Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire
1 of 18 4/20/2017 3:25 PM
Western Roman Empire - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire
2 of 18 4/20/2017 3:25 PM
Western Roman Empire - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire
3 of 18 4/20/2017 3:25 PM
Western Roman Empire - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire
controlled a united Roman Empire. While the Roman Empire featured many distinct cultures, all
were often said to experience gradual Romanization. While the predominantly Greek culture of the
East and the predominantly Latin culture of the West functioned effectively as an integrated whole,
political and military developments would ultimately realign the Empire along those cultural and
linguistic lines.
Minor rebellions and uprisings were fairly common events throughout the Empire. Conquered
tribes or cities would revolt, and the legions would be detached to crush the rebellion. While this
process was simple in peacetime, it could be considerably more complicated in wartime, as for
example in the Great Jewish Revolt.
In a full-blown military campaign, the legions, under generals such as Vespasian, were far more
numerous. To ensure a commander's loyalty, a pragmatic emperor might hold some members of the
general's family hostage. To this end, Nero effectively held Domitian and Quintus Petillius Cerialis,
governor of Ostia, who were respectively the younger son and brother-in-law of Vespasian. The
rule of Nero ended only with the revolt of the Praetorian Guard, who had been bribed in the name
of Galba. The Praetorian Guard, a figurative "sword of Damocles", were often perceived as being
of dubious loyalty. Following their example, the legions at the borders increased participation in the
civil wars.
The main enemy in the West was arguably the Germanic tribes behind the rivers Rhine and
Danube. Augustus had tried to conquer them but ultimately pulled back after the Teutoburg
reversal.
The Parthian Empire, in the East, on the other hand, was too
remote and powerful to be conquered. Any Parthian invasion
was confronted and usually defeated; similarly, Parthians
repelled some attempts of Roman invasion, however, even
after successful wars of conquest, such as those implemented
by Trajan and Septimius Severus. Those distant territories
were forsaken to prevent unrest and also to ensure a more
healthy and lasting peace with the Persians. The Parthians
were followed by the Sasanian Empire, which continued
hostilities with the Roman Empire.
4 of 18 4/20/2017 3:25 PM
Western Roman Empire - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire
Rome and the Italian peninsula began to experience an economic slowdown as industries and
money began to move outward. By the beginning of the 2nd century AD, the economic stagnation
of Italia was seen in the provincial-born Emperors, such as Trajan and Hadrian. Economic
problems increased in strength and frequency.
Its capital was Augusta Treverorum (modern Trier), and it quickly expanded its control over the
German and Gaulish provinces and over all of Hispania and Britannia. It had its own senate, and a
partial list of its consuls still survives. It maintained Roman religion, language, and culture, and
was far more concerned with fighting the Germanic tribes than other Romans. However, in the
reign of Claudius Gothicus (268 to 270), large expanses of the Gallic Empire were restored to
Roman rule. At roughly the same time, several eastern provinces seceded under the Palmyrene
Empire, under the rule of Queen Zenobia.
In 272, Emperor Aurelian finally managed to reclaim Palmyra and its territory for the empire. With
the East secure, his attention was turned to the West, taking the Gallic Empire a year later. Because
of a secret deal between Aurelian and Gallic Emperor Tetricus I and his son Tetricus II, the Gallic
army was swiftly defeated. In exchange, Aurelian spared their lives and gave the two former rebels
important positions in Italy.
Tetrarchy
The external borders were mostly stable for the remainder of the Crisis of the Third Century,
although, between the death of Aurelian in 275 and the accession of Diocletian ten years later, at
least eight emperors or would-be emperors were killed, many assassinated by their own troops.
Under Diocletian, the political division of the Roman Empire began. In 285, he promoted
5 of 18 4/20/2017 3:25 PM
Western Roman Empire - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire
The system of the Tetrarchy quickly ran aground when the Western Roman Empire's Constantius
died unexpectedly in 306, and his son Constantine the Great was proclaimed Augustus of the West
by the legions in Britain. A crisis followed as several claimants attempted to rule the Western half.
