The fall of the Western Roman Empire
From the 4th to the 5th centuries, the Roman Empire gradually declined under the combined attack of slaves, agricultural revolts, and German invasions. The imperial government gradually gave up control of the outlying province of Britain; from 407 onwards, it began to withdraw from the army until 442. All retreat. From then on, Rome's 400-year rule over Britain ended, and the Celts gained political independence. However, although the Celts got rid of the oppression of foreign races and established some small principalities, they fought endlessly with each other in order to compete for territory, weakening their defensive capabilities. This provides favorable conditions for the Anglo, Saxon, and Zhuti people to take advantage of the void and enter. By the mid-fifth century AD, most of the (Roman) Western Empire had been occupied by the barbarians. Except for the Visigoths and Vandals, Britain was occupied by the Anglo and Saxons, the northern part of Gaul was occupied by the Franks, and the eastern part was occupied by the Burgundians. The Roman Empire has been torn apart and is on the verge of extinction. The Anglo ancestors live in the southern part of Jutland, the Juti people in the northern part of the peninsula, and the Saxons live in the lower reaches of the Elbe and Weser rivers. The Anglo and Saxons are closely related, and their languages and customs are difficult to distinguish. They are commonly referred to in history. Anglo? Saxon. They were adjacent to the Franks. Because the Franks were so powerful that they could not develop into Gaul, in the mid-fifth century, when the Huns invaded Northern Europe, they crossed the sea and migrated to Britain. Britain or the first primitive tribe of Celts inhabited the island of Great Britain. In the middle of the first century AD, it was conquered by Rome, set up provinces, and sent a governor to govern. Britain is divided into two parts: the military zone (northwest mountainous area) and the administrative zone (southeast plain area). In fact, the Romans only controlled the administrative region. Wales in the west and Scotland in the north were still in the hands of the Celtic Britons, and they often united to start a struggle against the Roman occupation forces. In 442, Rome and the Vandal-Aran kingdoms revised the 435-year treaty, and Rome finally recognized the Vandal Kingdom's rule over most of North Africa. At this time, the triumphant progress of the Bhagavad movement shocked the Roman ruling class. In 449, the Roman general Assias led an army to crush the border. With the disparity in the numbers, the Pakistani Gothic elements were defeated. Yu Zhong moved to northern Spain and organized a riot centered on the province of Tarragon. Vasilius, the leader of Bagda, captured the city of Toriaso, rushed into the church, and executed the outrageous bishop Leo on the spot. When the Germans aggressively attacked Rome, the Huns also advanced westward. In 450 AD, after their leader Attila Dadanyu asked to marry Princess Henoria, the sister of the Western Roman emperor, they launched a war against Western Rome in the name of crusade against the Visigoths and entered Gaul. . Hearing the news of the Huns' attack, West Rome hurriedly sent general Attius to unite with the Visigoths to rush to rescue. Attila besieged the city of Orleans, unable to overcome it for a long time. Hearing that the Roman army had come, he pulled out and went round to the northeast. The Western Roman and Visigothic forces followed and pursued. On June 20, 451, the Huns fought with the Western Roman and Visigothic forces on the outskirts of Troy, southeast of Paris (on the north bank of the Seine). The battle was very fierce. It is said that more than 150,000 people were killed in the war within one day, and the outcome of the two sides was mixed. The Visigoth king Diodoric was killed, and the rest retreated; the Huns suffered heavy losses and were unable to attack again. Attila also retreated and had to return to Hungary by the Rhine. In the second year, Attila gathered a large army and attacked Italy. He believes that the previous defeat in Gaul was due to the Visigoths assisting Western Rome. In the current attack on Italy, there are no barbarians to assist Western Rome. As expected, Attila crossed the Alps and drove straight into the Alps with few obstacles. After he captured Aquileia, an important town in northeastern Italy, he went straight to Rome. On September 20, 451, the 500,000 armies of the Huns and their allied forces and the Roman, Visigoth, and Alain, Franconian, and Burgundian allied forces launched in Sharon in the Catalonia Plain (Catalowen Plain) War. Although tactically speaking, the Battle of Sharon did not achieve decisive results, it was still a great victory for Aetius and Rome. The Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III was terrified and sent Pope Leo I to negotiate peace. At this time, a plague suddenly broke out in the Huns, and the deaths were heavy. The supply of rations was also inadequate. In addition, the East Roman reinforcements arrived. Attila knew that the long battle was disadvantageous, so he accepted the peace talks. Rome let the Huns go away full of treasures. When retreating, Attila threatened that if Rome did not send the amorous Princess Honoria, he would still attack Italy. The late emperor Valentinian III of the Western Roman Empire passed away on March 16, 455. He was not highly evaluated in history and believed that he lacked the ability to govern.The Roman noble, Petronius Maximus, launched a court coup and became emperor of the Western Roman Empire (in 455) and was immediately killed. Maximus was Emperor for two and a half months (March 17 to May 31, 455).
At this time, the Vandals Geselik (Casaric, Alaric) established a powerful navy. On June 2, 455, he crossed the sea to the north, captured Rome, killed Petronius Maximus, looted on the 14th, and plundered a large number of slaves and gold and silver properties. They ransacked Rome again. After the disaster, there were only 7,000 inhabitants in Rome, and the culture-destroying "vandalism" got its name. Returned to Africa on June 16.
Soon, Geserik died suddenly. It is said that the Goths forced the Roman captives to drain a river, buried Geserich's body and countless treasures at the bottom of the river, and then put the water into the river. After the completion of the project, all the prisoners were killed. Therefore, his burial place and burial objects have never been discovered.
In the 550s, Western Rome was actually the world of barbarians. Barbarian kingdoms were established: the Visigoths ruled Spain, the Vandals established a country in North Africa, the Franks and Burgundians ruled Gaul, the Ostrogoths occupied present-day Yugoslavia, and the Anglo-Saxons entered Britain. Only Italy and part of Gaul remain in the territory of Western Rome. The real power of the empire rests in the hands of barbaric generals, and imperial powers have a false reputation.
The Western Roman Empire is close to collapse. There was no emperor in Western Rome. With the support of the Visigoths, the Gaul Provincial Joint Council elected the well-respected Avitus (Avito) as the emperor (July 10, 455). One election quickly won the approval of the Roman Senate in Italy and the Eastern Roman emperor. The following year, in 456, Avitus himself came to Rome.
Avitus was born in a nobleman of Gaul. He was once a general under Aetius, and he has made great achievements in Gaul. Later he even served as the commander of the Guards in Gaul. During this period, he established a very good friendship with the Visigothic royal family. Around 440, Avitus resigned from public office and lived a peaceful life in his manor.
Because the Visigoth king felt that Avitus was supported by them, he acted recklessly in Gaul and marched into Spain. At the same time, Avitus was unable to stabilize the situation in Italy. The treasury of Western Rome was empty, the government was unable to pay officials’ salaries, and Rome’s food shortages caused the Romans to be dissatisfied with Avitus. . The army general who opposed Avitus returned to Italy after defeating the Vandals once in Corsica. Forcing Avitus, who had been in Rome for less than a year to abdicate (October 16, 456), and then fled Rome. He wanted to escape to a place near Gaul so that the Visigoths of Gaul could help him. However, in 456 or 457, Avitus passed away. There are several different theories about his death. One said that he was infected and died while fleeing, and the other was that he was killed.
