| Image search results - "Vitellius" |
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Vitellius AD 69, Denarius, 3.48 grams, 18 mm, Obverse: Vitellius Head right, Reverse: Vesta Enthrones right; RIC (I) - 107, RSC 107, SR(I) - 2200paul1888
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9 Vitellius As, 69 ADVITELLIUS
Æ As.
Tarraco mint
O: A VITELLIVS IMP GERMAN, laureate head left
R: FIDES EXERCITVVM, clasped hands.
RIC 42, Sear5 #2217, Cohen 34.
RI0071Sosius
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9 Vitellius Denarius, 69 ADVITELLIUS
AR denarius, Rome Mint (3.13g)
January 2 - December 20, 69 A.D.
O: A VITELLIVS GERMAN IMP AVG TR P, laureate head right
R: CONCOR-DIA P R, Concordia seated left holding patera and cornucopia;
RIC I 73 scarce, Cohen 20
I am unsure of authenticity. The only way to determine once and for all will be to clean this one...
RI0072
Sosius
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9 Vitellius Denarius, 69 ADVITELLIUS
AR Denarius, 69 AD.
[A VITELLIVS] GERM IMP AVG TR P, Bust right / Anepigraphic. Victory seated left, holding patera and palm
RIC 110, BMCRE 043. aVF
RI0070Sosius
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69aVitellius 69 AD
AR denarius
Lugdunum mint
Obv "A VITELLIVS IMP GERMAN"
Laureate bust left
Rev "CONSENSVS EXERCITVVM"
Mars walking left
Lugdunum mint
RIC - (cf 51)
3.2 grammes, die axis 240 degreesmauseus
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(09) VITELLIUS VITELLIUS
69 AD
AE As 26.5 mm 9.3 g
O: Laureate bust left
Probably RIC 46
laney
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(09) VITELLIUS VITELLIUS
69 AD
AE As
O: A VITELLIVS IMP GERMAN, laureate bust left
R: LIBERTAS RESTITVTA, S-C across field, Libertas, draped, standing facing, head right, holding pileus in right hand and scepter in left.
Spanish, Tarraco?laney
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(09) VITELLIUS69 AD
3.110g, maximum diameter 18.8mm
O: A VITELLIVS GERMANICVS IMP, bare head right
R: CONCOR-DIA P R, Concordia enthroned left, patera in right, cornucopia in left
Rome mint; RIC I 66, RSC II 21, BMCRE I 1, BnF III 3 (Scarce)
(ex-Forum)laney
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(09) VITELLIUS69 AD
AR Denarius 17 mm, 3.00 g
O: A VITELLIVS GERM IMP AVG TR P, laureate head right
R: LIBERTAS RESTITVTA, Libertas standing facing, head right, holding pileus and long staff.
Rome; RIC 105; RSC 47
ex. Roma Numismatics auctionlaney
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*SOLD*Vitellius AE25
Attribution: SGI 690, RPC 1616, Koinon, Macedonia
Date: AD 69
Obverse: OYITE Λ Λ IO Σ Γ EPMAIKO Σ AVTOK, laureate head l.
Reverse: Σ EBA σ TO Σ MAKE Δ ON Ω N,
around Macedonian shield
Size: 24 mm
ex-ForvmNoah
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008 VITELLIUSEMPEROR: Vitellius
DENOMINATION: Denarius
OBVERSE: A VITELLIVS GERMANICVS IMP, laureate head right
REVERSE: CONCORDIA P R, Concordia seated left, holding patera & cornucopiae
DATE: AD April - December 69
MINT: Roma
WEIGHT: 3.14 g
RIC: I.66 (S)Barnaba6
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009. Vitellius 69 ADVITELLIUS. 69 AD.
Without doubt, the most fortuitous moment in Vitellius' political career was his appointment as governor of Lower Germany by the emperor Galba late in 68.
