Aegidius continued to govern until his death in 464. His comes, Paulus of Angers, was killed shortly afterwards, possibly on the same campaign. At that point Aegidius's son, Syagrius, took his place as ruler. Syagrius governed using the title of "dux" (a provincial military commander), but the neighboring Germanic tribes referred to him as "King of the Romans"; hence one of the nicknames of his enclave. In 476, under the rule of Syagrius, the Kingdom of Soissons failed to accept the new rule of Odoacer who had dethroned the Western Emperor earlier that year. While both Syagrius and Odoacer sent messengers to the Eastern Roman Empire, the Eastern emperor Zeno chose to offer legitimacy to Odoacer instead of Syagrius. The Kingdom of Soissons cut all ties with Italy and had no further recorded contact with the Eastern Roman Empire. Even after 476, Syagrius continued to maintain that he was merely governing a Roman province. The Domain of Soissons was in fact an independent region.