How did the fall of the Roman Empire begin? Collapse and death of the Western Roman Empire. Beginning of the fall of the Roman Empire

Historians agree that the year 476 is a milestone date in the history of Europe. The Western Roman Empire ended and history itself began medieval Europe. 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 areas life - economics, politics, government and ideology. With the cessation of Rome's wars of conquest, a serious problem arose related to the provision of labor.

The spread of Christianity and the struggle between Christianity and paganism meant numerous conflicts among the population of the Roman Empire. In general, the dogmatics of Christianity were becoming established, and there was also no agreement among Christians themselves.

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

A serious problem for the Roman Empire was the situation around Rome itself. The great eternal city, the center of the empire, the city from which Roman history began, was already experiencing serious problems and was repeatedly devastated. The first time the fall of Rome occurred in 410, when Rome was invaded by the barbarian Visigoths (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 Rome was looming new threat: in 452, the army of the Huns, the army of Attila, approached the territory of Central Italy. However, it should be said that the Romans were lucky in 452 - either the disease that spread among the Huns, or the loss of livestock (and for nomads this is always important), or the wealth, 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 was subjected to a new invasion, this time truly devastating. In 455, sailing from the coast of North Africa, where these barbarian people came from the coast Baltic Sea, the Vandal army devastates Rome. And this time the Vandals really sacked Rome, taking away not only all the loot, in particular metals (they removed the roof from the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus), but also capturing a lot of prisoners, among whom was the emperor’s family.

The years that passed from 455 to 476 were years of constant civil strife, constant struggle for the throne. Over the years, 8 emperors have replaced the Roman throne, and not all of them ended their days peacefully. 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 this moment on, the Roman Empire in the West ceases 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 had one emperor, whose power extended to both western and eastern lands. Rome was not devastated, and by that time the inhabitants of the empire were already accustomed to coups and mercenary rebellions. They, of course, could not guess that now the empire would not return to the western lands soon, and that the time of barbarian kingdoms was coming, the time of the beginning of the Middle Ages.

Period of history IV-VII centuries. called the Great Migration. It is reliably known that at that time several dozen tribes changed their settlement territory, where they lived for a long period. Now they preferred to go explore new territories. In connection with this grandiose event, the map of Europe changed dramatically.

The fall of the Roman Empire occurred.The Western Roman Empire disappeared, but small kingdoms of the Germans appeared. Rome fell, and this means that the era of antiquity has ended. Started new story- history of the Middle Ages.

Prerequisites for the fall of the Roman Empire

In the 3rd century. Germanic tribes encroached on the borders of the Roman Empire. The Romans managed to hold back their attacks, but at the same time they spent a lot of energy. Some territories came under the control of the barbarians, but on the whole the empire continued to exist. The destruction began with the arrival of the Huns to European territory. For reasons of their own and unknown to us, they left Asia. Previously, they were located near the borders of Ancient China.

The Huns went to the West and in 375 they found themselves on the territory of one of the Germanic tribes - the Goths. The Goths then lived in the northern Black Sea region, they were excellent warriors, but the hordes of the Huns were soon able to defeat them. The Ostrogoths immediately submitted to the Huns, and the Visigoths had to flee to the borders of the Roman Empire. They chose to submit to Rome in order to avoid reprisals against them by the Huns.

The Goths settled on the land of the Roman Empire, but they gave little territory. And besides, she was extremely infertile. Accordingly, there was not enough food. There were few food supplies from the Romans. We can say that they openly mocked the Goths, and also interfered in their internal affairs. This led to an uprising. The Goths marched on Constantinople.

In 378, near Adrianople, they were met by the Roman army. There was no turning back for the Goths; they rushed into battle. A few hours later the glorious Roman army ceased to exist, the emperor was killed. This battle hit the Roman Empire very hard, and the army could not be restored.

In other battles, the empire was defended by an army of mercenaries. German mercenaries, for a reward, agreed to protect the Romans from other Germans. Ordinary citizens empires did not want to defend its territory, they were of the opinion that worse life after the conquest of their territory by the Germans there will be no more.

