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476
__NOTOC__ Year 476 ( CDLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Basiliscus and Armatus (or, less frequently, year 1229 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 476 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Because the fall of the Western Roman Empire occurred in 476, many historians consider it the last year of ancient history and the first year of the Middle Ages in Europe. Events By place Roman Empire * Summer – Odoacer, chieftain of the Germanic tribes (Herulic/Scirian ''foederati''), visits the imperial palace at Ravenna. He petitions Orestes (''magister militum'') to reward his mercenaries for their services and their support of his rebellion a year earlier, by making good on his promise to grant them lands to settle permanently in Italy. Orestes refuses this propos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Roman Empire
In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. Particularly during the period from AD 395 to 476, there were separate, coequal courts dividing the governance of the empire into the Western provinces and the Eastern provinces with a distinct Line of hereditary succession, imperial succession in the separate courts. The terms Western Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire were coined in modern times to describe political entities that were ''de facto'' independent; contemporary Ancient Rome, Romans did not consider the Empire to have been split into two empires but viewed it as a single polity governed by two imperial courts for administrative expediency. The Western Empire collapsed in 476, and the Western imperial court in Ravenna disappeared by AD 554, at the end of Ju ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basiliscus
Basiliscus (; died 476/477) was Eastern Roman emperor from 9 January 475 to August 476. He became in 464, under his brother-in-law, Emperor Leo I (457–474). Basiliscus commanded the army for an invasion of the Vandal Kingdom in 468, which was defeated at the Battle of Cape Bon. There were accusations at the time that Basiliscus was bribed by Aspar, the ; many historians dismiss this, instead concluding that Basiliscus was either incompetent or foolish for accepting Vandal King Gaiseric's offer of a truce, which the latter used to construct fireships. Basiliscus's defeat cost the Eastern Empire of gold, causing the empire to hover above bankruptcy for 30 years. When Basiliscus returned to Constantinople, he sought refuge in the Hagia Sophia. His sister, Empress Verina, secured him a pardon and he left the church to retire in Neapolis. When Emperor Leo died in 474, his grandson Leo II (474) took power, but soon died; his father, Zeno (474–475, 476–491) ascended th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odoacer
Odoacer ( – 15 March 493 AD), also spelled Odovacer or Odovacar, was a barbarian soldier and statesman from the Middle Danube who deposed the Western Roman child emperor Romulus Augustulus and became the ruler of Italy (476–493). Odoacer's overthrow of Romulus Augustulus is traditionally understood as marking the end of the Western Roman Empire. Although he held power over Italy, he also represented himself as the client of the Eastern Roman Emperor in Constantinople, Zeno. He was referred to not only as a king (), but also as commander (), or using the Roman honorific patrician, granted by Zeno. Odoacer himself used the title of king in the only surviving official document that emanated from his chancery, and it was also used by the consul Basilius. He had the support of the Roman Senate and was able to distribute land to his followers without much opposition. Unrest among his soldiers led to violence in 477–478, but no such disturbances occurred during the later p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zeno (emperor)
Zeno (; ; – 9 April 491) was Eastern Roman emperor from 474 to 475 and again from 476 to 491. His reign was plagued by domestic revolts and religious dissension, but was more successful on the foreign front. He is credited with further stabilizing the Eastern empire, while the Western Roman Empire fell following the deposition of Romulus Augustulus. Born in Isauria, Zeno was known as Tarasis before adopting his Greek name and becoming an ally of Emperor Leo I (emperor), Leo I, who saw the Isaurian general as an important counterweight against the Germanic leader Aspar. In 466, he married Leo I's daughter, Ariadne (empress), Ariadne, with whom he had a son, Leo II (emperor), Leo. On the death of Leo I in 474, Zeno's seven-year-old son took the throne as Leo II, with Zeno made co-emperor shortly after. Leo II died of an illness later that year, leaving Zeno as the sole emperor. Despite his early success in making peace with the Vandals, Zeno was an unpopular emperor due to his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orestes (father Of Romulus Augustulus)
OrestesJ.R. Martindale ''The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'' vol. II pp. 811–812. Cambridge University Press, 1980 (died 28 August 476) was a Roman general and politician of Pannonian ancestry. He joined the court of Attila the Hun in his native Pannonia, in which he reached a high position, becoming one of Attila's most trusted men. Orestes also held considerable influence in the late Western Roman Empire. His son Romulus Augustulus became Roman Emperor of the West. Biography Born to a Roman aristocratic family from Pannonia Savia, Orestes was son of Tatulus, a pagan, and son-in-law to Romulus, who served as ''comes'' in the Western Roman Empire. After Pannonia was ceded to Attila the Hun, Orestes joined Attila's court, becoming one of Attila's intimate advisors and most trusted lieutenants, and reaching high position as a secretary (''notarius'') in 449 and 452. In 449 Attila sent him twice to Constantinople with ambassador Eslas.Priscus, ''History'', frag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armatus
