AD 69: the Year of the Four Emperors

Author: Trede, J., (2007), “AD 69: The Year of the Four Emperors”, first published in The Imperial Courier, Volume 2, Issue 1, THE RMRS, pp. 4-7.

Forward The following tract is not intended to be a definitive account of the year AD 69, known as “The Year of the Four Emperors”. This particular year was a complex and complicated period in the history of the Roman Empire, and indeed several lengthy books have been published on the subject. This, then, is a relatively simple overview of the convoluted events that brought Vespasian to the ultimate power in Rome. It therefore follows in the interests of brevity and clarity, that certain events have of necessity been omitted or truncated in the telling.

Nero To fully understand the events of AD 69, we must first look at the last few years of the reign of Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. His capricious and profligate rule had become more and more intolerable to the Senate and ruling classes of Rome. The Roman masses however adored Nero, who regularly provided them with spectacularly expensive games. While the military also remained loyal to Nero, nothing would be done to change the situation, but the army was getting restless.

Throughout his reign, Nero had shown remarkably little interest in the army. He clearly believed that keeping the Praetorian Guard happy with handsome bribes was sufficient and virtually ignored the rest of his military forces. Inevitably therefore, the rigid discipline imposed by previous emperors began to deteriorate. In addition, huge arrears of pay and pensions ensured that the bulk of the rank and file were becoming increasingly hostile. Unable to see any improvement under the prevailing circumstances, unsurprisingly the military cast around for an alternative emperor of their own choosing.

Galba Just one among several candidates was Servius Sulpicius Galba. He was at that time the governor of Hispania Terraconensis [1], but he also had support elsewhere. For example, a revolt on his behalf was raised by a certain Caius Julius Vindex in Gaul, but this was premature and failed. The legions of Germany refused to join the revolt and proposed their own candidate, one Lucius Verginius Rufus. He, however, was not interested, and Vindex eventually committed suicide.

In Rome, news of this disaffection disconcerted Nero. Never the most stable character, he now swayed between bouts of depression and insouciance. This prevarication eventually disgusted even the Praetorians, who now revolted, probably abetted by the offer of a substantial bribe from their ambitious praefectus [2], Nymphidius Sabinus. As was to become their regular habit, the Senate quickly jumped on the bandwagon and officially deposed Nero. He promptly fled the palace and was sentenced in absentia to execution in the “old fashioned way”, which probably meant the traditional military punishment of cudgelling or stoning to death. Deserted by all, save a handful of household slaves, and unwilling to face execution, the deposed emperor took his own life.

Galba now headed for Rome, his supporters disposing of a few other pretenders elsewhere. On arrival in the city, he found that the Praetorians had killed yet another pretender, their own ambitious praefectus, Sabinus. Thus, with the promise of yet another generous pay-out to the Praetorians, Galba ensured that all forces, at least in Rome, were now loyal to him. The situation in some of the provinces was somewhat different, but that would have to wait.

At the age of 71 years, the new emperor was immediately faced by immense problems. Finances were chaotic, the state coffers having been emptied by years of Nero's profligacy. To try to restore the situation, Galba began by revoking the vast fortunes previously bestowed by Nero upon his favourites, all while allowing his own cronies to line their pockets instead. This and other measures caused widespread resentment throughout Rome and elsewhere. This disquiet is best illustrated by the example of the legions in Germania Inferior (Germany) who, having never accepted Galba, now refused to take the oath of allegiance to him.

Otho Conscious of his advanced age, Galba attempted to secure the succession for one of his supporters, the young and untested Marcus Piso; an act that offended one Marcus Salvius Otho who considered himself a far more suitable candidate. As governor of Lusitania, Otho had been one of the first to declare his support for Galba. Now he, in turn, made very generous promises to the Praetorians and, as Galba still had not delivered his promised payments, they instantly proclaimed Otho emperor. Marching to the forum, the Praetorians, the emperor’s loyal bodyguard, lynched Galba, Piso and their supporters. As expected, the Senate immediately recognised Otho as the new emperor followed in due course by most provincial governors.