In 308, the Augustus of the East, Galerius, arranged a conference at Carnuntum which revived the
Tetrarchy by dividing the West between Constantine and a newcomer named Licinius. Constantine
was far more interested in conquering the whole empire. Through a series of battles in the East and
the West, Licinius and Constantine stabilized their respective parts of the Roman Empire by 314,
and began to compete for sole control of a reunified state. Constantine emerged victorious in 324
after the surrender and murder of Licinius following the Battle of Chrysopolis.
The Tetrarchy ended, but the idea of dividing the Roman Empire between two emperors had been
validated. Very strong emperors would reunite it under their single rule, but with their death the
Roman Empire would be divided again and again between the East and the West.
Second division
Constantius was born in 317 at Sirmium, Pannonia. He was the third son of Constantine the Great,
and second by his second wife Fausta, the daughter of Maximian. Constantius was made Caesar by
his father on 13 November 324.[2] The Roman Empire was under the rule of a single Emperor, but,
with the death of Constantine in 337, civil war erupted among his three sons, dividing the Empire
into three parts. The West was unified in 340 under Constans, who was assassinated in 350 under
the order of the usurper Magnentius; after Magnentius lost the Battle of Mursa Major and
committed suicide, a complete reunification of the whole Empire occurred in 353, with Constantius
II.
Constantius II focused most of his power in the East and is regarded as the first emperor of the
Byzantine Empire. Under his rule, the city of Byzantium - only recently re-founded as
Constantinople - was fully developed as a capital. In 361, Constantius II became ill and died, and
6 of 18 4/20/2017 3:25 PM
Western Roman Empire - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire
Final division
7 of 18 4/20/2017 3:25 PM
Western Roman Empire - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire
behind the throne in the east. Rufinus and Stilicho were rivals,
and their disagreements were exploited by the Gothic leader
Alaric I who again rebelled following the death of Theodosius I.
Neither half of the Empire could raise forces sufficient even to
subdue Alaric's men, and both tried to use Alaric against the
other half. Alaric himself tried to establish a long-term
territorial and official base, but was never able to do so.
Stilicho tried to defend Italy and bring the invading Goths under
control, but to do so he stripped the Rhine frontier of troops and
the Vandals, Alans, and Suevi invaded Gaul in large numbers.
Stilicho became a victim of court intrigues and was killed in
408. While the East began a slow recovery and consolidation,
the West began to collapse entirely. Alaric's men sacked Rome
in 410.
Economic factors
The West, less urbanized with a spread-out populace, may have
experienced an economic decline throughout the Late Empire in
some provinces. Southern Italy, northern Gaul (except for large
towns and cities) to some extent Spain and the Danubian areas
may have suffered. The East was not so destitute, especially as
Stone-carved relief depicting the
Emperors like Constantine the Great and Constantius II had
liberation of a besieged city by a
invested heavily in the eastern economy. As a result, the Eastern
Empire could afford large numbers of professional soldiers and relief force, with those defending
augment them with mercenaries, while the Western Roman the walls making a sortie (i.e. a
Empire could not afford this to the same extent. Even in major sudden attack against a besieging
defeats, the East could, certainly not without difficulties, buy enemy from within the besieged
off its enemies with a ransom. town); Western Roman Empire,
early 5th century AD
The political, economic and military control of the Eastern
Empire's resources remained safe in Constantinople, which was
well fortified and located at the crossroads of several major trade and military routes. In contrast,
the Western Empire was more fragmented. Its capital was transferred to Ravenna in 402 largely for
defensive reasons, and it had easy access to the imperial fleet of the Eastern Empire but was
isolated in other aspects as it was surrounded by swamps and marshes. The economic power
remained focused on Rome and its hyper-rich senatorial aristocracy which dominated much of Italy
and Africa in particular. After Gallienus banned senators from army commands in the mid-3rd
century, the senatorial elite lost all experience ofand interest inmilitary life. In the early 5th
century the wealthy landowning elite of the Roman Senate largely barred its tenants from military
service, but it also refused to approve sufficient funding for maintaining a sufficiently powerful
mercenary army to defend the entire Western Empire. The West's most important military area had
been northern Gaul and the Rhine frontier in the 4th century, when Trier frequently served as the
8 of 18 4/20/2017 3:25 PM
Western Roman Empire - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire
capital of the Empire and many leading Western generals were Barbarians. After the civil war in
394 between Theodosius I and Eugenius, the new Western government installed by Theodosius I
increasingly had to divert military resources from Britain and the Rhine to protect Italy. This, in
turn, led to further rebellions and civil wars because the Western imperial government was not
providing the military protection the northern provinces expected and needed against the
barbarians.
