Western Roman Empire

Politics and institutions

The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman world under its own imperial court, from Diocletian's division of 286 to the deposition of Romulus Augustulus in 476. Romans regarded the empire as one polity with two courts, and historians usually date the final partition to the death of Theodosius I in 395, when Honorius took the West and Arcadius the East. The western court moved from Rome to Mediolanum and then to Ravenna, and real power increasingly lay with generals such as Stilicho, Aetius and Ricimer rather than with the emperors. The senatorial aristocracy retained wealth and prestige but withdrew from military command, and the western administration depended on eastern aid. The last western emperors were puppet figures, and Odoacer's coup in 476 ended the western imperial office.

Economy and finance

The western economy was poorer and more rural than the eastern, and its fiscal base shrank as barbarian invasions, civil wars and the loss of Africa reduced tax revenues. The senatorial aristocracy owned vast estates, and the coloni, tied tenants, replaced independent peasants in many regions. Cities declined in the west, long-distance trade contracted, and the villa economy became the dominant form of rural organization. The loss of North Africa to the Vandals in 439 deprived Rome of its grain supply and dealt a severe blow to the western treasury. By the fifth century the state could no longer pay or equip a large army, and it relied on barbarian foederati and mercenaries. The western economy survived through the church, local estates and regional exchange, laying the basis for the medieval manor.

Society and culture

Western Roman society was hierarchical, agrarian and increasingly Christian. The senatorial aristocracy, the church and the army were the main sources of power, while the mass of the population worked the land as tenants, slaves or free peasants. Christianity became the state religion in the fourth century, and bishops and monasteries acquired wealth, influence and legal authority; the papacy grew in prestige as the western emperors weakened. Latin remained the language of administration, law and culture, and writers such as Augustine, Jerome and Ambrose shaped western Christianity. The frontier regions mixed Roman and barbarian populations, and the settlement of Goths, Vandals, Franks and other peoples within the empire transformed local society and prepared the way for the post-Roman kingdoms.

Military and frontiers

The western army was a frontier force of limitanei and comitatenses, supplemented by barbarian foederati and mercenaries. Its commanders, often of Germanic origin, became the real power behind the throne, and the legions were increasingly unable to defend the long Rhine-Danube frontier. Stilicho held the line for a generation, but the crossing of the Rhine in 406, the sack of Rome by Alaric in 410 and the Vandal conquest of Africa exposed the west's weakness. Aetius defeated Attila at the Catalaunian Plains in 451 with a coalition of Romans and barbarians, but the victory did not restore the western army. By 476 the west had no effective field army, and the Germanic kings ruled Italy, Gaul, Spain and Africa with their own war bands.

Foreign relations

The Western Empire's foreign relations were dominated by its relationship with the eastern court, the Germanic peoples and the Huns. The two courts often cooperated against external enemies but also competed for influence, and the east supplied money, fleets and troops when it suited its interests. The west settled Goths, Franks, Burgundians and Alans as foederati, but their loyalty was conditional and their leaders pursued independent power. Attila's Hunnic empire threatened both halves until his defeat in 451 and death in 453. After 476 the eastern emperor Zeno refused to appoint a new western colleague, and the Germanic kings nominally ruled Italy and the west on his behalf. The papacy and the eastern empire remained the main external authorities in the post-Roman west.

Legacy and influence

The Western Roman Empire's fall became a founding myth of European history. Its institutions, law and language survived in the Catholic Church, the Germanic kingdoms and the Byzantine Empire, and the idea of a restored Roman Empire shaped Charlemagne's coronation in 800 and the Holy Roman Empire. Latin gave Europe a common literary and legal language, and Roman law, especially Justinian's Corpus Juris Civilis, influenced modern civil-law systems. The papacy inherited much of the western imperial authority, and the fusion of Roman, Christian and Germanic traditions created medieval Europe. Historians still debate whether 476 marked a collapse, a transformation or simply the end of an office.