On September 4, 476, Odoacer dethroned the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus. The reason was the claims of barbarian troops for land in Italy.
For decades, the West had suffered from barbarian invasions. Rome was in decline - sacked once by the Visigoths in 410 and again by the Vandals in 455, the once great city was abandoned. Ravenna became the capital of the Western Roman Empire.
Flavius Romulus Augustus, also called simply Romulus Augustulus („Romulus Augustulus the Younger“) was Roman Emperor from 31 October 475 to 4 September 476. According to most historians, he is considered the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
Romulus Augustulus was the son of Flavius Orestes, a mercenary general of Germanic origin who served Attila and the last Western emperors. In 475, at the head of the barbarian mercenaries, Flavius Orestes revolted against Emperor Julius Nepos and drove him from the throne.
Since Orestes was a barbarian, according to tradition, he could not be a Roman emperor, which is why he crowned his minor son Romulus, who also took the name Augustus. Thus, ironically, the last Western Roman emperor combined the names of the mythical king Romulus, the founder of Rome, and Augustus, the first princeps who established imperial power.
While the real power was held by the father, his son stayed in Ravenna and performed only ceremonial functions. Due to his insignificance, the young emperor was called by the population with the mocking nickname "Augustulus" ("Little Augustus"), since he was not interested in power, but was a victim of the cruelty of his time.
A few months later, in 476, another German leader - Odoacer - revolted against Orestes, supported by his soldiers. The reason was the claims of barbarian troops for land in Italy, something that Orestes strongly opposed.
Odoacer defeated and beheaded Orestes, besieged Romulus Augustulus in Ravenna and dethroned him from the throne. Since Romulus was an exceptionally handsome and gentle youth, Odoacer not only did not execute him, as was his original intention, but sent the boy to his wealthy relatives in Campania, where he continued his education, without any interest in politics. Romulus received a living from Odoacer, and then from his successor Theodoric. He was undoubtedly alive around 511 and even founded a monastery. He probably died before the restoration of Byzantine power in Italy (i.e. before 536).
Odoacer declared himself king, practically holding the real power in Italy, but officially, albeit formally, he accepted the supremacy of the eastern emperor Zeno over the west, receiving in return the patrician rank from Zeno. Odoacer sent the signs of imperial power to Constantinople with the message: "As the sun is one in the sky, so the emperor must be one on Earth!" - symbolically, Zeno was recognized as the only emperor.
These events marked the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and the year 476 is considered a critical date in history for the end of the Antique era and the beginning of the Middle Ages. In reality, the dethronement of Romulus Augustulus went almost unnoticed by his contemporaries.
Along with the mighty Roman Empire, its legendary roads, architecture, agriculture, and public education system declined, giving historians reason to call the following centuries the “Dark Ages”.