The last emperor of the Roman Empire in the West was Romulus Augustulus, whose reign ended in AD 476. His deposition by the Germanic king Odoacer is often cited as marking the fall of the Western Roman Empire, transitioning power from Rome to various Germanic kingdoms. This event symbolizes the end of ancient Rome's hegemony and the beginning of the Middle Ages in Europe. Romulus Augustulus was a symbolic figure more than a powerful ruler, illustrating the fragmentation of authority in Western Europe at that time.