Deposition of Romulus Augustulus - Wikipedia

On September 4, 476, Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor, abdicates after forces led by Odoacer invade Rome. It is recognized as the traditional end of the Western Roman Empire. From the article:

"Orestes, who ruled in his son's name, found an enemy in the persons of his non-Roman mercenary-soldiers. When, led by an auxiliary general called Odoacer, they demanded estates and were refused,[8] they swept into Italy. Informing his soldiers that, if they followed and obeyed him, they would, in the words of Gibbon, "extort the justice that had been denied to their dutiful petitions," the Germanic, Arian Odoacer confirmed his leadership of the revolt. Barbarian soldiers in Italian cities and garrisons "flocked" to the audacious general's standard, and Orestes fled to fortified Pavia.

Odoacer laid siege to Pavia, which fell in due course. The bishop of that city, Epiphanius, managed to ransom many of the captives taken during this invasion,[9] but was unable to save Orestes, who was executed.

Orestes's brother was killed near Ravenna by Odoacer's forces, who entered the imperial capital soon afterward. The young monarch Romulus Augustulus was, on September 4, compelled to abdicate before the Senate. That body requested that the Eastern Roman Emperor, Zeno, reunite his realm with the West, with Odoacer as his governor. The auxiliary commander, now master of Ravenna, encouraged the senators in this effort.[10][11] The emperor was somewhat hesitant to give Odoacer what would be relative autonomy, citing the fact that his wife's nephew Julius Nepos, still alive and recognized as caesar in Dalmatia, should be restored to the throne. Zeno, however, did not want to use force to support his relation, so, while still urging Odoacer to recognize Nepos's claim, granted the general the rank of patrician[12] and accepted the general's gift of the Western imperial standards.

The hapless ex-emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was still present in Ravenna, and Odoacer rid himself of the boy by exiling him. The fate of this final Western Roman emperor is somewhat uncertain, but it is believed that he retired to the Lucullan Villa in Campania[13] and died before 488, when the body of the saint Severinus was brought there. In 480, the second of Odoacer's Roman rivals, Nepos, was assassinated by "retainers."[14] Until Nepos's murder, even the confirmation of Odoacer's patrician rank and authority had been undermined by the presence of Zeno's nephew."