What was not clear at the start of the fifth century was how much of this Roman-ness would survive. In that regard, only time would tell. In some regions—most notably the old Greek world of the eastern Mediterranean—Rome was destined to live on, updated but not radically altered, for many more centuries. In other places—such as Britain, where we began this chapter—the most obvious signs of Roman influence waned sharply once the legions left; much of Rome’s legacy was buried, sometimes literally, as new waves of settlers arrived. For some people the collapse of the western Roman Empire was a
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