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.

Permanent division

Following the death of Jovian the empire fell into a new set of crisis similar to the Crisis of the Third Century. In 364, another officer named Valentinian I took power. He immediately divided the empire once again, giving the eastern half to his brother Valens. Stability was not achieved for long in either half of the empire as conflicts with barbarians intensified, especially with the Huns and Goths. Another serious problem in the west was a growing backlash by emperors against paganism. In 379, Valentine I's son and successor Gratian had refused to wear the mantle of pontifex maximus and in 382 had rescinded the rights of pagan priests, as well as removing the pagan altar from the Curia. In 388 a powerful and popular general named Magnus Maximus seized power in the west, and forced Gratian's son Valentinian II to flee to the east and the aid of the Eastern Emperor Theodosius I who quickly restored Valentinian II to power, but also converted him to Christianity and caused a ban on paganism to be implemented in the west in 391. In 392 pagan usurpers assassinated Valentinian II and a man named Eugenius was declared emperor until he was defeated in 394 by Theodosius I, who, having ruled both east and west for a year died in 395. This marked the beginning of the end for the West, as with Theodosius's death went the East's assistance for the West. A short period of stability under the puppet emperor Honorius controlled by Flavius Stilicho ended at Stilicho's death in 408, and many argue with him went the Western Roman Empire. It was during this period that the two empires truly diverged, as the east began a slow recovery and consolidation, the west began to collapse entirely.

Related Topics:
Jovian - Crisis of the Third Century - Valentinian I - Valens - Huns - Goths - Gratian - Pontifex maximus - Curia - Magnus Maximus - Valentinian II - Theodosius I - Christianity - Eugenius - Honorius - Flavius Stilicho

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