The fall of the Roman Empire impressed contemporaries. After the invasion of the Visigoths, the "Eternal City" (Rome) continued to exist, however, having lost its global significance, it was empty. The Roman Forum, the place where human destinies were decided, was overgrown with grass. The brutal plunder of the city indicated the imminent fall of the Roman Empire as a whole. Few doubted the impending decline of the culture and social system of the state. Anticipating the catastrophe, Hippo Regia Augustine (bishop of the city, one of the leading figures of Christianity at the beginning of the 5th century) began to create his famous work “On the City of God”. In it, he reflected on the rise and fall of earthly kingdoms, including Rome. Augustine put forward the theory of the divine city, which will replace the existing empires on earth.
The reasons for the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
Great importance in the sunset of the kingdom is given to the Great Migration of Peoples (4-7 centuries). During this period, the Huns who came out of China moved west. They began to crowd out the tribes that inhabited the territories on their way, forcing residents to withdraw from their places and move onto the territory of the Roman Empire.
The most warlike and numerous at that time were the tribes of German vandals and Goths. The Romans have long encountered them and repelled their attacks. At the same time, some Germanic tribes were federals (allies) of Rome. The Germans served in the army of the Empire, reaching a high position and holding very honorable posts.
From the end of the 4th century, the advancement of Germanic tribes began to take on the character of an invasion. Confronting him was harder and harder.
The Goths inhabited the territory of the Black Sea before they began to disturb the Romans. From the 3rd century, other nationalities began to join the Gothic tribes. Thus, a union of barbarians was formed.
Gothic tribes were divided into two groups: Visigoths and Ostrogoths. After the attack in the 375 year of the Huns, the Goths were forced to cross the Danube. Thus, they ended up on the territory of the Roman Empire.
The Goths were allowed to settle as feds. However, hunger reigned in their tribes, people were dying. The Goths considered the Romans guilty of their troubles. A rebellion broke out. In 378, the Romans were defeated at Adrianople. Their emperor disappeared without a trace.
At the beginning of the 5th century, the Goths again made a trip to Italy. In 410, the siege of Rome began, which caused hunger, the spread of disease among the inhabitants. The Gothic leader Alaric demanded a huge ransom from the townspeople. The Romans began to re-melt their statues in order to make ingots and give the leader ready. But Alaric, tired of waiting, took the city. Over the course of many centuries, the capture of the Eternal City took place for the first time. In three days, Rome became almost extinct and dilapidated.
In 455, vandals moved to Italy. For two weeks they robbed and burned Rome. Tens of thousands of inhabitants were killed, the rest taken into slavery. The Empress and her daughters were captured.
The fall of the Roman Empire was swift. The state, weakening, could not provide protection to its subjects. Defenseless against the onslaught of enemies were both rich and poor.
However, the reasons for the fall of the Roman Empire were not only the invasion of the invaders. According to one of the ancient historians, the inhabitants of the country themselves became their worst enemies. Slaves and the poor suffered from overwhelming taxes. They came to the desolation of the earth, people were dying of hunger. To survive, often the population switched to the service of the barbarians, believing that humility with other morals and lack of freedom is better than injustice and cruelty in their country.
The fall of the Roman Empire is conditionally dated to 476, when the last ruler, the boy Romulus Augustine, was removed.
St. Augustine in his work called the death of the kingdom a retribution for all his terrible sins of the past. The father of the church did not see any opportunity to save Rome.