The Romans by Grace Cole

Author:Grace Cole [Grace Cole]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw
Tags: History/Ancient/Rome
ISBN: 9781612307794
Publisher: New Word City, Inc.
Published: 2018-07-06T16:00:00+00:00

The Four Emperors

Rome was again in upheaval. Nero’s death marked the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty of emperors, which began with Augustus and lasted nearly 100 years. The next year was marked by instability and civil war. It became known as the Year of the Four Emperors.

As Tacitus noted: “The secret of empire was out: Emperors could be made elsewhere than in Rome.” A prefect of the Praetorian Guard named Nymphidius Sabinus, who had convinced the guard to conspire against Nero, staked a claim to the role of emperor. But fellow soldiers turned on him and killed him in favor of another commander.

Born in the Italian province of Terracina, Galba had earned a reputation as a capable, strict, decisive military strategist in the provinces. He was met at the gates of Rome by members of the Praetorian Guard, who offered their support contingent upon a set of demands. He responded by killing many of them. Determined to rebuild the treasury depleted by Nero’s excess, Galba levied massive taxes and refused to pay bribes to the Praetorian Guard for their loyalty – a fatal measure.

Seven months into his reign, Galba made arrangements for a successor, which was interpreted as a sign of fear. His choice of a nobleman named Lucius Calpurnius Piso rankled one of his earliest supporters, Marcus Salvius Otho, who expected he would be next in line. Otho rallied the Praetorian Guard to kill Galba, then install him as emperor. Galba’s head was taken as a trophy, paraded and mocked by the soldiers. Otho had his challenger, Piso, killed soon after.

A rebellion that had been organized against Galba by two legions on the Rhine sought to install their general Vitellius as emperor. Marching on Rome, they were surprised to find Otho in power, but nonetheless remained determined. Otho was ill-prepared for the battle that ensued, and his troops were defeated. His three months as emperor ended with his suicide.

The Senate accepted Vitellius as emperor. He ruled for eight months, during which Rome was racked by violent riots. Lazy and self-indulgent, Vitellius was fond of extravagant feasts and banquets – as many as four a day – and staged regular gladiatorial spectacles. In response to a prophecy that his rule would be long if he outlived his mother, he had her starved to death.

In much the same way as he gained control, Vitellius lost it. Armies in the eastern provinces on the Danube proclaimed their general, Vespasian, as a rival emperor.

According to one account, Vespasian, leading his men to quell a rebellion in Judea, “one day . . . emerged from his bedchamber, a few soldiers standing by in the usual formation . . . saluted him as emperor; then others ran up, calling him Caesar and Augustus and heaping on him all the titles of the principate. [Soon] all Syria had sworn the same allegiance. . . . All the provinces washed by the sea as far as Asia . . . and all the territory extending inland to Pontus and Armenia, took the oath.

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