the cultural order of the Roman state and pointed to the Roman law that ensures the rights, freedom and property of a citizen. But his defense turned out to be weak, tk. he defended an ideal cultural state and the principle of legality, and his interlocutor stood on the practical basis of the application of the law and defended the vital interests of the philistine. He replied to Priscus's passionate speech: "Yes, the laws are good, and the Roman state is perfectly organized, but the chiefs harm him, because they are not like the ancients."

It is clear that in the middle of the 5th century. on the Balkan Peninsula, a lively exchange took place between the barbarians and the cultural empire. In this exchange, both sides persistently made demands that for a long time could not be mutually understood and applied to life. Along with manifestations of complete decline, disintegration and disintegration, signs of the creation and structure of the foundation on which a new building of the Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, empire should arise, are occasionally found. In the era that occupies us, elements of destruction also predominate, followed by which we will follow for a while.

There can be no doubt that there was less opposition in the Western Empire than in the Eastern against the destructive elements introduced by the barbarians. Attila received the name "scourge of God" among Germanic peoples... His attempts to spread the conquests in the East met with stubborn resistance, which he could not help but reckon with. Other barbarians and conquerors had to deal with similar resistance, as a result of which the Eastern Empire continued to exist in the Middle Ages, when new peoples appeared in place of the Western and formed new states.

The last emperor from the house of Theodosius in the West was Valentinian III, born of his daughter Galla Placidia and Constantius. He received the imperial throne as a result of the strong support given to him from Constantinople, and during his reign (425-455) the influence of the eastern emperor did not diminish in the West. The name of Empress Galla Placidia, who ruled the empire during the early childhood of her son Valentinian III and generally had a great influence on modern affairs, is united by the memory of the wonderful art constructions and monuments of art in Ravenna. The mausoleum, or tomb, of Galla Placidia with a mosaic painting, performed on a vow for salvation from a storm at sea, is one of the best monuments Ravenna. Her son Valentinian turned out to be far below the state tasks set before him. It was not he who directed the affairs of the empire, but the military persons who stood at the head of the army. The unfortunate rivalry between the two most capable generals, Aetius and Boniface, caused incredible disasters and was accompanied by the final loss of the province of Africa, conquered by the Vandals (431-432).

But the most powerful blow was preparing the empire of Attila. In 450, he embarked on a campaign to the West with an army that was equal to half a million. The Huns moved across Central Europe towards the Rhine, devastating everything in the way and instilling fear and horror everywhere. Near Boris, they defeated the Burgundians and destroyed the Burgundian kingdom, then ravaged Gaul as far as the Loire. Near Chalon on the Marne, on the Catalaunian fields, the Huns met with the Roman troops led by Aetius (451). Here the famous battle of the peoples took place, which ended in the defeat of Attila. Weakened by the loss of numerous warriors, Attila, however, did not consider his cause to be lost. V next year he began a campaign in Northern Italy. First of all, it was besieged by Aquileia, which was taken by attack, mercilessly plundered and destroyed; the same fate befell numerous cities along the river. By. The further goal of Attila was the city of Rome, and this goal was, apparently, easily achievable, since in Italy there was no rival for Attila: Aetius did not have sufficient forces to resist Attila, while the eastern emperor did not send help. Attila's camp, located near Lake Garda, was visited by a Roman embassy headed by Pope Leo and Senator Avien. This embassy managed to persuade Attila to be content with a huge ransom, however, and abandon the intention to go to Rome. The Huns really did not feel very comfortable in Italy: in an unusual climate they often got sick, in the camp they began dangerous symptoms, which prompted Attila to agree to the proposals made. The retreat of the Huns was a blessing for Italy, which the people attributed to the miraculous mediation of the Apostle Peter. Soon after returning to his camp on Tisza, Attila died in 453, and the kingdom he founded fell apart. The peoples conquered by him and those under his rule received freedom and began to organize themselves into independent tribal groups.

But that didn't change the course historical events, bringing the Western Empire to a fatal end. The imperial throne became a toy for military parties and passed from one person to another at the play of chance and at the whim of the leaders of foreign detachments. If the barbarian leaders did not appropriate the title of emperor to themselves, it was not because they presented obstacles to that, but solely out of superstitious fear of the imperial name. Of these barbarian leaders who ruled the empire through their own appointed emperors, we note, after Aetius, Suev Ricimer, Orestes, who came from Pannonia, and, finally, the Skirus, or Ruthenian, Odoacer. Ricimer, relying on German troops, ruled in the empire quite independently, installed and overthrew emperors; with him there were five of them: Avit, Majorian, Sever, Anfemius and Olibrius. Having married his daughter Anfemiya, Ricimer, apparently, plotted for his offspring to clear the way to the throne, but this did not succeed. It should be noted that before the death of Ricimer in 472, the Emperor of Constantinople was confirming with his consent every election to the throne of the Western Empire, and as for Anfemia. then he was directly appointed by the eastern emperor Leo I. In last years of the wretched existence of the Western Empire, Orestes, formerly Attila's secretary, rises. He perfectly knew military affairs and well studied the nature of the barbarians, therefore he was very useful in the council of emperors and enjoyed their great confidence. Having the title of the head of the detachment of domestics, he was in charge of recruiting military people into the imperial army and achieved unlimited influence. More than once he could have taken the crown and, in the end, the last Roman emperor was Romulus, son of Orestes. During the last 20 years from the death of Valentinian III (455-475), nine emperors have occupied the throne.

