Der Untergang des Römischen Reiches (The Fall of the Roman Empire), Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Trier, Germany

The exhibition Der Untergang des Römischen Reiches narrates the fall of the Western Roman Empire from the Tetrarchic period to 476 CE (Figure 1). The exhibition at the Rheinisches Landesmuseum coincides with two related exhibitions at other museums in Trier: the Museum am Dom (Im Zeichen des Kreuzes – eine Welt ordnet sich neu [In the sign of the cross—a world rearranges itself]),¹ and the Stadtmuseum Simeonstift (Das Erbe Roms. Visionen und Mythen in der Kunst [Rome’s Legacy: Visions and Myths in Art]).² I visited all three exhibitions, but this review limits itself for the most part to the primary exhibition, Der Untergang des Römischen Reiches, at the Rheinisches Landesmuseum, the largest of the three and of the greatest interest to scholars of Late Antiquity and to the public alike.

Visitors walking into the first room of the exhibition come...