The Battle of Placentia
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
Flavius Odoacer's birthdate is not known for certain; it may have been around 433 CE, but he certainly died in 493--March 15, to be exact. This is a common phenomenon when a person is born in obscurity but dies in the limelight--in Odoacer's case, as King of Italy, the first in that role after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
Although not Roman--he was probably of an eastern Germanic--and not a Catholic, he was still able to seize power by the simple expedient of deposing his predecessor, the last Western Emperor Romulus Augustus.
How he got to the throne is a bit complicated. One Orestes, a commander of the Roman Army's foreign troops (foederati) stationed in Italy, in 475 rebelled against the then-emperor Julius Nepos, and placed his own son, the afore-mentioned Romulus Augustus, on the throne. This action was condemned by Zeno, the Eastern Emperor in Constantinople, who continued to support Julius Nepos.
At this time, the foederati petitioned Orestes for the right to settle permanently in Italy, instead of living only in military camps. Orestes refused, and the foederati turned to Odoacer, another of their officers, to lead them in a revolt. On August 23, 476, the "barbarian" troops declared Odoacer king.
He set out to take Orestes, ravaging towns and villages all over Italy. Once, Orestes holed up in a city called Pavia, under protection of the bishop there. Odoacer and his men bashed through the city walls and plundered the church, as well as razing many of the city's buildings.
Orestes fled again, gathering the remnants of the Roman army around him, and settled in the city of Piacenza (or Placentia). His force was small and disorganized, and Orestes was inexperienced in military matters. When Odoacer and his crack mercenaries arrived, they easily took Orestes, and on August 28 executed him. Most of the Roman soldiers were killed or driven off; Romulus Augustus was deposed once and for all and exiled on September 4. Odoacer became the first King of Italy, treacherously slain by the second King during a feast; the title King of Italy was not finally abolished until 1946.