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Odoacer [a] (/ ˌ oʊ d oʊ ˈ eɪ s ər / 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 had previously become the de facto ruler of Italy following his deposition of Romulus Augustulus, the final emperor of the Western Roman Empire, in 476. Under Theodoric, the Ostrogothic kingdom reached its zenith, stretching from modern Southern France in the west to the modern western Serbia in the southeast.
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 Zeno.Later, the Germanic foederati, the Scirians and the Heruli, as well as a large segment of the Italic Roman army, proclaimed Odoacer Rex Italiae ('King of Italy). [1]
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 by the Western Roman Senate and the creation of the Kingdom of Italy through Odoacer's decision to adopt the title of Dux/Rex Italiae(Duke/King of Italy), although Julius Nepos exercised control over Dalmatia until 480.
A massacre of Odoacer's soldiers and supporters follows. Theodoric the Great allies with the Franks and marries Audofleda , sister of Clovis I . He also marries his own female relatives to princes or kings of the Burgundians , Vandals and Visigoths , establishing a political alliance with the Germanic kingdoms in the West.
The siege of Ravenna was a military engagement from 490–493, when Theodoric besieged Odoacer in Ravenna. The siege ended when the two men agreed to peace, but on 15 March 493 CE, Theodoric murdered Odoacer during a banquet.
Ovida's rule in Dalmatia was not accepted by Odoacer, who had deposed Nepos' successor in Italy, Romulus Augustulus, and become the first king of Italy. Odoacer thus invaded Dalmatia. The date of Odoacer's invasion and Ovida's defeat is not certain, as different sources provide different dates, but he ruled for at least a year and a half. [12]
The siege of Pavia in August 476 was a critical event during the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Foederati, including some Sciri, in the Roman army in Italy mutinied. They acclaimed Odovacar king on 23 August, while the magister militum Orestes took refuge in the well fortified city of Pavia (Ticinum).