Theodoric Defeats Odoacer at Isonzo: Ostrogothic Italy Begins
Theodoric the Great crossed the Julian Alps into Italy in 489 AD with an Ostrogothic army and beat Odoacer — the man who had deposed the last Western Roman Emperor — at the Isonzo River. It wasn't a decisive blow yet. That took three more battles and a three-year siege of Ravenna. Theodoric eventually invited Odoacer to a peace dinner and killed him personally. He ruled Italy for the next thirty years, maintaining Roman administrative structures, appointing Roman senators, and presenting himself as the legitimate continuation of Roman civilization. He was, in modern terms, an occupying king who made himself look like a Roman emperor.
August 28, 489
1537 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Italy
Wikipedia
Ostrogoths
Wikipedia
Odoacer
Wikipedia
Theodoric the Great
Wikipedia
Battle of Isonzo (489)
Wikipedia
Ostrogoths
Wikipedia
Italy
Wikipedia
Western Roman Empire
Wikipedia
Odoacer
Wikipedia
Theodoric the Great
Wikipedia
Heruli
Wikipedia
Battle of Isonzo (489)
Wikipedia
Orestes (father of Romulus Augustulus)
Wikipedia
Romulus Augustulus
Wikipedia
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
Wikipedia
What Else Happened on August 28
The Roman general Orestes marched on Ravenna and forced Western Emperor Julius Nepos to flee across the Adriatic to Dalmatia, seizing control of the imperial go…
Fatimah's death in 632 AD ignited an immediate rift over succession that split Islam into Sunni and Shia branches. Her passing triggered decades of debate regar…
The combined Silla and Tang Dynasty fleet crushed the forces of Baekje and their Japanese (Yamato) allies at the naval Battle of Baekgang, destroying over 400 Y…
Guy of Lusignan launched the Siege of Acre, pinning his forces against the formidable walls of the Ayyubid stronghold. This grueling two-year investment forced …
The Black Death reached Mainz in 1349, and the Jewish community was accused of causing it by poisoning wells. This was the standard accusation across Europe tha…
Portugal seized Malacca in 1511, and it mattered more than most sixteenth-century conquests because Malacca controlled the strait through which most of Asia's m…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.