Vitellius has not escaped the hostility of his biographers. While he may well have been gluttonous, his depiction as indolent, cruel, and extravagant is based almost entirely on the propaganda of his enemies. On the other hand, whatever moderating tendencies he did show were overshadowed by his clear lack of military expertise, a deficiency that forced him to rely in critical situations on largely inneffective lieutenants. As a result he was no match for his Flavian successors, and his humiliating demise was perfectly in keeping with the overall failure of his reign.
AR Denarius (20mm, 3.24 gm). Rome mint. Laureate head right / Tripod-lebes; dolphin above, raven below. RIC I 109; RSC 111. Ex-Cngecoli
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009a. OthoEmperor 15 January -- 17 April 69.
Marcus Salvius Otho. Governor of Lusitania. He initially supported Galba, but ousted him in a coup after Galba refused to name him Caesar. The legions on the Rhine under Vitellius fought Otho's forces, which lost the initial battle. Rather than continue the war, Otho committed suicide.
lawrence c
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010a. VitelliusEmperor 2 January -- 20 December 69
Aulus Vitellius. Well connected politically. While commander in Germania, troops proclaimed him emperor. Beat Otho in battle for the throne. On approach of Vespasian, he was killed by a mob.lawrence c
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010a1. VitelliusDenarius. Rome mint. Obv: A VITELLIVS GERMANICVS IMP, laureate head right. Rev: CONCORDIA P R, Concordia seated left, holding patera and cornucopiae. RIC 66, RSC 21.lawrence c
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010a2. VitelliusDenarius. Obv: A VITELLIVS GERMAN IMP TR P, laureate head right.
Rev: XV VIR SACR FAC, tripod lebes surmounted by dolphin, raven standing right beneath. RIC 86, RSC 114.
lawrence c
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010b. Germanicus & Vitellia VitelliusChildren of Vitellius. When he lost the war with Vespasian, the son was executed, but the daughter was allowed to live.lawrence c
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010b01. Germanicus & Vitellia VitelliusVITELLIUS Fouree Denarius. A VITELLIVS GERMAN IMP TR P, laureate head right / LIBERI IMP GERMAN, confronted busts of Vitellius’ son and daughter, both draped. RIC 79.
Coin Note: A truly ugly example, but a tough one to find.lawrence c
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010c. Lucius VitelliusFather of Vitellius, who struck posthumous coins for him. Lucius had enjoyed a distinguished political career before his death and was highly respected.lawrence c
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011a. VespasianEmperor 1 June 69 -- 24 June 79
T. Flavius Vespasianus. Born in Rome. Very successful general in Britain and Judea. Commander in East; moved against Vitellius and overthrew him. Popular with both public and the Senate.lawrence c
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0145 - Denarius Vitellius 69 ACObv/ (A VITE)LLIVS GERM IMP AVG TR P, laureate bust of V. r.
Rev/ XV VIR SACR FA(C), tripod-lebes with dolphin on top and raven below.
Ag, 18.1 mm, 3.38 g
Mint: Roma.
RIC I/109 [S]
ex-Stack’s Bowers, auction 94, lot 1103dafnis
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019 Vitellius (69 A.D.), Rome, RIC I 0066, AR-Denarius, CONCORDIA PR, Concordia seated left, #1019 Vitellius (69 A.D.), Rome, RIC I 0066, AR-Denarius, CONCORDIA PR, Concordia seated left, #1
avers: A VITELLIVS GERMANICVS IMP, Bare head of Vitellius right.
revers: CONCOR DIA P R, Concordia, draped, seated left, holding patera in right hand, and cornucopia in the left hand.
exergue: -/-//--, diameter: 17,0-18,0mm, weight: 2,42g, axes: 7h,
mint: Rome, date: 69 A.D.,
ref: RIC I 066, p-271, RSC 21, BMC 1, Sear 2196,
Q-001quadrans
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019 Vitellius (69 A.D.), Rome, RIC I 0073, AR-Denarius, CONCORDIA P R, Concordia seated left, Rare! #1019 Vitellius (69 A.D.), Rome, RIC I 0073, AR-Denarius, CONCORDIA P R, Concordia seated left, Rare! #1
avers: A VITELLIVS GERMAN IMP TR P, Laureate head right.
