493 The Murder of Odoacer
In the late 5th century the Roman Empire in the West was largely a fiction. The territories had been overrun by a number of Germanic tribes looking for loot and places to settle. The imperial throne was the plaything of rebellious generals and their barbarian allies. In 476 a Gothic/Hunnic military leader, Odoacer, deposed the last western emperor, Romulus Augustus, and sent the kid home without much ado.
Odoacer dispatched the regalia to Zeno, the eastern emperor in Constantinople, and henceforth claimed to be administering Italy in his name. For 12 years he ruled with notable success, collaborating with the Senate in Rome, keeping his land-hungry tribesmen happy, and making sure civilization still functioned. (Without the Roman civil service who was going to collect the taxes?) Though he was an Arian Christian he seems to have had decent relations with his Catholic subjects.
Odoacer’s big mistake was to join with other rebels in trying to depose Zeno, sensing that the emperor was viewing him as a danger. Zeno responded by turning to another Gothic general, Theoderic, who invaded Italy. After years of fighting, Theoderic had Odoacer cornered in Ravenna, where he was protected by easily-defended marsh land. In 493 a peace was negotiated whereby the peninsula was to be shared by the two warriors but at a banquet of reconciliation, Theoderic stabbed Odoacer to death, and ordered his wife and children to be murdered as well.
Theoderic wisely adhered to Odoacer’s policy of cooperation with the Roman elite and ruled Italy happily for over 30 years.