Beginning of the fall of the Roman Empire

The last army that approached the walls of Rome was the army of Hannibal. But even he did not dare to lay siege to this city. Rome was the capital greatest state. The territory of the empire was located around it. Therefore, the thought of capturing the city and breaking through the steel legions did not occur to any conqueror.

The current emperor of the Roman Empire, Honorius, is still a child - real power is in the hands of the military leader Stilicho. He was a vandal by birth. Many did not trust him and believed that he himself wanted to seize power. Honorius listened to the rumors and Stilicho was killed. The brilliant commander died. The Visigoths approached Rome, the inhabitants were on the verge of death and agreed to surrender. The leader Alaric demanded that all the gold, jewelry and slaves be brought to him.
The agreement took place, the Visigoths left. But after a couple of years, Alaric again approached the walls of Rome. The gates were opened, how this happened is not known for certain, but in 410 the Roman Empire fell. The city was sacked in three days. Many Romans managed to escape, the rest were sold into slavery. Alaric had no use for Rome, and he went to the northern territories.
The fall of the “Eternal City” had a terrifying effect on contemporaries. It even got to the point that many believed that the fall of Rome was the collapse of the whole world! Everyone was in despair over the destruction of a previously unshakable state. great empire fell, what will happen next???
All these feelings were well expressed in his works by Aurelius Augustine. The essay “On the City of God” tried to explain why this happened. Why did the Roman Empire fall? Aurelius expressed the opinion that this was payment for the cruelty that the empire had committed over many centuries.

Fall of the Western Roman Empire

The destruction of Rome left the empire in complete chaos. The Huns, who had previously ravaged many tribes, were approaching. The most famous Hun leader was Attila, in order to gain power he committed fratricide. In 451, Attila crossed the Rhine and met the army of the Roman commander Aetius. The Battle of the Catalaunian Fields took place and went down in history. It was a meeting of two huge armies, the Huns retreated. A year later, Attila invaded Italy and approached Rome. Pope Leo I gifted the leader and he went back. A year later, Attila died at his wedding.

Four years passed after the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields, Rome was again captured by barbarians - the Vandals. In 455, the Vandals sailed along the Tiber to Rome, the inhabitants of the city were not ready to defend it. Again the Pope negotiated and the Vandal leader Geiseric accepted Roman gifts and plundered Rome for only fourteen days. At the same time, all residents remained alive, and churches and temples were not burned.
Few noticed the complete disappearance of the Western Roman Empire. It became clear to everyone long ago that this would happen soon, so it did not cause much horror. In 475, the emperor in Rome was Romulus Augustus, nicknamed “Augustus”, since he did not play a big political role. In 476 there was coup d'etat. The barbarian Odoacer arranged for him, but he did not want to be emperor. The Senate was obliged to declare that the emperor of the Western Roman Empire was not needed. Let it be only in the eastern part, a diadem and a purple robe were sent there. This was the end of a great power. Only its eastern part remained, which later became known as Byzantium.

Fall of the Roman Empire video

The Roman Empire was divided into two equal parts. Eastern Empire was destined to survive on the pages of history for another thousand years, while the Western Empire would not withstand the pressure of the barbarians in just a hundred years.

Formation of the Western Roman Empire

By the 4th century the Roman Empire had reached gigantic levels ancient world scale, could no longer function effectively in political and administrative terms. Despite the developed infrastructure, news from the border regions reached Rome with a huge delay.

In the 4th century, the Great Migration of Nations began. The northern borders of the empire were increasingly attacked by barbarians. Due to extended communications, a single empire could not quickly respond to an external threat, which also indicated the logic of dividing empires to simplify control over existing lands.

To effectively manage the empire, the emperors of Rome several times divided it into two or four parts, which had their own governor, who was responsible for many issues that were previously under the jurisdiction of the emperor.

But every time, as a result of the struggle for power, someone united the empire under his rule, until in 395 Theodosius I finally divided the Roman Empire, transferring the eastern part to his eldest son Arcadius, and giving the western part to his youngest.

Rice. 1. Map of the Western Roman Empire.

Prerequisites for the fall of the Western Roman Empire

Honorius accepted the empire as a child. The military leader Stilicho, who was a vandal in the service of Rome, became his regent.

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A big event for the empire was the transfer by Honorius of the capital of the new public education from Rome to Ravenna. This was done due to fears of barbarian attacks on the rich ancient capital.

