日耳曼公主

Only two years later, in 453, Attila married a German princess and died on the same night. Had the Pope not saved the Roman Empire of the West on that occasion it would have ceased to exist.

For by this time the emperors had lost all authority, and such power as remained was in the hands of the soldiers, most of whom were Germans. The day came when the soldiers found that they could do without an emperor, so they decided to depose him.

The last Roman emperor had a rather remarkable name: Romulus Augustulus. It is a curious coincidence that Rome's founder and first king was called Romulus and the first Roman emperor was the Emperor Augustus.

Romulus Augustulus, the last one, was deposed in 476. In his place, a German general called Odoacer proclaimed himself king of the Germans in Italy.