What does it mean to talk about the fall of Rome? The far-flung empire collapsed in varying degrees in different places at different times. In the fourth century enormous earthquakes caused such devastation that in the Roman east the whole fabric of ancient religious belief was called into question. In central Italy along the Tiber River an epidemic of malaria, a virulent new-mutated strain from North Africa, left many dead. The legacy of Rome, however, continued into the Carolingian and Byzantine empires. And yet the city of Rome underwent a major revival in the later Middle Ages, continuing through the Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo and Romantic Periods, playing a major role in the foundation of our own country.