reverse: CONCOR DIA P R, Concordia seated left, holding patera, and cornucopia.
exergue: -/-//--, diameter: 17,5-19,0mm, weight: 3,30g, axes: 5h,
mint: Rome, date: 69 A.D.,
ref: RIC I 073, p-272, RSC 20, BMC 7, Rare!,
Q-001quadrans
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019 Vitellius (69 A.D.), Rome, RIC I 0086, AR-Denarius, XV VIR SACR FAC, Tripod and dolphin, Scarce, #1019 Vitellius (69 A.D.), Rome, RIC I 0086, AR-Denarius, XV VIR SACR FAC, Tripod and dolphin, Scarce, #1
avers: A VITELLIVS GERMAN IMP TR P, Laureate head right.
reverse: XV VIR SACR FAC, Tripod lebes surmounted by dolphin, raven standing right beneath.
exergue: -/-//--, diameter: 17,0-19,0mm, weight: 2,72g, axes: 6h,
mint: Rome, date: 69 A.D.,
ref: RIC I 86, p-272, RSC 114, BMC 17, Sear 2201var.,
Q-001quadrans
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019 Vitellius (69 A.D.), Rome, RIC I 0109, AR-Denarius, XV VIR SACR FAC, Tripod and dolphin, Scarce, #1019 Vitellius (69 A.D.), Rome, RIC I 0109, AR-Denarius, XV VIR SACR FAC, Tripod and dolphin, Scarce, #1
avers: A VITELLIVS GERM IMP AVG TR P, Laureate head right.
reverse: XV VIR SACR FAC, Tripod lebes with dolphin lying right on top and raven standing right below.
exergue: -/-//--, diameter: 18mm, weight: 3,23g, axes: 6h,
mint: Rome, date: 69 A.D.,
ref: RIC I 109, p-272, RSC 111, BCM 39, Sear 2201,
Q-001quadrans
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02 - Personalities of the EmpireCalígula, Claudius, Britannicus , Agrippina jr., Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Domitila, Titus, Domitia and Julia Titimdelvalle
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028 - Vitellius Denarius - RIC 62Obv:- A VITELLIVS IMP GERMAN, Laureate head right
Rev:- VICTORIA AVGVSTI, Victory with shield advancing left, S P Q R on shield
Minted in Lugdunum. A.D. 69
References:- RIC I 62 (Scarce)
Ex-Forvmmaridvnvm
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033. Vitellius.Denarius, July - Dec. 69 AD, Rome mint.
Obverse: A VITELLIVS GERM IMP AVG TRP / Laureate bust of Vitellius.
Reverse: PONT MAXIM / Vesta seated, holding patera and sceptre.
3.42 gm., 17 mm.
RIC #20; Sear #3300.Callimachus
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036. Vitellius (69 A.D.) Av.: A VITELLIVS IMP GERMAN
Rv.: CONSENSVS EXERCITVVM / S-C
AE As Ø25-27 / 7.4g
RIC I 40 Tarraco, Cohen 25
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036. Vitellius (69 A.D.)Av.: A VITELLIVS IMP GERMAN
Rv.: CONSENSVS EXERCITVVM / S-C
AE As Ø25-27 / 7.4g
RIC I 40 Tarraco, Cohen 25
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050 - VITTELIUSVitellius
Vitellius was Roman Emperor for eight months, from 16 April to 22 December 69 AD.
for obverse, reverse and coin details click hereshanxi
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053 - VITTELIUS GERMANICVSVitellius Germanicus
Vitellius Germanicus was the son of Roman Emperor Vittelius.
for obverse, reverse and coin details click hereshanxi
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08 VitelliusDenarius. A VITELLIVS GERMAN IMP TR P, laureate head right / CONCORDIA P R, Concordia seated left with patera & cornucopiae. RIC 73. Weight 3.28 g. Die Axis 6 hr.mix_val
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08 01 Otho RIC I 4Otho. 15 Jan. to April 69 A.D. AR Denarius. Rome Mint. 69 A.D. (3.27g, 18.9mm, 6h). Obv: IMP M OTHO CAESAR AVG TR P, bare head right. Obv: PAX ORBIS TERRARVM, Pax, draped, standing left, right holding branch, and left caduceus. RIC I 4, RCV 2156, RSC 3. Ex Warren Esty Personal Collection.