Otho of course inherited all the problems left by his predecessor. To compound the problem of the very shaky finances, Otho turned out to be a complete spendthrift. Nor was he prepared to impose some discipline on the Praetorians. His main concern must have been the ever defiant German legions who were still looking to impose their own chosen emperor.

When it had refused to swear allegiance to Galba, the army in Germany had no obvious candidate in mind. Now its two divisional commanders, Fabius Valens and Aulus Caecina Alienus, prevailed upon the troops to acclaim their own commander Aulus Vitellius as emperor. Vitellius, so far a fairly insignificant person, was not too keen on the idea, but Valens and Caecina saw in him the ideal figurehead of a government where they could wield the actual power. Vitellius was eventually persuaded to accept, and a plan of campaign was hatched. Valens and Caecina would take the bulk of the army and march on Rome by different routes [3]. Vitellius would remain behind and build up a reserve force to follow later. It was at about this time that they learned of the death of Galba and the accession of Otho, but it was too late to change the plan.

Valens led his troops through Gaul and the western passes, while Caecina crossed the Alps through the Great St Bernard Pass to reach northern Italy. The intention was to reunite both detachments near Cremona in the Po river valley. Despite causing mayhem with their indiscipline in Helvetia, Caecina's force arrived first.

The first Battle of Cremona Otho had left Rome on March 14th marching north to meet the challenge. His forces included legions I Adiutrix, XIII Gemina, a forward detachment of XIIII Gemina, the Praetorian Guard, and a force of gladiators. By the time Otho arrived to make his base at Brixellum, one engagement had already been fought. Caecina tried to set an ambush at Locus Castorum, a village about halfway between Bedriacum and Cremona on the Via Postumia. The Othonians were warned and their army marched for Locus Castorum, led by Suetonius Paulinus who, eight years later would become governor of Britannia. The Othonians had the better of the fighting and Caecina's troops retreated to Cremona. Here they were joined by Valens' army, which had followed the longer route through Gaul.

Against the advice of Paulinus and other generals who wished to wait until other legions had arrived, it was decided to march on Cremona to give battle. While Otho remained at Brixellum to await the outcome, on April 14th the two armies met on the Via Postumia, nearer Cremona than Bedriacum. The first battle of Cremona was joined. The many small vineyards and narrow lanes seriously hampered the fighting with neither side able to gain an advantage for some considerable time. Some of the heaviest fighting was where Otho's I Adiutrix legion, recently raised from the marines of Classis Ravennas at Ravenna, clashed with Vitellius' veteran Legio XXI Rapax. The Adiutrix acquitted itself well, capturing XXI Rapax’s eagle, although its commanding officer was killed as their opponents strove to recover it. Elsewhere on the battlefield, Otho's Legio XIII Gemina was defeated by Vitellius' Alaudae, and the Adiutrix eventually gave way when a force of Batavian auxiliaries attacked them in the flank. Their retreat cut off by the river Po, the Othonian troops fled back to their camp in Bedriacum. The next day they surrendered to the Vitellian forces and took the oath of allegiance to Vitellius.

When news of the defeat reached Brixellum, many of Otho's troops urged him to fight on, pointing out that more troops were on the way. Otho, however, chose suicide rather than cause more deaths. He had been emperor for fewer than three months.

Vitellius On their way to Rome, Valens and Caecina executed the senior centurions of the IIlyrian legions, newly arrived in Italy to support Otho. These legions were immediately sent back to their bases, but the killings were to prove an expensive mistake. Arriving in Rome far ahead of Vitellius himself, Valens and Caecina immediately disbanded Otho's Praetorians and took other measures to establish the new emperor on a firm footing. Vitellius soon made his triumphal entry to Rome and was recognized as emperor by the Senate and the provincial governors.

Considered a weak man, Vitellius failed to capitalise on this firm foundation instead surrendering himself to indulgences echoing the last years of Nero’s reign. Lavish spending plunged the treasury ever deeper into bankruptcy leaving nothing to pay the troops their promised victory bonus. Once more, discipline in the ranks collapsed and the soldiers are recorded as living a life of “ease and good cheer”. Nevertheless, Vitellius and his cronies believed they had overawed all the remaining armies of the Empire. They considered the Rhein Army to be invincible, but such complacency only served as an incentive to others, appalled by the execution of Otho's IIlyrian centurions.

