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Odoacer

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Odoacer

, Odovacar
?434--493 ad, barbarian ruler of Italy (476--493); assassinated by Theodoric
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

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.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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