The Fall of Rome

[Theres]

in "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", Gibbon tells us that the date of the fall of Rome was 476 CE.
is this right?
arguements could be made for other dates, or even that the Empire has NEVER fallen.
personally, i see the advent of the eastern capital of Constantinople and the split of the Empire as significant, coinciding as it did with the adoption of Christianity.
but i know you guys know your Roman history, so i was curious about your opinions on this.

for more...
http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa061599.htm

[Mnemosyne]

What a tough question, Greenman! You can argue that so many events mark the downfall of the Roman Empire. For some reason, I think that the downfall of the Roman Empire began after Augustus. Ok, there were some good rulers after him, but I think that having crazy men such as Nero and Caligula began to make Rome weaker.