The Western Empire's resources were much limited, and the lack of available manpower forced the
government to rely ever more on confederate barbarian troops operating under their own
commanders, where the Western Empire would often have difficulties paying. In certain cases deals
were struck with the leaders of barbaric mercenaries rewarding them with land, which led to the
Empire's decline as less land meant there would be less tax revenue to support the military.
As the central power weakened, the State gradually lost control of its borders and provinces, as well
as control over the Mediterranean Sea. Roman Emperors tried to maintain control of the sea, but,
once the Vandals conquered North Africa, imperial authorities had to cover too much ground with
too few resources. The loss of the African provinces might have been the worse reversal on the
West's fortunes, since they were among its wealthiest territories and supplied the essential grain
imports to Italy. In many places, the Roman institutions collapsed along with the economic stability.
In some regions, such as Gaul and Italy, the settlement of barbarians on former Roman lands seems
to have caused relatively little disruption.
Honorius' death in 423 was followed by turmoil until the Eastern Roman government with the force
of arms installed Valentinian III as Western Emperor in Ravenna, with Galla Placidia acting as
regent during her son's minority. After a violent struggle with several rivals, and against Placidia's
wish, Aetius rose to the rank of magister militum. Aetius was able to stabilize the Western Empire's
9 of 18 4/20/2017 3:25 PM
Western Roman Empire - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire
Faced with refusal, he invaded Gaul and was only stopped in the battle of the Catalaunian Plains by
a combined Roman-Germanic army led by Aetius. The next year, Attila invaded Italy and
proceeded to march upon Rome, but an outbreak of disease in his army, Pope Leo's plea for peace,
and reports of a campaign of Marcianus directed at his headquarters in Pannonia induced him to
halt this campaign. Attila unexpectedly died a year later (453).
Aetius was slain in 454 by Valentinian, who was then himself murdered by the dead general's
supporters a year later. With the end of the Theodosian dynasty, a new period of dynastic struggle
ensued. The Vandals took advantage of the unrest and sailed up to Rome, which they plundered in
455.
The instability caused by usurpers throughout the Western Empire helped these tribes in their
conquests, and by the 450s the Germanic tribes had become usurpers themselves. During the next
twenty years, several Western Emperors were installed by Constantinople, but their authority relied
upon barbarian commanders (Ricimer (456472), Gundobad (473475)). Majorian was the last
emperor to campaign in Gaul and Spain in 458-460 before being deposed and murdered by
Ricimer. From the 460s onwards, imperial control was effectively restricted to Italy and southern
Gaul as the remaining Western provinces refused to accept Ricimer's appointment of Libius
10 of 18 4/20/2017 3:25 PM
Western Roman Empire - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire
Severus in 461.
In 475, Orestes, a former secretary of Attila, drove Emperor Julius Nepos out of Ravenna and
proclaimed his own son Romulus Augustus as emperor. In 476, Orestes refused to grant Odoacer
and the Heruli federated status, prompting an invasion. Orestes was killed and Odoacer deposed
Romulus Augustus, installed himself as ruler over Italy and sent the Imperial insignia to
Constantinople. Although isolated pockets of Roman rule continued even after 476, the city of
Rome itself was under the rule of the barbarians, and the control of Rome over the West had
effectively ended.
Three rump states continued under Roman rule in some form or another after 476: Julius Nepos
controlled Dalmatia until his murder in 480. Syagrius ruled the Domain of Soissons until his
murder in 487. Lastly, a Roman-Moor realm survived in north Africa, resisting Vandal incursions,
and becoming a part of the Eastern Roman Empire c.533 when Belisarius defeated the Vandals.
