What was the end of the Roman Empire?

Question

Did it finish all of a sudden or was it a gradual process?

Answer 1

While there was gradual decline for several centuries, the empire in the west fell in 476 due to an invaision of Italy from the Ostrogoths, and the empire in the east fell in 1453 due to an attack on Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks.

Answer 2

The Roman Empire split into Western and Eastern.
The Western Roman Empire continued in different form with Charlemagne and became the Holy Roman Empire. This only ended during the Napoleonic Wars in 1806 to be precise..

Answer 3

The Roman empire expanded till Magellan started identifying new countries along with international travel.This resulted in the end of Roman monopoly in world trade.The economy declined.Great Britain was the competitor.Rome could not maintain it large and well maintained army.Futher the turks invaded Rome frequently and weakened the empire. The fall of Roman empire was completed by the fall of Constantinople in 1453(year not sure) by Ottoman Turk.
The fall was rather a slow process but fall of Constantinople
was sudden.

Answer 4

In it latter years it was almost always under military attack, but why was it that the insurgent tribes, who had always been defeated before suddenly found the troops facing them weakened, both in numbers and quality?

Well there are many theories from lead pipes to decadence,
although they had had lead pipes for centuries and had previously raised decadence to an art form without losing their grip.

And why is it that the hordes of Visigoths, Goths and Huns always held back from sacking what to them was the treasure house of the world Rome?

The answer is with the humble mosquito.

Italy had always had mosquitoes which was why so many of their towns are built high on hills away from the wet fields of the plains where the mosquito breeds.

But the Rome habit of bringing slaves to Rome from all over the known world brought many Africans to Rome. Some of whom brought Malaria with them.

Slowly it took hold until the Malarial mosquito was prevalent in all the flooded plains of Southern Italy.

They had no defence and countless thousands died.

The whole empire was weakened at the centre and without the centre the periphery started to collapse.

And so, fatally weakened the Empire dies.

The reason Rome wasn't sacked is simple, as the invaders grew near, they too started dying of this disease, so they thought well, perhaps not.

As regards whether it was sudden ot not, well that is a question of perspective.

It was, arguably about 300 years. . a long time in the life of men but not so much in the life of an Empire.

Answer 5

There was a slow decline which began to accellerate towards the end of the 4th century. The crucial period when decline became fall in the west was 406-410. Germanic tribes crossed the Rhine, the Goths entered Italy, and Rome was sacked. After that it just got worse. Gaul and Spain were lost, the Vandals crossed to Africa and set up a pirate kingdom which sacked Rome again in 455, and finally in 476 the head of Rome's largely germanic army said no further emperor was needed.
The empire had come to rely too much on germanic detachments which it couldn't discipline, and the whole army turned into a rabble.

Answer 6

The western Roman Empire fell apart, the Eastern part remained for another couple of centuries.

Answer 7

it was a gradual process, the roman empire expanded and assimilated other cultures, eventually even the roman army was only 30% roman, the rest were outside of rome, because the roman empire constantly had internal power struggles, other invaders could easily sack rome, it fell because of rampant misuse of funds and outside influences

Answer 8

It was gradual. The emperors thought they were gods and inner breeding caused some cooks to become emperors. Emperor Caligula appointed his horse to the senate.

Answer 9

The end of ancient times...

Answer 10

Ultimately it was the Barbarians