The Fall Of Rome
In 330 C.E a Roman emperor took a step that changed the future of Rome. He moved his capital 850 miles to the east, to the ancient city of Byzantium. It was now called Constantinople. After Constantines reign, power was usually divided between two emperors, one based in Rome and one in Constantinople. Rome became the capital of just the western part of the empire. Soon, Rome itself was threatened by Germanic tribes. In 410 C.E., the Visigoths attacked and looted the city. Finally, the last emperor in the west, Romulus Augustus, lost his throne to a Germanic leader. After this, the western half of the empire began to dissolve into separate kingdoms ruled by different tribes. In the east, the empire continued for another 1000 years. It is now called tne Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines wove the Roman heritage into their own rich civilization, but were never able to put the old empire back together.