Vespasian The challenge eventually came from the eastern provinces, where forces just as strong as the Rhein Army were assembled for the Jewish War. Tiberius Alexander, prefect of Egypt, and Licinius Mucianus, the governor of Syria, promoted their own imperial candidate: the 60-year-old Titus Flavius Vespasianus, one time commander of the Legio II Augusta in Britain and now commander of the Roman field forces in Palestine. Although only of equestrian rank, as the son of a money dealer from Reate, he had been enticed to accept the nomination because a prophecy promised him “greater things”. On July 1st, Alexander's troops proclaimed Vespasian emperor, the latter’s own soldiers following suit a few days later. Despite the acclamation there is some doubt about Vespasian's enthusiasm for the venture at that time, especially the use of force. He travelled to Alexandria and embarked on the lengthy and unlikely process of starving Rome into submission by cutting off the supply of Egyptian grain.

The second Battle of Cremona Meanwhile from Syria, Mucianus began a leisurely march westward with some 20,000 men, gathering more as he went. This strategy was brought to an abrupt halt by the Danube legions, however. Having been too late to support Otho, they now pledged their allegiance to Vespasian. Commanded by a Gaulish officer called Antonius Primus, they ignored the lethargic Mucianus and pressed on into Italy. With no more than some 50,000 men under his command, Primus was outnumbered by the army of Vitellius. However, the larger force was not properly prepared and lacked the superior leadership of the Flavians. The two armies met once again near Cremona, the second battle being a resounding victory for the Flavians. Carnage followed as the out-of-control Flavian troops utterly destroyed the town. A salutary lesson was learned as a result and the previously vacillating western provincial governors quickly declared for Vespasian. Vitellius finally roused himself enough to send his loyal Praetorians to guard the Appenine passes, but their demoralisation and the rapid advance of the Flavian forces resulted in mass desertions.

At last arriving on the scene, Mucianus offered Vitellius a safe conduct in exchange for his abdication. Terms were agreed through Flavius Sabinus, brother of Vespasian and commander the Cohorts in Rome. The remaining loyal Praaetorians resisted and drove all the Flavian supporters, including Sabinus and Vespasian's son Domitian, to shelter on the Capitoline hill. A short siege ended with the lynching of Sabinus and other Flavian supporters, and the burning of the Temple of Jupiter; Domitian it seems escaped.

On hearing this, the Flavians commanded by Primus marched on Rome. In a running fight they annihilated all Vitellians in the suburbs and stormed the Praetorian barracks. Vitellius was caught trying to escape and was promptly lynched in retaliation for the death of Sabinus. The Danubian troops, unrestrained by Primus, embarked on a new reign of terror in Rome. The senate promptly elevated Vespasian to emperor, appointing Domitian vice-regent pending his father's arrival. The arrival of Mucianus supplanted Domitian to end the state of near anarchy. He restored order, and despatched the legions back to their frontier stations. Vespasian himself did not arrive in Rome until the summer of AD 70.

Conclusion  “The Year of the Four Emperors” closely resembled the conditions which brought about the end of the Republic. It began in protest at Nero's misrule, but was otherwise totally devoid of any political principle. The weak and self-serving senate automatically invested each usurper with “Imperial” power, proving just two things. Firstly that “The Seat of Augustus” was no longer the preserve of the old nobility, and secondly that emperors could be made elsewhere than in Rome. The consequences would prove to be far reaching, although not foreseen at the time.

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Endnotes:

1. Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the northern, eastern and central territories of modern Spain along with the Norte Region of modern Portugal. ▲

2. Praefectus, or prefect, (Latin: from praeficere “put in front”, i.e. in charge) was a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area, a prefecture. ▲

3. The Vitellian forces included legions XXI Rapax, V Alaudae, and powerful vexillationes (detachments) from all the other legions stationed on the Rhine, together with a strong force of Batavian auxiliaries, totalling a force of around 70,000 men. ▲

4. If true, that could mean up to 960 men, which is highly improbable. Like all good urban myths, the story is undoubtedly embellished. ▲