After [music] centuries of war and

instability, the Roman Empire of the

fifth century remained split in two

halves. The prosperous East ruled from

Constantinople and the exhausted West

struggling to defend its borders from

their new capital in Ravena. The Western

Empire had been hollowed out by decades

of internal strife, shrinking revenues,

and repeated invasions.

After Rome fell, waves of newcomers from

distant lands brought new rulers and new

ruling classes. For the people who had

once lived under the empire, adapting to

their new roles in this unfamiliar order

must have been a difficult transition.

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By this time, the city of Rome was no

longer the center of power, having

declined in population and prestige.

Still, the internal city retained

enormous symbolic weight as its ancient

monuments, its senate, and its Christian

bishops continued to hold influence over

the empire.

However, this influence and imperial

legacy did little to stem the tide of

barbarians settling in Roman lands.

After decades of serving in Roman wars

as expendable Fodorati, many of these

Germanic tribes had carved out their own

place within the late Roman Empire.

Among these was a Fodorati commander

known as Odoacer, who took advantage of

the chaotic period to stage a great

revolt.

On September 4th, 476 AD, Odoacaser

entered the gates of Revena, capturing

the city and deposing the younger

emperor, Romulus Augustus. From the

outside, Odoacaser's capture of Revena

looked like just another barbarian

humiliation. It was the same kind of

humiliation which saw the city of Rome

sacked three times over the fifth

century. But that's not the full

picture. Odoacaser's rebellion wasn't

made up of just Germanic mercenaries or

auxiliaries. Disgruntled Roman troops

also flocked to his revolt. Unlike

Janseric's vandals or all Visigoths,

Odoacaser was leading a coalition of

Germanic peoples who had already served

under Roman law. Tribes like the

Herulanss, Skerians, and Rugians were

obligated to fight for Rome in exchange

for adequate payment or land to settle

on. Thanks to ongoing civil strife and

collapsing finances within the Western

Empire, none of these were given.

Addressing these broken promises was a

major reason for the march on Revena.

But Odoacaser's rebellion was made

complicated when he was proclaimed Rex

by his own forces.

Though he accepted the title, being

proclaimed a king was risky thanks to

its [music] taboo in Roman culture. But

to be proclaimed emperor would have been

outright dangerous. Odoacaser was

careful not to overstep his bounds. From

his new power base in Revena,

Odoacaser's [music] first order of

business was appeasing the powerful

Eastern Roman Empire. He persuaded the

Senate in Rome to dispatch the regalia

of the Western Emperor to the Eastern

Emperor Zeno in Constantinople.

His message was clear. Italy no longer

needed a separate emperor. It was a

smart move as Emperor Zeno accepted the

tribute, elevating Odoacer into the

patrician cast and formally recognizing

him as king of Italy. This legitimacy

meant that his status as a rebel was

dismissed and he was now able to govern

Italy in the emperor's name. Once in

power, Odaer maintained much of Rome's

administrative apparatus. He ruled from

Rava, but kept the Senate functioning in

Rome, appointing senators to the consil

ship and other high offices. The

Senate's prestige even improved when

Odoacaser issued new, heavier copper

coins stamped by decree of the Senate

for the first time since the mid3rd

century. Taxation also continued

unaffected as Roman bureaucrats kept a

steady cash flow through the land tax, a

periodic levy on trades and professions,

small sales taxes, and overland tolls.

The army was still provisioned by state

purchases at fixed [music] prices while

non-Roman troops themselves were awarded

new land to settle in thanks to the

large redistributions of estates in

Italy. According to the famed historian

Propius, this was done by giving the

third part of the land to the barbarians

and in this way gaining their allegiance

most firmly.

Throughout the rest of Italy, Roman

courts kept applying these standard law

codes along with later imperial edicts.

Historical records also suggest the

kingdom attempted to maintain Roman

infrastructure with one example being

[music] the restoration of the coliseum

in Rome. Despite the dramatic fall of

the Western Emperor, the estate itself

continued to run smoothly as though

nothing had really happened.

So the government itself remained

largely unaffected. But with Italy now

left under rule of a king authorized by

Emperor Zeno, its people existed in a

strange [music] twilight zone. They were

subjects of the barbarian Odoacaser, but

at the same time they were still full

citizens of Rome. The first and most

important figure to be affected by this

was the recently deposed [music] emperor

Romulus Augustus. After being ousted,

the 15-year-old Romulus lost his lordly

titles and was reduced down to a citizen

once again. It was a lucky break

considering his father and uncle had

both been killed by Odoacaser's forces.

