How did Rome end? Toby (11)

This is a difficult one for me. As a prehistorian, it is my belief that civilisation in Britain ended with the arrival of the Romans in AD 43 so I’ve never thought much about how Rome ended!! But fortunately I have a friend who likes the Romans, Mark Corney, who you may have seen on Time Team, so I asked him and he replied…

“By around AD 400 the Roman Empire was being hard pressed by Barbarian tribes from beyond the frontiers and Roman control of the western provinces became difficult. In AD 410 the Visigoths (a barbarian tribe) captured Rome led by their chief Alaric. Although this was a serious blow, the Roman Empire in the west continued until AD 476 when the last western emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was overthrown. By this time the provinces of Britain, France, Spain and North Africa had been lost.

However in the eastern part of the Empire, Roman rule continued from Constantinople (modern Istanbul in Turkey). This eventually became known as the Byzantine Empire and lasted until 1453 when Constantinople was captured by the Ottoman Turks.”

I couldn’t have put it better myself!