The Rise Of The Barbarians
=Conclusion=
In this gradual manner the Roman Empire in the west gave way to a number of barbarian kingdoms, and separated from the Roman Empire in the east (known as the Byzantine Empire). These German kings did seek Roman titles such as “patrician” and “governor,” however they paid little allegiance to the Roman Empire, and were in practice independent. The disintegration of the Roman Empire in the west, therefore, was from within. While the rise of the German barbarians was by no means bloodless, it was not a sudden conquest either. The German peoples that rose in the place of the Romans were often groups who were seeking a place within the empire that they so admired. Instead, they precipitated the decline of the Roman Empire, and initiated a process of merger between German and Roman traditions. And so in a loose sense of the word, the Germanic barbarians colonised the western Roman Empire.
=Conclusion=
In this gradual manner the Roman Empire in the west gave way to a number of barbarian kingdoms, and separated from the Roman Empire in the east (known as the Byzantine Empire). These German kings did seek Roman titles such as “patrician” and “governor,” however they paid little allegiance to the Roman Empire, and were in practice independent. The disintegration of the Roman Empire in the west, therefore, was from within. While the rise of the German barbarians was by no means bloodless, it was not a sudden conquest either. The German peoples that rose in the place of the Romans were often groups who were seeking a place within the empire that they so admired. Instead, they precipitated the decline of the Roman Empire, and initiated a process of merger between German and Roman traditions. And so in a loose sense of the word, the Germanic barbarians colonised the western Roman Empire.
| Updated >> 21 September 2004 |