them; so that
the barbarians ruthlessly forced many other measures upon the Romans
much against their will and finally demanded that they should divide
with them the entire land of Italy. And indeed they commanded Orestes to
give them the third part of this, and when he would by no means agree to
do so, they killed him immediately.[C] Now there was a certain man among
the Romans named Odoacer, one of the bodyguards of the emperor, and he
at that time agreed to carry out their commands, on condition that they
should set him upon the throne. And when he had received the supreme
power in this way, [D] he did the emperor no further harm, but allowed
him to live thenceforth as a private citizen. And by giving the third
part of the land to the barbarians, and in this way gaining their
allegiance most firmly, he held the supreme power securely for ten
years.[2]

DATES:
[A]474-491 A.D.
[B]July 31, 475 A.D.
[C]July 28, 476 A.D.
[D]July 28, 476 A.D.

It was at about this same time that the Goths also, who were dwelling in
Thrace with the permission of the emperor, took up arms against the
Romans under the leadership of Theoderic, a man who was of patrician
rank and had attained the consular office in Byzantium. But the Emperor
Zeno, who understood how to settle to his advantage any situation in
which he found himself, advised Theoderic to proceed to Italy, attack
Odoacer, and win for himself and the Goths the western dominion. For it
was better for him, he said, especially as he had attained the
senatorial dignity, to force out a usurper and be ruler over all the
Romans and Italians than to incur the great risk of a decisive struggle
with the emperor.

Now Theoderic was pleased with the suggestion and went to Italy, and he
was followed by the Gothic host, who placed in their waggons the women
and children and such of their chattels as they were able to take with
them. And when they came near the Ionian Gulf,[3] they were quite unable
to cross over it, since they had no ships at hand; and so they made the
journey around the gulf, advancing through the land of the Taulantii and
the other nations of that region. Here the forces of Odoacer encountered
them, but after being defeated in many battles, they shut themselves up
with their leader in Ravenna and such other towns as were especially
strong. [E] And the Goths laid siege to these places and captured them
all, in one