The Year of the Four Emperors (68–69)
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse!
No, that’s not right…
The Ambitious Four?
Still not there…
The Four Unfortunates?
Hmmm, Vespasian did win out in the end…
The Four Candidates?
It is hard to put a title to these four gentlemen coming up next. History tags their period “The Year of the Four Emperors.” Only one of them made it past the goal post, and even then, it was something of a close call. Even then, while history acknowledges just these four, there were several others who made claims on the throne. Among the most notable were Gaius Julius Vindex, a governor from Gallia, and Nymphidius Sabinus, a Praetorian Prefect who claimed Caligula was his father. These early pretenders made their move before Nero was dead, so maybe the reason they are not numbered among the Four?
One thing that was common to all four was this; all had been raised to incredibly high office by former emperors. It was the curse of success and progress.
You see, a success venture – be it legit business, politics, government, and even running a cocaine operation – needs clever and ambitious fellows to keep developments active. The death of any venture is the lack of innovation, drive, and upward mobility. The Romans of the Republic knew this and knew to make arrangements for the most ambitious and talented where possible when cleverness was needed. Where stability and conservative leadership was warranted, the Senate and later Emperors looked towards the old and less ambitious to keep things running without courting the disaster that was ambition.
Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian were just the templates that answered to the conditions for success; they were either old and outwardly lacking in ambition, and their youthful years were filled with good and high postings away from the center of power that was Rome. Since Tiberius…and possibly since Augustus himself…the imperial administration had made it a habit of sending off into the after life those both young and ambitious. Think Sejanus and Postumus. I don’t care what the history books say, but I count Agricola among this number!
Anyway, with the death of Nero…and his wife…and his daughter…and other family members idiotic enough to try make a claim…wait, Nero took care of those!
Ahem…
With the death of Nero, the old arrangements that had maintained the stability of the empire fell. There were too many powerful people in powerful positions with dangerous thoughts. The imperial family was finished…why not…a new one under my family name?
Four for the Roman Throne, hope to wear the Purple
Three, overcome, their blood the price of failure,
Two, crushed, death their only reward,
One, the bee-keeper, his apiary a mask for power
In the Realm of Rome, where the Purple Lies
One man to rule them all, one man to take it all
One throne to bring it all, and in the Purple bind them
In the Realm of Rome, where the Purple Lies.
Emperor Galba (68 AD to 69 AD)
First was Galba.
Galba had three characteristics to his person that offered him an excellent chance of inheriting the purple. First, he was old. For the many Senators thinking of stabilizing the empire while getting their feet under them right after slaughtering Nero, an old man like Galba was perfect! The 60+ year old was too old to make too big moves and for the stabby stabby lot fearing Congressional hearings for their role in the J6…I mean Nero assassination, old was safe.
Secondly, Galba had a considerable military background. One with frontier legions among troops in Upper Germania. Before ascending to the purple, Galba held a post as a legate in Germania, this post high enough to require considerable support in the Senate just to get close to. Under Caligula, Galba was rewarded the post of his former commander after the man, Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus [no, that is not the name of a vegetable], was involved in a plot against the emperor. In Hispania, Galba served as a Five-star general. Shuffling around high ranking officials in government and the army was a staple of imperial management, and Galba went on to serve as governor in Africa and other provinces. He had legit credit as an administrator, despite allegations that he was dictatorial, and many Senators believed the man would rule well in the interim of Nero’s natural death…
Third, Galba’s family was patrician, a gens Sulpicia. Several members of his family had held posts as Consul in the days of the Republic, a plus because their postings were from centuries early enough back in time. This meant the family was not as powerful Julio-Claudians with recent connections all over the place. Yet, they had street-cred on their side with both political insiders in the Senate and the People. Most importantly, Galba, despite several marriages, was childless, a huge plus for a man many intended to use as a place holder. Poor Galba actually intended to make Otho his son via the age-old practice of adoption. Unfortunately, Otho was too young, barely 37 years of age, and while his family was not as old and refined as Galba’s, he was personally connected, ambitious, and powerful. However, many refused to establish an imperial line of succession when few knew what they wanted in the aftermath of Nero’s natural passing…
Achievements
First? Gout.
