Revelation 8:12 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

The fourth angel sounded, &c.— At the sounding of the fourth trumpet, the third part of the sun, moon, and stars, that is, the great lights of the Roman empire, were eclipsed and darkened, and remained in darkness for some time. See Jeremiah 13:16. Isaiah 13:10-11. Ezekiel 32:7-8. Genseric left the western empire in a weak and desperate condition. It struggled hard, and gasped as it were for breath, through eight short and turbulent reigns, for the space of twenty years, and at length expired under Momillus, in the year 476. This change was effected by Odoacer, king of the Heruli, who, coming to Rome with an army of barbarians, caused himself to be proclaimed king of Italy, and put an end to the very name of the Western empire. After a reign of sixteen years, he was overcome in the year 493, by Theodoric, who founded the kingdom of the Ostrogoths in Italy, which continued about sixty years. Thus was the Roman sun extinguished in the Western empire: but the other lesser luminaries, the moon and stars, still subsisted; for Rome was still allowed to have her senate, and consuls, and other subordinate magistrates, as before. These lights shone more faintly under barbarian kings, than under Roman emperors; but they were not totally suppressed and extinguished, till after the kingdom of the Ostrogoths was destroyed by the lieutenants of the emperor of the East, and Italy became a province to the Eastern empire. Longinus, in the year 566, by authority received from the emperor Justin II. changed the whole form of the government, and in every city of note constituted a new governor, under the title of duke. He himself presided over all; and, residing at Ravenna, was called "the Exarch of Ravenna," as his successors were also. Rome was thus degraded to the same level with other places; and, from being the queen of cities, and empress of the world, was reduced to a poor dukedom, and made tributary to Ravenna, which she had used to govern.