CLEP Western Civ I

Answer: D - The fall of the Roman Empire is best described as a gradual disintegration. It didn’t fall apart all at once, nor was the fall total. The “fall of the Roman Empire” speaks to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476. The Eastern Roman Empire evolved into the Byzantine Empire and endured for roughly another 1000 years. Around the beginning of the fifth century CE, the Roman Empire faced a series of invasions that slowly weakened it. The western faction also endured a series of relatively incompetent leaders who contributed to the empire’s demise.