Historical Background:
Historically, as is quite obvious, the various "factions" of the Roman empire survived only as long as the claimant did. Galba was the first, actually being declared Caesar by his legions not much after Nero's suicide (in the summer of 68 AD). Galba then marched to Rome where he was accepted by the Senate. He was an old-fashioned man (and quite old when he became Caesar), that saw no point in bribing armies to be loyal to him. Likewise, he was completely against the pomp and regalia with which Nero and Caligula before him had conducted their reigns. At the start of the new year, in 69 AD, Galba sent proclamations to the legions of the empire and demanded they swear allegiance to him. The legions of the Rhine, not impressed by Galba, opted for their own commander: Aulus Vitellius (later to become Aulus Vitellius Germanicus). So, right away from the very start of 69 AD there was Galba with a shaky hold on what had been Julio-Claudian Rome, and there was Vitellius with Gaul and Britain.
Galba, like so many other Romans, also made the mistake of not keeping to his promises. Before being named Caesar, he enlisted the support of his fellow Hispanian governor Marcus Salvius Otho. Otho traveled to Rome with Galba and expected to be adopted by the man and thus named his heir (and become the next Caesar upon Galba's death -- which as I mentioned, he was quite old.) In the historical records, Galba, realizing how unpopular he was in the eyes of Rome's nobility, decided to adopt a man by the name of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus. Piso was was a well-known magistrate in Rome, but he had little-to-no experience in battle or commanding troops. Otho, then, insulted and hurt by Galba's decision, garnered the support of the Praetorians in a plot against Galba. To leave out a lot of the details, Otho was successful and on the 15th of January Galba was murdered with Otho being declared Caesar in his place.
Not long after Galba's murder, Otho had to deal with Vitellius who was marching into Italy with his Rhine legions. A series of battles ensured in northern Italy where Otho was not defeated. Despite the fact that he had not been beaten, Otho decided to take his own life not long afterward. Vitellius then marched to Rome and was declared Caesar. Around the same time a man by the name of Titus Flavius Vespasianus (whom we all know as Vespasian) was also named Caesar by his legions: becoming the fourth contender for the throne. Vespasian had been in Judaea with seven legions seeing to the siege of Jerusalem. He was given the task in 66 AD by Nero, and throughout all the civil wars in Italy remained steadfast to his task. However, when his own men proclaimed him Caesar in Alexandria in 69 AD, Vespasian did little to abate the calls. He left his son of the same name (known to us as Titus) in control of the besieging forces along with a general by the name of Tiberius Julius Alexander, and sailed to Italy.
Though Vitellius had managed to seat himself quite comfortably, he was confronted by a two-front war when Vespasian arrived. Firstly, Vespasian secured the allegiance of the Dalmatian/Illryian legions (that had formerly been loyal to Otho) and marched on Rome from the east. Secondly, and perhaps just as much of a worry, was the rebellion of the Batavians under Gaius Julius Civilis (known historically as just: Julius Civilis.) Civilis, though considered the leader of the rebellion, was in allegiance with a host of other Gallo-Romans that decided to revolt against the shaky empire. Within the ranks of the Batavians (and later several other tribes) was also a man named Gaius Julius Sabinus, who claimed to be the great-grandson of Julius Caesar, through his Gallic mother that Caesar had taken a fancy to on his campaigns so many years before. Vespasian encouraged the Batavian rebellion (which eventually formed a Gallic Empire -- however shortlived it may have been). With his enemy distracted, Vespasian defeated Vitellius and took control in Rome, becoming the last of the "four emperors". The next year he sent his son-in-law, Quintus Petilius Cerialis to deal with the Batavians; they were effectively put down.
Thus ends a short and very brief history of: The Year of the Four Emperors. |
FORTVNA AVGVST: The Year of the Four Emperors
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