Early 5th century politics Western Empire in relation to the barbarians has changed greatly.

In the territories of Gaul and other border areas, they began to settle in entire tribes, swearing an oath to the emperor to protect the borders of the state from external threats and barbarians like them.

Military service was no longer an honor among the empire's native population. Everyone had land plots and wealth, which means there was no point in making a fortune for themselves. Now the basis of the army was made up of barbarian mercenaries, who gradually filled the niches both in command and in political composition Romans

The military weakness of the empire and its accessibility to barbarians was shown by the sack of Rome by the Visigoths led by Alaric in 410. The robberies continued for 3 days.

Rice. 2. Alaric.

These changes led to the fact that in 451 the strengthened tribe of the Huns, led by Attila, crossed the Rhine and invaded Roman lands. In the battle of the Catalaunian fields, two huge armies met. During the battle, the Huns had to retreat and victory remained with the Roman troops, but it was a feast during the plague. Already in 455, Rome was sacked for the second time in 50 years. Vandals along the Tiber reached " eternal city", which even the residents of the hotels do not defend.

Rice. 3. The sack of Rome by the Vandals.

In the 440s, Britain was forever lost to the Romans, conquered by the Angles, Saxons and Jutes.

The cause of the death of the Western Roman Empire was not only the barbarians. The Romans themselves lost interest in self-reproduction. Fewer and fewer native Romans were born, which led to the degeneration of the nation. It had long been clear to everyone that the collapse of the empire would be inevitable, so this did not cause horror and was perceived as quite normal.

In the second half of the 5th century, the throne became a plaything in the hands of Roman military leaders, who changed emperors at their whim. By 460 under control state power There was virtually only Italy left.

In 475, Romulus Augustus came to power in Rome, but he no longer played a special political role in the state.

476 is the date of the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The barbarian Odoacer, serving in the Roman army, killed Romulus, declaring himself king of a united Italy. He ordered the Senate to send the robe and diadem of Romulus to the eastern part of the empire, declaring that the West did not need an emperor.
This is how the Western Roman Empire ended its short existence.

THE FALL OF ROME THE FALL OF ROME

THE FALL OF ROME (476), the death of the Western Roman Empire under the blows of the barbarian tribes of the Visigoths, Huns, Vandals and Ostrogoths, which lasted more than half a century. Around 376 Visigoth king Alaric (cm. ALARIC I) invaded Roman possessions after ravaging the Balkan provinces and Greece for 30 years. In 408, he appears in Italy, besieges Rome twice, but leaves, satisfied with a huge ransom, and proclaims Attalus emperor, who, however, quickly gets out of Alaric's control. Then Alaric besieged Rome again, captured it on August 24, 410 and plundered it for three days, leaving only Christian churches untouched. Having then gone to the south of Italy, he soon died suddenly near the city of Cosenza in Calabria. The fall of Rome made a huge impression on his contemporaries. Impressed by this event, Augustine (cm. AUGUSTINE the Blessed) wrote his essay “On the City of God,” in which he considered the death of Rome as a natural punishment for countless sins.
In the 430-440s, the Romans barely repelled the attack of the leader of the Hunnic tribes, Attila. (cm. ATTILA), who, with the help of his 700,000-strong army, devastated the provinces of Pannonia, Moesia and Gaul. A new test befell Rome in the 450s due to the Vandal invasions. These tribes came from the territory of Maeotis (modern Sea of ​​Azov), around 410 they invaded Spain and then North Africa, where they founded their kingdom with its capital in Carthage. Having built an impressive fleet, the Vandals began to carry out devastating raids on Sicily, Sardinia and Italy. At the end of May 455, the Vandal leader Geiseric landed with an army at the mouth of the Tiber under the pretext of the refusal of the Roman Emperor Petronius Maximus to marry the son of Geiseric with the daughter of Emperor Valentinian III Eudoxia. Panic began in Rome, Petronius Maximus died. Gaiseric sacked Rome for 14 days, and then, capturing the widow and daughters of Emperor Valentinian III and several thousand Roman artisans, left the destroyed capital. Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica and the Balearic Islands came under the rule of the Vandals. The Western Roman Empire was reduced to the size of Italy.
From the time of Alaric's invasion, the power of the emperors of the Western Roman Empire became purely nominal. Real power lies in the hands of military leaders, mostly of barbarian origin. In 475, the commander of the Roman patrician Orestes, who was once the secretary of the Hun leader Attila, and under Emperor Nepos had actual power, declares his 16-year-old son Romulus Mommilius Augustulus emperor (cm. ROMULUS AUGUSTULUS), who became the last official emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Already in the next year, 476, mercenary troops rebelled. The rebel mercenaries were led by Odoacer (cm. ODOACR), a Rugean by birth, who served in the Praetorian Guard. He killed Orestes and dethroned Romulus Augustulus. He saved the life and freedom of Romulus himself, giving him an estate in Campania as his inheritance. Declared king by the mercenaries, he renounced the imperial title, sending the insignia of imperial power to Constantinople. Odoacer motivated this by the fact that the Italians themselves and the Roman Senate consider the existence of an independent empire in the West unnecessary. It was this event already in the 6th century. began to be considered the official date of the death of the Western Roman Empire.

