Verkkoit seemed unthinkable that such a mighty empire could ever fall. And yet, fall it did. By 476 ce, the last emperor of the western half of the empire had. Verkkothe decline and fall of the roman empire, historical work by edward gibbon, published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788. Verkkolex fridman why do you think the roman empire lasted while the greek empire as the alexander expanded, did not?