In 476, Odoacer, a Germanic general in the pay of the eastern
Roman empire (see Constantinople
and the Byzantine Empire) deposed the Roman Emperor Romanus
Augustulus, had himself crowned King of Italy and sent the insignia
of Roman power to Constantinople, signalling the end of the western
Roman empire. See our entry on the Middle
Ages. Odoacer was murdered by the Ostrogoth Theodoric the Great
in 493 who established his own kingdom, definitively breaking the
Roman line.
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75 words
Citation:
Editors, Litencyc. "Fall of Rome". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 November 2005 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1634, accessed 23 November 2024.]
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