Romulus should have been next on the

chopping block, but according to the

second chronicle of the exerpta

delsiana, King Odoaser decided not to

kill the boy emperor, but in pity for

his tender years, granted him life.

Romulus was sent to live [music] a

comfortable exile in Compana. Thanks to

a generous pension granted to him by the

king, he spent his remaining days as a

[music] private citizen surrounded by

his remaining relatives. It was an

outcome few former puppet emperors

enjoyed.

As for the rest of Rome's elite, the new

order meant that aristocratic families

had to [music] adapt. Many served in

Odoacaser's court, accepted land grants

or appointments, and benefited from the

continued collection of taxes and rents.

Less powerful land owners found

themselves at the mercy of the new land

redistribution.

Even as onethird of each estate was

being given to Fodorati veterans, Roman

land owners were now required to pay

rent on their remaining share. Elements

of the old Roman military elite were

also not happy with the new situation.

In 477, the Roman commander Brachula led

a rebellion against Odoacaser. And in

478, another officer known as Aderek

attempted the same. These revolts were

crushed, but they revealed that not

everyone was ready to fall in line.

For ordinary Romans, the disappearance

of the emperor did not lighten their

load. Rural farmers continued to work

their land. Craftsmen and traders still

paid dues to the treasury. For many

urban dwellers, the daily rhythms of

work, buying bread, paying rent, and

attending church carried on. However,

this was no Pax Romana. The machinery of

the Roman state persisted, but its

everyday people were left to live in the

decaying remnants of a fallen empire.

Great cities like Rome, Ravena, and

Milan continued to function, but only as

shadows of their former selves. Many

decades of war and internal corruption

had left Roman cities in a dilapidated

state. Public works crumbled while

long-d distanceance trade shrank thanks

to the collapse of the empire and its

economy outside of Italy. After 476,

Roman Christians in Italy found

themselves ruled by a king and growing

Germanic elite who followed a different

branch of Christianity. This sect was

known as Aryanism which denied that

Jesus the son was equal to God the

father. Theologically this was

considered heresy by the church in Rome.

But there was little they could do with

Odoacaser in power. Despite these

differences, the king appeared to

respect the Roman faith. In one example,

the writer Anodius stated that Odoacaser

[music] surpassed his predecessors in

showing reverence and favor to Bishop

Epipanius. Besides showing reverence,

King Odoacaser [music] also granted a

5-year tax remission to the people of

Lagoria [screaming]

at the request of Epanus. Whatever

differences the two churches had, both

Roman and Aryan Christians were [music]

able to coexist in this period. Rome's

biggest legacy was its military might,

which left a lingering question about

what happened to the regular rank and

final soldiers that made up the dying

Western Empire. Odoacaser came to power

thanks to a coalition of Germanic

tribes. But the Roman military structure

was not abolished. Offices like the

Magister Militum and regional commands

continued.

This was also true for enlisted men. All

throughout the late empire, Roman armies

were split between border troops known

as the limitane and field troops known

as the Kitatensus.

These forces were simply absorbed into

Odoacaser's host. Garrison duty in

cities like Revena, Syracuse, and Naples

still existed, and soldiers continued to

draw rations and [music] pay. Under

Odoacer, these former legionaries and

Fodorati were not left idle. Internal

rebellions like those in 477 and 478

required an active field army to crush

any sedition. Soldiers were also posted

on the kingdom's frontiers like Ratia

and Noriccom to guard Alpine passes.

Besides internal security, many soldiers

were active on campaign as Odoacaser

sought to expand beyond his borders and

challenge other self-described [music]

successors of the Western Empire. The

most influential of these was on the

Adriatic coast where Julius Nepos ruled

from his base in Salona Dalmatia. Of all

the claimments to emerge, Napos was the

most legitimate. He had already been

emperor before [music] being overthrown

by his magister Militum or Estus, the

same man who placed his son Romulus on

the imperial throne. Because of this,

Nepos denounced Romulus Augustus as

[music] a user. His claim also carried

weight since he was officially

recognized by [music] Emperor Zeno in

the east, technically making him

Odoacaser's superior. Though nominally

subordinate [music] to Constantinople,

Nepos ruled as a sovereign, issuing

decrees and maintaining [music] a small

army until his assassination in 480 AD.

