From SRP author Tracy Cooper-Posey:
One thousand, six hundred and fifteen years ago today, the Visigoths marched into the city of Rome.
Not metaphorically. Literally. Swords out, torches lit, looting and pillaging their way through the Eternal City under the not-so-watchful eye of Emperor Honorius (who, incidentally, was holed up in Ravenna raising chickens—also not a euphemism; he was reportedly very fond of poultry).
It was the first time in 800 years that Rome had fallen to a foreign enemy. And while the city would stagger on for a few more decades, this was the end of Western Rome as it had been known. Rome—the Rome—was sacked. And nothing would ever be the same.
The emperor would eventually pack up shop and settle in Constantinople. The Roman Empire lived on in the East for another thousand years, yes—but it was never Rome again. Not the heart-pounding, empire-spanning, marble-columned colossus that had once ruled the western world.
Today marks that pivot point. The moment when the world shifted.
But Here’s the Real Story: Rome Lasted Over a Thousand Years
Think about that.
Rome was founded (according to legend) in 753 BC.
It was sacked in 410 AD.
That’s over a millennium of unbroken civilization.
When you say a millennium out loud, it sounds…vague. Abstract. Almost fluffy. Like a stat from a fantasy novel. But let’s make it real.
A Century of Change—Then Multiply by Ten
Imagine life in 1925. Only 100 years ago.
We had just begun to recover from the First World War. Women had only just gained the right to vote. There was no penicillin. Tuberculosis was still a deadly, daily threat. Most houses didn’t have electricity or telephones. Your grandmother wore a corset, and the average woman spent most of her life either pregnant, breastfeeding, or cooking over a wood-burning stove. She couldn’t open a bank account, and depending on where she lived, she might not legally own property.
That’s what 100 years of change looks like.
Now multiply it by ten.
Ten Centuries of Roman Innovation
In those thousand years, Rome went from a muddy settlement on the Tiber to a globe-spanning empire. And they brought with them changes that improved life immeasurably:
- Aqueducts that brought fresh water into cities from miles away.
- Sewers and underground drainage—unheard of luxuries in most of the ancient world.
- Concrete that we still can’t replicate today—Roman sea concrete gets stronger over time.
- Dentistry that included fillings, bridges, and gold crowns.
- Roads so straight and well-built that some are still in use.
- Central heating, indoor plumbing, public toilets, hot baths, libraries, and even shopping malls.
- And don’t forget law, architecture, and the deliciously complicated concept of citizenship.
All that, and they kept it going for over a thousand years—even with emperors who were, at times, more soap opera than sovereign.
And the Women? They Changed Too
In early Rome, women weren’t even given real names—just a feminized version of their father’s family name. If you were the daughter of Agrippa, you were called Agrippina. If he had two daughters, you might be Agrippina Major and Agrippina Minor. Creative, right?
Women couldn’t vote, couldn’t hold office, and were legally under male guardianship for most of their lives.
But by the later Empire?
Women owned property, ran businesses, influenced politics, and in some cases, ruled entire regions. They had names. They had wills. They had social power. (Galla Placidia, for one, ran the Western Empire as regent—and she was taken during that 410 sack, only to return and become empress.)
One thousand years of change didn’t just build aqueducts. It built possibilities.
August 24: The Fall of Something Glorious
There’s something both awe-inspiring and tragic about the fall of Rome. To last that long, to shape so much of the world—and to finally falter.
But perhaps the greater story is not that Rome fell.
It’s that it endured for so long.
That it took over a thousand years for the world’s greatest superpower to finally lose its grip. And when it did, the world didn’t just lose a city. It lost indoor plumbing, public sanitation, written bureaucracy, widespread literacy, mass trade, and a shared identity.
We’re still chasing Roman engineering. Still borrowing from their legal system. Still marveling at their roads.
So today, take a moment to marvel—not just at the fall—but at the astonishing stretch of time before it.
Rome wasn’t built in a day. And when it fell, the echo took centuries to fade.
Tracy Cooper-Posey
SRP Author
