How did Odoacer bring the Western Roman Empire to an end in 476?

In 476, the German chieftain Odoacer brought the Western Roman Empire to a traditional end through a military coup.12

Following the rise of the Roman general Orestes in 475, Odoacer led his troops in a revolt after Orestes failed to fulfill a promise to grant tribal leaders land in Italy. On August 23, 476, Odoacer was proclaimed king by his soldiers, and shortly thereafter, he captured and executed Orestes. Odoacer then deposed and exiled Orestes’ young son, Romulus Augustulus, who was the last Western Roman emperor.213

Rather than appointing a new puppet emperor, Odoacer chose to rule Italy himself while maintaining nominal recognition of the Eastern emperor, Zeno, in Constantinople. By styling himself rex (king) of his Germanic army and effectively ending the line of Western emperors, Odoacer transitioned the region from an imperial system to a kingdom, marking the symbolic conclusion of the Western Roman Empire.23