Flavius Armatus (died 477), also known as Harmatius, was an Eastern Roman military commander, ''magister militum'' under Emperors Leo I, Basiliscus and Zeno, and consul. He was instrumental in the rebellion of Basiliscus against Zeno, and in his subsequent fall. Origin and early career Armatus was a nephew of Basiliscus and of Empress Verina, the wife of Leo I. It is known that Armatus had a son, also named Basiliscus. During the last part of Emperor Leo's reign, Armatus, as ''magister militum per Thracias'', successfully quelled a revolt in Thrace, cutting off the hands of the Thracian prisoners and sending them to the rebels. It is possible that the rebels were men of the Thracian Goth Theodoric Strabo, a military commander under Leo, and hence this revolt would have been the one started by Strabo between the death of Aspar (471) and the end of Leo's rule (473).Suda, s.v. ''Ἁρμάτιος''. Rise of Basiliscus Armatus supported the rebellion of Basiliscus in 475, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Roman Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th centuryAD, it endured until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. The term 'Byzantine Empire' was coined only after its demise; its citizens used the term 'Roman Empire' and called themselves 'Romans'. During the early centuries of the Roman Empire, the western provinces were Latinised, but the eastern parts kept their Hellenistic culture. Constantine I () legalised Christianity and moved the capital to Constantinople. Theodosius I () made Christianity the state religion and Greek gradually replaced Latin for official use. The empire adopted a defensive strategy and, throughout its remaining history, experienced recurring cycles of decline and recovery. It reached its greatest extent un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ravenna
Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which it served as the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom and then the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna. It has 156,444 inhabitants as of 2025.Initially settled by the Umbri people, Ravenna came under Roman Republic control in 89 BC. Augustus, Octavian built the military harbor of Classe, ancient port of Ravenna, Classis at Ravenna, and the city remained an important seaport on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic until the early Middle Ages. The city prospered under imperial rule. In 401, Western Roman emperor Honorius (emperor), Honorius moved his court from Mediolanum to Ravenna; it then served as capital of the empire for most of the 5th century. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Ravenna became the capital of Odoacer until he was defeated by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Illus
Flavius Illus (; died 488) was a Roman general who played an important role in the reigns of the Eastern Emperors Zeno (emperor), Zeno and Basiliscus. Illus supported the revolt of Basiliscus against Zeno and switched sides to support the return of Zeno (475–476). Illus served Zeno well, defeating the usurper Marcianus (son of Anthemius), Marcianus but came into conflict with the Dowager Empress Verina, and supported the revolt of Leontius (usurper), Leontius. The rebellion failed, and Illus was killed. Origins Illus ( or ) was an Isaurian, but the time and place of his birth are unknown; he had a brother, called Flavius Appalius Illus Trocundes, Trocundes. Illus is said to have held various offices under the Emperor Leo I (emperor), Leo I (457–474), and to have been an intimate friend of Zeno, apparently before his accession. John Malalas considered Illus an uncle of Zeno. We first read of him in Zeno's reign, at a time during which he was hostile to Zeno. Under Basilis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and transitioned into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages. Population decline, counterurbanisation, the collapse of centralised authority, invasions, and mass migrations of tribes, which had begun in late antiquity, continued into the Early Middle Ages. The large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the 7th century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foederati
''Foederati'' ( ; singular: ''foederatus'' ) were peoples and cities bound by a treaty, known as ''foedus'', with Rome. During the Roman Republic, the term identified the '' socii'', but during the Roman Empire, it was used to describe foreign states, client kingdoms or barbarian tribes to which the empire provided benefits in exchange for military assistance. The term was also used, especially under the empire, for groups of barbarian mercenaries of various sizes who were typically allowed to settle within the empire. Roman Republic In the early Roman Republic, ''foederati'' were tribes that were bound by a treaty (''foedus'' ) to come to the defence of Rome but were neither Roman colonies nor beneficiaries of Roman citizenship (''civitas''). Members of the Latini tribe were considered blood allies, but the rest were federates or '' socii''. The friction between the treaty obligations without the corresponding benefits of Romanity led to the Social War between the Romans, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sciri
The Sciri, or Scirians, were a Germanic people. They are believed to have spoken an East Germanic language. Their name probably means "the pure ones". The Sciri were mentioned already in the late 3rd century BC as participants in a raid on the city of Olbia (Pontic), Olbia near modern-day Odesa. In the late 4th century they lived somewhere north of the Black Sea and Lower Danube in the vicinity of the Goths. By the early 5th century, the Sciri had been subdued by the Huns, whom they fought under at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451 AD. After the death of Attila, the Sciri broke free from Hunnic rule at the Battle of Nedao in 454 AD. They subsequently were recorded holding their own kingdom north of the Middle Danube, under the leadership of Edeko and his son Onoulphus. After the destruction of this kingdom by the Ostrogoths in the late 460s AD, Odoacer, another son of Edeko, attained high status within the Roman army in Italy, ruling Sciri, Rugii and other non-Roman pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
