The fall of the Western Roman Empire is a topic introduced into historiography by one of the most influential historians, Edward Gibbon (1737-1794). His monumental work “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” made the concept widely known to readers who are seriously interested in the problem. Although it cannot be said that Gibbon was the first to devote himself to the study of when and why the colossal empire collapsed. Starting in the eighteenth century with these questions, many scholars have been literally obsessed with constantly proposing new theories. As one modern American scientist Glen Bowersock said, the fall of the Western Roman Empire can be assessed as the archetype of the sunset of any great power, and therefore, as a symbol of fears and warnings in different eras.
Some scholars believe that the split between the eastern and western territories ruled by individual emperors stimulated the decline of Rome. The eastern part became the Byzantine empire with its capital in Constantinople, the western half concentrated mainly on the territory of modern Italy. The decline of the Roman Empire was an ongoing process lasting more than a century. Therefore, other historians prefer to say that Rome adapted to new conditions, and as such there was no decline. The Great Rome, according to Edward Gibbon and supporters of his assumptions, ended on September 4, 476, when the leader of the Germanic tribes Odoacre (in the Roman army he was the head of the German mercenaries) overthrew the last Western Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus. Romulus Augustulus most likely was of Germanic origin. Odoacer considered Romulus so dangerous that he didn’t even bother to execute him, he only fired him. The fall of the Western Roman Empire testified that Rome no longer had financial power and could not effectively control the scattered western regions, although their inhabitants continued to consider and call themselves Romans. The bloodless coup in 476 was not a major turning point; many events and trends led to the sunset.
Experts who hold the version of adaptation to new conditions, believe that the empire continued to exist until 1453. Thus, the fall of the Western Roman Empire occurred when the Ottoman Turks entered Byzantium (Constantinople).
Of course, the date with the overthrow of Romulus August, adopted by Edward Gibbon, is very arbitrary, and in fact, if there was an opportunity to ask people living in that period about this, they would be very surprised that historiography attaches such great importance to this event. Other important events that mark the fall of the Roman Empire can be considered, as well as a combination of many factors (the emergence of a new religion of Christianity, a general crisis associated with a deteriorating economy, severe corruption, inflation, military problems, incompetent rule of emperors and others), which led to the decline. However, this date traditionally marks the end of antiquity and the beginning of the European Middle Ages. The territories of the empire in Western Europe, including the Italian, and northwestern parts of Africa were subjected to various invasions, ethnic movements took place, called collectively the Great Migration of Peoples. In the eastern part of the border remained intact for several centuries until the Islamic conquests.
In general, the collapse of the Roman Empire signaled cultural and political transformations, the transition to a more authoritarian form of government, the adoption of Christianity as the state religion, and the rejection of the traditions and values of classical antiquity. In historiography it is customary to use the term “Byzantine Empire” as a successor to the Roman Empire, and in fact it is better to speak of succession, although the empire of late antiquity was different from classical Rome.