Odoacer Deposes the Last Western Roman Emperor
The west falls in 476, but the eastern half Constantine built keeps ruling from Constantinople
Quick facts
- Deposed emperor
- Romulus Augustulus
- Deposed by
- Odoacer
- Date
- September 4, 476 CE
- Eastern emperor recognized
- Zeno
What happened
In 476 CE the Germanic general Odoacer, serving in the western Roman army, led a revolt after the general Orestes refused his soldiers' demands for land in Italy. Odoacer's forces defeated and killed Orestes, and on September 4, 476 CE Odoacer deposed Orestes's teenage son, the emperor Romulus Augustulus, who had ruled for less than a year. Rather than naming a new western emperor, Odoacer sent the imperial regalia to Constantinople and had the Roman Senate recognize the eastern emperor Zeno as sole ruler, while Odoacer himself governed Italy as king. The Roman Senate had approved Odoacer's leadership and granted him the honorary rank of patrician.
Why it matters
Because no new western emperor followed Romulus Augustulus, 476 CE is the conventional date historians use for the end of the Western Roman Empire. The eastern half, centered on Constantinople and already institutionally separate since 395 CE, kept functioning as a wealthy, organized state for almost another thousand years.
How we know
Odoacer's deposition of Romulus Augustulus is documented in the World History Encyclopedia's biography of Odoacer and in Livius.org's entry on Romulus Augustulus, both drawing on the Roman historical tradition including the account of Odoacer sending the regalia east.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Odoacer · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- Livius.org (Jona Lendering). Romulus Augustulus · Reputable sourcelivius.org · The domain "livius.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
See something wrong? . Corrections with a source get fixed fastest.
Part of a timelineThe Byzantine Empire27 events · How the eastern half of Rome outlived the west by a thousand years, then fell to Ottoman cannonView all →