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Article: Why the Eastern Empire Survived.(Roman Empire)
- Article from:
- Calliope
- Article date:
- January 1, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Rome fell--but not the entire empire. When barbarians took the city in 476, it was the western part that gave way. Attacks by foreigners from beyond its borders and much internal disagreement both contributed to its fall. Yet, there was still an enormous area in the east that remained under Roman control. What happened to these lands? Why did they survive? Even more importantly, why did this empire in the east continue to exist for almost 1,000 years?
Historians give two main reasons. Officials in the western empire had to protect the area's long borders that followed the upper and middle Danube and the Rhine rivers. The length naturally left the west at a ...