Meanwhile, barbarian detachments from different tribes, stationed in fortified camps in Liguria, claimed a third of the Italian land for settlement. Orestes refused to comply with this demand, which caused the last act of a long-planned drama. Then on August 23, 476, Odoacer from the Skyr tribe appeared, who took over the leadership of the disgruntled barbarians. Orestes was captured and killed. The allied barbarian militia proclaimed Odoacer their king and then captured the last emperor in Ravenna, the juvenile Romulus Augustulus, who was assigned a pension and determined to live in a private position in one of the castles in Campania. This is how the revolution, usually called the "fall of the Western Roman Empire," took place, which at one time in Italy itself did not surprise anyone, but due to its immediate consequences acquired world-historical significance.

You can, however, see that the coup in 476 was significantly different from the usual change of persons on the throne of the Western emperor. Before it was more about personal influence, now the social and political principle on which the Roman state was based was significantly affected. German military squads cease to be mercenary troops in the service of the empire, become the owners of part of Italian territory and acquire a dominant position in the country from a subordinate, striving, at the same time, to organize themselves according to their own laws and customs on lands taken from Roman citizens. The police and social order that came here from the end of the 5th century ceases to be ancient Roman, and we will deal with it in one of the following chapters. Now we should, at least slightly, touch on the question of why the coup that took place in the West was not found in the East as well, although the social crisis and the invasion of barbarians are equally noted in the Eastern and Western empires - in a word, why not all ancient world suffered the same fate?

It is necessary here to be aware of the reasons that prevented the Eastern Empire from falling for another thousand years; it is necessary to find out what obstacles the Eastern Empire could oppose to the destructive elements that caused the fall of the Western Empire. This is all the more important that in this way the historian could outline the foundations on which Byzantine empire, and which he must carefully find out in the further presentation of his subject. Those economic conditions in which recent times began to attach paramount importance in the process of the rise and fall of peoples, they can hardly solve the misunderstandings that arise here, because the same economic conditions were in the Eastern Empire, and, despite the fact, it withstood the crisis that led to the fall of the Western Empire. Hence the natural conclusion that the explanation of the problem facing us lies not only in economic conditions, although economic evolution, without any doubt, plays an important role in history. And what is most curious is that the new peoples who settled on the lands occupied and cultivated by Roman subjects were not able to change the system of cultivating the land and continued it in the same form as they found.

The reasons for the fall of the empire lay in its exhaustion, and it was caused by external and political reasons. The division of the empire into two halves was accompanied by very harmful consequences, for the East often used evil intrigues, provided little assistance, and its arrogant intervention only intensified the turmoil. And already through the fault of the West, the economic and social disease has reached a fatal outcome. It was easier for the East to cope with it, because it is geographically more favorable, much richer and more populated, and mainly from the fact that more capable emperors supported political system... The insignificance of Honorius and Valentinian, completely devoid of the military gifts of their predecessors, was the immediate cause of the fall. They allowed the excessive influence of the leaders of the German squads, who, caring only about their own interests, were not able to replace the real emperors, and their violence only multiplied the disaster. There were very important tasks to be solved; already by the beginning of the 5th century. the state of Italy was critical. The peninsula gave less and less soldiers and was made necessary, in view of the fact that the provinces deprived of protection were devastated by barbarians and occupied by self-appointed emperors, to spend their forces on these very provinces instead of receiving funds from them. The hardest blow was the loss of Africa as a consequence of the empire's neglect of its naval forces. Now the Vandal pirates took advantage of the naval communication. Trade ceased, and at the same time incomes began to suffer. In the West and in other respects, conditions were worse than in the East.

