Fall Of The Roman Empire
Why Rome Fell
By Lloyd Johns
Unfortunately, nowadays we have only one opportunity to get to know the information about historical events of certain period of the past. This opportunity is to read the encyclopedias and historical books. But who knows for sure what really was the reason of the fall of the Rome?
History is very fascinating subject. We should be very much obliged to those people, who decided to write down about all events, which had happened and to those people, who started publishing historical books. So, we have another great opportunity – to study the theory and to think over it.
Let us focus our attention on the last period or “The End of Roman Empire”. We know that the long reign of Valentinian III was marked by two events of first-rate importance – the conquest of Africa by the Vandals and the invasion of Gaul and Italy by Attila. Attila invaded Gaul in 451. Nearly a century had passed since the Huns first appeared in Europe and drove the Goths to seek shelter within Roman lines. Attila was now the ruler of a great empire in central and northern Europe and, in addition to his own Huns, the German Tribes along the Rhine and Danube and far away to the north owned him as king. He confronted the roman power as an equal; and, unlike the Gothic and Vandal chieftains, he treated with the emperors of East and West as an independent sovereign. His advance on Gaul and Italy threatened, not the establishment of one more barbaric chieftain on Roman soil, but the subjugation of the civilized and Christian West to the rule of a heathen and semi-barbarous conqueror.
But the Visigoths in Gaul, Christian and already half Romanized, rallied to the aid of the Empire against a common foe. Attila, defeated at Chalons by Aetius, withdrew into Pannonia. In the next year he overran Lombardy, but penetrated no father south, and in 453 year died. With the murder of Valentinian III the western branch of the house of Theodosius came to an end, and the next 20 years witnessed the accession and deposition of nine emperors. After Valentinian III was Maximus. Under the three months’ rule of Maximus, the Vandals under Gaiseric invaded Italy and sacked Rome. From 456-472 the actual ruler of Italy was Ricimer, the Suebe. Of the four emperors whom he placed on the throne, Majorian (457-461) alone played any imperial part outside Italy. Ricimer died in 472, and two years later a Pannonian, Orestes, attempted to fill his place. He deposed Julius Nepos and proclaimed as Augustus his own son Romulus.
But the barbarian mercenaries in Italy determined to secure for themselves a position there such as this: which their kinsfolk had won in Gaul and Spain and Africa. Their demand for a third of the lands of Italy was refused by Orestes, and they instantly rose in revolt. On the defeat and death of Orestes they proclaimed their leader, Odoacer the Rugian, king of Italy. Romulus Augustulus laid down his imperial dignity, and the court at Constantinople was informed that there was no longer an emperor of the West.
It is evident, that a lot of events were reasons for the crash of the Rome and its downfall was inevitable, but it is the law of the history: some places, towns, cities, countries are ruined and destroyed and some are founded.
Lloyd Johns was a professional freelance writer for 13 years.
Now he is a technical writer, advertising copywriter, & website copywriter for Custom Written Essays Network
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lloyd_Johns
By Lloyd Johns
Unfortunately, nowadays we have only one opportunity to get to know the information about historical events of certain period of the past. This opportunity is to read the encyclopedias and historical books. But who knows for sure what really was the reason of the fall of the Rome?
History is very fascinating subject. We should be very much obliged to those people, who decided to write down about all events, which had happened and to those people, who started publishing historical books. So, we have another great opportunity – to study the theory and to think over it.
Let us focus our attention on the last period or “The End of Roman Empire”. We know that the long reign of Valentinian III was marked by two events of first-rate importance – the conquest of Africa by the Vandals and the invasion of Gaul and Italy by Attila. Attila invaded Gaul in 451. Nearly a century had passed since the Huns first appeared in Europe and drove the Goths to seek shelter within Roman lines. Attila was now the ruler of a great empire in central and northern Europe and, in addition to his own Huns, the German Tribes along the Rhine and Danube and far away to the north owned him as king. He confronted the roman power as an equal; and, unlike the Gothic and Vandal chieftains, he treated with the emperors of East and West as an independent sovereign. His advance on Gaul and Italy threatened, not the establishment of one more barbaric chieftain on Roman soil, but the subjugation of the civilized and Christian West to the rule of a heathen and semi-barbarous conqueror.
But the Visigoths in Gaul, Christian and already half Romanized, rallied to the aid of the Empire against a common foe. Attila, defeated at Chalons by Aetius, withdrew into Pannonia. In the next year he overran Lombardy, but penetrated no father south, and in 453 year died. With the murder of Valentinian III the western branch of the house of Theodosius came to an end, and the next 20 years witnessed the accession and deposition of nine emperors. After Valentinian III was Maximus. Under the three months’ rule of Maximus, the Vandals under Gaiseric invaded Italy and sacked Rome. From 456-472 the actual ruler of Italy was Ricimer, the Suebe. Of the four emperors whom he placed on the throne, Majorian (457-461) alone played any imperial part outside Italy. Ricimer died in 472, and two years later a Pannonian, Orestes, attempted to fill his place. He deposed Julius Nepos and proclaimed as Augustus his own son Romulus.
But the barbarian mercenaries in Italy determined to secure for themselves a position there such as this: which their kinsfolk had won in Gaul and Spain and Africa. Their demand for a third of the lands of Italy was refused by Orestes, and they instantly rose in revolt. On the defeat and death of Orestes they proclaimed their leader, Odoacer the Rugian, king of Italy. Romulus Augustulus laid down his imperial dignity, and the court at Constantinople was informed that there was no longer an emperor of the West.
It is evident, that a lot of events were reasons for the crash of the Rome and its downfall was inevitable, but it is the law of the history: some places, towns, cities, countries are ruined and destroyed and some are founded.
Lloyd Johns was a professional freelance writer for 13 years.
Now he is a technical writer, advertising copywriter, & website copywriter for Custom Written Essays Network
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lloyd_Johns
posted by Enza at
11:52 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home