The event marking the official end of the Roman Empire in the West is commonly recognized as the deposition of Emperor Romulus Augustulus by the Germanic king Odoacer in 476 AD. This momentous occasion symbolized the fall of Roman authority and the collapse of centralized power. Odoacer's assumption of control over Italy represented a significant shift, effectively ending Roman rule in the West while the Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantine Empire, continued to thrive for nearly another thousand years. The fall of the Western Roman Empire triggered a series of changes, leading to the emergence of various Germanic kingdoms and the beginning of the Middle Ages in Europe.