When Did The Roman Empire End?

[Augie]

Hi folks,

When did the Roman Empire collapse (end)?

People have been debating this for centuries.

Some people feel that it collapsed during the reign of Emperor Honorius. This is when the Gothic army overpowered the Roman army and marched on Rome. Emperor Honorius was hiding in the swamps near Rome. This was the first time that Rome was sacked and looted in 800 years.

Some people feel that it ended when the reign of Emperor Valentinian III ended. He was the last autonomous emperor of Rome.

Some people feel that it ended when the reign of Emperor Romulus Augustus ended. He was Rome's last emperor. But he was just a puppet dictator of the Goths, and he had Gothic blood in him from intermarriages.

Some people feel that it collapsed when the Byzantine Empire collapsed - since the Byzantine Empire was originally the Eastern half of the Roman Empire.

Some people feel that it never collapsed and that the USA is an extention of the Roman Empire.

Some people feel that it ended when Pres. Bush farted.

Augie

[Augie]

Hi folks,

Everyone knows why the Roman Empire collapsed. There were 3 main reasons:

1)There were a series of incompetent rulers.

2)The Gothic army became stronger than the Roman army.

3)The Roman Empire converted to Christianity. This made the empire weaker.


Fortunately, many ancient Greek and Roman works of literature, science, and mathematics were taken to Byzantium (Constantinople) for safe keeping as the Roman Empire was collapsing. They remained there for centuries - until the Renaissance happened in Europe. Then, they were returned to Europe. Some people feel that these books actually helped to spark the Renaissance.