404:, who invaded the Kingdom of Italy and overcame the forces that defended it. After four years of fighting, Odoacer, with some pressure from his citizens and his soldiers, decided in 493 that it would be useless to continue fighting and surrendered. The conqueror of the Western Roman Empire was himself conquered, and, unlike Romulus Augustus, he was not spared. While enjoying a banquet, he was murdered by an Ostrogoth, who may have been Theodoric himself.
297:
29:
344:, reunite his realm with the West, with Odoacer as his governor. The auxiliary commander, now master of Ravenna, encouraged the senators in this effort. The emperor was somewhat hesitant to give Odoacer what would be relative autonomy, citing that his wife's nephew Julius Nepos, still alive and recognized as
423:, an army landed in Sicily and subdued that island before invading Italy proper. When he did invade the peninsula, he took the city of Naples, then attacked and captured Rome. For nearly twenty years, the Ostrogoths and Romans fought for control of the peninsula. The suspicions of the Eastern empress,
238:
After Rome's weaknesses were exposed by the
Vandals' invasion, the barbarian tribes of Gaul, once a secure province loyal to the Empire, began to rebel against their former overlords. The Ravenna-based emperors now began to lose the respect of many of their subjects, and powerful generals, often of
316:, they demanded estates and were refused, they swept into Italy. Informing his soldiers that, if they followed and obeyed him, they would, in the words of Gibbon, "extort the justice that had been denied to their dutiful petitions", the
359:
The hapless ex-emperor, Romulus
Augustulus, was still present in Ravenna, and Odoacer rid himself of the boy by exiling him. The fate of this final Western Roman emperor is somewhat uncertain, but it is believed that he retired to the
431:
to withhold reinforcements from
Belisarius, who was recalled several times. Some historians have concluded that the war's successful conclusion was the victory of Belisarius, but the honor of defeating the Ostrogoths went to
155:
Rome had been sacked twice in the 5th century AD, after a lengthy decline which followed more than the better part of a millennium of dominance, first over central Italy and then over an empire that surrounded the
379:
in Italy (476–493), but not king of Italy, as Italy formally remained a land of the Roman Empire after absorbing
Augustus's powers, and formed alliances with other barbarians, a prime example being the
335:
Orestes' brother was killed near
Ravenna by Odoacer's forces, who entered the imperial capital soon afterward. The young monarch Romulus Augustulus was, on 4 September, compelled to abdicate before the
352:, should be restored to the throne. Zeno, however, did not want to use force to support his relation, so, while still urging Odoacer to recognize Nepos' claim, granted the general the rank of
226:
Rome not only lost a portion of its population during the Vandal rampage, but a fairly large amount of its treasures was plundered by the barbarians. This loot was later recovered by the
384:. He proved himself to be a capable ruler, and, although Italy was beset by disasters such as plagues and famines during the turbulent end of the 5th century, historians such as
324:
Odoacer confirmed his leadership of the revolt. Barbarian soldiers in
Italian cities and garrisons "flocked" to the audacious general's standard, and Orestes fled to fortified
372:, was assassinated by "retainers". Until Nepos' murder, even the confirmation of Odoacer's patrician rank and authority had been undermined by the presence of Zeno's nephew.
312:
Orestes, who ruled in his son's name, found an enemy in the persons of his non-Roman mercenary soldiers. When, led by an auxiliary general called
273:
239:
barbarian origin themselves, were forced to defend them. Among the more successful of these commanders, the most senior of whom were called
684:
558:
Hill, David Jayne. A History of
Diplomacy in the International Development of Europe, Vol. 1, p. 32. Longmans, Green, and Co, 1905.
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to spare its citizens, but they carried off many of the unfortunate Romans, some of whom were sold into slavery in their captors'
458:
424:
679:
669:
621:
Gibbon, Edward. The
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 4, p. 692. Ed. Hans-Friedrich Mueller. Modern Library, 2003
585:
Gibbon, Edward. The
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 3, p. 640. Ed. Hans-Friedrich Mueller. Modern Library, 2003
549:
Gibbon, Edward. The
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 3, p. 638. Ed. Hans-Friedrich Mueller. Modern Library, 2003
531:
Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 3, p. 636. Ed. Hans-Friedrich Mueller. Modern Library, 2003
513:
Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 3, p. 624. Ed. Hans-Friedrich Mueller. Modern Library, 2003
495:
Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 3, p. 623. Ed. Hans-Friedrich Mueller. Modern Library, 2003
612:
Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol 3, p. 641. Ed. Hans-Friedrich Mueller. Modern Library, 2003
332:, managed to ransom many of the captives taken during this invasion, but was unable to save Orestes, who was executed.
664:
576:
Bury, J.B. History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodosius I, Vol. 1, p. 407. Dover Publications, 1958.