Yes, you heard that right. Poor Galba had gout in his declining years. Actually, I believe his having gout was one of the main reasons the stabby fellows in the Senate elected to elevate him to the throne. An old man, childless, suffering from chronic gout…PERFECTO!
Seriously, if you think having gout back them was nothing serious you probably haven’t seen those claim forms when applying for insurance cover. That section under disclosing prior conditions? Back when Caligula was emperor, Galba was made to run for miles beside the nutter’s chariot. Definitely contributed to his condition…
Second? Bad advice.
Really bad advice.
Remember those years of service among frontier troops? For any emperor, this is a huge plus.
Unfortunately, the same gang that advised Galba to assume the Purple advised him to abandon his connections. Titus Vinius, a general from Hispania, and a perfidious Praetorian prefect by the name of Cornelius Laco told Galba it would be a good idea to:
- Confiscate several properties in Rome.
- And disband the legions in Germania for good measure.
- And not pay the Praetorian Guards.
- And not pay the Roman legionnaires that fought for him against an early challenger.
- And tax Romans in Gaul and Hispania because they did not support him early enough
- And melt down sacred relics from a temple of Jupiter
See where this is going? The man was begging for a group of stabby stabby fellows to send him on with a natural death…
Hmmm, Galba was involved in the restoration of a Temple of Vesta sometime during his reign.
Yeah, that’s it.
Death
Very quickly, legions in Germania refused to accept Galba as emperor, threw down his statues intended for imperial worship, and declared Vitellius their chosen emperor. Desperate and seeking some way of dying from gout rather than a different kind of natural death popular among Roman emperors, Galba turned to a man called Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus [no, not a vegetable!] with the intention of adopting him as son and heir. Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus was more familiarly connected if his name is anything to go by; Calpurnius, Piso, Licinianus…powerful gens names and likely patrician on top.
Unfortunately, Galba’s measures were too little too late. By not pushing for the adoption of Otho, he made an enemy of the powerful governor. By not paying his own Praetorian for doing their job, he made an enemy of his own bodyguard. By not paying several of the legions in Rome the usual donatives expected from an ascending emperor, he made…
Ok, this is not going anywhere. There is actually a 1000+ academic journal detailing just how many people Galba offended, and of the lines waiting in lines to get their own back at him.
On January 15, 69 AD, Galba was assassinated through a conspiracy between Otho and several of his Praetorians. According to the lore, Galba and his Consul Vinius – the bad advisor – were lured out into the open where most of the Praetorian were unavailable. Several legionnaires from Germania heard of rumors about the plot but were too late to the scene. Galba had tried to buy time by convincing his erstwhile murderers that he would pay the monies owed but they were too savvy to buy it; when you take a shot at the emperor, you better not miss.
A loyal guard did try to stop the assassination but was killed. Sempronius Densus was a centurion and bodyguard of the Emperor who either didn’t get the memo or was in the wrong service. When the rest of the Praetorian switched sides or simply absconded, Densus – Roman for dense headed… – stood alone against the tides of murderous stabby stabby fellows charging his emperor. Well, it was too late for Galba, but Densus was tasked with protecting Piso, his heir. For a while, using tongue and dagger, Densus stayed the hordes trying to kill Piso – who run from his adoptive father – and the emperor himself. It was not enough, but his bravery is worth noting in bold and italics at the very least. To quote Dio Cassius, “This is why I have recorded his name, for he is most worthy of being mentioned.”
Others close to Galba were also executed, including his newly adopted son. The body was humiliated, with several parts sold off to those enemies of his standing in lines standing in lines. They were recovered in time, and buried, but you get the idea.
The Emperor is Dead!
Long Live his succe… [sic] his murderer!
Summary.
Emperor Otho (68 AD to 69 AD)
Chubby fella! He was just 37 when he rose to the throne before rising so high he could breathe no more.
Marcus Salvius Otho came from an Etruscan family.
