Odoacer
Odoacer (Latin: Odoacer or Odoacar; also known as Odovacar, possibly derived from German Audawakrs "seeker of wealth"; c. 433-493), general of Heruli origin in the service of the Western Roman Empire, born in Pannonia. He deposed the Emperor Romulus Augustulus in 476, becoming de facto ruler of Italy, under the formal authority of the Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno. This rewarded him with the purely honorary title of patrician and the use of the praenomen Flavius.
Prosopography
Origin
Odoacer was not considered a Roman and his ancestry is unknown. Born in Pannonia, part of Attila's empire, most scholars consider him to be at least partially Germanic in origin, while others, such as Theophanes, call him For his part, the chronicler of the VI century, Marcellinus Comes, names him "king of the Goths" (Odoacer rex Gothorum), without commenting on his ethnic origin. Later historians call it rugio, héruli or sciro, based on the account of Jordanes, who links it to these peoples. In numerous passages he calls it "king of the turcilingos" (Torcilingorum rex), an ethnonym, or perhaps, royal family, not mentioned by any other testimony. In his book Roman History, the same author says that Odoacer descends from the Rugi (Odoacer genere Rogus). It has been suggested that, since Attila had an uncle named Rogus, Odoacer may have been of Hunnic descent.
In a fragment of a history of Priscus, reproduced by John of Antioch, Odoacer is described as a man of the Scyros, son of Adeco and brother of Onulf. However, it is not universally accepted that this Edeco is the same person who was living at this time, as he could be an ambassador of Attila at the court in Constantinople, who escorted Priscus back to Attila's camp, or else a leader of the Scyros, along with the mentioned Ornulf (perhaps his son), who were defeated by the Ostrogoths at the Battle of Bolia around 469.
Many historians, such as medieval scholar Michael Frasetto, accept that Odoacer was of Scyrian descent. Historian Erik Jensen claims that Odoacer was born to a Gothic mother and that his father, Adeco, was Hunnic. Bruce Macbain notes that the Ancient sources present considerable confusion about Odoacer's tribal affiliation, but that "not a single source calls him a Hun." Historian Penny MacGeorge, for her part, considers torcilingi is an error for thuringii, Thuringian, and that Odoacer was "certainly German, probably half Scyrus, half Thuringian, and may have had connections to other tribes through intermarriage".
Name
The origin of the name Odoacer is debated. It has been suggested to derive from Germanic * Audawakraz (Gothic * Audawakrs), from aud- "wealth" and wakr- "watchman", "he who watches over his wealth". This form finds a cognate in another Germanic language, Eadwacer which appears in an Anglo-Saxon poem: "Wulf and Eadwacer".[18] On the other hand, historians Robert L. Reynolds and Robert S. López explored the possibility that the name Odoacer was not Germanic, presenting various arguments that his ethnicity could be elsewhere. One is that his name, "Odoacer", for which they claimed no convincing etymology had been found in Germanic languages, could be a form of Turkic Ot-toghar "born of the grass". Thesis that has been criticized by Maenschen-Helfen.
Early Years
Beginnings
The first mention of Odoacer comes from a fragment of a chronicle preserved in the History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours. Two different chapters of his work mention military leaders by the name of Odoacer, using two different spellings and involving two different regions. On first mention, a confused or confused account is given of a series of battles fought by King Childeric I of the Franks, Aegidius, Count Paul, and an Adovacrius (with an "a& #34;) who led a group of "Saxons", based at the mouth of the Loire. Although there is no consensus, some historians, such as Reynolds and López, have suggested that this Adovacrius may be the same person as the future King of Italy.
In a second mention of Gregory of Tours, an Odovacrius (with "o") made an alliance with Childeric himself, and together they fought against the Alemanni, who had been causing trouble in Italy. This Odoacer, with his connection to the northern region of Italy, and the spelling of him 'o', is probably the future king of Italy, before he was king.
There is consensus that Odoacer is mentioned in the Life of Saint Severinus, written by Eugipio. There it is narrated that a group of barbarians who were heading to Italy stopped to pay their respects to Severino. Odoacer, at that time "a young man, tall in figure, clad in poor clothing," learned from the saint that he would one day become famous. Despite the fact that Odoacer was an Arian Christian and Severino, a Catholic, the latter left a deep mark on him. As Odoacer took his leave, Severinus made a final comment that was prophetic: 'Go to Italy, go, now covered in poor furs; soon you will make rich gifts to many."
Odoacer in Italy
By 470, Odoacer had become an officer in what was left of the Roman army. Although Jordanes writes that Odoacer invaded Italy "as leader of the Sciri, the Heruli, and allies of various races," modern writers describe him as part of the Roman military establishment, based on John of Antioch's claim that Odoacer was on Ricimero's side at the start of his battle with the Emperor Anthemius in 472. As a soldier, suddenly confronted by Anthemius, as he had switched sides to join Ricimerus, Odoacer had 'accelerated the fall of the emperor".
When Orestes was appointed Magister militum and patrician by the Western Roman Emperor Julius Nepote in 475, Odoacer became head of the Germanic foederati of Italy. Under the command of Orestes there were important contingents of Germanic peoples composed mainly of members of the Rugii and Heruli tribes. Before the year was out, Orestes had revolted and driven Nepos out of Italy. Orestes then proclaimed his young son Romulus as the new emperor as Romulus Augustus, called "Augustus"; (31 October). However, Nepos reorganized his court in Salona, Dalmatia and received the homage and affirmation of the remaining fragments of the Western Empire beyond Italy and, most importantly, Constantinople, which refused to accept Romulus, as Zeno did. he had branded him and his father as traitors. and usurpers.
