History glossary
Western Roman Empire
the western half of the Roman Empire, centered on Italy and western Europe, whose last emperor was deposed in 476 CE.
- Category
- Empire
- Region
- Western Europe and the western Mediterranean
- Date range
- late 3rd century-476 CE
What it means
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman imperial system after power was increasingly divided between western and eastern courts. It ruled parts of Italy, Gaul, Hispania, Britain, North Africa, and the western Mediterranean, though its territory shrank under military, political, and financial pressure. Its last emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed in 476 CE, a date often used to mark the end of ancient Rome in the West.
Related terms
Stories using this term
The Roman Empire
From Augustus to the fall of the Western Empire, Rome built a vast imperial system whose law, cities, armies and ideas shaped the ancient and medieval worlds.
The Anglo-Saxons
The Anglo-Saxons were the peoples and kingdoms that shaped Anglo-Saxon England after the end of Roman rule in Britain. From migration and settlement in Anglo-Saxon Britain to Christian conversion, Viking attacks, Alfred the Great, and the road to 1066, Anglo-Saxon history explains how early medieval England took form. Their language, laws, kingdoms, monasteries, and political traditions left a lasting mark on English identity before the Norman Conquest transformed the realm.
The Norman Conquest of England
From Viking settlers to conquerors, the Normans reshaped England, Italy, and the medieval Mediterranean.
The Fall of Rome to Early Medieval Europe
From the arrival of Gothic peoples at the Danube to the crowning of Charlemagne, this story traces how the Western Roman Empire fragmented into successor kingdoms and how a new medieval world took shape.
The Rise of the Medieval Church
From the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the Avignon papacy, this story traces how the Christian Church built its authority through bishops, monasteries, missions, reform, and direct confrontation with Europe's rulers.