At 3 months, Otho had the shortest reign in the Year of the Four Emperors. During much of Nero’s reign, Otho administered Lusitania, and followed Galba when he marched on Rome. Upon Galba’s naming another as his successor to the throne, with some of the rankers of the Praetorian Guard, Otho staged a coup, had Galba murdered, and was declared Emperor.
THis is an odd reverse message for an emperor complicit in the murder of his one-time allie and predecessor Galba, while the legeons of Vitellius were Marching on Rome. PAX ORBIS TERRARVM "Peace on the Earth" is ironic given the civil war going on in Rome at the time.Lucas H
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08 02 Otho RIC I 12Otho. 15 Jan. to April 69 A.D. AR Denarius. Rome Mint. 69 A.D. (3.23, 18.5mm, 6h). Obv: IMP M OTHO CAESAR AVG TR P, bare head left. SECVRITAS P R, Securitas standing left, wreath in right, scepter in left. RIC I 12, RSC 19. Ex Forum.
While coins of Otho are fairly rare given the short length of his reign, this issue is perhaps more so with the left facing bust. (RIC 3). Otho supported Galba’s revolt, and then turned on Galba when he wasn't named Galba's heir. He committed suicide after his forces were defeated by those of Vitellius during the Year of the Four Emperors. A nicely centered and well toned coin.
Lucas H
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08 Vitellius RIC 107Vitellius 69 AD. AR Denarius. Rome Mint. Late April-20 December 69 A.D. (3,3 gr, 18 mm) Obv: A VITELLIVS GERM IMP TR P, Laureate head right. Rev: PONT MAXIM, Vesta seated right with patera and sceptre.
RIC 107; RSC 72; BMC 34.
Ex: Gitbud & NaumannPaddy
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080 Vitellius Vitellius Denarius.
Weight: 3.30 g
Diameter: 18.50 mm
A VITELLIVS GERMAN IMP TR P, laureate head right / LIBERTAS RESTITVTA, Libertas, draped, standing facing holding pileus and long rod. RIC I 81, RSC 48 Randygeki(h2)
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09 01 Vitellius RIC I 81Vitellius 69 A.D. AR Denarius. Rome Mint. Late April-Dec 20, 69 A.D. (2.91g, 18.8mm, 5h). Obv: A VITELLIVS GERMAN IMP TR P, laureate head right. Rev: LIBERTAS RESTITVTA, Libertas, draped, standing facing, head right, r. holding pileus, l. scepter. RIC I 81, RSC 48. Ex CNG 258, Lot 367.
In the year of 4 emperors, Vitellius assumed the throne after his German legions proclaimed him emperor, marched on Rome, and murdered Otho. Vitellius only ruled for mere months before Vespasian’s eastern legions arrived and murdered him in turn. He was known for his gluttony. I have a Vitellius denarius, but couldn't help picking up this nice example from a reputable dealer for a reasonable price. Lucas H
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09 Vitellius RIC I 090Vitellius Jan. 2-Dec. 20, 69 A.D. AR Denarius. Rome Mint 69 A.D. (3.07g, 19.9m, 6h). Obv: A VITELLIVS GERM I{MP AVG TR P}, laureate head right. Rev: CONCORDIA PR, Concordia seated left holding patera & double cornucopiae. RIC I 90, RSC 18.