603:
Bury, J.B. History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodosius I, Vol. 1, p. 410. Dover Publications, 1958
594:
Bury, J.B. History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodosius I, Vol. 1, p. 410. Dover Publications, 1958
522:
Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 3. Ed. Hans-Friedrich Mueller. Modern Library, 2003
139:
353:
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Young, George Frederick. East and West Through Fifteen Centuries, Vol. 2, p. 220. Longmans, Green and Co, 1916
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Young, George Frederick. East and West Through Fifteen Centuries, Vol. 2, p. 220. Longmans, Green and Co, 1916
28:
453:
486:
Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Ed. Hans-Friedrich Mueller. Modern Library, 2003.
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Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Ed. Hans-Friedrich Mueller. Modern Library, 2003
127:
106:
37:
188:, Rome was not what it had once been – the Western emperors had moved their courts to the more secure
365:
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261:). Ricimer grew so powerful that he was able to choose and depose weak emperors almost at will.
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223:, was herself taken to Carthage, where her daughter was married to Genseric's son.
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328:. Odoacer laid siege to Pavia, which fell in due course. The bishop of that city,
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477:
Robinson, Cyril E. A History of Rome from 753 B.C. to A.D. 410. Methuen, 1963.
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ruler. Rather than take the throne himself, Orestes had his young son,
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Despite possessing these qualities, Odoacer was unable to defeat the
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and accepted the general's gift of the Western imperial standards.
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Brownworth, Lars. Lost to the West. 2010, Crown Publishing Group.
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was brought there. In 480, the second of Odoacer's Roman rivals,
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180:, voided a peace treaty. Despite remaining the seat of the
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268:(nephew of the Eastern empress), was overthrown by his
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besieged, entered, and looted the city, and in 455 the
340:. That body requested that the Eastern Roman Emperor,
16:
Overthrow of the last Western Roman emperor in 476 AD
567:
Bryce, Viscount James. The Holy Roman Empire, p. 27.
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have attested to Odoacer's "prudence and humanity".
134:and the creation of the Kingdom of Italy, although
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71:
57:
49:
364:in Campania and died before 488, when the body of
436:, who was trusted far more by his superiors in
249:, who would eventually be crowned emperor, and
176:, believing himself to have been snubbed by an
8:
19:
375:Odoacer now proclaimed himself king of the
276:, who had once been a trusted official of
27:
18:
648:Brownworth, Lars. Lost to the West. 2010.
192:in the wake of the two pillages and the
126:that marked the end of the reign of the
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7:
105:, considered to have been the final
234:Ricimer and other generals dominate
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14:
211:realm. The widow of the emperors
444:, invaded and settled in Italy.
172:attacked Rome after their king,
184:, and an important city of the
459:Succession of the Roman Empire
120:deposition of Romulus Augustus
1:
415:in 535, the Eastern Emperor,
264:In 475, the Western emperor,
130:last approved by the Western
122:, occurring in 476 AD, was a
292:Odoacer's coup and accession
199:The Vandals were allowed to
407:When the Ostrogothic queen
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308:(red) Roman Empires by 476
164:army under the command of
40:, surrenders the crown to
26:
685:470s in the Roman Empire
427:, often led her husband
454:Battle of Ravenna (476)
138:exercised control over
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128:Western Roman Emperor
107:Western Roman Emperor
38:Western Roman Emperor
680:5th century in Italy
670:Western Roman Empire
203:after promising the
186:Western Roman Empire
44:(1880 illustration).
402:Theodoric the Great
400:and their monarch,
366:the saint Severinus
288:, crowned emperor.
272:, the aristocratic
23:
665:Romulus Augustulus
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286:Romulus Augustulus
160:. First, in 410 a
53:4 September 476 AD
217:Petronius Maximus
158:Mediterranean Sea
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101:The overthrow of
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151:Sackings of Rome
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20:Deposition of
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182:Roman Senate
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136:Julius Nepos
132:Roman Senate
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92:Julius Nepos
72:Participants
409:Amalasuntha
304:(blue) and
142:until 480.
36:, the last
659:Categories
465:References
421:Belisarius
398:Ostrogoths
330:Epiphanius
228:Byzantines
162:Visigothic
146:Background
429:Justinian
417:Justinian
413:Theodahad
392:Aftermath
382:Visigoths
354:patrician
257:and half-
448:See also
442:Lombards
425:Theodora
350:Dalmatia
318:Germanic
259:Visigoth
174:Genseric
140:Dalmatia
58:Location
377:Herules
314:Odoacer
306:Eastern
302:Western
274:Orestes
251:Ricimer
245:, were
221:Licinia
190:Ravenna
170:Vandals
116:Odoacer
98:Outcome
76:Odoacer
62:Ravenna
42:Odoacer
434:Narses
346:caesar
338:Senate
280:, the
278:Attila
247:Avitus
166:Alaric
326:Pavia
322:Arian
255:Sueve
66:Italy
342:Zeno
300:The
215:and
205:Pope
124:coup
88:Zeno
50:Date
675:476
348:in
282:Hun
194:Hun
118:'s
661::
320:,
219:,
64:,
109:.
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