Romulus Augustulus, << ROM yuh luhs aw GUHS chuh luhs >> (A.D. 460?-500?), was the last emperor of the West Roman Empire. He reigned from A.D. 475 to 476, when the empire collapsed. Although his name actually was Romulus Augustus, he became known as Romulus Augustulus. Augustus means the revered. Augustulus, a scornful term, means little Augustus.
Historians do not know exactly when or where Romulus Augustulus was born. His father was a Roman military official named Orestes. Orestes overthrew Julius Nepos, the West Roman emperor, in 475 and replaced him with Romulus Augustulus. By that time, the position of West Roman emperor was an extremely weak one. Based in Ravenna, in northeastern Italy, the emperor controlled only Italy and a small area of southern Gaul (now mostly France).
In the summer of 476, when barbarian (non-Roman) troops who had served Rome demanded land in Italy as their payment, Orestes influenced his son to refuse them. The troops’ leader, Odoacer , then killed Orestes and deposed Romulus, but he spared Romulus’s life because of his youth. In September 476, Odoacer sent Romulus to live with relatives in the Campania region of southern Italy. Historians do not know how much longer Romulus lived. His death is unrecorded.
Odoacer made the Roman Senate inform Zeno, the East Roman emperor, of Romulus’s removal. The Senate also informed Zeno that a West Roman emperor was no longer needed. Odoacer then took control of Italy.
See also Rome, Ancient (The decline of the empire) .
