When did the Roman Empire fall?
The Western Roman Empire fell in AD 476, when the Germanic leader Odoacer removed the last emperor, Romulus Augustulus. The Eastern Roman Empire lasted until 1453.
By the 400s, the western half of the empire was weakened by civil wars, economic problems and pressure from groups such as the Goths and Vandals. Rome itself was sacked by the Visigoths in 410 and by the Vandals in 455.
In 476, Odoacer, a soldier who led Germanic troops in Roman service, deposed the teenage emperor Romulus Augustulus and did not name a replacement. Historians traditionally use this date for the end of the Western Empire and the start of the Middle Ages in Europe.
The empire in the east
The Eastern Roman Empire, often called the Byzantine Empire, continued for nearly another thousand years with its capital at Constantinople. It ended when the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II captured the city on May 29, 1453.
Did You Know?
The Holy Roman Empire, founded much later in central Europe, was a different state. It lasted until 1806 and claimed to continue the Roman tradition.