Deposition of Romulus Augustus
Western Roman Emperor . |
Background
Rome is sacked twice
Rome had been sacked twice in the 5th century AD, after a lengthy decline which followed more than the better part of a millennium of dominance, first over central Italy and then over an empire that surrounded the
The Vandals were allowed to
, was herself taken to Carthage, where her daughter was married to Genseric's son.Rome not only lost a portion of its population during the Vandal rampage, but a fairly large amount of its treasures was plundered by the barbarians. This loot was later recovered by the Byzantines.[4] At the time, however, its loss was a major blow to the Western Empire.
Ricimer and other generals dominate
After Rome's weaknesses were exposed by the Vandals' invasion, the barbarian tribes of Gaul, once a secure province loyal to the Empire, began to rebel against their former overlords.
In 475, the Western emperor,
Odoacer's coup and accession
Orestes, who ruled in his son's name, found an enemy in the persons of his non-Roman mercenary soldiers. When, led by an auxiliary general called
Orestes' brother was killed near Ravenna by Odoacer's forces, who entered the imperial capital soon afterward. The young monarch Romulus Augustulus was, on 4 September, compelled to abdicate before the Senate. That body requested that the Eastern Roman Emperor, Zeno, reunite his realm with the West, with Odoacer as his governor. The auxiliary commander, now master of Ravenna, encouraged the senators in this effort.[10][11] The emperor was somewhat hesitant to give Odoacer what would be relative autonomy, citing that his wife's nephew Julius Nepos, still alive and recognized as caesar in Dalmatia, should be restored to the throne. Zeno, however, did not want to use force to support his relation, so, while still urging Odoacer to recognize Nepos' claim, granted the general the rank of patrician[12] and accepted the general's gift of the Western imperial standards.
The hapless ex-emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was still present in Ravenna, and Odoacer rid himself of the boy by exiling him. The fate of this final Western Roman emperor is somewhat uncertain, but it is believed that he retired to the
Odoacer now proclaimed himself king of the Herules in Italy (476–493), but not king of Italy, as Italy formally remained a land of the Roman Empire after absorbing Augustus's powers, and formed alliances with other barbarians, a prime example being the Visigoths. He proved himself to be a capable ruler, and, although Italy was beset by disasters such as plagues and famines during the turbulent end of the 5th century, historians such as Edward Gibbon have attested to Odoacer's "prudence and humanity".[16]
Aftermath
Despite possessing these qualities, Odoacer was unable to defeat the Ostrogoths and their monarch, Theodoric the Great, who invaded the Kingdom of Italy and overcame the forces that defended it. After four years of fighting, Odoacer, with some pressure from his citizens and his soldiers, decided in 493 that it would be useless to continue fighting and surrendered. The conqueror of the Western Roman Empire was himself conquered, and, unlike Romulus Augustus, he was not spared. While enjoying a banquet, he was murdered by an Ostrogoth, who may have been Theodoric himself.[17]
When the Ostrogothic queen
See also
References
- ^ Robinson, Cyril E. A History of Rome from 753 B.C. to A.D. 410. Methuen, 1963.
- ^ Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Ed. Hans-Friedrich Mueller. Modern Library, 2003.
- ^ Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 3, p. 623. Ed. Hans-Friedrich Mueller. Modern Library, 2003
- ^ Brownworth, Lars. Lost to the West. 2010, Crown Publishing Group.
- ^ Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 3, p. 624. Ed. Hans-Friedrich Mueller. Modern Library, 2003
- ^ Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 3. Ed. Hans-Friedrich Mueller. Modern Library, 2003
- ^ Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 3, p. 636. Ed. Hans-Friedrich Mueller. Modern Library, 2003
- ^ Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Ed. Hans-Friedrich Mueller. Modern Library, 2003
- ^ Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 3, p. 638. Ed. Hans-Friedrich Mueller. Modern Library, 2003
- ^ Hill, David Jayne. A History of Diplomacy in the International Development of Europe, Vol. 1, p. 32. Longmans, Green, and Co, 1905.
- ^ Bryce, Viscount James. The Holy Roman empire, p. 27.
- ^ Bury, J.B. History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodosius I, Vol. 1, p. 407. Dover Publications, 1958.
- ^ Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 3, p. 640. Ed. Hans-Friedrich Mueller. Modern Library, 2003
- ^ Bury, J.B. History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodosius I, Vol. 1, p. 410. Dover Publications, 1958
- ^ Bury, J.B. History of the Later Roman Empire from the Death of Theodosius I, Vol. 1, p. 410. Dover Publications, 1958
- ^ Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol 3, p. 641. Ed. Hans-Friedrich Mueller. Modern Library, 2003
- ^ Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 4, p. 692. Ed. Hans-Friedrich Mueller. Modern Library, 2003
- ^ Young, George Frederick. East and West Through Fifteen Centuries, Vol. 2, p. 220. Longmans, Green and Co, 1916
- ^ Young, George Frederick. East and West Through Fifteen Centuries, Vol. 2, p. 220. Longmans, Green and Co, 1916
- ^ Brownworth, Lars. Lost to the West. 2010.