ODOACRE (Odoacer, Odoacar). — First barbarian king of Italy, born in 434, died at Ravenna on March 15, 493. Of Scirian origin, he soon came to Italy, enlisting in the army among the Palatine Guards. On August 23, 476, he was acclaimed king by the barbarian soldiers who demanded a third of the lands of the peninsula; after occupying Pavia, he marched on Ravenna, deposing the last Western emperor, Romulus Augustulus (September 4).
To legalize his power, he sent ambassadors to the Eastern Emperor Zeno, requesting the title of Roman patrician. A shrewd and prudent politician, he governed with wisdom and moderation. In 476 he obtained from the Vandals the eastern part of Sicily, obliging himself to pay them an annual tribute, but in 486 he conquered the entire island. In 481–82 he occupied Dalmatia and in 487–88 he fought victoriously against the Rugi, whom the Emperor Zeno had incited against him. In 489, Theoderic, in agreement with the Byzantine court, prepared to march on Italy with his Ostrogoths; Odoacer was successively defeated near the Isonzo and at Verona, and the following year near the Adda. He then shut himself up in Ravenna, which was soon besieged by Theoderic; after two years Odoacer surrendered on the promise of his life being spared and a certain share in the government of Italy (March 5, 493), but after ten days he was killed by Theoderic himself, along with his entire family and all who had remained loyal to him.
Toward the Catholic Church, despite being an Arian, Odoacer showed himself rather tolerant and accommodating, respecting the bishops; he intervened through his Prefect of Rome in the election of Pope Felix III to prevent disturbances, and also had a decree promulgated by the clergy against the alienation of ecclesiastical property.