The End of the Western Roman Empire
When the “Fall of Rome” is discussed, it evokes an image of ruthless, pillaging barbarians sacking the Eternal City and completely destroying any traces of Roman government and civilization. But the reality is far less dramatic.
There is no clear end of the Roman Empire, just a convention that draws a line in the gradual loss of control of the imperial government over its domains. At some point, the other areas of Rome simply carried on as they always had, but without answering to an emperor in Rome.
This line is the abdication of the child emperor Romulus Augustus in 476 AD and the beginning of the reign of the Ostrogoth and Roman officer Odoacer as King of Italy.
Odoacer lived in two different worlds. In one, he was a member of the Roman military establishment. In another he was a leader of the foederati, legions from Germanic tribes who had settled on the outskirts of the empire. They provided military service and were garrisoned in Italy.
And after generations of service, the foederati had grown tired of this arrangement and sought lands of their own in Italy. They found the crowning of a boy emperor to be the perfect opportunity.
At this point, the Roman emperor was essentially a figurehead serving at the pleasure of Rome’s top military commander, the Magister militum. Due to…
