Title: Fall of the Western Roman Empire - World History Encyclopedia
Headings: Fall of the Western Roman Empire
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
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External Causes
Internal Causes
A Divided Empire
The Goth Invasion
An Enemy from Within: Alaric
Barbarian Invasions
Conclusion: Multiple Factors
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Donald L. Wasson
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Content: …the decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness. Prosperity ripened the principle of decay; the causes of destruction multiplied with the extent of conquest, and as soon as time or accident has removed artificial supports, the stupendous fabric yielded to the pressure of its own weight. A Divided Empire
Although Gibbon points to the rise of Christianity as a fundamental cause, the actual fall or decline could be seen decades earlier. By the 3rd century CE, the city of Rome was no longer the center of the empire - an empire that extended from the British Isles to the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and into Africa. This massive size presented a problem and called for a quick solution, and it came with the reign of Emperor Diocletian. The empire was divided into two with one capital remaining at Rome and another in the east at Nicomedia; the eastern capital would later be moved to Constantinople, old Byzantium, by Emperor Constantine. The Senate, long-serving in an advisory capacity to the emperor, would be mostly ignored; instead, the power centered on a strong military.