<P> In historiography , the Western Roman Empire consists of the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any one time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court , coequal with ( or only nominally subordinate to ) that administering the eastern half . Both `` Western Roman Empire '' and `` Eastern Roman Empire '' ( or `` Byzantine Empire '' ) are modern terms describing de facto independent entities ; however , at no point did the Romans consider the Empire split into two , but rather considered it a single state governed by two separate Imperial courts out of administrative expediency , a system of government known as a diarchy . </P>
who reunited western europe for the first time since the roman empire
no point did the Romans consider the Empire split into two