About this time, the foederati, in the words of J. B. Bury, "Wished to have lands of their own, and asked Orestes to reward them for their services, granting them land and establishing them permanently in Italy& #3. 4;. Orestes refused his request and they turned to Odoacer to lead their revolt against Orestes. Orestes was assassinated in Placentia along with his brother Paulus on the outskirts of Ravenna. The Germanic Foederati, the Scirians and the Heruli, as well as a large part of the Italic Roman army, then proclaimed Odoacer as their rex. In 476, Odoacer advanced towards Ravenna and captured the city, forcing the young Emperor Romulus to abdicate on September 4. According to the Valesian Anonymous, Odoacer was moved by Romulus' youth and beauty not only to spare his life but also to give him a pension of 6,000 solidi and send him to Campania to live with his relatives.
Reign
Odoacer was the ruler of Italy, that is, of the territories of the former prefecture of the same name, in the name of Zeno, sole sovereign of the Roman Empire. In some of his acts, the issuance of coins for example, he recognized the honorary preeminence of the deposed emperor Julius Nepos, exiled in Dalmatia, and when he was assassinated in 480, Odoacer invaded Dalmatia, executed the murderers and incorporated the province into the kingdom.
Odoacer's title has raised some confusion. In the only surviving document from his chancellery he uses the title Rex, the same title used by the consul Basilio. Marcellinus, Cassiodorus, and some papal documents also refer to him as Rex (or one of the declensions of him). Jordanes mentions him as «ruler of the Goths and the Romans» (Gothorum Romanorumque regnator) and Procopius, much later, calls him sole ruler (αὐτοκράτωρ, autokrator) and usurper (τύραννος, tyrannos). The only reference to Odoacer as "King of Italy" is in Victor Vitensis: Odouacro Italiae regi. Modern authors assign him the title dux Italiae, which was bestowed on him by Zeno, but this was replaced since the deposition of Romulus, by that of king.
Odoacer made few major changes to the administrative system of Italy. He had the support of the Roman Senate and was able to distribute land to his followers without much opposition. Unrest among his warriors led to violence in 477–478, but such unrest was subdued during the latter period of his reign.
As Bury points out: "It is very important to note that Odoacer established his political power with the cooperation of the Roman Senate, and this body seems to have given him loyal support throughout his reign, to the extent that our scant sources allow us to infer". Indeed, Odoacer regularly appointed members of the Senate to consulship and other prestigious posts: " Basilio, Decio, Venancio and Manlio Boecio occupied the consulate and were Prefects of Rome or Praetorian Prefects; Symmachus and Sividius were consuls and Prefects of Rome; another senator from an old family, Cassiodoro, was appointed finance minister. " A. H. M. Jones also points out that under Odoacer the Senate acquired "more prestige and influence" to counter any desire for restoration by the imperial government. As the most tangible example of this renewed prestige, for the first time since mid-century III, the copper coins were issued with the legend S(enatus) C(onsulto). Jones describes these coins as "big, fine pieces of copper," which were "a vast improvement on the wretched nummi issued up to that time", and They were not only copied by the Vandals in Africa, but formed the basis of Anastasius's monetary reform in the Eastern Empire.
Although Odoacer was an Arian Christian, his relations with the church hierarchy were remarkably good. He held Bishop Epifanio in great esteem to the point that, in response to a request by this prelate, he granted the Ligurians a five-year tax immunity. The biography of Pope Felix III in the Liber Pontificalis openly states that the pontiff's tenure occurred during the reign of Odoacer without any complaints about the king's conduct.
In 487/488, Odoacer led his army to victory against the Rugi at Noricum, taking their king Feletheus captive; when it became known that Feletheus's son Fredericus was back among his own, Odoacer sent his brother Onulf against him, who defeated him. Onulf considered it necessary to evacuate the remaining Romans in the province and resettled them in Italy, the surviving Roosters fled and took refuge among the Ostrogoths; the province was abandoned and was occupied by the Lombards in 493.
Fall
Relations between Ravenna and Constantinople worsened and Odoacer rebelled against the emperor, supporting the usurper Illos. In 489, with the support of the victorious Zeno, the Ostrogoths, under Theodoric the Amalo, invaded Odoacer's kingdom and utterly defeated his army. Cornered, the Herulian king reached a pact with Theodoric in February 493 to share power, and ten days later, after entering Ravenna, the Gothic monarch decided to organize a banquet in the imperial palace of Honorius to celebrate the agreement, with the intention of having some of his followers close by to assassinate Odoacer. However, the plan could not be carried out, for which reason Theodoric decided to assassinate him with his own hands: after making a toast, he drew his sword and plunged it into Odoacer's clavicle, after which he, dying, asked "Where is God?" ?», to which the Ostrogoth replied «This is what you did to my friends». Theodoric stood over the corpse of his dead rival and said "Certainly there was not a bone in this wretch."
According to John Antiochenus, "that same day, all the members of Odoacer's army who could be found were killed by order of Theodoric, as well as his entire family." Odoacer's wife, Sunigilda, was stoned or starved to death, sources differ, and her brother Onulfo, killed by archers while seeking refuge in a church. His son Thela was exiled to Gaul but, when he tried to return to Italy, Theodoric ordered that he too be killed. Upon Odoacer's death, Theodoric effectively became King of Italy.
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