The history of international law falls naturally into four sharply defined periods. The ancient, the medieval, the modern, and the current. The first period begins with the dawn of history and terminates with the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476. The second extends from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the invasion of Italy by Charles VIII in 1494. The third period extends through the Crimean war; while the final period begins with the Declaration of Paris and continues down to the present day. Each of these periods has its own marked characteristics, which will be considered in the four succeeding sections.