Did the Roman Oligarchy Move the Capital to Byzantium (Istanbul) to Preserve Their Power After Collapsing Rome? The Collapse of Rome: A System Corrupted from Within By the late 3rd to 5th century A.D., the Roman Empire was already in deep decay: Rome was essentially plundered from the inside out by its own elite class … Continue reading The Fall of Rome and the Rise of Byzantium: How Power Was Transferred