In conventional views the fall of the Roman Empire was traditionally argued to have occurred around the year 476, with Romulus Augustulus as the last emperor and the West Roman Empire. The empire was argued to have fell due to a loss of territory after Barbaric invasions. However, there is great evidence to demonstrate how Rome never officially fell at this time or for centuries after. While the Roman Empire in the West began to decline, the Roman Empire in the East (which often goes forgotten) was still thriving one thousand years after 476. Ironically, Constantinople- the capital of the East Roman Empire- had surpassed the East of the Roman Empire politically and economically, being surrounded by sea ensured secure trade and defence. The new barbarian leader in the West after Augustulus was even commended by the Roman emperor in Constantinople. [1] This demonstrating the power the Roman Empire still had even when supposedly being ‘taken down’ in 476 by the barbarians. Historian Brian Perkins has argued there was no abrupt ‘fall’ of Rome as history often portrays it. Instead, it was a transition of culture. [2] As an example, fashions in Rome altered with the introduction of the shield as an accessory and Latin evolved into an array of languages named the ‘romance vernaculars.[3] Yet the colosseum still stood and could not be matched. Moreover, a major project of research into the period 300-800 was branded ‘The Transformation of the Roman World’, hinting not at all at a fall or even decline of the Roman Empire. The Empire lived on through the people, buildings, and customs of Rome, even without the great markings of an empire like an emperor. References: [1] E. A. Thompson, Romans and Barbarians: The Decline of the Western Empire (Wisconsin, 2002) https://books.google.co.uk/bookshl=en&lr=&id=BiXgsE7vsjcC&oi=fnd&pg=PP10&dq=Thompson+romans+and+barbarians+&ots=n1KpXYR4bn&sig=8H4sIPgXL3f_dbQS8FnGXQTdDLg#v=onepage&q=Thompson%20romans%20and%20barbarians&f=false [2] B. W. Perkins, The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilisation (Oxford, 2006) https://books.google.co.uk/bookshl=en&lr=&id=huoRDAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=perkins+rome+&ots=Rm8JL5PEUf&sig=wbq-P08S6dVwwjl3rabiQQwWMyI#v=onepage&q=perkins%20rome&f=false [3] https://www.historyextra.com/period/qa-when-did-italian-replace-latin-as-the-language-of-italy/

The empire never ended.