Why did the Western Roman Empire fall while the Eastern Roman Empire lasted another 1000 years?
In 330 AD, Emperor Constantine I of the Roman Empire moved the capital to the city of Byzantium, renamed “New Rome” for the occasion. Thus began the Eastern Roman Empire, later known to other peoples as Byzantium. The empire’s inhabitants did not use this name and continued to call themselves Romans, not Byzantines. For two centuries, the power of the Eastern Roman Empire increased while the Western Roman Empire steadily declined. In the 5th century AD, it was destroyed by the Ostrogoths under the leadership of Theodoric, who founded his own kingdom in its place. The Eastern Roman Empire continued to live and develop, only to be fully conquered by the Turks in 1453 AD.
Why did the fates of the two Roman empires differ so significantly? Historians have proposed many reasons to explain this. These include the degradation of the administrative apparatus of old Rome, economic conditions, and demographics. The main reason for the fall of the Western Roman Empire was barbarian invasions, which the previously invincible Roman legions could not stop. However, the same barbarian tribes also attacked the Eastern Roman Empire. Moreover, it bordered traditional enemies of Rome — the Persians.
