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Fall of the Western Roman Empire
On 4 September 476 CE, the Germanic chieftain Odoacer deposed the last Western Roman emperor Romulus Augustulus in Ravenna, traditionally marking the…
Timeline
- 470–475Italian Peninsula · ItalyThe Western Roman Empire successively lost Gaul, Spain, and North Africa; Italy itself was controlled by Germanic mercenaries and powerful court ministers, the emperor became a puppet, and central authority existed in name only.
- 476Ravenna · Emilia-RomagnaThe Germanic leader Odoacer staged a coup in Ravenna, deposing the sixteen-year-old emperor Romulus Augustulus; from then on the Western Roman imperial throne was no longer filled.
- 476–477Constantinople · ByzantiumOdoacer sent the crown and purple robes to the Eastern Roman emperor Zeno, calling himself King of Italy and ruling in the Eastern Roman name; Zeno tacitly accepted the arrangement, and the Western Roman Empire formally ended as an independent political entity.
Sources
- Marcellinus Comes, Chronicle — Marcellinus Comes
- The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages, 400-1000 — Chris Wickham (2009)