Church History · AD 476

The Fall of the Western Roman Empire

In 476 the Germanic general Odoacer deposed the teenage emperor Romulus Augustulus, and the Western Roman Empire came to an end. The eastern half carried on for nearly 1,000 more years. In the West, bishops and monks kept faith, order and learning alive through the hard centuries that followed.

Read it in the Bible: Daniel 2:44 Revelation 11:15 Hebrews 12:28 Psalm 46:1-2

The Western Roman Empire ended in AD 476, when a Germanic general named Odoacer removed the last western emperor, a teenager named Romulus Augustulus, and did not bother to replace him. Rome didn't fall in a single day. It had been weakening for decades, and the city itself had already been sacked in 410 and 455. The eastern half of the empire, ruled from Constantinople, lasted until 1453. In the West, as the old government fell apart, the church became the main thing holding faith, learning and care for the poor together.

What Happened in AD 476?

By the 470s, the western emperors were mostly puppets of powerful generals. In 475 a general named Orestes put his young son on the throne. The boy's name was Romulus Augustus, after Rome's legendary founder and its first emperor. People mockingly called him Augustulus, which means little Augustus.

Orestes' soldiers, many of them Germanic warriors, wanted land in Italy. When he refused, they turned to an officer named Odoacer. Odoacer defeated and killed Orestes in August 476. On September 4, 476, he took Ravenna, the western capital, and deposed Romulus.

Here is the surprising part. Odoacer didn't kill the boy. He gave him a pension and sent him to live in a villa near Naples. He also sent the imperial robes and crown to the eastern emperor, Zeno, in Constantinople, as if to say the West didn't need its own emperor anymore. Odoacer ruled Italy as king. Some historians point out that a previous emperor, Julius Nepos, still claimed the title from exile until 480. Either way, 476 is the traditional date for the end of the Western Empire.

Why Did the Western Roman Empire Fall?

Historians have argued about this for centuries. In the 1700s, Edward Gibbon famously blamed Christianity in part, for making Romans less warlike. Most historians today don't accept that and point to a mix of causes:

Pressure on the borders from Goths, Vandals, Huns and other peoples, many pushed west by the Huns.
Civil wars between rival generals and emperors that drained the army.
Money troubles, including heavy taxes and the loss of rich provinces like North Africa to the Vandals in 439.
A split empire, with the richer East often unable or unwilling to help the West.

Notice that the eastern half of the empire was just as Christian and survived for another thousand years. That makes it hard to blame the faith.

What Were the Sacks of Rome in 410 and 455?

In 410, Alaric and the Visigoths captured and looted Rome for three days. It was the first time in about 800 years that a foreign army had taken the city. The shock moved Augustine to write The City of God, explained on the Augustine page on this site. Alaric's men were Arian Christians, and ancient writers say they spared people who took shelter in the churches of Peter and Paul.

In 455 the Vandals sacked Rome again, for two weeks. Pope Leo I met their king, Gaiseric, and is said to have persuaded him not to burn the city or massacre its people. Three years earlier, in 452, Leo had met Attila the Hun in northern Italy, and Attila turned back. Historians debate how much Leo's words did, but the meetings show how much the bishop of Rome had become a public leader.

How Did the Church Carry Learning Through the Early Middle Ages?

The centuries after 476 are sometimes called the Dark Ages. Most historians today avoid that term because a lot of good was happening, but it is true that cities shrank, trade slowed and fewer people could read. In that world, the church became the keeper of learning.

Monasteries copied the Bible and many classical books by hand. Benedict, who wrote his Rule around 529, shaped monastic life for centuries.
Cassiodorus, a Roman official, founded a monastery in southern Italy around 550 where monks were trained to copy books carefully.
Irish monks preserved Latin learning and later sent missionaries back across Europe.
Bishops often became the leaders of their cities, organizing food, defense and care for the poor.
Missionaries brought the gospel to the Germanic peoples. In 496 the Frankish king Clovis was baptized, a key step toward the Christian Europe of Charlemagne.

Without the work of these monks and scribes, much of what we know about the ancient world, and many of our Bible manuscripts, would have been lost.

Did the Roman Empire Really End in 476?

Only in the West. The eastern Roman Empire, which historians often call the Byzantine Empire, kept ruling from Constantinople until the Ottoman Turks took the city in 1453. Its people called themselves Romans the whole time. Under Emperor Justinian in the 500s, it even won back Italy and North Africa for a while. The Fall of Constantinople page on this site tells how that story ended.

Why the Fall of Rome Matters for You Today

Rome looked eternal. People called it the Eternal City. Within a lifetime, its western empire was gone. Every empire, nation and system people trust in is temporary.

The church survived Rome's fall because it never depended on Rome in the first place. Daniel saw that God's kingdom would outlast every human kingdom.

In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever. Daniel 2:44

When the headlines feel like the end of the world, remember 476. Empires fall. Jesus still reigns.

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Questions People Ask

When did the Western Roman Empire fall?

The traditional date is September 4, AD 476, when the Germanic general Odoacer deposed the young emperor Romulus Augustulus. The decline took decades, with Rome sacked in 410 and 455. The eastern half of the empire lasted until 1453.

Who was the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire?

Romulus Augustulus is traditionally called the last western emperor, deposed in 476. Some historians argue Julius Nepos, who claimed the title from exile until 480, was the last legitimate one. Odoacer let Romulus retire near Naples.

Did Christianity cause the fall of Rome?

Edward Gibbon suggested this in the 1700s, but most historians today reject it. The eastern half of the empire was just as Christian and lasted another thousand years. Historians point instead to invasions, civil wars, money troubles and a divided empire.

How did the church preserve learning after Rome fell?

Monasteries copied Bibles and classical books by hand, bishops led cities and cared for the poor, and missionaries spread the faith and literacy among new peoples. Leaders like Benedict and Cassiodorus made book copying a core part of monastic life. Much of ancient literature survives because of their work.

Sources

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