Analysis of rocks from Iceland indicates that extreme climate possibly led to the wipeout of the Western Roman Empire.

Three consecutive years of drought contributed to the "Barbarian Conspiracy," a pivotal moment in the history of Roman ...

the Western Empire and the Eastern Empire. The Western Roman Empire had already fallen by the time this climatic shift began around 540 CE. It was conquered by a Germanic king some 60 years earlier.

The Byzantine Emperor Justinian I came close to uniting the former Roman Empire less than a century after its fall. However, popular discontent, foreign war, and a plague all combined to bring his ...