Last Emperor
Odoacer proclaimed himself ruler of Italy and began to negotiate with Zeno. Zeno eventually
granted Odoacer patrician status as recognition of his authority and accepted him as his own
viceroy of Italy. Zeno, however, insisted that Odoacer had to pay homage to Julius Nepos as the
Emperor of the Western Empire. Odoacer accepted this condition and issued coins in the name of
Julius Nepos throughout Italy. This, however, was mainly an empty political gesture, as Odoacer
never returned any real power or territories to Julius Nepos. The murder of Julius Nepos in 480
prompted Odoacer to invade Dalmatia, annexing it to his Kingdom of Italy.
The last hope for a reunited Empire came in 493, as Odoacer was replaced by Theodoric the Great,
king of the Ostrogoths. Theodoric had been forced to appear subservient to Zeno in order to deal
with a dangerous Odoacer. While in principle Theodoric was a subordinate, a viceroy of the
Emperor of the East, in fact he was his equal.
11 of 18 4/20/2017 3:25 PM
Western Roman Empire - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire
12 of 18 4/20/2017 3:25 PM
Western Roman Empire - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire
Byzantine rule continued in Sicily throughout the eighth century, with the island slowly being
overrun by the Arabs over the course of the ninth century. In Italy, a few strongholds in Calabria
ultimately provided a base for modest imperial expansion, which reached its peak in the early
eleventh century, with most of southern Italy under "Roman" rule of a sort. This, however, was
undone by further Byzantine civil war, and the slow conquest of the region by the Byzantines'
former mercenaries, the Normans, who finally put an end to imperial rule in Western Europe in
1071.
Legacy
As the Western Roman
Empire crumbled, the new
Germanic rulers who
conquered the provinces
upheld many Roman laws and
traditions. Many of the
invading Germanic tribes
were already Christianized,
although most were followers
of Arianism. They quickly
converted to official imperial
Christianity, gaining more
loyalty from the local Roman
populations, as well as the
recognition and support of the
powerful Bishop of Rome.
Although they initially
continued to recognize
indigenous tribal laws, they
were more influenced by
On the left: Emperor Honorius on the consular diptych of Anicius
Roman Law and gradually
Petronius Probus (406)
incorporated it as well.
On the right: Consular diptych of Constantius III (a co-emperor with
Roman Law, particularly the Honorius in 421), produced for his consulate in 413 or 417
Corpus Juris Civilis collected
by order of Justinian I, is the ancient basis on which the modern Civil law stands. In contrast,
Common law is based on the Germanic Anglo-Saxon law.
Latin as a language never really disappeared. It combined with neighboring Germanic and Celtic
languages, giving rise to many modern Romance languages such as Italian, French, Spanish,
Portuguese, Romanian and a large number of minor languages and dialects. Today, more than 900
million people are native speakers worldwide.
Latin also influenced Germanic languages such as English, German, and Dutch; all surviving Celtic
13 of 18 4/20/2017 3:25 PM
Western Roman Empire - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire
languages, Albanian, and such Slavic languages as Polish and Czech, and even the non-Indo-
European Hungarian. It survives in its "purer" form as the language of the Catholic Church (the
Mass was spoken exclusively in Latin until 1969), and was used as a lingua franca between many
nations. It remained the language of medicine, law, diplomacy (most treaties were written in Latin),
of intellectuals and scholarship.
The Latin alphabet was expanded due to the splits of I into I and J and of U into U, V, and in places
(especially Germanic languages and Polish) W; it is the most widely used alphabetic writing system
in the world today. Roman numerals continue to be used, but were mostly replaced by Arabic
numerals.
The ideal of the Roman Empire as a mighty Christian Empire with a single ruler continued to
appeal to many powerful rulers. Under the principle of translatio imperii, the Holy Roman Empire
explicitly proclaimed itself as the continuation of the Western Roman Empire. The title of the
Western Roman Emperor was revived when Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Lombards, was
crowned as Emperor of the Romans of the West by Pope Leo III in 800. The status of the Holy
Roman Emperor as the rightful Western Roman Emperor in the medieval era was further
legitimated by the recognition as "co-emperor" from the Eastern Roman Emperor, who was in
direct succession to the ancient Roman Emperors. The Holy Roman Empire continued to regard
itself as the successor state of the Western Roman Empire until its downfall in 1806. The French
King Louis XIV, as well as French Emperor Napoleon I, and the Italian Fascist dictator Benito
Mussolini, among others, also tried to resurrect the Empire, albeit unsuccessfully.
