Odoacer (redirected from Odavacar)

Odoacer (ōdōā`sər) or Odovacar (–vā`kər), c.435–493, chieftain of the Heruli, the Sciri, and the Rugii (see Germans). He and his troops were mercenaries in the service of Rome, but in 476 the Heruli revolted and proclaimed Odoacer their king. Odoacer defeated the Roman general Orestes at Piacenza, took Ravenna (the West Roman capital), and deposed Romulus Augustulus, last Roman emperor of the West (until the coronation in 800 of Charlemagne). The date 476 is often accepted as the end of the West Roman Empire. However, Odoacer's action made little difference in the status of Western Rome, which had long been prey to the barbarian armies; the emperors had been mere puppets. Emperor Zeno of the East, considering himself heir to the West Roman Empire, reluctantly recognized Odoacer's authority over Italy and granted him the title of patrician. The Roman administration of Italy continued to function under Odoacer, who retained the chief officers of state. In 488, Zeno sent Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, into Italy to expel Odoacer. Several times defeated, Odoacer consented (493) to a treaty by which he was to share his authority with Theodoric. Invited to a banquet by Theodoric, Odoacer and his son and chief officers were treacherously assassinated; thus Theodoric made himself master of Italy.

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Odoacer

 or Odovacar

(born c. 433—died March 15, 493, Ravenna) First barbarian king of Italy (476–493). A German warrior in the Roman army, he led a revolt against the usurper Orestes (475). He was proclaimed king by his troops in 476, the date that traditionally marks the end of the Western Roman Empire. Odoacer paid homage to the Eastern emperor, Zeno, but asserted his own right to rule Italy. He conquered Dalmatia (482), defeated the Rugi (487–488), and retook Sicily from the Vandals. By attacking the Eastern Empire, he alienated Zeno, who encouraged the Ostrogothic king Theodoric to invade Italy (489). Theodoric captured almost the entire peninsula and killed Odoacer after inviting him to a banquet.

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Odoacer, Odovacar

?434--493 ad, barbarian ruler of Italy (476--493); assassinated by Theodoric

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Odoacer 

(or Odovacar). Born circa 431; died Mar. 15, 493, in Ravenna. Ruler (“king”) of Italy from 476 to 493.

Odoacer was a member of the German Sciri tribe and the leader of one of the detachments of German mercenaries in the imperial army of the Western Roman Empire. On Aug. 23, 476, he deposed the last Western Roman emperor, Romulus Augus-tulus, and proclaimed himself king of Italy. This event traditionally marks the end of the Western Roman Empire. By 493 the “kingdom of Odoacer” had been conquered by the Ostrogoths, who invaded northern Italy in 488. Odoacer was killed by Theodoric, leader of the Ostrogoths.