Bible & Christianity › Early church & the councils › Augustine of Hippo (Confessions, City of God)
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
sack of Rome 410; last Western emperor 476· Event· Bible story & events
Historical recordConfirmed by archaeology, outside sources or contemporary records.
The Western Roman Empire collapsed in the 400s, from the Visigoths' sack of Rome in 410 to the last emperor's removal in 476.
See it on the Bible & Christianity map →What it is
On August 24, 410, Alaric's Visigoths, themselves Arian Christians, sacked Rome, the first foreign capture of the city in about 800 years. The Vandals took Carthage (439) and sacked Rome again (455). In 476 the Germanic general Odoacer deposed the boy emperor Romulus Augustulus and named no successor. The Eastern empire, ruled from Constantinople, lasted until 1453. In the West, Germanic kingdoms took over, and the church was often the strongest surviving institution.
Why it matters
With the state gone in the West, bishops, popes and monasteries became the keepers of order, learning and Latin, laying the ground for medieval Christendom.
Sources and history
Contemporary letters, like Jerome's lament over Rome's capture, and archaeology: fewer coins, poorer pottery, smaller buildings and shrinking towns in the 5th–6th centuries.
Questions and debates
Historians debate the causes (migrations, civil wars, finances, plague, climate) and whether it was a 'fall' or a slower 'transformation'. Gibbon partly blamed Christianity; few historians do today.
Inside this (1)
Connections (4)
▸Saint Patrick in Ireland worked beyond Rome's reach during Fall of the Western Roman EmpireMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
As Roman rule in Britain collapsed (the legions left around 410), Irish raiders struck freely and carried off captives like the young Patrick. He later took Christianity to Ireland, a land Rome never ruled. Irish monasteries then sent missionaries back into the post-Roman West, such as Columba to Iona (563) and Columbanus to Gaul (c. 590).
When and where
Western Britain and Ireland, 5th century; Patrick was captured at 16 from his father's estate, at a place he calls Bannavem Taburniae, now unidentified.
How do we know?
Patrick's own Confession describes the raid and his mission; the chronicler Prosper of Aquitaine records Pope Celestine sending Palladius to the Irish in 431.
Questions and debates
His exact dates are uncertain. The popular claim that 'the Irish saved civilization' after Rome fell is seen by most historians as overstated.
▸Augustine of Hippo (Confessions, City of God) answered, in City of God, pagan blame for Fall of the Western Roman EmpireHistorical record
The connection
After Alaric's Visigoths sacked Rome in 410, pagans blamed the disaster on Rome abandoning its old gods. Augustine replied in City of God (22 books): Rome had suffered under the old gods too, and every earthly city rises and falls. The lasting 'City of God' is the community of those who love God, pilgrims in this world.
When and where
Hippo, North Africa, 413–426, as refugees from Rome reached Africa; Augustine died in 430 during the Vandal siege of Hippo.
Historical evidence
City of God, Book 1, states its purpose, and Augustine's Retractations (c. 427) explains why he wrote it.
Questions and debates
How far City of God shaped medieval ideas of church over state, versus later readers stretching it, is debated by historians.
▸Fall of the Western Roman Empire left learning in the care of Benedict and Western monasticismMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
As Roman schools, libraries and cities declined in the West, monasteries became islands of order. Monks had to read the Bible, the Rule and the services, so monasteries kept schools and copying rooms (scriptoria). Cassiodorus founded Vivarium in southern Italy around 540 specifically to copy Christian and classical books.
When and where
Italy, 6th century: Monte Cassino (c. 529) and Vivarium (c. 540); later Irish, English and Frankish monasteries.
How do we know?
Most surviving classical Latin texts reach us through copies made in medieval monasteries, many in the 9th century; Cassiodorus's Institutions sets out his copying program.
Questions and debates
The 'Dark Ages' picture is disputed: much learning also survived in Byzantium and the Islamic world, and monks copied far more Christian than classical texts.
▸Fall of the Western Roman Empire raised the authority of The papacy: the popes and medieval ChristendomMostly agreed by scholars
The connection
With no Western emperor after 476 and Constantinople far away, Rome's bishop filled the gap. Leo I met Attila in 452 and the Huns withdrew; he negotiated with the Vandals in 455. Gregory I (590–604) fed the city from church estates, ransomed captives and made terms with the Lombards. The pope became the West's leading figure.
When and where
Rome and northern Italy, 452–604; key popes Leo I, Gelasius I and Gregory I.
How do we know?
Gregory's register of about 850 letters documents his civic role; the chronicler Prosper of Aquitaine recorded Leo's meeting with Attila.
Questions and debates
Whether Leo turned Attila back, or famine, disease and eastern troops did, is debated; so is how much papal power came from the vacuum versus claims of Peter's authority.