During the 5th Century, the West suffered increasing numbers of invasions from Germanic tribes. The powerful Roman general Stilicho, himself of both Roman and Vandal lineage, stemmed the tide for a time. Like so many before him, however, he fell victim to political jealousies. Notably, the Visigoths, led by Alaric, and the Vandals, led by Genseric, sacked Rome, in 410 and 455, respectively. Driving many of the invasions was a need to escape the westward migration of the mighty Huns, led by the charismatic and notorious Attila, who had a chance to take Rome but demurred. In the meantime, the Vandals had seized Hispania and North Africa and the Franks had taken over parts of Gaul.

Surrounded on all sides, Rome fought on but to smaller and smaller effect. When the powerful Odoacer and an army of Heruli invaded in 476, they found themselves in charge of the place. Orestes, who had fought with Attila, had proclaimed his teenage son, Romulus Augustulus, to be emperor. It was this young ruler whom Odoacer deposed on Sept. 4, officially ending the Western Roman Empire.

Odoacer declared himself ruler of Italy but had trouble keeping what he had gained. The emperor in the East, Zeno, first preferred Julius Nepos, who had been emperor in 474 and whom Orestes had driven into exile before putting his 16-year-old soon on the throne. His death in 480 removed one impediment to Odoacer's reign in Italy. He wasn't able to remove the other one, Theodoric of the Ostrogoths. Zeno sent Theodoric to retake Italy in 488. The Heluri and Ostrogoths fought each other to a standstill, and the two leaders agreed to rule together. Theodoric killed Odoacer at the banquet that was supposed to be celebrating their peace, and the Ostrogothic Kingdom grew from the remnants of the Roman West.

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