A spinoff from the other poll.
The Western Roman Empire (or the empire in the west, depending on how you see it) is commonly stated to have fallen with either the overthrowing of Romulus Augustulus in 476 and the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy by Odoacer or the death of Julius Nepos in Dalmatia in 480.
However, the Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno gave his assent to Odoacer's ruling of Italy on Rome's behalf, saying that there was no need for a separate Western ruler but that Odoacer should nonetheless pay homage to the "legitimate" Western Emperor, Julius Nepos, an edict which Odoacer went on to give lip-service to. After the Ostrogoths gave Zeno too many problems, Zeno told Theoderic to go and beat up Odoacer instead, which he would do two years after Zeno died; Anastatius recognised Theoderic as a patrician in the same way Zeno recognised Odoacer.
It's obvious that the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy was a successor state to Odoacer's kingdom, and that Odoacer had overthrown Romulus Augustulus essentially with Zeno's retroactive permission (he was busy with the putsch of Basilscus at the time), and Theoderic likewise to Odoacer. Obviously, this state of affairs had drifted considerably by the time Justinian decided to Make Roma Great Again sixty years later, but that's a problem for another time.
Long story short, did the WRE live on in Odoacer's or the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy?
The Western Roman Empire (or the empire in the west, depending on how you see it) is commonly stated to have fallen with either the overthrowing of Romulus Augustulus in 476 and the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy by Odoacer or the death of Julius Nepos in Dalmatia in 480.
However, the Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno gave his assent to Odoacer's ruling of Italy on Rome's behalf, saying that there was no need for a separate Western ruler but that Odoacer should nonetheless pay homage to the "legitimate" Western Emperor, Julius Nepos, an edict which Odoacer went on to give lip-service to. After the Ostrogoths gave Zeno too many problems, Zeno told Theoderic to go and beat up Odoacer instead, which he would do two years after Zeno died; Anastatius recognised Theoderic as a patrician in the same way Zeno recognised Odoacer.
It's obvious that the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy was a successor state to Odoacer's kingdom, and that Odoacer had overthrown Romulus Augustulus essentially with Zeno's retroactive permission (he was busy with the putsch of Basilscus at the time), and Theoderic likewise to Odoacer. Obviously, this state of affairs had drifted considerably by the time Justinian decided to Make Roma Great Again sixty years later, but that's a problem for another time.
Long story short, did the WRE live on in Odoacer's or the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy?
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