The Year of the Four Emperors, AD 69, was a period in the history of the Roman Empire in which four emperors ruled in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian.. Throughout his reign he was insistent that his sons would succeed him, one after the other (Titus having no male issue); and it was probably over hereditary succession that he quarrelled with certain doctrinaire senators such as Helvidius Priscus, who was executed about 76. Otho offered to share the power and to make Vitellius his son-in-law, but that was not in the cards. He then returned to an earlier mistress, called Caenis, who had been a freedwoman of Antonia, sister-in-law to the emperor Tiberius; she too died before he did. A great deal of mystery surrounds Domitian’s love life. Coin of Lucius Vitellius as censor Lucius Vitellius was born as the son of Publius Vitellius, a knight from Luceria in southern Italy, who served as steward under the emperor Augustus . But it was advisors who were running the show, and they chose to act differently. The Vitellian victory was not complete, yet. Following in the footsteps of Augustus, Caligula would insist that aristocratic women accompany their husbands to his banquets. Although the war had officially ended, a state of anarchy and lawlessness pervaded in the first days following the demise of Vitellius. As emperor, all went well for the first few months until Caligula fell seriously ill in October. Inheriting the problem of the rebellion of Vitellius, commander of the army in Germania Inferior, Otho led a sizeable force which met Vitellius' army at the Battle of Bedriacum. Domitian and Titus were the sons of Vespasian. – Suetonius, Vitellius, 17. He soon chose to fight Vitellius … During his brief reign, Vitellius greatly increased the size of his Praetorian Guard, expanding it to 16 cohorts – each 1,000 men strong. But while senators hated him his soldiers admired him, and on balance his policies and reforms and went a long way in setting the tone for the next century of peace. They had Messalina put to death. Vitellius. After Caligula’s assassination, Vitellius befriended his successor, Claudius (their friendship founded on a mutual love of gambling). He had a penchant for removing the hair from his lovers’ bodies with his own hands, Suetonius tells us, and loved nothing more than swimming in the baths with common prostitutes. The son of Tiberius by Vispania (Julius Caesar Drusus) was married to Livillia, named after Livia, and Sejanus started having an affair with her, considering Drusus his main rival. In one of his satires, the poet Juvenal has her working surreptitiously at a local brothel; “she wolf” being her nom de guerre. Not only do no contemporary writers mention them but they also fit in well with Caligula’s portrayal as an eastern-style, Hellenistic despot, particularly one of the Ptolemies who married and interbred with their sisters (all of whom were called Cleopatra). Whenever kissing the neck of a lover he would remark that, with one command, he could have it severed at his pleasure. For Asiaticus’s sake we can only hope, on account of the presumably horrendous gout from which Vitellius suffered, it wasn’t. Europe - Rome: Emperors Galba and Vitellius' Murder In The Roman Forum - For me what is most interesting about the Roman Forum are the stories, the … He increased, and sometimes doubled, provincial taxation and revoked immunities granted to various Greek-speaking provinces and cities. The Year of the Four Emperors, AD 69, was a period in the history of the Roman Empire in which four emperors ruled in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian.. The following year, his troops proclaimed him emperor and the army marched on Rome. Worst of all, in wanting to share his power she was complicit. After Messalina’s death, he addressed his Praetorian Guard and told them that, if he ever married again, they should kill him. Antonius Primus, commander of the Sixth Legion in Pannonia, and Cornelius Fuscus, imperial procurator in Illyricum, declared their allegiance to Vespasian and led the Danube legions on an assault Italy. And the only thing that Claudius could say upon receiving the news was that he’d like more wine. Vespasian had some difficulty with his sons at the beginning of his reign. The best and most quintessentially Roman anecdote of all is that Domitian referred to sexual intercourse as “bedroom wrestling”. What we do know is that Agrippina loved power more than her husband. Many said that from a young age they had been mutual partners in buggery and this explained Asiaticus’s astronomical rise through the imperial court. He