when did the fall of the roman empire begin
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
Relevant dates include 117 CE , when the Empire was at its greatest territorial extent , and the accession of Diocletian in 284 . Irreversible major territorial loss , however , began in 376 with a large - scale irruption of Goths and others . In 395 , after winning two destructive civil wars , Theodosius I died , leaving a collapsing field army and the Empire , still plagued by Goths , divided between the warring ministers of his two incapable sons . Further barbarians crossed the Rhine and other frontiers , and like the Goths were never killed , expelled or subjected . The armed forces of the Western Empire became few and ineffective , and despite brief recoveries under able leaders , central rule was never effectively consolidated . By 476 when Odoacer deposed the Emperor Romulus , the Western Roman Emperor wielded negligible military , political , or financial power and had no effective control over the scattered Western domains that could still be described as Roman . Barbarians had established their own power in most of the area of the Western Empire . While its legitimacy lasted for centuries longer and its cultural influence remains today , the Western Empire never had the strength to rise again . The Eastern Empire survived , and though lessened in strength remained for centuries an effective power of the Eastern Mediterranean . 
Relevant dates include 117 CE , when the Empire was at its greatest territorial extent , and the accession of Diocletian in 284 . Irreversible major territorial loss , however , began in 376 with a large - scale irruption of Goths and others . In 395 , after winning two destructive civil wars , Theodosius I died , leaving a collapsing field army and the Empire , still plagued by Goths , divided between the warring ministers of his two incapable sons . Further barbarians crossed the Rhine and other frontiers , and like the Goths were never killed , expelled or subjected . The armed forces of the Western Empire became few and ineffective , and despite brief recoveries under able leaders , central rule was never effectively consolidated . By 476 when Odoacer deposed the Emperor Romulus , the Western Roman Emperor wielded negligible military , political , or financial power and had no effective control over the scattered Western domains that could still be described as Roman . Barbarians had established their own power in most of the area of the Western Empire . While its legitimacy lasted for centuries longer and its cultural influence remains today , the Western Empire never had the strength to rise again . The Eastern Empire survived , and though lessened in strength remained for centuries an effective power of the Eastern Mediterranean .
Irreversible major territorial loss , however , began in 376 with a large - scale irruption of Goths and others .In 395 , after winning two destructive civil wars , Theodosius I died , leaving a collapsing field army and the Empire , still plagued by Goths , divided between the warring ministers of his two incapable sons .By 476 when Odoacer deposed the Emperor Romulus , the Western Roman Emperor wielded negligible military , political , or financial power and had no effective control over the scattered Western domains that could still be described as Roman .
Irreversible major territorial loss , however , began in 376 with a large - scale irruption of Goths and others . In 395 , after winning two destructive civil wars , Theodosius I died , leaving a collapsing field army and the Empire , still plagued by Goths , divided between the warring ministers of his two incapable sons . By 476 when Odoacer deposed the Emperor Romulus , the Western Roman Emperor wielded negligible military , political , or financial power and had no effective control over the scattered Western domains that could still be described as Roman .
The Empire faced a major territorial loss in 376 and in 395, after winning two destructive civil wars , Theodosius I died , leaving a collapsing field army and the Empire divided between the warring ministers of his two incapable sons. By 476 when Odoacer deposed the Emperor Romulus , the Western Roman Emperor wielded negligible military , political , or financial power and had no effective control over the scattered Western domains.
Irreversible major territorial loss , however , began in 376 with a large - scale irruption of Goths and others . In 395 , after winning two destructive civil wars , Theodosius I died , leaving a collapsing field army and the Empire , still plagued by Goths , divided between the warring ministers of his two incapable sons . By 476 when Odoacer deposed the Emperor Romulus , the Western Roman Emperor wielded negligible military , political , or financial power and had no effective control over the scattered Western domains that could still be described as Roman .