Odoaker was a Germanic military leader who played an important role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the late 5th century. He was born around the year 433 AD, in what is now modern-day Austria, and his ethnicity was a mixture of Heruli and Scirian.
In 476, Odoaker led a rebellion of Germanic troops in the Roman army and deposed the Western Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustus, effectively putting an end to the Western Roman Empire. Odoaker then declared himself King of Italy, ruling from the city of Ravenna, which he had captured from the Romans.
As King of Italy, Odoaker maintained good relations with the Eastern Roman Empire, which still existed at the time and was ruled from Constantinople. He also maintained good relations with the Germanic tribes that lived in the area, such as the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths.
In 493, the Eastern Roman Emperor, Zeno, decided that he wanted to regain control of Italy and sent an army to invade the country. The war dragged on for three years until John, bishop of Ravenna, negotiated a treaty between Theodoric and Odoaker to share joint rule. Odoaker died ten days later, murdered by Theodoric while they shared a meal. Theodoric also hunted down and killed Odoaker's loyal followers, but Odoaker's legacy laid the foundations for a great kingdom in Italy for Theodoric to exploit.