reclaimed public land in Italy from squatters and instituted various new taxes, including the diversion to Rome’s treasury of the tax paid by Jews of the Diaspora to the Temple at Jerusalem. Their force comprised only five legions, about 30’000 men, and was only half of what Vitellius had in Italy. In Britain more important advances were made; the kingdom of Brigantia in northern England was incorporated in the province, the pacification of Wales was completed, and in 78 the general Gnaeus Agricola began the seven years’ governorship that was to lead Roman arms into the Scottish Highlands. The suicide of the emperor Nero in AD 68 was followed by a brief period of civil war, the first Roman civil war since Mark Antony's death in 30 BC. The way was now open for the improvement of certain frontiers. He initially plotted to drown her, sending her out into the bay of Baia on a boat rigged to collapse. Vitellius, to his misfortune, was the third. As soon as Claudius had left the capital to perform a sacrifice down the road in Ostia, his wife Messalina decided the time was right to marry her senatorial lover, Gaius Silius. Later, when she returned flushed and disheveled, he would evaluate her performance in front of her husband: pointing out both the positive and negative aspects of her sexual performance. Matching the rugged and uncompromising features that are familiar from his portrait busts, Vespasian cultivated a bluff and even coarse manner, characteristic of the humble origins he liked to recall. Vitellius' was the last of the short reigns during the "Year of the Four Emperors," for Vespasian's accession marked the start of a tenure which was to last for a decade. He dated his powers to July 1, when the troops had acclaimed him, thus flouting constitutional precedent and contradicting even the behaviour of his rival Vitellius, who had awaited confirmation by the Senate. Article. He never stopped eating, feasting at least three times a day (excessive for the ancients) while drinking copiously in between. Vitellius, who was in Lyons, was hailed "imperator" by his soldiers, the title given to victorious commanders. On December 21 Vespasian’s position was officially confirmed by the Senate, but he remained quite frank about the military origin of his rule. To the historian Tacitus, who was embarking on his senatorial career in Vespasian’s last years, he was “the only emperor who had changed for the better.” With opponents he considered dangerous or irreconcilable, he could be ruthless: with Helvidius Priscus may be associated a group of “philosophers” who were expelled from Italy; and in 78 he executed Eprius Marcellus, one of his earliest and most efficient supporters, accused of a conspiracy that may have been directed at Titus’s association with the Jewish princess Berenice. He also had sons, Titus and Domitian , who could be legitimate heirs after the fashion of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Before Vespasian’s return Mucianus reduced the Praetorian Guard, greatly enlarged by Vitellius, to approximately its former size; and the legions on the frontiers were soon regrouped to remove from dangerous positions those that had fought for Vitellius. While in Egypt he had been concerned with raising money; and his exactions, coupled with sales of imperial estates to speculators, caused great discontent among the Egyptians. The last of three Flavian emperors, succeeding his father Vespasian (69-79 AD) and his older brother Titus (79-81 AD), Domitian ruled for 18 years, the longest reign of any emperor since Tiberius. What’s worth remembering is that Nero was the last of a dynasty, and it was in the interests of subsequent writers under subsequent dynasts to blacken his name to benefit theirs. In 48 AD Messalina put into action what must go down as one of the worst planned conspiracies in history. On the banks of the Tiber, three assailants stab the Roman emperor Vitellius, a major protagonist in the struggle for succession after Nero's death. Legions on the River Danube, who supported their general Vespasian, marched on Rome, and killed Vitellius. Vitellius even managed to navigate (or should I say hobble) his way through Nero’s reign, taking up the emperor’s theatricality and playing the … Only a few days after he had arrived in Rome, a messenger arrived from the east, saying that the commander of the Roman forces in Judaea, Titus Flavius Vespasianus, had revolted. Otho tried to avoid the war by offering to share the throne and proposed to Vitellius' daughter but he refused. He would then retire to his chambers before sending for the woman who had pleased him most. )The governors of Egypt and Syria, Tiberius Julius Alexander and Gaius Licinius Mucianus, had already sided with him. Shortly after the victory, the governors of the western provinces also swore an oath to Vespasian. We would probably know more about Claudius’s sex life if it didn’t completely pale into insignificance when compared to that of his wife, Messalina. Art 3 °. 