payment page
Nero's death ushered in the Year of the Four Emperors. Galba was weak as an emperor for two reasons: 1) he had no funds in the fiscus with which to keep his troops in line and bribe the Praetorian guard; and 2) he was Emperor just because of his troops and only his troops. The Rhine legions were ill disposed towards him, so declared Aullus Vitellus emperor in 69 as well. He took several Rhine legions to Italy to fight Galba. In the interim, however, M. Salvius Otho—one of Galba's first supporters—went to the Praetorian camp and bribed the forces into recognizing him as emperor, after which the Guard caught and killed Galba.
An earlier protege of Nero, Otho was degenerate and ineffective. Still, he won the support of the Danube and Thrace area legions, and was somewhat popular in Rome. Still, all his military support was much farther away than was his opponent Vitellus. Early in 69, Otho led the Praetorian Guard through Cisalpine Gaul to Cremona where he met Vitellus in battle. The Praetorian forces were outnumbered five to one, and Otho was eliminated at a battle remembered as Bedricum I. Vitellus then went south to Rome and the Senate recognized him as Princeps. At this point the simmering enmity between the legions of the Rhine and those of Syria came into play. In the summer of 69 the latter proclaimed Vespasianus Emperor. He left his son Titus in Judaea to deal with the Jewish Revolt and made for Rome. He never actually met Vitellus in battle. M. Antonius Primus, a Danube region general, gave Vespasianus support and military muscle. He sent legions to Italy and also began revolts against Vitellus in the Italian towns. Vitellus reacted by dispatching an army to northern Italy, which met Primus at Cremona. The majority of Vitellus' officers went over to Primus, while his soldiers refused to defect, probably still hoping for financial reward. At what became known as Bedricum II, Primus was victorious and his forces plundered for four days. Vitellus had fled to Rome by now, and Primus followed him in force. His opponent's remaining legions fought for Rome in a street-by-street manner, yet Primus ultimately won. Rome was plundered by legionnaires on 22 December 69, and Vespasianus was installed as Princeps by the beginning of 70 CE. The best, most balanced man had won.
For the most part, the Roman frontiers had remained stable throughout 69, even while denuded of legions engaged in civil war. A good general and a savvy politician, Vespasianus was therefore a good political general. He faced two immediate problems: the Jewish Revolt in Judaea, and continuing revolt of the Batavians on the lower Rhine. The latter had begun their uprising due to Primus' instigation so as to detain Vitellus Rhine area troops. They were led by Civilus, yet would not desist when told to do so by Antonius. Batavians under Civilus terrorized the Rhineland, and he convinced the Roman auxiliaries, as well as up to three legions and several Gaulic tribesmen to join him. Thus, by the middle of 70, all the Rhineland and eastern Gaul was in arms. Only with sustained efforts by fresh legions were the disturbances put down. As regards Judaea, Vespasianus had left his sonTitus there. He conquered all of Jerusalem after a grueling 139-day siege. His forces then went out of control—they tore down and burned the Temple, and then the city, murdering much of the high priesthood and carrying others off into slavery. Much booty was then taken to Rome. The revolt lingered on for another three years, in strongholds such as Masada and Gamla. Ultimately, a legion was stationed in the region under the legate Gessius Florus, and Judaea became a second-rate military province. Still, the Jews were allowed to retain most of their privileges related to religious practice, with the Temple tax now going to Rome.
Commentary
That Neros' demise would emerge from the army is not surprising, given the close military-Princeps relationship. His key mistakes therefore were first to ignore the army and then to begin killing its generals. The remaining Generals were forced into revolt either by a sense of Roman honor, or for self-preservation. What was truly shocking, though, was that Augustus' professional army had gone totally out of control, even turning against itself and arrogating to itself the prerogative of proclaiming emperors from within its ranks. A sequel to this will be seen in the third century. At the same time, the army demonstrated its combination of neglect and contempt for the Senate and civilian population of Rome. Thus, the greatest weakness of the Principate was that when the Princeps lost army support, mayhem ensued.
In addition to founding a new dynasty, the eventual victor of 69, Vespasianus, was a different sort of Emperor. He was a provincial from the Sabine region, whose social origins were equestrian. His father had been an equestrian, following a publicani career under Augustus. Vespasian had received an excellent education, even learning Greek, which was somewhat rare for that era. He had commanded a legion in Britain, had ascended to the level of consul, and invaded Africa. During Nero's time, he was one of Rome's most influential commanders and received command of the legions subduing the Jewish Revolt. In 70 CE, he was a sixty-one-year old, known for his parsimoniousness and good humor tempered by shrewdness.
With the exception of the Jewish Revolt and the Batavian confrontation, Vespasian's reign was peaceful, and the Emperor was able to devote time to its organization. A fundamental change was effected along the borders. The Rhine revolt had shown the drawbacks of using auxiliaries in the regions from which they were recruited. This was now ended, and along with their deployment away from home, they were now commanded by Roman officers. Change continued in other areas, but not in formal terms. The Principate survived, and in theory, no added powers accrued to Vespasian than to his predecessors, and the Senate's prerogatives were at least titularly still intact. Bu the Senate was nothing like a partner to Vespasian. He expected them to obey his directives and they proved quite malleable. The Emperor was able to enforce his insistence that he be allowed to choose the proconsuls for provincial commands, ending any illusion of a diarchy. Though Vespasianus was an autocrat and the illusions of the Augustus period were gone, the Princeps was a respectable, respectful autocrat. As well, he saved the Empire from chaos, providing it instead with stability.