A very visible legacy of the Western Roman Empire is the Roman Catholic Church. The Church
slowly began to replace Roman institutions in the West, even helping to negotiate the safety of
Rome during the late 5th century. In many cases the only source of law and civil administration was
the local bishop, often himself a former governor like St. Ambrose of Milan and St. Germanus of
Auxerre. As Rome was invaded by Germanic tribes, many assimilated, and by the middle of the
medieval period (c. 9th and 10th centuries) the central, western, and northern parts of Europe had
been largely converted to Roman Catholicism and acknowledged the Pope as the Vicar of Christ.
14 of 18 4/20/2017 3:25 PM
Western Roman Empire - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire
Augusti are shown with their Caesares and regents further indented
Constantine the Great: 306 to 337 Sole emperor of the empire from 324 to 337
Constantine II: 337 to 340 Emperor of Gaul, Britannia, and Hispania
Constantius II: 337 to 361 Emperor of the east from 337 to 353, Sole emperor of the empire
from 353 to 360
Constans I: 337 to 350 Emperor of Italy and Africa 337-340, emperor of the west from 340 to
350
Magnentius: 350 to 353 Usurper
Julian: 355 to 363 Emperor of the west from 355 to 361, Sole emperor of the empire from 361
to 363
15 of 18 4/20/2017 3:25 PM
Western Roman Empire - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire
Flavius Orestes was killed by revolting Germanic mercenaries. Their chieftain, Odoacer, assumed
control of Italy as a de jure representative of Julius Nepos and Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno.
See also
Byzantine Empire
Holy Roman Empire
Legacy of the Roman Empire
Notes
1. Taagepera, Rein (1979). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D".
Social Science History. Duke University Press. 3 (3/4): 24. doi:10.2307/1170959. JSTOR 1170959.
2. DiMaio Jr., M. & Frakes, R. 'DIR-Constantius II' from De Imperatoribus Romanis [1]
(http://www.roman-emperors.org/constaii.htm)
16 of 18 4/20/2017 3:25 PM
Western Roman Empire - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire
References
Henning Brm: Das westrmische Kaisertum nach 476 (http://www.academia.edu/1013050
/Das_Westromische_Kaisertum_nach_476_in_H._Borm_-_N._Ehrhardt_-
_J._Wiesehofer_eds._Monumentum_et_instrumentum_inscriptum_Stuttgart_Franz_Steiner_V
erlag_2008_pp._47ff). In: Josef Wiesehfer et al. (eds.), Monumentum et instrumentum
inscriptum. Stuttgart 2008, pp. 4769.
Henning Brm: Westrom. Von Honorius bis Justinian (http://www.academia.edu/3577658
/Westrom._Von_Honorius_bis_Justinian_UT_735_._Stuttgart_Kohlhammer_2013). Stuttgart
2013, ISBN 978-3-17-023276-1 (Review in English (http://sehepunkte.de/2016/05
/23732.html)).
Neil Christie: The Fall of the Western Roman Empire. London 2011, ISBN
978-0-340-75966-0.
Kaj Sandberg: The So-Called Division of the Roman Empire. Notes On A Persistent Theme in
Western Historiography. In: Arctos 42 (2008), 199-213.
El Housin Helal Ouriachen: La ciudad btica durante la Antigedad Tarda. Persistencias y
mutaciones locales en relacin con la realidad urbana del Mediterraneo y del Atlntico, PhD
thesis, Universidad de Granada. Granada 2009.
External links
Roman-Empire.net (http://www.roman-empire.net) Wikimedia Commons
De Imperatoribus Romanis (http://www.roman- has media related to
emperors.org/impindex.htm) Western Roman
Map of the Roman state according to the Compilation Empire.
'notitia dignitatum' (http://members.iinet.net.au/~igmaier
/613-map.htm)
17 of 18 4/20/2017 3:25 PM
Western Roman Empire - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire
18 of 18 4/20/2017 3:25 PM