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The mostly powerless, but still influential Western Roman Senate continued to exist in the city of Rome under the rule of the Ostrogothic kingdom and, later, the Byzantine Empire for at least another century, before disappearing at an unknown date in the early 7th century. [288]
Nevertheless, the city of Rome retained a paramount position as "the eternal city" and a spiritual center of the Empire. This was the first time in almost 800 years that Rome had fallen to a foreign enemy, and the sack was a major shock to contemporaries, friends and foes of the Empire alike.
The 5th century is the time period from AD 401 (represented by the Roman numerals CDI) through AD 500 (D) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The 5th century is noted for being a period of migration and political instability throughout Eurasia. It saw the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, which came to a formal end in 476 AD.
Theodosius I is the only emperor that is definitely known to have visited Rome between 363 and 395. [8] Valentinian III moved his court to Rome in 450 and stayed there for the remainder of his life. [9] The population of the city had fallen from 700,000-1,000,000 at the end of the 4th century to 300,000-500,000 by 455. [10]
The Western Roman Empire began to disintegrate in the early 5th century. The Romans fought off all invaders, most famously Attila , [ 41 ] but the empire had assimilated so many Germanic peoples of dubious loyalty to Rome that the empire started to dismember itself. [ 42 ]
In any case, the damage caused by the sackings may have been overestimated. The population already started to decline from the late 4th century onward, although around the middle of the fifth century it seems that Rome continued to be the most populous city of the two parts of the Empire, with a population of no fewer than 650,000 inhabitants. [53]
The 5th century involves the final fall of the Western Roman Empire to Goths, Vandals, Alans, Huns, Franks and other peoples. Gothic War (401-403), a Visigothic invasion of Italy led by Alaric I [16] 402 Siege of Asti (402) – Visigoths besieged Western Emperor Honorius in Asti until March, when Stilicho sent reinforcements.
The traditional date for the end of the Western Roman Empire is 476 when the last Western Roman Emperor was deposed. Many theories of causality have been explored. In 1984, Alexander Demandt enumerated 210 different theories on why Rome fell, and new theories have since emerged.