c475 AD, last Roman Emperor of the West, Romulus Augustulus. (Photo by Spencer Arnold/Getty Images)
History Extra
In 475 the Pannonian general Orestes, and effective ruler of Italy, had his son Romulus made Emperor.
The boy was aged about 14 and could become emperor as his maternal grandfather had been a Roman nobleman and senator. Less than a year later Orestes was defeated and killed by the German mercenary Odoacer. Romulus was instructed to abdicate, which he did on 3 September 476.
The teenager was sent to live with his mother's relatives in southern Italy and given an annual pension to live on. He was probably still alive in 507, but his fate thereafter is unknown.
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