New mistakes have intensified to an extreme degree the effect of old ones. It was terrible to pay for the fact that the former emperors opened such Free access to the army and to the empire. Of the two evils, the lesser had to be chosen: either to deprive the land of workers through strong recruits, or to allow strong immigration of foreigners, the latter was chosen. The weakness of the government made the mercenaries arrogant until they got bored with the service. The native population, having lost the habit of independence, did not have the strength to rise; only on rare occasions did the urban population rise

The ancient Romans left behind a great legacy - Roman law, which became the basis for later legal systems, Roman philosophy and poetry, unique architectural structures with arches (in particular, the Colosseum), unique military weapons. You can also recall that in Rome BC and in the first centuries of our era, a sewage system, advanced for those times, aqueducts, fountains, public baths and toilets were built ... Rome was the capital of a huge state, which, however, by the end of IV century was divided into two empires - Western and Eastern. And in 476 the Western Empire (its center was still the same Rome) fell under the onslaught of the barbarians. However, this event had many reasons ...

The division of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western

The Roman Empire, during its heyday, was a truly gigantic entity that was difficult to manage. The fact that it would be good to divide this huge territory into parts, sometimes even the emperors themselves thought. And, for example, under Emperor Octavian Augustus (reigned from 27 to 14 BC), each claimant to the throne was given possession of its own separate province.

And in the III century, when Rome was experiencing a powerful crisis, the local elites even proclaimed their own "provincial empires" (for example, the Gali Empire, the Palmyrian Empire, etc.).

In the IV century, the tendency to divide the empire into Western and Eastern increased significantly. It is worth paying attention to the fact that the huge territory in those days gave rise to problems with the transmission of information about important events and incidents. It was necessary to transmit information from West to East by ships or with messengers on horseback, which took a lot of time. In general, in 395 AD. BC, when Emperor Theodosius died, the empire was officially divided into Eastern and Western.

Pressure from barbarian tribes

But that didn’t help the Western Empire much. With the onset of the 5th century, her position slowly but surely deteriorated. In 401, the Visigoths under the leadership of Alaric attacked Italy, in 404 - the Eastern Goths, Burgundians and Vandals led by Radagais, the Romans managed to defeat them with great difficulty. And in 410 the Visigoths first reached Rome and plundered it. At that moment, the citizens of the city had to hide in temples to avoid certain death.

Then the emperor Honorius, the son of Theodosius, managed to make peace with the Visigoths. But when Valentinian III ascended the throne in 425 at the age of six, the pressure of the barbarian tribes on the Western Roman Empire began to increase again. And, perhaps, Flavius ​​Aetius, the last, according to many researchers, a talented Roman commander and diplomat, prevented her from falling apart at this time.

In the 450s, the Huns, led by the legendary Attila, attacked the Western Roman Empire. Aetius, realizing that the Huns were a serious enemy, ended an alliance with many tribes - Franks, Goths, Burgundians. And in the summer of 451, he was still able to defeat Attila in the battle on the Catalaunian fields (this is the area east of Paris).

Having come to their senses a little, the Huns once again went to Italy and wanted to reach Rome, but were again stopped by Aetius. In 453, Attila died suddenly on own wedding from nosebleeds and his army began to tear apart contradictions - then it saved the Romans. But not for long.

Valentinian III the very next year, believing that Aetius was preparing a conspiracy against him, killed his best commander. And in the spring of 455, Valentinian III, a generally weak and spineless figure, was overthrown by the intriguer Petronius Maximus. A few months after this event, the vandals finally got to Rome and subjected it to unprecedented plundering - they even removed the roof from the Capitol temple.

The Vandals, as a result of the raid of that year, subdued Sicily and Sardinia. And in 457, another warlike tribe, the Burgundian tribe, occupied the Rodan basin (a river in the lands of modern France and Switzerland) and created its own kingdom there.

About twenty years remained before the final collapse of the empire. During this time, as many as nine emperors managed to visit the throne, and the territory of the state was reduced to the size of practically only Italy. The treasury was depleted, the people raised uprisings more and more often. The weakness of the supreme power and the loss of almost all provinces made the collapse of the state in fact irreversible.

The last emperor of the Western Empire was Romulus Augustulus - the son of the patrician Flavius ​​Orestes. Augustul means "Little August", a very derogatory nickname. He came to power as follows: Orestes overthrew the previous emperor, Julius Nepot, and declared his son the next ruler. Why he himself did not ascend the throne is not completely clear to historians. But Orestes actually ruled the empire in its last years.

Orestes had a man named Odoacer under his command. This Odoacer was the acting chief of the guard. Once he was sent to one of the provinces to recruit mercenaries for the army. Odoacer coped with the task of recruiting brilliantly. But having a fairly large army under his personal control, he decided to carry out a coup.

Upon learning of these plans, Orestes fled Rome, but Odoacer sent troops after him and ultimately overtook and destroyed the rival. The young emperor Romulus was sent into exile in Campania (region of Italy). In exile, by the way, he lived for many more years as a noble prisoner.

