Odoacer is almost always mentioned in world history textbooks as the man who destroyed the Western Roman Empire, but the details are not well understood.
After the Roman culture and customs were completely destroyed by Emperor Theodosius, it seems that the culture of leaving history has also disappeared, and rather, Julius Caesar and others in BC have more detailed records. History is interesting.
The origin is unknown, but there is no doubt that he is a Germanic
With the fall of the Roman Empire, the protagonists of the era shift from Latins to Germans.
The Germanic people who left their names during this period, such as Alaric and Genceric, were the chiefs and kings of each tribe.
On the other hand, the most famous Germanic Odoacer is not a tribe like them, and it is not even known from which tribe they come from.
At the end of the Western Roman Empire, Roman citizens of the Latin people were reluctant to participate in the battle, and the Roman army relied on Germanic and Huns mercenaries, so it was within the army. The Germanic people were no longer rare.
Odoacer seems to have been a general in the Roman Empire around 470, and it is known that he participated in the battle with Anthemius sent by the Byzantine Emperor under the permission of the Roman bureaucrat Ricimer, who was in power at that time.
The next scene that came out was the demise of the Roman emperor Romulus Augustus, who returned the Roman emperor to the Byzantine Empire.
Odoacer did not become an emperor himself, as seen by the founders of other dynasties, nor did he call himself a king.
The Byzantine Empire did not seem to be very interested in the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and Emperor Zeno gave Odoacer the title of "Patricius".
This is originally a word for aristocrats, but it is a title that was often given to Germanic people at this time, and it is appropriate to see it as a name that was not recognized as a king but gave a certain degree of sovereignty.
The Byzantine Empire had already appointed a person named Julius Nepos as the Emperor of Western Rome, but this seemed unwilling for Nepos, and he was not in tune with the Senate and Pope Leo I, and was assassinated by Odoacer. It is said that it was.
Pax Barbarica
Odoacer destroyed the Roman Empire but left his governing body intact.
Even before Odoacer was deposed, the name of the empire had already disappeared, and it seems that there was no problem with its rule.
Odoacer respected the Senate and left the administration to bureaucrats. Instead, his military affairs will be carried out by his Germanic corps, and these policies have been welcomed by bureaucrats and the Senate. From the perspective of Roman citizens, it would have looked much more Roman than the emperor.
In addition, he gave preferential treatment to the Pope, who can be said to be a spiritual pillar, and externally concluded a peace treaty with each Germanic tribe and succeeded in creating a peaceful era called "Pax Barbarika". ..
The peaceful era lasted for about 15 years, but some people were bitter about this situation.
Byzantine Emperor Zenon.
Zenon assisted the Ostrogoth king Theodoric to invade the Italian Peninsula.
It can be said that Odoacer had a talent for domestic affairs but not a lot for military talent. He lost the Battle of Isonzo and the Battle of Verona in a row and surrendered to Theodoric in the land of Ravenna.
Theodoric initially urged him to surrender by saving Odoacer's life, but he was unwilling to keep such a promise and killed both Odoacer and his clan.
Edward Gibbon, who wrote "History of the Decline of the Roman Empire," described Odoacer as an excellent monarch of Bunbu, and even a hero.
Odoacer deposed the Roman emperor in the west, but there is a theory that it is different from the fact that the Roman emperor was destroyed in 476 because the governing body such as the Senate remains.
I personally agree with that opinion, and it is reasonable to assume that the fall of the Roman Empire was during the time of Constantine or Theodosius.
After that, only the form was Roman, and the Latins had lost the Roman spirit.