Coin of Odoacer minted in Ravenna, 477, with Odoacer in profile, depicted with a "barbarian" moustache
King of Italy
Reign
4 September 476 – 15 March 493
Successor
Theodoric the Great
Born
c. 433[1]
Died
15 March 493 (aged about 60) Ravenna, Kingdom of Italy
Spouse
Sunigilda
Issue
Thela
Father
Edeko
Religion
Arianism
Odoacer[a] (/ˌoʊdoʊˈeɪsər/OH-doh-AY-sər;[b] c. 433 – 15 March 493 AD), also spelled Odovacer or Odovacar,[c] was a barbarian soldier and statesman from the Middle Danube who deposed the Western Roman child emperor Romulus Augustulus and became the ruler of Italy (476–493). Odoacer's overthrow of Romulus Augustulus is traditionally understood as marking the end of the Western Roman Empire.[d]
Although he held power over Italy, he also represented himself as the client of the Eastern Roman Emperor in Constantinople, Zeno. He was referred to not only as a king (Latin: rex), but also as duke (Latin: dux), or using the Roman honorific patrician, granted by Zeno. Odoacer himself used the title of king in the only surviving official document that emanated from his chancery, and it was also used by the consul Basilius.[1][e] He had the support of the Roman Senate and was able to distribute land to his followers without much opposition. Unrest among his warriors led to violence in 477–478, but no such disturbances occurred during the later period of his reign. Although Odoacer was an Arian Christian, he rarely intervened in the affairs of the Trinitarian state church of the Roman Empire.
Odoacer was a military leader in Italy who led the revolt of Herulian, Rugian, and Scirian soldiers that deposed Romulus Augustulus on 4 September AD 476. Eleven-year-old Augustulus had been declared Western Roman Emperor by his father Orestes, the rebellious general of the army in Italy, less than a year before, but had been unable to gain allegiance or recognition beyond central Italy. With the backing of the Roman Senate, Odoacer thenceforth ruled Italy autonomously, paying lip service to the authority of Julius Nepos, the previous Western emperor, and Zeno. Upon Nepos's murder in 480, Odoacer invaded Dalmatia, to punish the murderers. He executed the conspirators, conquered the region and incorporated it into his domain within two years.
When Illus, master of soldiers of the Eastern Empire, asked for Odoacer's help in 484 in his struggle to depose Zeno, Odoacer invaded Zeno's westernmost provinces. The emperor responded first by inciting the Rugii of present-day Austria to attack Italy. During the winter of 487–488, Odoacer crossed the Danube and defeated the Rugii in their own territory. Zeno also appointed the Ostrogoth Theodoric the Great—who was menacing the borders of the Eastern Empire—king of Italy and turned a troublesome ally against an enemy. Theodoric invaded Italy in 489 and by August 490 had captured almost the entire peninsula, forcing Odoacer to take refuge in Ravenna. The city surrendered on 5 March 493. Theodoric invited Odoacer to a banquet of reconciliation, where instead of forging an alliance, Theodoric killed the unsuspecting king.
^ abcdMartindale 1980.
^Cameron 1988.
^Gibbon 1998, p. 716.
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Odoacer (/ˌoʊdoʊˈeɪsər/ OH-doh-AY-sər; c. 433 – 15 March 493 AD), also spelled Odovacer or Odovacar, was a barbarian soldier and statesman from the Middle...
Odoacer's deposition of Romulus Augustus, occurring in 476 AD, was a coup that marked the end of the reign of the Western Roman Emperor last approved...
In Italy, the Ostrogoths led by Theodoric the Great killed and replaced Odoacer, a Germanic soldier, erstwhile-leader of the foederati in Northern Italy...
for just ten months, the barbarian general Odoacer defeated and killed Orestes and deposed Romulus. As Odoacer did not proclaim any successor, Romulus is...
Roman Army in the West suffered defeat at the hands of Odoacer and his Germanic foederati. Odoacer forced the abdication of the emperor Romulus Augustulus...
forced to support Odoacer given that supporting the Gallic rebels against Odoacer would have amounted to declaring war on Odoacer, which Zeno was not...
the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a barbarian warlord, in the late 5th century, followed by the Ostrogothic...
raided East Roman lands. At the behest of Zeno, in 489 Theodoric attacked Odoacer, the king of Italy, emerging victorious in 493. As the new ruler of Italy...
ancient history and the first year of the Middle Ages in Europe. Summer – Odoacer, chieftain of the Germanic tribes (Herulic/Scirian foederati), visits the...
Gisa. In 476, Felethus supported the Herulian and Scirian mercenaries of Odoacer, who overthrew the Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus and made himself King...
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Ravenna became the capital of Odoacer until he was defeated by the Ostrogoth king Theodoric. In 540 Belisarius...
After the deposition of the last Western Emperor in 476, Heruli leader Odoacer was appointed Dux Italiae ("Duke of Italy") by the reigning Byzantine Emperor...
Airgialla Kingdom (according to the Annals of the Four Masters). February 25 – Odoacer surrenders Ravenna after a 3-year siege, and agrees to a mediated peace...
Emperor, Romulus and his father Orestes refuse to give the Gothic warlord Odoacer a third of Italy. On the same day, Romulus meets the general of the Nova...
Germanic Herulians and the deposition of Romulus Augustus in 476 AD by Odoacer, the Western Roman Empire finally collapsed. The Eastern Roman Empire survived...
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Italy fell under the power of Odoacer's kingdom, and later was seized by the Ostrogoths, which was followed by...
ruler of Dalmatia, a position he held until he was defeated and killed by Odoacer, the first barbarian King of Italy, in 481 or 482. Ovida or Odiva (different...
Visigoth army to raise Odoacer's siege of Pavia. August 11 – Battle of Adda: Theodoric and his ally Alaric II defeat the forces of Odoacer, on the Adda River...
part of their "Rugiland". In 487 most of modern Austria was conquered by Odoacer, a barbarian soldier and statesman from the Middle Danube, which incorporated...
for his brother Odoacer, king of Italy, until their death. Onoulphus was a Scirian; with his brother (or possibly half-brother), Odoacer, he was raised...
peoples as a king. Odoacer eventually made himself King of Italy in 476 AD, effectively ending the Western Roman Empire. Odoacer was in turn deposed...
to accept the new rule of Odoacer who had dethroned the Western Emperor earlier that year. While both Syagrius and Odoacer sent messengers to the Eastern...
of the area of the Western Empire. In 476, the Germanic barbarian king Odoacer deposed the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire in Italy, Romulus...
create conflict between the Rugii and Odoacer, Feletheus executed his nephew Fredericus, who supported Odoacer. Odoacer subsequently invaded the Kingdom of...
Roman general Odoacer deposed the titular Western Emperor Romulus Augustulus, but declined to replace him with another puppet. Odoacer accepted Julius...
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