His career was splendidly sordid; he used to brush shoulders with Nero. His wife, Poppaea, used to brush something else with Nero as well, prompting the young valiant’s banishment to Lusitania, our present-day Portugal. It was here that he got to brush more shoulders with others like Galba, then governor of Hispania [Spain next door].
Accomplishments
The Domus Aurea.
He is associated with the Domus Aurea, the Golden House that Nero initiated.
But isn’t…
Nero was a consummate artist…or at least, he knew how to appreciate art like a genius. He did burn down Rome after all…
In any case, one of Otho’s first declarations was to complete the construction project initiated by the man who publicly cuckolded him. There, I said it!
The light from above strikes the stone and casts a golden hue over everything. It was to be a palace of light much in contrast with the ugliness of Rome’s buildings and shadowed alleys. Nero probably saw this as an inspiration to build Rome back better.
In any case, just like the young Otho’s ambitions, he tried to finish what others started. Tried. Failed. But tried.
Demerits
There are none.
His motivations were banal; some gossips claim he tried for the throne and against Nero because the Emperor took his wife away from him. Then he turned against Galba because the new Emperor dropped him for someone else as heir.
Merits
To Otho’s credit, he never did shy away from conflict.
Or rather, he knew he could not shy away from conflict. The Game of Emperors is brutal anywhere in the world. And when that part of the world involved the greatest empire the world had yet to know, then the Game was the most brutal.
Early in AD 69, Otho received the presidential folder containing the nuclear codes. On it was a file with the note, “Don’t Open until After Breakfast.”
He took his breakfast.
When he opened the file, he then learnt that the Emperor was not quite in control of the Empire. The Upper Rhine soldiers in Germania had declared for Vitellius, going so far as to destroy Galba’s statues. Remember, Rome had a culture where they worshipped their Emperors as gods so to destroy the statue of the Emperor was to declare a complete rejection of their authority.
There was worse news in the appendix.
Rome’s borders were great and heavily staffed with troops. However, only the legions in Dalmatia, Pannonia, and Moesia looked upon the new Emperor with favor.
Britannia, Gaul, and Raetia all declared for Vitellius.
Why?
Likely because they had no worthy candidate they could pull behind. Remember, Otha and Galba were from way across the Empire to the West while these provinces were Eastern provinces facing off against Parthians if lucky, barbarians if unlucky. The Parthians were old friends. Powerful, but unwilling to stick around after a raid. The Barbarians liked to stick around…and stick the bill on the Empire as well.
So Otho rose to the challenge. He gathered an army from the Praetorians and the friendly provinces, a rushed job if there ever was one. In fact, it was this rushing that ultimately doomed him. Otho wanted to take down Vitellius before the older claimant could gather his more versatile troops. Unfortunately, Vitellius was ‘inside’ the curve. His troops were closer to Italia while some of Otho’s soldiers in Dalmatia had yet to arrive.
It cost him dearly.
Death and Cultural Memory
For some reason, Otho is beloved of artists, poets, and musicians for some reason.
Part of this is his youth; he was 37 when he became emperor. This made him young while yet his own man.
Another part was his youth; he was rash and exciting. His early policies as Emperor calmed minds in Rome where the thought of a headless youthful Emperor was terrifying. Indeed, several soldiers committed suicide alongside his burning body, their admiration of the man great enough for them to take that step.
Finally, there are those that see the Emperor’s suicide as a form of sacrifice meant to spare the Empire from more civil wars. Cassius Dio writes that Otho, about to commit suicide, consoled his generals. He said, “It is better for one man to die than for everyone else to suffer.”
Such immortal words went down in history and have provoked artists all over Europe to immortalize the man. He is a character in several operas, cast as a tragic figure born in and among monsters.
The Emperor is dead!
Long may his memory cherish!
Summary.
Emperor Vitellius (68 AD to 69 AD)
Yeah, a mob face if there was ever one!
