Gothic chieftain who became the first Germanic ruler of Italy. He and his troops were part of the Roman army and when Romulus Augustus became emperor (476) he led an uprising and deposed him, making Ravenna his capital. This event marked the end of the Western Roman empire. His troops later overran Dalmatia, threatening the power of Zeno, the Eastern emperor, who encouraged Theodoric the Great, King of the Ostrogoths, to besiege Ravenna. Odoacer surrendered (493) on promise of retaining half of Italy but at a banquet was murdered by Theodoric, who became sole ruler.