Odoacer

Odoacer (ad 435?-493?), Gothic chieftain who received his military training in the Roman army and became the first Germanic ruler of Italy. When Romulus Augustulus became emperor of the western Roman Empire in ad 475, Odoacer led an uprising of the German troops in the Roman army and deposed the new emperor in 476. This event is usually said to have marked the end of the Roman Empire in the west. Odoacer, as king of Italy, made Ravenna his capital and conquered the historical region of Dalmatia in ad 482. In 488, when besieged at Ravenna by Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, Odoacer surrendered on the condition that he be allowed to retain half of his kingdom. However, he was slain by Theodoric, who then became sole ruler of Italy.