1-Acest articol este copiat !
2-Istoria ramane pasiunea mea nr-1!.
3-Acest an a fost teribil pentru Roma-Antica !
Year of the Four Emperors.
While Nero was trying to flee Rome, while Galba was marching east from Hispania, and while Vitellius was being lauded as emperor in Germania, much of the Roman world could have been forgiven for forgetting about the activities of Vespasian in the east. Having landed in Judea and swiftly began capturing the Jewish strongholds, the migration of the refugees to Jerusalem had stoked the divisions there. Still gathering the forces needed to besiege the capital, and content to allow his opponents to stew in the turmoil created by their own divisions, a lull that would follow in the fighting afforded Vespasian the opportunity to make his claim.
Back in Italia, the Senate recognised Otho as emperor on the day of Galba’s murder, saluting him with relief. Although he was ambitious and greedy, he had no record for tyranny or cruelty, and many expected him to be fair. His initial efforts to restore peace were soon thwarted by the news that Vitellius was marching south with half of the Rhine legions. Veterans of the Germanic wars and battle hardened from years on an inhospitable frontier, the legions of Germania were some of the empire’s finest.
Otho was opposed to another civil war, and sent emissaries to Vitellius proposing peace, and offering to marry his daughter, only to be declined. Otho marched north hoping to prevent Vitellius from entering Italia, though was too late, and instead moved to hold him at the Po valley. An initial victory threw one general back, with Otho’s forces now looking to take the initiative. Otho’s staff included Paulinus, who had defeated Boudica in Britannia, though he decided to recall his brother, Titianus, who had been acting as regent in Rome in his absence, to serve as his adjutant.
Titianus wanted to march to Cremona to give battle, against the advice of Paulinus and others, who wanted to await the arrival of more legions. Otho was stationed nearby awaiting news of the battle. Already tired after a long march, the two sides met at the Battle of Bedriacum in April. Otho’s forces had their flank rolled by the German auxiliaries, and quickly retreated to their camp. With around 40,000 men dead on the field, the survivors pledged their loyalty to Vitellius. Rather than attempt to flee and launch a second defence, Otho put an end to the anarchy and committed suicide. He had been emperor for little over three months.
Upon news of Otho’s suicide, the Senate declared Vitellius as emperor. He set out for Rome, though found a sceptical city when he chose the anniversary of the disastrous Battle of Allia, which had pre-empted the Sack of Rome in 390 BC, to take up the office of Pontifex Maximus (head priest). The ill omens were seemingly proved right to the superstitious Romans, and with the throne secured, the gluttonous – or for a more Roman term, Lucullan – Vitellius began holding three banquets a day, driving the treasury close to bankruptcy. As debts arose, money lenders demanding repayment were tortured and executed. Citizens who named Vitellius as heir were murdered, along with their co-heirs, while any possible imperial rivals were lured to the palace and killed.
The paranoia that marked earlier emperors was notched up further now, as they had nought but military support to legitimise them. Conspirators were seen everywhere, and now the role of Princeps seemed available to whoever could summon – or buy – the most soldiers. Previous emperors had used the reliability of the Julio-Claudian bloodline, even though that logic was fundamentally flawed, while the new emperors had no such foundation, no illustrious Augustus to link themselves to. This was evident when the first of three pretenders acting as Nero made a brief play for power during the reign of Vitellius, though he was quickly executed (another would appear during the reign of Titus, and a third some 20 years after Nero’s death during the reign of Domitian).
While Vitellius feasted in Rome, the legions stationed in Egypt, Syria and Judea acclaimed their commander, Vespasian, as emperor. Gaining the support of Syrian governor Mucianus, he set off to Rome while Vespasian headed to Alexander, where he was acclaimed emperor in July, seizing control of the vital grain supply from Egypt. Titus remained in Judea to finish quelling the Jewish Revolt, though he would not move to besiege Jerusalem until the following year. Jerusalem finally surrendered after a seven-month siege, with continued Jewish infighting resulting in them burning their whole food supply. Titus had the second temple destroyed, leaving the Tenth Legion to mop up any remaining rebel strongholds. The last vestiges of the war dragged on until 74 AD, when the legion had to spend months building an earthen ramp to the walls of the impenetrable fortress of Massada. When they stormed the walls, all of the zealots who had been defending it had committed suicide.
Before the forces of Vespasian could reach Rome, the Danube legions also declared him imperator. Led by Primus, they invaded Italia, having already been mobilised to march in support of Otho. Vitellius dispatched his adjutant Caecina north to check this invading army, and he declined to attack the first of Primus’ legions that had arrived in Verona and were awaiting reinforcements. Caecina instead began plotting with the commander of the Ravenna fleet to defect to Vespasian, though his troops refused and imprisoned him instead. Vitellius thus sent Valens north to take command of his army, though he was delayed by illness.
Vitellius’ leaderless army advanced on Cremona, with Primus advancing there with cavalry from his base at Bedriacum. Realising this cavalry skirmish was with the vanguard of the army, Primus summoned his legions in support. The Second Battle of Bedriacum was a hard-fought affair, with Primus’ men beginning to gain the upper hand as it raged on into the night. The battle could have gone either way, with Primus’ own legion losing its eagle at one point, only for a centurion to sacrifice himself retrieving it. As sun rose, the forces of Primus looked to the east and cheered – an adopted local custom from their service in Syria, where people worship the unconquered sun, Sol Invictus. Vitellius’ troops mistakenly took this for them cheering the arrival of Vespasian’s reinforcements, and lost heart. Capturing their camp, Primus then besieged and stormed Cremona itself, sacking the city. He was hugely embarrassed by his troops sacking an Italian town, and forbade the selling of Cremonan slaves , leading to many legionaries to murder them rather than face charges.
Vitellius made a final bid to cling onto power by bribing Senators to his cause, and promising power accordingly. Allied tribes refused to support him, and a delegation including Vestal Virgins were unsuccessful in slowing Primus’ force. He went into hiding and chose to flee, but while collecting his belongings at the palace was caught and killed as Primus’ legions seized Rome for Vespasian, inadvertently burning down the Temple of Jupiter as they forced an entry into the city in spite of determined opposition. Primus found himself effectively the rule of Rome, and was declared Consul by the Senate, though left the city when Mucianus arrived. The Senate acknowledged Vespasian as emperor at the end of December 69 AD. The year had started with Galba as Princeps, with Otho and then Vitellius also rising to the purple.
Rome would finally know a measure of peace and stability. Vespasian would rule for ten years, before dying of natural causes, his dynasty surviving him for a further 17 years, creating the stabilising Flavian dynasty to follow the Julio-Claudians. The actions of Primus in Italia had made Vespasian’s forces deeply unpopular, though he benefitted from promoting the fact that this was done by another acting in his name, and not by he himself. The Flavian propaganda machine was swift to work in legitimising the regime, vilifying Nero and seeking to make the other claimants to the role of Princeps illegitimate. While Vespasian brought much needed stability to the empire, he is perhaps best remembered for his architectural contribution to Rome, initiating several major construction projects including the Flavian Amphitheatre – which today we call the Colosseum.
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