introduction
Rome, a tribe that originally arose on the Apennine Peninsula in Italy, in the long historical development, they have conquered ancient Greece, Carthage, Macedonia, Seleucid dynasty, Ptolemaic dynasty, and finally realized the unification of the Mediterranean, becoming the second country to cross the three continents of Asia, Europe and Africa, but there is prosperity and decline, which is an objective historical law in itself, and it is inevitable that the rule of the Romans will be replaced by the Germans who migrated south. In fact, the decline and fall of the Roman Empire is inextricably linked to the disorder of its internal system, and this unstable factor has been laid in ambush as early as the republican era.
In 394 AD, the Roman Emperor Theodosius I split the empire in two
As the founders of the empire passed away, successive monarchs were unable to maintain internal stability in the empire, leading to a situation of disintegration, and most of the monarchs of the country during this period were irregular succession.
Three-century crisis
During this period, the Roman Empire was in a state of long-term chaos. All this stemmed from the emperor's inability to rule the country effectively, coupled with the collapse of slavery, and although Diocletian stabilized the state on the verge of collapse after succeeding him as emperor, it is clear that this crisis did not disappear with it, the Roman Emperor in 394 AD
Theodosius I
Dividing the country in two and dividing it among his two sons, although Theodosius I was a great emperor, he was not able to change the decline of the country.
The economy of the Roman Empire has been in a state of instability since the crisis of the third century
Under the uneven economic development – the fate of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires was very different
As early as the time of the Roman Empire, economic problems have always plagued the development of the country, because of the chaotic era in which it is located, the problem of inflation is quite serious, and more critically, the economic development of the eastern and western parts of the Roman Empire is uneven, the western part is densely populated but the material shortage, while the economy of the east is showing a thriving trend, and the east is also the most important grain producing area of the Roman Empire, so for a long time the western economy has relied on the east to survive.
Theodosius I, the last unified emperor of the Roman Empire
But after Theodosius I divided the country in two, the Western Roman Empire wanted to get economic support from the east, basically it was impossible, the economic recession further triggered drastic changes in the country, the Western Roman Empire could not afford the huge expenses of the army, with the continuous southward migration of the Germans, the Western Roman Empire was even more powerless to resist the invasion of these Germans, and some frontier provinces to achieve local autonomy have established their own armed forces.
Hornolius, second son of Theodosius I, was the first emperor of the Western Roman Empire
Thus, after Theodosius I separated the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, the Western Roman Empire fell into crisis almost instantaneously, and the first Emperor of the Western Roman Empire was Flavius Augustus Honolius, the youngest son of Theodosius I. Due to his young age, the military and political power of the Western Roman Empire at that time was controlled by the barbarian general Stilico (whose father was a Vandal), and as early as the time when Theodosius I was still alive, Stilico was already an important general in the Roman Empire.
Stilico, a prominent military minister of the Western Roman Empire, died in a palace coup
Faced with the mess of the Western Roman Empire, Stilico led the army of the Roman Empire to conquer the west, defeated the threat of the Germans to the empire dominated by the Visigoths, initially stabilized the situation of the country, and made the situation of the Division and Rule of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires at that time initially stabilized, but it was such a meritorious general, as the Emperor Hornorius grew up, he was extremely dissatisfied with being held hostage by Stilico. Stilico's domination of the government also caused resentment in the Senate, because he himself was from the barbarians, and the signing of a peace agreement with the barbarians during the war touched the nerves of the Romans, and at that time there were already rumors that Stilico was ready to support his son to become Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire.
The Visigoths sacked the city of Rome
And the emperor
Hornolius
Although the Emperor himself married Stilico's daughter and the two were related, Honoryu did not hesitate to kill Stilico. However, what is even more tragic is that after the execution of Stilico, the Western Roman Empire was no longer able to stop the Visigothic generals, and only 2 years later, the Visigoths joined forces with Roman slaves to attack Rome and plunder, fortunately, Honolius had already moved the capital to Ravenna, otherwise the Western Roman Empire would have been destroyed in this disaster, and Although Hornorius himself had endured this blow, he had a long life and died of illness in 423 AD.
A Flash in the Pan - The "Return to the Light" of the Western Roman Empire
During Honorius's reign as emperor, the Western Roman Empire as a whole was already in turmoil, and there were many usurpers, but from 423 AD, when Honorlius died, until the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD, there were two periods of particular political stability, one of which was 425-455 AD, Valentinian III was one of the few Western Roman emperors who had more than 30 years, and the other period was the reign of Antemius from 467 to 472.
