The last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, Romulus Augustulus was a child placed on the throne by his father, the general Orestes, and reigned only briefly before being deposed by Odoacer in 476. Rather than executing him, Odoacer exiled the young emperor to Campania, where he lived out his days in comfort; his death date was never recorded. His abdication in 476 is conventionally treated as the end of the Roman Empire, though the empire continued in the East for nearly another millennium.
Also known as: Romulus Augustus
What each episode says
Episode 6 (4 mentions)
Son of the general Orestes, placed on the western throne as a child with two famous namesakes to live up to. Odoacer felt sorry for the pathetic young emperor and rather than killing him, sent him into comfortable exile in Campania. Though his death date is unrecorded, his abdication in 476 marked the end of the Roman Empire in the West.
“the emperor and elevated his son Romulus, nicknamed Augustulus, to the throne.”
“when Romulus Augustulus died, his abdication marked the end of the Roman empire in the”
“Romulus's place.”
Episode 17 (1 mention)
Brownworth laments that Western history teaches the last Roman Emperor was 'a sad little boy named Romulus Augustulus,' ignoring the millennium-long continuation of Rome in Byzantium. He contrasts this with the heroic Constantine XI to illustrate how Byzantine history has been marginalized.
“But a sad little boy named Romulus Augustulus”
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