Rome Fell and Nobody Noticed

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The year 476 is traditionally seen as the fall of the Western Roman Empire, but life and institutions continued largely unchanged; people at the time did not perceive it as an end.
Theoderic, a Goth and Arian Christian, ruled Italy from 493 to 526, preserving Roman governmental structures for 33 years and maintaining roads, trade, and civil administration.
The Roman bureaucracy, Senate, and consulship persisted under Theoderic, with official communications written in the traditional imperial style and key appointments confirmed by Constantinople.
Diocletian's and Constantine's reforms separating civilian and military command allowed the Gothic army to replace the Roman army without disrupting civilian governance.
Theoderic redistributed land (or its rents) to reward his Gothic army through the Roman bureaucracy, led by Liberius, in a routine process that generated minimal paperwork.
After Theoderic's death, instability grew due to Gothic infighting and Eastern Roman persecution of Arians, leading to Justinian's reconquest and the eventual collapse of Roman society in Italy.
Archaeological and historical evidence shows a gradual decline rather than an abrupt collapse, with significant disorder emerging about 50 years after 476, exemplified by the founding of Venice as a refuge from chaos.

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