Romulus Augustulus
Flavius Romulus Augustus (c. AD 460 – after AD 476; possibly still alive as late as AD 507), known derisively and historiographically as Romulus Augustulus, was the Roman emperor who ruled the Western Roman Empire from 31 October 475 until 4 September 476. He is often described as the "last Western Roman emperor", though some historians consider this to be Julius Nepos. His deposition by Odoacer traditionally marks the end of the Roman Empire in the West, the end of Ancient Rome, and the beginning of the Middle Ages in Western Europe.
Roman expansion in Italy
The last king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, is portrayed by the sources as a powerful, but tyrannical, king. He is said to have taken Pometia by storm and Gabii by ruse, colonized Signia and Circeii, and to have organized the Latin states into an alliance under his own leadership. However Tarquinius was deposed by a conspiracy led by two of his relatives, Lucius Junius Brutus and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus. These two then founded the Roman Republic with themselves as its first two consuls; traditionally the overthrow of the monarchy has been dated to 509 BC. Tarquinius is supposed to have sought refuge with king Lars Porsenna of Clusium, who marched against Rome to reinstate the king. After various heroic acts by brave defenders of Rome, Porsenna gave up and instead attacked Aricia, but was defeated by an alliance of Latin cities and the Greek colony of Cumae. Modern historians have had difficulties accepting this tale and have instead proposed that Porsenna actually captured Rome and deposed Tarquinius and replaced him with two leading aristocrats. With leadership of the city divided, Rome would have been easier for Porsenna to control.