The Vandalism of Rome: The Empire Is Dead, Long Live the Empire

“Gaiseric’s Sacking of Rome,” between 1833 and 1836, by Karl Bryullov. Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. Public Domain

In the month of June, A.D. 455, the Germanic tribe known today as the Vandals sacked the great city of Rome. While the Eastern half of the Empire, known as the Byzantine Empire, continued as a powerful political force for more than a thousand years, this event is as good as any for marking the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

It’s also a perfect example of the resiliency of Roman heritage. Rome’s literature, its language, its laws, and its republican ethos not only survived the sack of Rome, but shaped the event itself. Rome’s heritage mitigated the loss of human life and even lived on amid the physical ruins of the Roman Empire.

One of the most important reasons for the rise of Rome and its dominion over much of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East was because its citizens were also its soldiers. From its origins through the first century A.D., the Roman army was mostly composed of Roman citizens.

These men believed that putting the common good first ensured the protection of one’s own personal property. The Roman language itself reveals this belief: The English word “republic” comes from a combination of two Latin words: “res,” meaning “entity” or “thing,” and “publica,” meaning “public” or “of the people.” Together, the “res publica” is the public  “thing,” the “thing” common that all men own. Defending Rome and defending one’s family, property, and rights were the same thing.

How the Roman Empire Ended

In 455, 1208 years after the traditional date of Rome’s founding, the army no longer consisted of Roman citizens eager to protect themselves and their families by protecting the republic. It was made up of conscripted men, and most of these were non-citizens.

A 5th-century gold coin of Emperor Petronius Maximus. Public Domain

Roman society was no longer ruled by elected officials but by an autocratic emperor. The emperor at this time was Petronius Maximus, who most likely killed the previous emperor, Valentinian III, and married Valentinian III’s widow, Eudoxia, in a bid to consolidate power. His son married Eudocia, Eudoxia’s daughter.

It was his son’s marriage to Eudocia that was the immediate cause of the Vandal attack. Gaiseric, the Vandal king, had made an alliance with Valentinian, and Gaiseric’s son was supposed to marry Eudocia. In anger at the broken agreement and in collusion with the outraged Eudoxia, Gaiseric set across the sea from North Africa for Ostia, Rome’s port.

An illustrated conception (R) of the 6th-century Vandals who sacked Rome, 1575, by Lucas d'Heere. Ghent University. Public Domain

Maximus learned of the invasion too late. Abandoned by common soldiers who had nothing at stake in fighting for him, he was killed trying to escape. Rome lost its government and was left defenseless by an army with too few Romans.

Nevertheless, Rome was spared utter destruction. Leaderless and helpless, its culture rose up to defend it. The Christians, although persecuted by the Roman Empire off and on for centuries, had developed within Rome’s cultural and social context. Meanwhile, the Vandals had defeated the Roman Empire in North Africa, but in the process had accepted Christianity, a religion that used Greek and Roman philosophy, language, and attitudes to define and defend itself.

Furthermore, as Rome had no ruler, Pope Leo I took charge of negotiating with Gaiseric. Leo’s one aim was to prevent bloodshed, and he accomplished it. Gaiseric, a Christian himself, agreed that there would be no slaughter if Rome surrendered. Immediately, the gates of Rome opened to the invaders, and a strange combination of circumstances emerged: While Rome’s treasures were plundered for two weeks on a scale never before seen (this sack was the very origin of our English word “vandalism”), Roman lives were saved, for the most part.

Pope Leo the Great persuades Gaiseric, prince of the Vandals, to abstain from sacking Rome. An illumination by Maïtre François in Augustine’s “The City of God” (Vol. I). Public Domain

Christian values—the avoidance of bloodshed because human life was valued over material goods—were clearly at play in this event. Although other factors were likely involved in Gaiseric’s decision, so were the best Roman ideals. The great pagan Roman poet Virgil had described the Roman mission as one of “To spare the conquered, [and] battle down the proud.” This Roman viewpoint was unique to the ancient world. From Rome’s origins, whether in legend or history, Romans generally sought to make allies of enemies rather than destroying them. Gaiseric sacked Rome, but he did not utterly destroy it.

A Beginning

The Vandal sack of Rome was a clear sign that the Roman Empire, as a unified government under the emperors, was all but over. Despite the destruction, many Roman institutions and ideals survived. Like a bird molting its feathers, the idea of the “public thing” remained under the crumbling governance. Benedictine monasteries, for example, soon appeared after this event.

St. Benedict (480–547) founded 12 communities for monks at Subiaco, Italy (present-day Lazio, 40 miles to Rome), before moving south-east to Monte Cassino in the mountains of central Italy. "Saint Benedict and Saint Scholastica and Two Companions in a Landscape," between 1651 and 1681, by Jean Baptiste de Champaigne. Oil on canvas. National Trust, Calke Abbey, England. Public Domain

The monasteries helped preserve Rome’s philosophical and literary heritage. While Rome’s government had divorced the individual’s welfare from that of the empire, Benedictine monasteries were communities where individuals joined of their own volition and all property was held in common. The good of the whole came first, but the good of each individual was guaranteed by the common good.

In addition, the spirit of Rome’s legal system survived the demise of the Senate and the emperor in two ways: as a tradition in villages and estates, and as written documents in the monasteries. Finally, Rome lived on its language, transformed from classical Latin into the European Romance languages.

In one way, the story of Rome’s fall is a story of hope. The destruction, even self-destruction, of a society does not mean complete extinction. Catastrophe can even present an occasion to shed evil and allow good to shine more brightly than before.

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