Western Roman Empire Falls

On this day in 476, Romulus Augustus - the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire - was deposed by Odoacer, a German barbarian who installed himself as the king of Italy. Although Roman rule continued in the East, the city of Rome itself was under the rule of the barbarians, and the control of Rome over the West had effectively ended.

To learn more about the ancient Rome and the Roman Empire, try the following resources:

• Romans (BBC)
• Rome Reborn (University of Virginia)
• The Roman Empire in the First Century (PBS)

All of my posts on European history can be found here.