[muawiyah]

ROME was not gutted and utterly destroyed (although it seems to have been subjected to 1 or more organized sackings), and most of its population didn't die. The capital city was moved to Ravenna.

The Roman Senate continued to sit throughout the period of the Fall of Rome, so we might well refer to this as the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and the return of the Etruscan Roman Kingdom (with a probable German as King over Italy and FYR).

The Eastern Roman Empire didn't fall. Beginning in 535, though, everybody had some serious problems with a total economic collapse North of the Mediterranean, and some serious population drops in a variety of places.

[Tribune7]

The traditional date for the fall of Rome was Sept. 4, 476 when Odoacer deposed the Emperor Romulus Augustus and declared himself king of Italy.

You can argue there was still an Eastern Roman Empire. You can point out that a part of France (The Domain of Soissons) remained Roman for another decade. You can note that Eastern Romans actually managed to recapture Rome in 540.

But, really, in 476 it was over.