ROMULUS AUGUSTULUS

flourished 5th century AD byname of Flavius Momyllus Romulus Augustus the last of the Western Roman emperors (475476). He was a usurper not recognized as a legitimate ruler by the Eastern emperor. Romulus was the son of the Western empire's master of soldiers Orestes. His original surname was Augustus, but it was changed to the diminutive because he was still a child when his father, after driving the Western emperor Julius Nepos from Italy, elevated him to the throne on Oct. 31, 475. For about 12 months Orestes ruled Italy in his son's name, but eventually his troops mutinied and found a leader in the German warrior Odoacer. Odoacer's forces captured and executed Orestes on Aug. 28, 476. Romulus, however, was spared because of his youth; Odoacer gave him a pension and sent him to live with his relatives in Campania, a province in southern Italy. His subsequent fate is unknown.