The motives behind Nepo's [music] murder

remain uncertain. Some point to the

former emperor Picerios as the

instigator, while others said Nepos was

killed while preparing to invade Italy,

a campaign his [music] troops vehemently

opposed. Whatever the cause, his death

marked the true end of an emperor in the

west. [music]

That same year, Odoacaser used the

murder of Julius Nepos as a pretext to

invade Dalmatia, ending the imperial

rump state for good. Further north,

another Roman holdout emerged [music]

under the late magister militum Idios,

who was loyal to the betrayed emperor

Mayorin. When Agidios died in 465, his

son Siagrios came to power, inheriting a

rump state in northern Gaul known as

Swason. Siagrius attempted to preserve

Roman civil administration and

maintained order [music] through what

remained of the GIC army, ruling as a de

facto governor in the absence of an

emperor. Yet his independence was

short-lived. In 486, he was defeated by

the Franks under Clovis I and executed.

Other isolated remnants survived for a

time, such as Arbogastus and [music] his

Frankish allies in the city of Triier,

imperial garrisons in Maritania, and

even Roman enclaves in Britain. But

ultimately, none possessed the resources

or unity to endure.

While the west crumbled, the Eastern

Roman Empire endured, though it was far

from stable. The ruling emperor Zemo was

on a tentative second term, having only

recovered his throne from a user just

weeks before Odoacaser had overthrown

Emperor Romulus. Given Italy was Rome's

historic heartland, it's natural to ask

why Zeno didn't immediately march west

to recover it. When word of Odoacaser's

victory reached Constantinople, Emperor

Zeno recognized reality. He was still

consolidating his grip on power,

rebuilding an exhausted treasury, and

suppressing revolts across his

provinces. With no army to spare and no

desire to wage another ruinous war, Zeno

formally accepted Odoacer's rule,

despite formally recognizing Julius

Nepos as the true successor. It was a

pragmatic decision. Better a stable

subordinate that paid lip service to the

rules than another unstable emperor.

Even so, Zeno was growing wary of

Odoacer's power, especially after his

invasion of Dalmatia and annexation of

Sicily from the Vandals in 480. The east

continued to fight its own battles with

Isorian uprisings in Anatolia, Gothic

migrations in the Balkans, and threats

from Persians along the frontier.

Odoacaser's independence only meant one

thing to Zeno invasion. [cheering]

In order to curb the West, the Eastern

Emperor turned to another potential

threat, the Ostrogoths. under the

ambitious King Theodoric. The Ostrogoths

had long been a troublesome ally,

demanding land and subsidies while

raiding imperial territory in the

Balkans. In 488, Zeno offered Theodoric

a solution that served them both, Italy.

The emperor would grant him official

sanction to depose Odoacer and rule in

his name. For Zeno, it was a great way

to rid the east of an unruly Gothic army

as well as Odoacer. For Theodoric, it

was the promise of a new kingdom.

From autumn 488 to late 489, Theodoric

mobilized over 10 to 20,000 Ostrogoths

from the Balkans, drove through Sermium,

then crossed the Julian Alps toward

Aquile, forcing a passage into northern

Italy. Theodoric brought a host of

seasoned Gothic heavy cavalry and Rugan

allies while absorbing Roman trained

infantry and engineers for sieges. In

response, Odoacaser mobilized his own

forces, fielding contingents of Germanic

Heruli and Shiri alongside Italic

formations.

On August 28th, the two armies faced off

on the Isanzo River, culminating in a

fierce battle that saw Theodoric's

victorious army pushing Odoacaser back

toward the city of Verona. A second

victory was won there on September 30th,

fracking Odoacaser's northern screen and

opening Lumbery to the gods. With the

road clear, Theodoric took Milan and

Pavia, but treachery stalled him.

Odoacaser's magister militum Tufa

appeared to defect to Theodoric's army

at Milan before betraying his Gothic

escort and rejoining Odoacaser once

again, forcing Theodoric to withdraw

inside Pavia. Here, Odoacaser tried to

bottle him up, but Theodoric was soon

reinforced by allies and he broke out.

On August 11th, 490, Theodoric smashed

Odoacer on the Ada River, driving him

into Revena, where a grueling siege

began late that year. The city resisted

for nearly 3 years, moted by surrounding

marshlands and supplied by sea, which

Theodoric was unable to blockade.

However, famine, raids, and shifting

loyalties wore Italy down. Neither side

could force a quick decision. In early

493, negotiation finally produced a

power sharing deal. Theodoric entered

the city on March 5th. 10 days later, at

a banquet meant to seal the peace, he

killed Odoacer with his own hand while

his men purged the remaining stragglers.

Theodoric was left as the sole ruler of

Italy.

For three decades, Theodoric's kingdom

brought stability to the Roman

heartland. [music]

Yet, after his death, new Germanic

conflicts unraveled his legacy, paving

the way for Emperor Justinian's

reconquest during the Great Gothic War.

In the end, the eternal city did not

fall to a final thunderous sack. It

slipped almost quietly from the hands of

one ruler to another.

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