Romulus's father Orestes was a Roman citizen, originally from Pannonia, who had served as a secretary and diplomat for Attila the Hun and later rose through the ranks of the Roman army.
The future emperor was named Romulus after his maternal grandfather, a nobleman from Poetovio in Noricum.
Many historians have noted the coincidence that the last western emperor bore the names of both Romulus, the legendary founder and first king of Rome, and Augustus, the first emperor.
This is not as coincidental as it may seem; all emperors bore the name Augustus as it was part of the imperial title.

Orestes was appointed Magister militum by Julius Nepos in 475.
Shortly after his appointment, Orestes launched a rebellion and captured Ravenna, the capital of the Western Roman Empire since 402, on 28 August 475.
Nepos fled to Dalmatia, where his uncle had ruled a semi-autonomous state in the 460s.
Orestes, however, refused to become emperor, "from some secret motive", said historian Edward Gibbon.
Instead, he installed his son on the throne on 31 October 475.

The empire Augustus ruled was a shadow of its former self and had shrunk significantly over the previous 80 years.
Imperial authority had retreated to the Italian borders and parts of southern Gaul: Italia and Gallia Narbonensis, respectively.
The Eastern Roman Empire treated its western counterpart as a client state.
The Eastern Emperor Leo, who died in 474, had appointed the western emperors Anthemius and Julius Nepos, and Constantinople never recognized the new government.
Neither Zeno nor Basiliscus, the two generals fighting for the eastern throne at the time of Romulus's accession, accepted him as ruler.

As a proxy for his father, Romulus made no decisions and left no monuments, although coins bearing his name were minted in Rome, Milan, Ravenna, and Gaul.
Several months after Orestes took power, a coalition of Heruli, Scirian, and Turcilingi mercenaries demanded that he give them a third of the land in Italy.
When Orestes refused, the tribes revolted under the leadership of the Scirian chieftain Odoacer.
Orestes was captured near Piacenza on 28 August 476 and swiftly executed.

Odoacer advanced on Ravenna, capturing the city and the young emperor after the short and decisive Battle of Ravenna.
Romulus was compelled to abdicate the throne on 4 September 476.
This act has been cited as the end of the Western Roman Empire, although Romulus's deposition did not cause any significant disruption at the time.
Rome had already lost its hegemony over the provinces, Germanic peoples dominated the Roman army, and Germanic generals like Odoacer had long been the real powers behind the throne.
Italy would suffer far greater devastation in the next century when Emperor Justinian I reconquered it in the Gothic War.

After the abdication of Romulus, the Roman Senate, on behalf of Odoacer, sent representatives to the Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno, whom it asked to formally reunite the two halves of the Empire, with Odoacer as the "protector of the state": "The West, they declared, no longer required an Emperor of its own: one monarch sufficed for the world..." Zeno was asked to make Odoacer a patrician, and administrator of Italy in Zeno's name.
Zeno pointed out that the Senate should rightfully have first requested that Julius Nepos take the throne once more, but he nonetheless agreed to their requests as a fait accompli.
Odoacer, already the de facto ruler of Italy, now ostensibly ruled de jure in Zeno's name.
Romulus's father Orestes was a Roman citizen, originally from Pannonia, who had served as a secretary and diplomat for Attila the Hun and later rose through the ranks of the Roman army. The future emperor was named Romulus after his maternal grandfather, a nobleman from Poetovio in Noricum. Many historians have noted the coincidence that the last western emperor bore the names of both Romulus, the legendary founder and first king of Rome, and Augustus, the first emperor. This is not as coincidental as it may seem; all emperors bore the name Augustus as it was part of the imperial title.
Orestes was appointed Magister militum by Julius Nepos in 475. Shortly after his appointment, Orestes launched a rebellion and captured Ravenna, the capital of the Western Roman Empire since 402, on 28 August 475. Nepos fled to Dalmatia, where his uncle had ruled a semi-autonomous state in the 460s. Orestes, however, refused to become emperor, "from some secret motive", said historian Edward Gibbon. Instead, he installed his son on the throne on 31 October 475.
The empire Augustus ruled was a shadow of its former self and had shrunk significantly over the previous 80 years. Imperial authority had retreated to the Italian borders and parts of southern Gaul: Italia and Gallia Narbonensis, respectively. The Eastern Roman Empire treated its western counterpart as a client state. The Eastern Emperor Leo, who died in 474, had appointed the western emperors Anthemius and Julius Nepos, and Constantinople never recognized the new government. Neither Zeno nor Basiliscus, the two generals fighting for the eastern throne at the time of Romulus's accession, accepted him as ruler.
As a proxy for his father, Romulus made no decisions and left no monuments, although coins bearing his name were minted in Rome, Milan, Ravenna, and Gaul. Several months after Orestes took power, a coalition of Heruli, Scirian, and Turcilingi mercenaries demanded that he give them a third of the land in Italy. When Orestes refused, the tribes revolted under the leadership of the Scirian chieftain Odoacer. Orestes was captured near Piacenza on 28 August 476 and swiftly executed.
Odoacer advanced on Ravenna, capturing the city and the young emperor after the short and decisive Battle of Ravenna. Romulus was compelled to abdicate the throne on 4 September 476. This act has been cited as the end of the Western Roman Empire, although Romulus's deposition did not cause any significant disruption at the time. Rome had already lost its hegemony over the provinces, Germanic peoples dominated the Roman army, and Germanic generals like Odoacer had long been the real powers behind the throne. Italy would suffer far greater devastation in the next century when Emperor Justinian I reconquered it in the Gothic War.
After the abdication of Romulus, the Roman Senate, on behalf of Odoacer, sent representatives to the Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno, whom it asked to formally reunite the two halves of the Empire, with Odoacer as the "protector of the state": "The West, they declared, no longer required an Emperor of its own: one monarch sufficed for the world..." Zeno was asked to make Odoacer a patrician, and administrator of Italy in Zeno's name. Zeno pointed out that the Senate should rightfully have first requested that Julius Nepos take the throne once more, but he nonetheless agreed to their requests as a fait accompli. Odoacer, already the de facto ruler of Italy, now ostensibly ruled de jure in Zeno's name.
Romulus Augustulus