The Roman Empire is generally considered to have fallen in two major phases:
- The fall of the Western Roman Empire occurred in 476 AD. This is when the Germanic barbarian king Odoacer deposed the last Western Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustulus, marking the end of central political control in the Western provinces. The Western Empire effectively ceased to exist as a unified entity at this point, with several barbarian kingdoms taking over its former territories.
- The Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, continued much longer and finally fell in 1453 AD. This happened when the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II conquered Constantinople, killing the last Roman emperor, Constantine XI. This event marked the definitive end of the Roman Empire as a continuing state.
While 476 AD remains the traditional date for the fall of the Roman Empire in the West, historians note that the Eastern Roman Empire survived for nearly another thousand years until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD.
Therefore, the Roman Empire fell in two main stages:
- Western Roman Empire: 476 AD
- Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire): 1453 AD
The fall of Rome in 476 AD is symbolic of the end of ancient Rome's political unity, whereas 1453 AD marks the final demise of the Roman state altogether. These dates reflect both the political and military collapses that ended Roman rule in their respective regions.
