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

The Rome that Did Not Fall

The last western Roman emperor was deposed in 476. In the east, however, imperial control endured, and any attempt to explain the collapse of Roman power in the west must also explain the survival of the eastern empire. The emperors ruling in fifth-century Constantinople faced political and religious divisions which had lasting consequences for Christianity, as well as threats from Goths, Huns, and Persians. Gwynn examines how the eastern emperors from Theodosius I onward preserved their authority and so made possible the attempted western reconquest under Justinian in the sixth century and the emergence of what is known as the Byzantine empire.

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 30: Barbarian Kings and Roman Popes

General Information

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