So who was Romulus, the Last Emperor of Rome?

So who was Romulus, the Last Emperor of Rome? Well ... he was the son of Orestes, who once had been an assistant of Attila the Hun’s. Following Attila’s death, Orestes entered the service of the Western portion of the Roman Empire and rose the ranks quickly, soon finding himself in a senior position and eventually emperor. Romulus, much like in the play itself, has historically – even in his own day -- been the subject of a good deal of ridicule and mockery. His name alone invited insults, as Romulus was also the name of Rome’s first king (a legend in his own day) and Augustus was the famed first emperor of the Roman Empire. A mere ten months following Romulus’ promotion to emperor, a serious mutiny of the troops arose, primarily a result of the dislike of Romulus that existed among the German troops (Orestes was half German and he led the army to being mostly German). One of Orestes own senior officers, Flavius Odoacer (Ottaker in the play), led the protest as is seen in the play.