The chaos of Nero’s death was to spark even greater chaos across the Empire. Nero’s successors tried to claim Nero’s fame and memory for his own. Close as the oldest families were to the imperial family, everyone else could claim some kind of kinship even if it was about some second cousin’s grand aunt ten times removed.
Vitellius’ own scheme was propped by his relationship to Imperial member like Tiberius and Caligula. He managed several key appointments like consul, proconsul, then general of provincial legions in Germania Inferior. It was from this that he sparked his rebellion/coup/unseating the usurper campaign.
Accomplishments
He was the first Emperor not born into the great old families. In fact, he came from an equestrian class, something like the knight gentry that kings in England would use as government officials to balance the power of local barons.
His father did rise to the Senate later on in his life, but never mind that.
Galba offered Vitellius the post of general in Germania Inferior in AD 68. This meant that he was new to the troops and while ostensibly in command, it was the generals under him, Caecina and Fabius Valens, who were really in charge. Vitellius’ merit was in getting these generals to accept him well enough to support his bid for Emperor.
Among his greatest accomplishments was changing the regulations on centurions selling exemptions to their troops to allow them to leave the army on private affairs. These exemptions were becoming a cancer on the Roman legions; so many men were paying off their centurions to leave that the legions were half-manned and that by soldiers too poor to properly equip for war.
He was a player; many of his troops in Germania Inferior loved him for his lavish gifts and generosity. His affable nature was enough to prompt the legions around him to declare for him when Galba made a series of serious blunders about army pay.
Demerit
He was a player; he was generous and affable, but this made his tropps believe he was a cool guy.
Too cool.
A general, especially one with aspirations to Emperor, must be viewed with both respect and terror. Respect for recognizing the sacrifices his troops made. Terror, coming from their knowledge that there were serious consequences for not following orders.
When push came to shove, his troops failed him, not treating him seriously when it came to defending against Vespacian.
Worse, when he arrived in Rome to accept the Senate’s accolades, his troops were rowdy, harassing local Roman women, and generally ill-disciplined.
He expanded the Praetorian. True, he was smart enough to use Rhine legionnaires while at it, but this body of special troops is notorious for its influence on the Emperor.
Vitellius turned Rome into a scene of gladiatorial shows and feasting. He had to create good memories among his subjects, and because Nero was the last legit emperor, Vitellius probably thought he should emulate the last ‘true’ emperor.
Like Nero, Vitellius had an interesting relationship with his mother. Nero apparently killed his own mother, likely bashing her head. Vitellius is also suspected of having murdered his mother, taking the crueler route of starving her to death.
To his defense, Vitellius was … justified?
When he was born, astrologers apparently claimed he would be a disaster for Rome. His family was so mortified that they tried to prevent him from becoming Consul.
He was not pleased.
Early in October when Emperor, Vitellius banned astrologers from entering Rome. The astrologers, confident that the man was doomed, privately intimated to everyone in rome that Vitellius’ days were numbered.
He was incensed.
Vitellius begun his own campaign against the astrologers and soothsayers. If he heard of one around the city he discharged his soldiers to murder the guys.
Death
Ultimately, there was something unlucky about Vitellius.
Caecina, the ‘staunch general that supported his rise in Germania, turned against the Emperor and attempted to join Vespasian. Vitellius’ troops were loyal though, and managed to capture and imprison the disloyal general.
Flavius Valens, the second general from Germania, tried to drum up morale and support following Caecina’s defection. His troops were incompetent though, and he was quickly captured by Vespasian’s soldiers and chopped into mincemeat.
You can see Vitellius front and center, dragged by citizens and Praetorians holding knives to and in him.
He remains somber, his head proudly held high,
His less than noble blood splatters on the steps below him,
They bound his torso, letting the robes around him trip and foul his stately gait,
Yes, I once was your Emperor,
I remain above it all, an Emperor to the End.
Ok, ok, I think there’s someone holding the hair to the back of his head but its more poetic that way, no? It is kind of a sorry figure. This kind of ending is something all rulers always feared. There would be another, Andronikos I Komnenos, who would be both popular with the crowds yet die under their claws.
