The ‘Fall’ of the Roman Empire in the West
- The geographic and historical context of the ‘fall’ of the Roman Empire in the West, including the Battle of Adrianople in AD 378, the Sack of Rome in AD 410 by Alaric and the Visogoths, and the abdication of Romulus Augustus as the last Roman Emperor in the West in AD 476
The nature of the sources most relevant to these interpretations and representations, for example the writings of Julian, Ammianus Marcellinus, Orosius, Augustine City of God, and Zosimus
The different interpretations and representations of the ‘fall’ of the Roman Empire in the West (from the ancient past, to the more recent past, to today), including Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, and his view that the Roman Empire fell as a result of barbarian invasions and the promotion of Christianity; and the modern understanding of the “fall” of the Roman Empire in the West as a period of transformation
The historical context of the interpretations and representations of the ‘fall’ of the Roman Empire and why these have changed over time, for example the importance of the Pagan versus Christian interpretations of events at the time and various modern reinterpretations
The reliability and contestability of the interpretations and representations of the ‘fall’ of the Roman Empire, including the significance of source selection, omission, emphasis and gaps in evidence, for example debates about what is meant by the ‘decline and fall’ of the Roman empire