Western Roman Empire

The Western Roman Empire is the name given to the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 286 AD. It would exist intermittently in several periods between the 3rd Century and the 5th Century, after Diocletian's Tetrarchy and the reunifications associated with Constantine the Great and his later successors, and is generally held to have ended with the abdication of Romulus Augustus on September 4, 476, under pressure of the Germanic chieftain Odoacer. Its counterpart, the Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantine Empire, survived for another 1,000 years.

Related Topics:
Roman Empire - Diocletian - 286 - 3rd Century - 5th Century - Tetrarchy - Constantine the Great - Romulus Augustus - September 4 - 476 - Germanic chieftain - Odoacer - Byzantine Empire

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Although linguistically united by the Latin language, and later under Roman Catholicism, the Western Roman Empire was in reality comprised of numerous different cultures that had been incompletely assimilated by the Romans, in contrast to the Eastern Roman Empire, which was Greek-speaking and had been culturally united since Alexander the Great's conquests in the 4th century BC.

Related Topics:
Roman Catholicism - Eastern Roman Empire - Greek-speaking - Alexander the Great - 4th century BC

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The Roman Empire thus truly split along cultural, religious, and linguistic lines, as the Hellenistic East held together around the Greek culture and Eastern Orthodox Church, and the cultural unity of the West was terminally strained by the influx of barbarians, who had been allowed to settle there in order to replenish the manpower of legions along the frontier, but who may also have had the unintended effect of causing even more discord in the West. Divergence in the Western and Eastern Empires continued, and in 410, Rome was sacked for the first time in over 800 years — the Western Empire soon ceased to be Roman and became ruled by the invading tribes The transformation was complete by 526, and despite brief periods of reconquest by the Eastern Roman Empire, the Western Empire would never rise again.

Related Topics:
Hellenistic - Eastern Orthodox - Barbarians - Legion

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