Collapse of the Western Roman Empire

Roman Empire in the West has ceased to exist when the last emperor, Romulus Augustulus was dismissed by Germanic chieftain Odoacer in 476. However, the event itself was not the cause of the collapse of the empire, but the result of a process which began in the second half of the 2nd century. In the 3rd century, the Roman Empire collapsed almost under the pressure of the barbarian invasions, civil war and the crisis economic, known as the crisis in the 3rd century.

Roman territorial expansion has ended, while its borders have been developed in danger by the Sassanid empire East and Germanic peoples on the North and Northeast. The external threat increased defence costs, but at the same time, the income of the Roman provinces have begun to decline. Despite the lack of financial sources bureaucracy and administrative spending continued to grow and deepen further the economic crisis that began to endanger the integrity of the Roman Empire.

Economic crisis also resulted from the absence of slavery, which in turn has been the result of political change Roman. Roman economy depends greatly on the work of slaves, but the majority of slaves were acquired by the territorial expansion. Freedom from slavery force caused major changes in the countryside which considerably increased the number of coloni, farmers working on large areas and pay rent for owners in Exchange. Roman emperors were unable to put an end to the crisis which saw the birth of Christianity.

Roman Empire has managed to survive the crisis in the 3rd century due to reforms of Diocletian and Constantine the great. However, after the division permanent halves Empire Western and Eastern in 395 the Western Roman Empire becomes unable to push the invasions of the barbarian tribes began to penetrate more deeply into the Roman territory. Finally, Roman emperors were forced to leave the barbarians settle on the Roman territory in exchange for providing military assistance (foederatus).

Much of the Western Roman Empire was held by the barbarians as foederati, in the mid-5th century and barbaric military leaders eventually increase their influence in the empire. Roman emperors held West authority only formally after mid-5th century, then the real power is in the hands of barbaric military leaders. Seizure of the throne in 476 Odoacer was a "natural" result of a process which cannot be attributed to only barbarian invasions.