Lower Empire
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The later Roman, especially the Western Empire, from about the founda- tion of the Eastern Empire in 364 to the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Lower Empire” mean?
The later Roman, especially the Western Empire, from about the founda- tion of the Eastern Empire in 364 to the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
Is “Lower Empire” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.