3 ms·

The fall of Rome was not a fall and it didn't happen in Rome. The event of 476 AD happened in Ravenna (Rome had not been the capital for almost two centuries at

by zeteo 5y ago

The fall of Rome was not a fall and it didn't happen in Rome. The event of 476 AD happened in Ravenna (Rome had not been the capital for almost two centuries at that point[1]) and it was a military coup whereby the chief of the army deposed the head of government. In a very mild development, even by modern standards, the deposed emperor was given a substantial pension and went on to live in luxury in the countryside for a few more decades [2]. The average citizen saw few if any changes in their everyday life. The Senate continued to function for over a century afterwards [3]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan#Prehistory_and_Roman_times https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan#Prehistory_and_Roman_tim... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romulus_Augustulus#Life_in_exile https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romulus_Augustulus#Life_in_exi... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Senate#Senate_in_the_West https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Senate#Senate_in_the_Wes...

lou1306 5y ago
But it was a "fall" in the sense that the line of western Roman emperors ended then and there. Odoacer did not claim the title for himself and even sent the imperial regalia to Constantinople.
- zeteo 5y ago
  He did send the regalia to Constantinople, because he wanted Zeno to wear them. The two halves had been ruled sometimes by different emperors and at other times by a single person (Constantine, Julian etc.). As far as anyone at the time was concerned, things were legally returning to the state of 395 AD with Zeno instead of Theodosius as the joint emperor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Nepos#Exile_in_Dalmatia_(475–480) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Nepos#Exile_in_Dalmatia... (This was no mere pretense either. When Zeno became dissatisfied with Odoacer he sent in Theodoric to depose him. When Theodoric's daughter was assassinated, the new emperor sent in the army and took back direct control of Italy.)

by zeteo 5y ago

lou1306 5y ago

But it was a "fall" in the sense that the line of western Roman emperors ended then and there. Odoacer did not claim the title for himself and even sent the imperial regalia to Constantinople.

zeteo 5y ago
He did send the regalia to Constantinople, because he wanted Zeno to wear them. The two halves had been ruled sometimes by different emperors and at other times by a single person (Constantine, Julian etc.). As far as anyone at the time was concerned, things were legally returning to the state of 395 AD with Zeno instead of Theodosius as the joint emperor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Nepos#Exile_in_Dalmatia_(475–480) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Nepos#Exile_in_Dalmatia... (This was no mere pretense either. When Zeno became dissatisfied with Odoacer he sent in Theodoric to depose him. When Theodoric's daughter was assassinated, the new emperor sent in the army and took back direct control of Italy.)