The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman world after the permanent split of AD 395, ruled from Milan and then Ravenna in Italy. Its last emperor was removed in AD 476, though the Eastern half carried on.
Key takeaways
- The Western Roman Empire began when Theodosius I died in AD 395 and ended in AD 476, when Odoacer removed Romulus Augustulus.
- Its capital was not Rome: the court sat in Milan and then, from AD 401, in Ravenna.
- On our map the empire shrinks from 4.72 million km² in AD 395 to 1.94 million km² in AD 476, because the Western provinces drop out.
- Roman law, Latin and the Church outlasted the Western emperors, and the Eastern empire carried on for nearly a thousand years.
How the Western Roman Empire worked
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the empire after the split that followed the death of Theodosius I on 17 January 395 [1]. The idea of two halves was older. Diocletian had already set up separate imperial courts in the Greek East and the Latin West [2], and emperors often shared power. What changed in 395 was that the halves never again had a single ruler for long, and the two courts began to go their own ways. The Eastern side has its own entry, and the Byzantine Empire map follows it date by date.
The West was ruled from Mediolanum (modern Milan) until 401, and then mostly from Ravenna, a city on the Italian coast [1]. Rome itself stayed the symbolic centre and kept its Senate, but emperors rarely lived there. The first Western emperor was Honorius, who reigned from 395 to 423 [1]. In the decades that followed, real power often lay with generals rather than with the emperors.
The West faced the Migration Period, when Goths, Vandals, Franks and other peoples moved into Roman land. Several of them were settled inside the frontiers as foederati, allied peoples bound by treaty [1]. Over the fifth century more and more land passed out of imperial control.
The end came in stages. On 4 September 476, Odoacer deposed Romulus Augustulus [1]. In 480, the exiled Western emperor Julius Nepos was murdered, and the Eastern emperor Zeno dissolved the Western court and ruled alone [1]. Historians therefore date the end of the West to 476 or to 480, depending on what they count as the last emperor.
An example from our data
Our map does not draw the West as its own shape. It draws the whole empire at each key date. At AD 395 the outline covers 4.72 million km² across 42 provinces and 45 modern countries (the year 395 page). By AD 476 it is down to 1.94 million km², 19 provinces and 19 countries (the year 476 page). What is left on the map at that date is the Eastern half. These areas are measured from the provinces Rome held at the first date and from the provinces Rome held at the second.
The province pages give the dates our data marks each Western province as lost. Britannia is marked lost in AD 410, Hispania Tarraconensis in AD 409, Africa Proconsularis in AD 439, Sicilia in AD 468, and the Italian heartland, Italia, in AD 476. These are map dates, set to when each province stopped being held, so the West fades out province by province rather than on a single day. The map draws none of the kingdoms that took over.
For the wider picture of how the empire's two halves compare in size, see East and West on the homepage and why the empire fell twice.
The thing people get wrong
Many people think the Roman Empire ended in 476. Only its Western half did. The Eastern empire kept its emperors, its laws and its capital at Constantinople until AD 1453. People in the West also did not wake up in 476 to a changed world. Roman law, the Latin language and the Church carried on under new rulers, and daily life in most places changed slowly.
Western vs Eastern Roman Empire
| Western Roman Empire | Eastern Roman Empire | |
|---|---|---|
| Court | Milan, then Ravenna | Constantinople |
| Main language | Latin | Greek, with Latin in law at first |
| Ended | AD 476 (or 480) | AD 1453 |
| On our map | Provinces drop out by AD 476 | Carried on to AD 1453 |
Frequently asked questions
When did the Western Roman Empire end?
Most historians say AD 476, when the Germanic general Odoacer removed the last Western emperor, Romulus Augustulus. Some prefer AD 480, when the former Western emperor Julius Nepos was murdered and the Eastern emperor Zeno took over the Western court.
Was Rome the capital of the Western Roman Empire?
Not for most of its life. The court moved to Milan and then, from AD 401, mostly to Ravenna, although Rome stayed the symbolic heart of the empire.
How big was the Western Roman Empire on the map?
Our map does not draw the two halves as separate shapes. It shows the whole empire at 4.72 million km² in AD 395, and 1.94 million km² in AD 476, after the West had gone.
Sources
- Western Roman Empire, Wikipedia.
- Roman Empire, Wikipedia.
- Every figure from our own map is worked out from the datasets on the data sources page (checked against Ancient World Mapping Center outlines and Pleiades).