3 had his brief reign brutally aborted at the Gemonian Stairs on December 22. The suicide of emperor Nero, in 68, was followed by a brief period of civil war, the first Roman civil war since Mark Antony's death in 30 BC. After Galba and Otho perished in quick succession, Vitellius became emperor in mid 69. Without hesitation, the Praetorian Guard arrested Silius and Messalina upon their emperor’s return. known as the Year of the Three Emperors, maybe the long and glorious era of the porcine Vitellius would still be celebrated today.. We should also bear in mind that accusations of incest were common in political invective aimed against unpopular dynasts; not least for the reason that they undermined the purity of the bloodline that gave the family their legitimacy. However the truth behind it is less important than the fact that it perfectly encapsulates the machismo of Roman sexuality, and adds a whole new layer of meaning to Seneca’s famous dictum vivere militare estâto live is to fight. Claudius wasn’t as sexually perverted as his predecessors but, in line with his character, he was astoundingly hypocritical. This was never a good place to be dragged as they were a common place of execution. Vespasian is famous for the building of the Flavian Amphitheatre, known today as the Colosseum. Coin of Vitellius. It’s hard to establish the truth behind these stories. Domitian had been overbearing and irresponsible in the months before his father’s return and was kept firmly in a junior position during the remaining years. But it’s also hard to reconcile his mother-f*cking, wife-killing, slave-marrying, sexually-assaulting, pelt-wearing persona with the fact that he managed to retain power for almost 14 years. Otho was Roman emperor for three months, from 15 January to 16 April 69. It was in the same spirit of stabilization that he turned to military affairs. And it was here, after a final plea to his people where he was executed. Vitellius was a child prostitute! Vitellius even managed to navigate (or should I say hobble) his way through Nero’s reign, taking up the emperor’s theatricality and playing the … Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (known to history as “Caligula” or “little boots” after the military attire his father paraded him in as an infant) had an upbringing that condemned him to cruelty and depravity. He was the second emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors. Coin of Vitellius. After the death of Vitellius, robberies of several days occurred in the city. This may or may not have been true. Grab a copy of our NEW encyclopedia for Kids. After Vitellius was prevented from abdicating his power another battle occurred outside the gates of Rome itself. 69: Vitellius, “yet I was once your emperor” December 22nd, 2013 Headsman. Caligula 18 Mar 37 CE - 24 Jan 41 CE. Both his wife and daughter died before he became emperor. Vitellius had much less military experience and he was defeated and killed by Vespasian. However, word of Vespasian's proclamation as emperor spread and many joined his cause. That is until you read Suetonius. At the age of eighteen, Caligula was sent to live with his uncle Tiberius on Capri. When this emperor was killed in 41, Vitellius was able to gain the friendship of his successor Claudius as well, since they shared a passion for gambling. When the armies ruled by Vitellius discovered this he was virtually deserted by his former supporters. But as soon as Claudius was out of sight, they celebrated a wedding ceremony, complete with witnesses, sacrifices and, of course, the all-important consummation. Galba (Latin: Servius Sulpicius Galba Caesar Augustus; 24 December 3 BC - 15 January 69), was Roman Emperor for seven months from 68 to 69. After Caligula’s assassination, Vitellius befriended his successor, Claudius (their friendship founded on a mutual love of gambling). Vitellius was appointed commander of the Lower German Army in 68 AD, just in time for Nero’s death. Shortly after Vitellius assumed power in spring, A.D. 69, however, Vespasian met on the border of Judaea and Syria with Gaius Licinius Mucianus, governor of Syria, and after a series of private and public consultations, the two decided to revolt.
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