Gold coins issued during the reign of Valentinian III
The political stability of the first period was not due to its first achievement
Valentinian III
Because he was not wise and decisive, but relied entirely on his courtiers, Aetius, known as the "last Roman", who held out for 30 years in the perilous situation of the Western Roman Empire, but was killed by valentian III, and after the death of Aetius, the Western Roman Empire fell into disarray, during which the Germans led by the Visigoths and Vandals entered Rome and sacked like entering their own back garden.
Aetius, who survived the crisis for 30 years, was hailed as the "last Roman"
During this period, the power of the Western Roman Empire was not even in the hands of the various emperors but in the hands of the generals, due to the improper succession of the throne, there were also great differences between the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, and even mutual non-recognition, until the Western Roman Empire general Richimer turned to the Eastern Roman Empire for help, and on the premise of mutual approval, Richimer accepted the imperial heir selected by the Eastern Roman Empire, Antemius, which stabilized the situation in the Western Roman Empire.
The Vandals sacked the city of Rome again in 455 AD
It should be said that the political situation of the Western Roman Empire this time was unprecedentedly stable, because with the support of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Western Roman Empire was unprecedentedly stable inside and outside, but although the political situation of the country was completely stabilized, there was also an old problem, that is, the economic problems of the Western Roman Empire, although the relations with the Eastern Roman Empire had been restored at this time, it was obvious that if the country was really stable, it was necessary to retake the North African region occupied by the Vandals.
The area occupied by the Vandal kingdom was an important economic zone of the Western Roman Empire
After all, after losing the support of the eastern provinces, north Africa became an important economic region of the Western Roman Empire, as early as 429 AD, the Vandals had already established the Vandal kingdom in North Africa with Carthage as the center, and he was also one of the strong enemies outside the Roman Empire like the Visigoths, and his strength also forced the Western Roman Empire to recognize its rule in North Africa, but in order to regain this economically important region, the East and West Roman Empires became the common goal of the two after cooperation. A major war between the two sides is on the verge of breaking out.
Antimius, Emperor of the Western Roman Empire (reigned 467–472 AD)
An unbearable defeat – the Battle of the Carben Peninsula
In fact, in the years when the Western Roman Empire was crumbling, the eastern Roman Empire was also not very good, and it should be known that the Huns Attila and the Germans could not care whether they were the Eastern Roman Empire or the Western Roman Empire, once they encountered the two. More critically, the eastern part of the Eastern Roman Empire was often invaded by the Sassanid Dynasty, fortunately, although the economy of the Empire at that time was in the eastern provinces, it was basically based on the coastal economy, so in the face of the Sassanid invasion, the Romans were basically able to maneuver.
The Eastern Roman Empire was also in turmoil surrounded by foreign enemies, and had to pay offerings to avoid war
But basically in order to prepare for the Sassanid Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire spent too much effort, and at one point had to be stretched, and it also had to help the Western Roman Empire from time to time. Rome was sacked by the Vandals in 410 AD, when the Eastern Roman Empire was at war with Sassanid Persia and sent only 4,000 men to defend it
Ravenna
。 Fortunately, after 440 AD, the war with the Sassanid Dynasty tended to end, and in 453 AD, the Hunnic Empire Attila also fell ill on the wedding night, and the Eastern Roman Empire, which lacked two major bonds, could mobilize more power to help the Western Roman Empire.
The Battle of the Carben Peninsula was a joint effort by the Eastern and Western Roman Empires and the last chance of the Western Roman Empire
The Eastern Roman Empire and Richemer supported it
Antimius
After succeeding to the throne, it also maintained friendly relations with the Visigothic Kingdom. In this way, several parties jointly prepared for war against the Vandal kingdom in North Africa, and in order to win the war, the Eastern Roman Empire drew more than 1,100 warships, plus the Western Roman Empire also drew all its own troops, totaling about 100,000 people (according to the research, the actual strength of the two sides may not be so much), and presented an absolute advantage in strategy.
The fall of the Roman Empire
The Vandals are clearly not opponents, especially in terms of the military strength of the two sides, this is obviously an unfair duel, and if there is no accident, the Vandals will withdraw from the stage of history more than a hundred years in advance. But unexpectedly, in the naval battle of the Carbon Peninsula, the Vandals took advantage of the sudden change in the weather and wind direction to use the magic trick of fire attack to burn the combined forces of the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, because most of the Roman ships were very bulky, and there was no time to react under the siege of the fire.
Although the Roman army suffered heavy losses after this battle, it actually still occupied a considerable advantage, especially in terms of troop strength, but due to many problems within the Roman Empire, especially the local generals of the Western Roman Empire, this cooperation was ultimately difficult to continue. The Western Roman Empire was also constantly weakened in internal consumption, and suffered a tragic fate, after which the Eastern Roman Empire, although committed to recovering the lost territory of the Western Roman Empire, but in addition to justinian's reign during the reign of the other emperors basically did nothing, with the rise of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, the glory of the Roman Empire eventually became history.