After the fall

Odoacer was recognized by the Senate as the legitimate ruler of the shrinking Western Empire. In the lands that came under the rule of Odoacer, he settled his army of mercenaries. And he allocated them the ownership of land plots of a certain size, laying the foundation for medieval feudalism with this gesture.

The following is also known: Emperor Zeno, who then ruled Byzantium, to show that he controlled the western lands, proclaimed Odoacer a patrician and his governor (although in fact he could act independently). In response, Odoacer sent to Constantinople the symbols of imperial power - a purple robe and a diadem. He decided that he would rule openly and in his own way, without involving any "puppet" emperor for this.

Surprisingly, the Eastern Roman Empire was able to survive for almost a thousand years after the disappearance of the Western. For such a long time, Byzantium experienced a series of crises, decreased in size, and eventually submitted to the Ottomans, whose army was many times larger and stronger. A little later, the niece of the Byzantine emperor Constantine, Sophia Paleologus, left for the north and became the wife of the Moscow ruler Ivan III. Therefore, the name "Third Rome" was assigned to Moscow.

It should be noted here that the idea of ​​the Western Empire, uniting the entire Christian world and dating back to the times Ancient rome, for a long time ruled the minds of the European conquerors. And, for example, Charlemagne during the years of his reign (and he ruled from 768 to 814) managed to unite many lands of Western Europe together and formed the Frankish kingdom. In 800, Charles was crowned in Rome.

But the news of the proclamation of a single Western kingdom in Byzantium was not taken seriously - the reunification of the western and eastern parts did not happen. When Charlemagne died, his kingdom was divided into Italy, France and Germany.

In 962, the German ruler Otto was able to conquer the north and center of the Apennines and entered Rome. As a result, Otto I was blessed by the Pope to the throne of the so-called Holy Roman Empire. But Otto's powers of power in reality were not so great, and his political weight was even less. However, the Holy Roman Empire, of which Germany became the heart, existed for a very long time - until 1806, when Napoleon forced her last emperor, Franz II, to renounce the title.

In any case, the empires founded by Charlemagne and Otto actually had little in common with the ancient Roman state.

Factors of the Decline of Ancient Rome

A lot of research has been devoted to the fall of Rome. One of the first to study this topic deeply and comprehensively was the English scientist of the 18th century Edward Gibbon. Both Gibbon and other historians of past and present times point to a whole complex of factors (there are about 200 of them in total) that led to the death of the Western Roman Empire.

One such factor is the absence of a truly strong leader. In the last 25 years of the empire's existence, its emperors did not have much political authority, the ability to collect land and foresee several steps ahead.

An army crisis also took place in the Roman Empire in the 5th century. Military establishment replenished in insignificant quantities due to the reluctance of landowners to send their slaves to the army and the reluctance of free city dwellers to join the army (they were not attracted by low wages and a high probability of death). Problems with military discipline, low professionalism of recruits, too, of course, did not have the most positive effect.

The slave-owning system is also named among the reasons for the fall. The harsh exploitation of slaves caused numerous uprisings on their part. And the army was primarily engaged in repelling the attacks of the barbarians and could not always come to the aid of the slave owners in a timely manner.

The economic crisis also took place in the Roman Empire. In the provinces, large land holdings began to be split into small ones and partially leased out to small owners. The subsistence economy began to develop actively, the processing sector began to shrink, and the prices for the transportation of various goods soared. Because of this, trade relations also began to experience a certain decline. Central authority raised taxes, but the ability to pay was low and raise money in the required volume failed, which led to inflation.

Economic problems and several lean years led to hunger and a wave of epidemics of infectious diseases. The mortality rate has increased and the birth rate has decreased. On top of that, in Roman society, there was too high a percentage of elderly people who were not able to defend the state with weapons in their hands.

Scientists traditionally assign a large role in the decline of the empire in question to the Great Migration of Nations, which took place from the 4th to the 7th centuries A.D. NS. At this time, the merciless and cruel Huns arrived from China or Mongolia to Europe and began to fight with the tribes that met their way. These tribes (we are talking, for example, about the Germanic tribes - the Goths and Vandals) were forced under pressure from the Huns to break away from their homes and move deep into the Roman Empire.

In principle, the Romans were already familiar with the Vandals and Goths before that and repelled their raids. Some Germanic tribes even for some time were under the protectorate of Rome, natives of these tribes served in the imperial army, sometimes reaching high positions in this field.

From the end of the 4th century, the movement of the Germanic tribes to the south became more active. Oppose him (when taking into account big problems within the empire itself) became more and more difficult. The result is logical: the Goths and Vandals eventually invaded the previously impregnable Rome and began to control the Roman emperors.

Discovery documentary Rome - Strength and Greatness: The Fall of an Empire "