encyclopedic Dictionary. 2009 .

See what "FALL OF ROME" is in other dictionaries:

Romulus Augustus was deposed as Emperor of the Western Roman Empire in 476 while still young. Julius Nepos however continued to claim the title of Western Emperor after his removal. The fall of the Western Roman Empire is one of the problems in the historiography of ancient... ... Wikipedia

For similar events, see the sack of Rome. Constable Charles de Bourbon, leader of the imperial army, who died during the capture of Rome. The Sack of Rome on May 6, 1527 (Italian: Sacco di Roma) is a key episode of the Italian Wars, during... ... Wikipedia

- (May 29, 1453) capture of the capital by the Ottomans Byzantine Empire which led to its final downfall. The offensive of the Ottoman Turks (the name is given after the sultanate of the Ottoman dynasty formed in 1299 in Asia Minor (see OTTOMANS)) on Byzantium led... encyclopedic Dictionary

Romulus Augustus was overthrown as Emperor of the Western Roman Empire in 476 while still young. Julius Nepos however continued to claim the title of Western Emperor after his removal. The fall of the Western Roman Empire is one of the problems in history... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see Fall of Constantinople (meanings). Fall of Constantinople to Turkish Byzantine wars... Wikipedia

Capture of Rome by the Goths (24-26 August 410) sack of Rome by the Goths in August 410. During the invasion of Italy in the fall of 408, the Visigoth army under the leadership of King Alaric besieged Rome for the first time. Having received a rich ransom, Alaric... ... Wikipedia

Capture of Rome by the Goths (24-26 August 410) sack of Rome by the Goths in August 410. During the invasion of Italy in the fall of 408, the Visigoth army under the leadership of King Alaric besieged Rome for the first time. Having received a rich ransom, Alaric withdrew... ... Wikipedia

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Books

• The greatness and fall of Rome. Book 1 (Volume I - II), Ferrero Guglielmo. The five-volume work of the outstanding Italian historian and publicist, first published in 1902-1907, is dedicated to civil wars in Rome, which led to the fall of the Republic and the establishment of...

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 remember that in Rome BC and in the first centuries AD, an advanced for those times was built sewer system, aqueducts, fountains, public baths and toilets... Rome was the capital of a huge state, which, however, by the end of the 4th century was divided into two empires - Western and Eastern. And in 476, the Western Empire (its center remained the same Rome) fell under the onslaught of barbarians. However, this event had many reasons...

Division of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western

The Roman Empire in its heyday was a truly gigantic entity that was difficult to manage. Even the emperors themselves sometimes thought that it would be good to divide this vast territory into parts. And, for example, under the emperor Octavian Augustus (ruled from 27 to 14 BC), each contender for the throne was given his own separate province.

And in the 3rd century, when Rome was experiencing a powerful crisis, local elites even proclaimed their own “provincial empires” (for example, the Gali Empire, the Palmyra Empire, etc. arose).

In the 4th century, the tendency to divide the empire into Western and Eastern intensified significantly. It is worth paying attention to the fact that the huge territory in those days gave rise to problems with the transfer of information about important events and incidents. Information had to be transmitted from West to East by ship or with messengers on horseback, which took a lot of time. In general, in 395 AD. e., when Emperor Theodosius died, the empire was officially divided into Eastern and Western.