Nicolae Ceaesescu, Mussolini, Gaddafi…get out while you can!
Cough, cough…ahem!
Of course, while the characters mentioned did die horrid deaths at the hands of people that once worshipped then, Vitellius did not.
When Vespasian’s legions approached Rome, the entire city rose to her defense. Vitellius actually tried to abdicate and surrender the instruments of state to Vespasian. His Praetorian refused to allow it; their new position as the king makers came from Vitellius and Vespasian had his own elites anyway.
In the assault of Rome by Vespasian’s soldiers, tens of thousands of civilians died. What remained rooted out Vitellius from wherever he was hiding and tore him apart before dumping his body in the Tiber.
So, um…
Yeah, they did tear him apart. But that was because they were forced too by the enraged legions?
I still feel authors, artists, and musicians somehow blamed Vitellius for Otho’s death, and so saw his ending as fair. He too is the subject of many paintings and literary characters where he is portrayed as a decadent and gluttonous character. Unfair really.
Long Live the Glutton!
May he survive the Third Circle!
Summary.
Emperor Vespasian (69 AD to & 79 AD)
Ahhhhh!
Finally, an Emperor!
Sure, sure, the others were emperors. But compared to Vespasian’s ten years, those that went like for months hardly really deserve the name, right?
First of his name, Only one of his name
Best of Four, Beginner of Three
Formerly a beekeeper, currently the Peacekeeper
King of the Romans, formerly of Syria
Ruler of Britannia, Destroyer of Judea
He is Vespasian, nearly the greatest of the Flavians
Ordinarily Extraordinary
Like Vitellius, Vespasian could claim origins from an equestrian class. Only this time, it was he, rather than a father or someone in the family, that came from an equestrian family the rose to the Senate. In point of fat, his father had the distinguished honor of being a money lender/debt collector/tax collector.
In Rome of old, these roles were interchangeable and usage of a specific term depended on the company and occasion.
Like the other contenders, Vespasian had a complicated relationship with the imperial family. To reward Vespasian for his incompetent handling of his magisterial post in Rome, Caligula supposedly stuffed a handful of mud down his toga.
Wait, wait. This was a good thing!
Remember those cuckolds and poor old men made to run alongside speeding chariots? And those generals poisoned because they threatened the Emperor’s popularity?
The Empire was barely 70 years old and already the most distinguished and foolish personalities had found their way to an early grave. Mediocrity was good. Very good.
Merits
Vespasian had mediocrity down to a T.
Ambitious young men quickly pursued high office early in their youth, provoking the jealousies of men powerful enough to snuff these baby chicklets in their cradles. Vespasian did the same, gaining the quaestorship at 30, but did so during elections, therefore disappearing in the mass of chaos and opportunity.
Keeping his head down was coming to perfection. His poor foundations meant that where other quaesters landed lucrative posts close to Rome, he could only manage one in the pirate-infested island of Crete.
Most ambitious men were seeking marriage alliances with women from powerful families. Vespasian landed one with a freed woman. Nothing to see here, nothing to see here!
The yet-to-be beekeeper understood that power was a community of interests; Antonia Caenis, his wife, was secretary to Antonia Minor, grandmother to the Emperor. Vespasian was thus close to the Emperor’s ear.
A freed woman with connections to the imperial palace, Antonia Caenis was friends with Narcissus, another freed man who was close to Claudius. Vespasian was now literally in the emperor’s ear canal.
Then Vespasian blundered!
Demerits
Vespasian was lucky enough to be a legate in Germania when Claudius decided to invade Britannia.
A lifetime of keeping his head low must have been too much pressure. Presumably far away from Rome, Vespasian could now reveal his hidden depths, right?
Wrong!
In Britannia, Vespasian was very good at his job. He conquered a series of British towns and cities, earning himself recognition and accolades in Rome.
Big mistake!
No Emperor worth his purple needs someone else stealing his glory. Not even poor Claudius. Well, Claudius probably didn’t mind a powerful general to do all the riding and sword waving. But Agrippina the Younger most certainly did.
