The end of the Roman Empire of…

The oldest known painted depiction of a horse collar is on a cave mural of Dunhuang, during the Northern Wei Dynasty, dated to 477.

The successor to the emperor Ming, emperor Houfei, is resentful of the control Xiao Daocheng has over him and has announced openly several times he will kill him.

Xiao has him assassinated.

He installs Houfei’s brother Shun Di, age ten, as puppet emperor of the Liu Song Dynasty and sets himself up as regent with near-imperial powers.

Xiao Wen Di establishes Buddhism as the state religion, and sets up the "Three Leaders" system, under which native hamlet, village and district officers are responsible for taxation and conscription.

Vandal king Genseric, having forged a powerful Western Mediterranean kingdom, has defeated two major efforts of the Romans to overthrow him, that of the emperor Majorian in 460 and that led by Basiliscus in 468.

His death of natural causes in 477 puts an end to Vandal raids on Italy.

His son Huneric succeeds him to reign over a declining Vandal nation.

He maintains control with his Vandal fleet over the islands in the western Mediterranean Sea and lifts the policy of his father of persecuting the Chalcedonian Christians in Africa.

Syagrius and the Last Roman Enclave in Gaul

Following the collapse of central Roman rule in the Western Empire, Syagrius, son of Aegidius, governs the last surviving Roman enclave in northern Gaul, centered around Soissons. Though the Western Roman Empire formally ceases to exist in 476 CE, Syagrius continues to rule as dux, maintaining control over a significant portion of Gallo-Roman territory.

• Unlike other Roman commanders who had surrendered to barbarian rule, Syagrius retains de facto independence, administering what remains of the old Roman administrative and military structures.
• The Germanic tribes, recognizing his unique position, refer to him as "King of the Romans", an acknowledgment of his continued Roman legitimacy.
• His rule marks the final phase of Roman authority in Gaul, though it is increasingly isolated and surrounded by rising Frankish and Visigothic powers.

Conflict with the Franks and the Fragmentation of Northern Gaul

• Syagrius prevents Childeric I, king of the Salian Franks, from expanding south of the Somme, successfully containing Frankish expansion—at least temporarily.
• However, Frankish ambitions remain unchecked, and Childeric’s son, Clovis I, will later challenge and defeat Syagrius in 486 CE, bringing an end to Roman rule in Gaul.

Meanwhile, other warlords and local rulers emerge, further fragmenting the Roman political landscape:

• A rival “regulus” (petty king) takes control of Le Mans (Civitas Cenomanorum), carving out a separate domain from Syagrius' authority.
• The region had long been a Roman stronghold, first recorded by Claudius Ptolemy, and historically the capital of the Aulerci Cenomani, a sub-tribe of the Aedui.
• Under Roman rule, the city was known as Vindinium, located in Gallia Lugdunensis, an important administrative province.

Le Mans: A Roman City Holding onto the Past

Le Mans, despite shifting rulers, retains much of its Roman heritage:

• A third-century amphitheater, still visible today, reflects the city's former prosperity.
• The Roman thermae (baths) were demolished during the Crisis of the Third Century, as workers repurposed materials to construct the city’s defensive walls.
• Much of these walls survive, serving as a reminder of the Roman legacy in Gaul even as Germanic rulers take control.

The Last Days of Roman Gaul

• Syagrius remains the last guardian of Roman civilization in Gaul, but his power is increasingly encircled by the Franks and Visigoths.
• As local rulers like the one in Le Mans break away, the final remnants of centralized Roman governance fade.
• By the end of the fifth century, Gaul will be firmly in the hands of the Franks, marking the definitive transition from the Roman world to the early medieval order.

Syagrius' defeat at the hands of Clovis I in 486 CE will mark the final end of Roman rule in Gaul, leaving only the Byzantine Empire in the east as the last vestige of the once-mighty Roman world.

Salian Frankish "Reguli" in Cambrai and Thérouanne

• Even before the final fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Salian Franks are establishing strongholds in northern Gaul.
• Small Frankish kings, or "reguli", hold Cambrai and Thérouanne, operating as semi-independent rulers.
• These minor Frankish kingships, while nominally allied with Rome as foederati, become fully independentonce 476 CE marks the end of centralized Roman rule in the West.

The Frankish Takeover of Northern Gaul

• After 476 CE, the Franks expand southward, absorbing much of northern Gaul.
• This process is gradual—initially, the region remains politically fragmented, but by 486 CE, Clovis I, son of Childeric I, defeats Syagrius at Soissons, marking the true end of Roman Gaul.
• With the Domain of Soissons gone, the Franks dominate the entire north, while the Visigoths and Burgundians hold the south and east.

The Alamanni and Burgundians in the East

• The Alamanni, originally a loose confederation of Germanic tribes, settle in eastern Gaul, particularly in the regions that will later become Alsace and parts of Switzerland.
• The Burgundians, having already expanded into Sapaudia (modern Savoy and western Switzerland), solidify their rule over the Rhône Valley, forming what will eventually become the Kingdom of Burgundy.

The End of Roman Rule and the Rise of Frankish Dominance

• With Syagrius' defeat in 486 CE and Frankish expansion into Roman lands, Gaul is now ruled entirely by Germanic kingdoms.
• Over the next few decades, Clovis I will unify the Franks, eventually conquering both the Burgundians and Visigoths.
• By the early sixth century, the Franks will emerge as the dominant power in Gaul, laying the foundations for the Frankish Kingdom, the predecessor of modern France.

This period marks the definitive end of Roman rule in Gaul, as Germanic rulers now control all former imperial lands, setting the stage for the Merovingian era and the transformation of Roman Gaul into medieval Francia.

The Saxons erect the kingdom of Sussex (South Saxon) in 477.

Aelle, first king of the South Saxons according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, landed on the Sussex coast (England), with his three sons, near Cymenshore.

The Britons engaged him upon landing but his superior force besieges them at Pevensey and drives them into the Weald.

Saxon coastal holdings over the next nine years will be gradually expanded.

Chinese chronicles record a memorial sent by the "King of Japan" (possibly the legendary Yūryaku, conventionally considered to have reigned from 456–479), who describes himself as "Supreme Director of Military Affairs in Japan and Korea" to the Court of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

The Tuoba emperor responds by confirming the Japanese dynasty in those titles.

This is the earliest verifiable date in Japanese history.

Verina, mother-in-law of emperor Zeno, attempts to kill Isaurian general Illus for turning against Basiliscus, her brother.

A major revolt is led by her son-in-law Marcian and the Ostrogoth warlord Theodoric Strabo.