Pressure from barbarian tribes

But this did not help the Western Empire much. With the advent of the 5th century, her situation slowly but surely worsened. In 401, Italy was attacked by the Visigoths under the leadership of Alaric, in 404 by 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 this moment, the citizens of the city had to hide in churches to avoid certain death.

Then 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, talented Roman commander and diplomat, prevented it from falling apart at that time.

In the 450s, the Western Roman Empire was attacked by the Huns, led by the legendary Attila. Aetius, realizing that the Huns were a serious enemy, ended an alliance with many tribes - the 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 an area east of Paris).

Having recovered a little, the Huns once again went to Italy and wanted to reach Rome, but were again stopped by Aetius. In 453, Attila suddenly died at his own wedding from a nosebleed and his army began to be torn apart by contradictions - then this saved the Romans. But not for long.

The very next year, Valentinian III, 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 reached Rome and subjected it to unprecedented plunder - they even removed the roof from the Capitol temple.

The Vandals, as a result of the raid that year, subjugated 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 their own kingdom there.

There were about twenty years left before the final collapse of the empire. During this time, as many as nine emperors managed to sit on the throne, and the territory of the state was reduced to the size of almost one Italy. The treasury was depleted, the people increasingly rebelled. The weakness of the supreme power and the loss of almost all provinces made the collapse of the state virtually irreversible.

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

Orestes had a man under his command named Odoacer. This Odoacer acted as chief of the guard. One day he was sent to one of the provinces to recruit mercenaries for the army. Odoacer coped with the recruitment task brilliantly. But having personal control is enough big army, he decided to carry out a coup d'etat.

Upon learning of these plans, Orestes fled from Rome, but Odoacer sent troops after him and ultimately overtook and destroyed his rival. The young emperor Romulus was sent into exile in Campania (a region of Italy). By the way, he lived in exile 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. On the lands that came under the rule of Odoacer, he settled his army of mercenaries. And he allocated land plots of certain sizes for their ownership, laying the foundation for medieval feudalism with this gesture.

The following is also known: Emperor Zeno, who then ruled Byzantium, in order 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 symbols of imperial power - a purple robe and diadem - to Constantinople. He decided that he would rule openly and in his own way, without attracting 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 Empire. For so much long term Byzantium experienced a number 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, went 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 ​​a Western Empire uniting the entire christian world and going back to the times Ancient Rome, dominated the minds of European conquerors for a long time. And, for example, during the years of his reign (and he ruled from 768 to 814) Charlemagne 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 united Western Kingdom in Byzantium was not taken seriously - the reunification of the western and eastern parts never happened. 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 power in reality was 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, until Napoleon forced it 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 in the decline of Ancient Rome

Many studies have been devoted to the fall of Rome. One of the first to study this topic deeply and comprehensively was the 18th century English scientist Edward Gibbon. Both Gibbon and other historians of past times and modern times point to a whole range of factors (about 200 in total) that led to the death of the Western Roman Empire.

One of these factors is the lack 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 lands and foresee several steps ahead.

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

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

An economic crisis also occurred in the Roman Empire. In the provinces, large land holdings began to be split into small ones and partially leased to small owners. Subsistence farming began to actively develop, the manufacturing sector began to shrink, and prices for transporting various goods soared. Because of this, trade relations also began to experience a certain decline. The central government raised taxes, but the people's ability to pay was low and it was difficult to raise money the required volume failed, which led to inflation.

Economic problems and several years of poor harvests led to famine 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 large a percentage of elderly people who were unable to defend the state with arms in hand.

Scientists traditionally assign a major role in the decline of the empire under consideration to the Great Migration of Peoples, which took place from the 4th to the 7th centuries AD. e. At this time, the merciless and cruel Huns arrived from China or Mongolia in Europe and began to fight the tribes that crossed their path. These tribes (we are talking, for example, about the Germanic tribes - the Goths and Vandals) were forced, under pressure from the Huns, to leave their homes and move deeper into the Roman Empire.

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

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

Discovery documentary "Rome" - Power and Majesty: Fall of an Empire"