Youthful adventurism done and out of his system, Vespasian smelt the gunpowder in the air. He finagled a battlefield injury that allowed him to withdraw from the limelight.
It was not enough.
Somehow, he had come into the attention of Agrippina the Younger, wife to Claudius. Remember she murdered the Emperor?
Vespasian retired from public life in 51 AD and disappeared from the media and social networks for the next 12 years. He moved to a country home where he begun keeping bees.
The lore is he studied how bees worked and lived. He wrote several theses on how bees cooperated with each other in a community. A paper he released – suppressed then rejected – claimed that the Queen bee in a hive depended on her drones more than she depended on the workers. Of course, such a statement was a threat to imperia authority; ‘Queen Bee?’ No way was the Empress allowing anyone to turn their lanterns towards her shenanigans.
Merits…again?
Whatever the case, Vespasian had disappeared from public notoriety long enough for the powerful to dismiss him. In that period, 51 AD to 63 AD, just imagine how many people had met untimely – from their perspective anyhow – ends.
Suitably incompetent and lackluster, Vespasian was recalled to service.
Of course, Rome was not full of dummies; Vespasian may have been faking it. Lets reward him with a post in Africa where he can’t do too much damage with the resources there.
Vespasian performed perfectly!
He once more appeared the incompetent governor everyone hoped he would be. In fact, this time, it was the citizens in the towns and cities of Africa who pelted him with agricultural produce.
Vespasian knew it was a trap all along. Someone had seen below the façade he put up. They wanted him to shine and in the process relieve him of his head and body.
Vespasian didn’t do what was expected.
As governor, he did not plunder the province only to return to Rome with immense wealth. The usual sequence was for a former governor to come back filthy rich. Then he would turn his wealth into bribes and friends. Next, getting close to army generals and the people. Then the throne etc etc
Vespasian became a beggar. He was so incompetent he had to turn to a money-lender to survive in Africa. Fortunately, this shylock was his own brother, so the money remained in the family. Few in Rome’s upper societies rubbed shoulders with such lowly folk, so the scheme went unnoticed.
Rather than steal from the province and enrich himself, Vespasian let other powerful steal, enrich themselves, and become friends with him. They would be the ones to return the favor this cunning Darth Apius had been cooking.
He did not let it get to his head though.
Once relieved of his governorship in Africa, he turned up the mediocrity. At a banquet where Nero was entertaining his guests with a poem of his own writing, Vespasian had the audacity to fall asleep!
Incensed, Nero promptly banished him to the troublesome province of Judea. A former governor had already fallen to rebels there, and Roman legions were being beaten back and forth by the sicarios.
Someone like Vespasian, without a hint of self-preservation while before the Emperor, was the best kind of guy to manage a province that would require several legions.
In AD 68, Vespasian was in Judea, with the two legions of the province firmly under his control. The frontier legions in Egypt, Syria, Moesia, Dalmatia, Pannonia, and Illyricum came under his court following the end of Otho, facing off against Vitellius’ northern legions.
Most importantly, Vespasian was in control of the grain from Egypt.
…
…
…
Storyline sounds familiar, right? Guy demonstrates supreme incompetence, banished to a rebellious province where there are numerous legions on hand. Meanwhile, increasingly capricious Emperors back home are heedlessly marching their way to several daggers waiting to stabby stab them to death…
A New Dawn
…that looked the same it did yesterday…
Otho, Vitellius, and, to an extent, Galba, each tried to shore up their rule by referring to themselves as heirs to Nero and the Julio-Claudians.
Even if Vespasian wanted the same, his legions had practically sacked Rome and murdered tens of thousands while entering. These legions, long accustomed to frontier life and likely recruited from communities at the frontier, had little love for Italia and Rome. Vespasian, knowing the foundations upon which his power relied, likely dismissed any attempt at doing the same as his fellow contenders.
Pecunia non olet
Literally, money does not stink.
Nero, looking to collect revenue, introduced the urine tax on public toilets. It was unpopular and quietly went away.
