Become a member and save up to 25% on your program registration price! Join today If you are already a member, log in to access your member price. The Fall of Rome and the Birth of Europe Barbarian Kings and Roman Popes Afternoon Course Wednesday, April 30, 2025 - 12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. ET Code: 1J0447D Location: This online program is presented on Zoom. Select your Registration Login $25 Member 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 $30 Non-Member Add to cart Log in to add this program to your wishlist! A 10% processing fee will be applied at checkout. Adding to your cart... Save when you purchase this program as a part of one of these series! 4 Program Series: The Fall of Rome and the Birth of Europe View series details Resize text Alaric entering Athens by Allan Stewart, ca. 1920 At its peak, the Roman empire extended from Britain to the Sahara Desert, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Euphrates River. Yet in 476, the last western Roman emperor was deposed. Imperial authority survived in the east, centered in the city of Constantinople, but the western regions were divided between Germanic kingdoms and the rising influence of the papacy. Historian David Gwynn analyzes the dramatic events which shaped the decline and fall of the Roman empire in the west, exploring the transformation from the ancient to the medieval world that laid the foundations for modern Europe. Gwynn is an associate professor in ancient and late antique history at Royal Holloway in the University of London and the author of The Goths: Lost Civilizations and Christianity in the Later Roman Empire: A Sourcebook. Session Information Barbarian Kings and Roman Popes By 500, the western Roman empire had been replaced by a mosaic of Germanic kingdoms. Gwynn charts the contrasting fortunes of the Gothic kings in Italy and Spain, Vandal North Africa, and the Franks in Gaul who alone succeeded in establishing the basis for a modern country. All these kingdoms preserved Roman culture to varying degrees, with Anglo-Saxon England the notable exception, and their fates helped to shape medieval history. Yet only the bishops of Rome still possessed influence that extended throughout the former empire, and the rise of the papacy symbolized a Europe united not politically but through the shared faith of Christendom. Additional Sessions of the Fall of Rome and Birth of Europe Series April 9: Imperial Power and Christian Triumph April 16: Goths, Huns, and Vandals April 23: The Rome that Did Not Fall General Information View Common FAQs and Policies about our Online Programs on Zoom.
