Ancient end of the world

The completion date of Antiquity

The date usually taken to indicate the end of the Antiquity, and thus the beginning of the Moyen-âge is the fall of the Roman Empire of Occident, marked by the deposition of the emperor of Occident Romulus Augustule in 476. It thus corresponds to the disparution of the Roman Empire of Occident as a political entity.

Other dates were proposed, by various works. Oldest have jointly to be, like 476, the date of an event political or military having an major impact had on the Roman Empire of Occident:

the advent of the first Christian emperors , or the Edict of Milan of 312
the organization on the model of Rome of a new capital with Byzance, famous Constantinople in 330
the advent of Christianity like religion of State of the Roman Empire (February 28th 380);
the prohibition of the Paganism in 392;
the last division of the Roman Empire in 395

The historian Pierre Grimal retains as rupture the cultural turning “One can admit that with the victory (of Constantin) with the Milvius bridge and the edict of Milan (313) cease for us Roman civilization. The Empire remains materially, but Constantin creates one second capital Constantinople (330), installed in the center of the East where was formed and radiates the Christian, nourished thought hellenism and Judaism. Roman civilization did not die, but it gives rise to another thing that itself, called to ensure its survival”.

Carried fall of Rome to Occident

If one regards the History as a permanent evolution, jerked but with his continuities, none of these events is not completely determining. Some appeared with their contemporaries deprived of an exceptional character or significant:

thus the division of the Roman Empire of 395 made following a reunification of a few months and following the preceding divisions of 284,337 and 364
the deposition of Romulus Augustule in 476 left only vacant the imperial throne, like those of Avitus into 456 or Libius Severus into 465, which did not have a successor during 2 years. Officially, the emperor of the East became again the single Roman Emperor
On the other hand the bag of Rome of 410, realization of an unthinkable act, shocked the spirits deeply (see the comments of Jerome de Stridon, then of Augustin d' Hippone).

Maurice Does not scratch in his synoptic table of Italy (chronological Frise) mark with 455 the fin effective of the Roman Empire with Ravenne, the agents of the capacity then not being any more but fantoches: Pétrone Maxime, Avitus, Majorien, Libus Severe, Anthémius, Olybrius, Glycère, Népos, and the famous Romulus Augustule.

Later on, in 800 the crowning of Charlemagne as emperor was for the Western elites the rebirth of the Empire, and for the Byzantines a usurpation (see Chronologie of the Early middle ages).

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