Vespasian re-introduced it. Unlike Nero, his building programs were far more utilitarian. Moreover, he had nothing to fear from the Roman citizenry. From a career as a beekeeper and later as a muleteer, Vespasian was an old hand at collecting money and thumbing his nose at those that looked down on him.
Urine tax?
Ha!
Divine Scammer
Rome was in shambles. Just one year of war had resulted in disruptions from tax collection to grain shipments from Egypt.
Much of his first year was spent in Egypt, trying to secure grain shipments to Rome and the rest of the Empire.
The old dog supposedly wore several hats; he was a divine messenger, brought by the heavens, and sent to heal the people. The minuscule taxes raised and him taking away grain from the Egyptians was little recompense for his miraculous works.
The Second Coming of Herod
Judea’s revolts scarred the old man.
Vespasian had taken down Judea and the Temple. It also cost him a great deal.
Plus, his prior incompetent image needed a reversal and re-imaging. The new Emperor had to be a figure of providence.
So?
Wipe out the Line of David.
Vespasian sent out the word. All members of the House of David were to be killed where found. Messianic prophesies about Christ being the new king aside, Vespasian knew he needed an added touch of spice to his reign if the people were to accept him.
Purges and Promotions
One of the first things Vespasian did was to purge the Senate and equestrian ranks of the supported of his former and prospective armies. The Senate was targeted because of the influence their wealth brought. The Equestrians were targeted because by this time, most emperors relied on this rank of Roman elites to staff the different offices in the Empire.
Still, it was not all about purges, demotions, evictions, and banishments to Illyria.
One of Vespasian’s truly grandest display of cohones was appointing Agricola to command the legions in Britannia. Previous Roman generals and governors had failed the Empire when it came to Britannia, and a powerful commander like Agricola, loved by his men, was something few Emperors entertained.
Vespasian did, and for this I respect the man.
Inspiring Goebbels
Vespasian’s appointments in Africa, the East, and even the short stint in the North proved he lacked a foundation in Rome proper. This meant that in this era where social media and quantum communications was lacking, few people, nobility and elites included, actually recognized the new Emperor.
So?
Coins.
Lots of coins.
On the head, Vespasian’s portly figure could be found. On the reverse was the figure of Fortuna, goddess of fortune in life and war. Vespasian’s heritage and claim to authority would be his military successes.
Unlike his predecessors, Vespasian had actual claim to military victories. He used this – and lavish courting of the authors of the period – to run a propaganda mill to the effect that he deserved the throne. Suetonius, Pliny the Elder [before he choked to death in Vesuvius in 79 AD], Josephus, Tacitus, and many others were commissioned to write tales of Vespasian’s success to the world.
Of course, any good propaganda campaigner knows that all good scams need a single voice.
While the names we know today – Suetonius, Josephus, Pliny the Elder, and Tacitus – managed to reach down across the millennia to us, those of the idiots did not. Ever heard of Helvidius Priscus? Nope? That is because he died after posting some highly critical Twitter posts about Vespasian on Truth Social.
Constructions
Vespasian was a builder. Not anywhere close to what his successor Titus managed, but a respectable number anyhow.
Among his most successful or famous constructions was the Colosseum, finished under Titus, that is one of Rome’s grandest buildings.
Death
He discretely died of diarrhea.
In memory of this low-key man, Suetonius decided to immortalize the Emperor via a poem…
Imperial bowels ridden, Imperial face wan,
The diarrhea strikes, Imperial seat compromised
“An Emperor ought to die standing”
Empire’s trunks are firm
Imperial bowels rumble
Empire’s trunks stumble
The Emperor is Dead!
Long Live the Beekeeper!
Summary.
READ: Julio-Claudian dynasty (27 BC–AD 68) which was the previous and 1st Roman Empire Dynasty.
READ: In case you missed this previously, read on How it all started
- A Brief History of Rome: Before the Roman Empire
- Julio-Claudian dynasty (27 BC–AD 68) : 1st Roman Empire Dynasty.
- The Year of the Four Emperors (68–69)
- The Flavian Dynasty (69–96)
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