The fall of the Western Roman Empire was the process of decay that led to the fragmentation of the Western Roman Empire in 476.
By the fourth century, Rome continued to rule an extensive empire, with the Mediterranean Sea as its axis. Roman civilization extended from the Rhine and the Danube to the Sahara, from western Spain to Mesopotamia.
The triumph of Christianity, which was made official religion by Emperor Theodosius I the Great at the end of the fourth century, further strengthened this unity. But at that time, this immense empire was suffering a severe crisis that would end its existence.
Some symptoms of this decay were the corruption of senior officials in the administration, the passivity of the citizen to problems and obligations, and the decline of trade due to the excess taxes that merchants and artisans had to pay.
The army was still strong, although enlistment of Germans, even senior commanders, was becoming more common.
Apart from this already serious situation, a severe threat besieged Rome. It was the pressure the Germanic peoples put on their limes or borders. The defeat and death suffered by the Eastern Roman Emperor in 378 against the Visigoths, in the Battle of Adrianople, was a serious warning.
The last exhale from Rome occurred when the Visigoths revolted in 395. Led by Alaric I, they attempted to take Constantinople, but were repelled and instead sacked much of Thrace, in northern Greece.
In 405, the Ostrogoths invaded Italy, but were defeated. But then, Rome was sacked by the Visigoths in 410 and the Vandals in 455, which meant the final invasion of Rome and the fall of the greatest empire of all time, 21 years later.
