ABSTRACT
According to a conventional narrative, the fall of the western Roman Empire resulted from a sequence of events that began on 28 August 475 when the emperor Julius Nepos fled to Salona to escape an imminent coup organized by his magister militum Orestes. Marcellinus' unambiguous statement is the clearest of a group of early sixth-century Constantinopolitan interpretations marking the barbarian Odovacar's coup as the fall of Rome. In any event, the writings of John Rufus and Timothy Aelurus show that an anti-Chalcedoman discourse speaking about the 'end of the Roman Empire' existed as early as the 470s. Despite John and Timothy, the less definite pronouncements of fifth-century historians and chroniclers probably better represent most contemporary views of Odovacar's actions and their significance for the Roman Empire. During the life of bis Italian regime, Odovacar occupied a constitutionally vague position that established his authority in Italy while emphasizing the continuity between his regime and that of his immediate imperial predecessors.
