kingdom · Italy
Kingdom of Odoacer
Origins
Odoacer, an officer of Germanic origin in the Roman army in Italy, led a mutiny of soldiers demanding land. In 476 he defeated the general Orestes and deposed his son, the young emperor Romulus Augustulus, sending the imperial regalia to Zeno in Constantinople. His soldiers proclaimed him king.
Rule and society
Odoacer ruled from Ravenna as king while nominally recognising the eastern emperor. He kept the Roman administration and the Senate, appointing Roman consuls and officials, and gave his soldiers land, traditionally a third of estates. An Arian Christian, he tolerated the Catholic Church. He gained Sicily from the Vandals by treaty, took Dalmatia and destroyed the Rugian kingdom on the Danube in 487.
Decline and legacy
Zeno sent Theodoric and the Ostrogoths against Odoacer in 489. After defeats on the Isonzo and at Verona, Odoacer held out in Ravenna for three years. He agreed to share power in 493 but was killed by Theodoric at a banquet days later, and the Ostrogothic Kingdom replaced his.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Kingdom of Odoacer was a vassal of Byzantine Empire476 CE – 493 CE
- Kingdom of the Rugians was conquered by Kingdom of Odoacer487 CE – 488 CE
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Odoacer. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-odoacer
- MLA
- “Kingdom of Odoacer.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-odoacer. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Odoacer.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-odoacer.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Odoacer’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-odoacer (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