| | Reference.com/Encyclopedia/Decline of the Roman Empire |
 | | The decline of the Roman Empire, also called the fall of the Roman Empire, is a historical term of periodization which describes the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. |
 | | In contrast with the "declining empire" theories, historians such as Arnold J. Toynbee and James Burke argue that the Roman Empire itself was a rotten system from its inception, and that the entire Imperial era was one of steady decay of its institutions. |
 | | This theory stipulates the rise of the Frankish Realm in Europe as a continuation of the Roman Empire, and thus legitimizes the crowning of Charlemagne as the first Holy Roman Emperor as a continuation of the Imperial Roman State. |
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