Vitellius is described by Suetonius as lazy and self-indulgent, fond of eating and drinking, and an obese glutton, eating banquets four times a day and feasting on rare foods he would send the Roman navy to procure.Lucas H
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09 Vitellius RIC I 105Vitellius. Jan. 2-Dec. 20 69 AD. AR Denarius (2.71 g, 17.6m, 5h). Rome mint. Struck circa April-December AD 69. Obv: A VITELLIVS GERM IMP AVG TR P, laureate head right. Rev: LIBERTAS RESTITVTA, Libertas, draped, standing facing holding pileus & long rod. RIC I 105; RSC 47.
With the same devices as RIC I 81, the difference on this coin is the abbreviated title GERM. Vitellius was commander of the legions in Germania Inferior when the Rhine legions declared him emperor in 69 A.D. He would have resigned as emperor, but was not allowed to do so when Vespasian’s eastern legions marched on Rome, and was ultimately killed and Vespasian was installed as emperor ending the Year of Four Emperors.Lucas H
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09. VITELLIUS69 AD
AE As
O: A VITELLIVS IMP GERMAN, laureate bust left
R: LIBERTAS RESTITVTA, S-C across field, Libertas, draped, standing facing, head right, holding pileus in right hand and scepter in left.
Spanish, Tarraco?
RIC I 43- laney
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12 CAESARS PORTRAITSObverse images from my collection.
R 1: Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula
R 2: Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho
R 3: Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, Domitianlaney
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17-01 - VITELIO (02/01/69 D.C. - 20/12/69 D.C.)AR Denario 18.5 mm 3.0 gr.
Anv: "A VITELLIVS GERM IMP AVG TR P" - Busto laureado viendo a derecha.
Rev: "XV V[IR] SACR FACT" - Cuenco o palangana para vino o agua de purificación (Dimnos) apoyado sobre trípode, con delfín arriba nadando hacia la derecha y cuervo parado debajo viendo a derecha.
Acuñada Jul./Dic. 69 D.C.
Ceca: Roma
Rareza: S
Referencias: RIC Vol.1 #109 Pag.272 - Sear RCTV Vol.1 #2201 Pag.422 - BMCRE #39 - Cohen Vol.1 #111 Pag.365 - DVM #21 Pag.97 - CBN #77 - RSC Vol. II #111 Pag.36mdelvalle
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17-01 - VITELIO (02/01/69 D.C. - 20/12/69 D.C.)AR Denario 18.5 mm 3.0 gr.
Anv: "A VITELLIVS GERM IMP AVG TR P" - Busto laureado viendo a derecha.
Rev: "XV V[IR] SACR FACT" - Cuenco o palangana para vino o agua de purificación (Dimnos) apoyado sobre trípode, con delfín arriba nadando hacia la derecha y cuervo parado debajo viendo a derecha.
Acuñada Jul./Dic. 69 D.C.
Ceca: Roma
Rareza: S
Referencias: RIC Vol.1 #109 Pag.272 - Sear RCTV Vol.1 #2201 Pag.422 - BMCRE #39 - Cohen Vol.1 #111 Pag.365 - DVM #21 Pag.97 - CBN #77 - RSC Vol. II #111 Pag.36mdelvalle
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17-03 - VITELIO (02/01/69 D.C. - 20/12/69 D.C.)AR Denario 20 mm 3.03 gr.
Anv: "A VITELLIVS GERM IMP AVG TR P" - Busto laureado viendo a derecha.
Rev: "PONT MAXIM" - Vesta velada y vestida, sentada a der. en un trono, portando patera en mano der. y cetro vertical en izq.
Acuñada: Julio a Dic. del 69 D.C.
Ceca: Roma
Rareza: S
SRCV I #2200,p.442 - BMCRE I #34 - DVM #16,p.97 - RSC II #72,p.36 - CBN #71
Referencias: RIC Vol.1 #107 Pag.273 - Sear RCTV Vol.1 #2200 Pag.422 - BMCRE Vol.I #34 - Cohen Vol.1 #72 Pag.361 - DVM #16 Pag.97 - CBN #71 - RSC Vol. II #72 Pag.36mdelvalle
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17-03 - VITELIO (02/01/69 D.C. - 20/12/69 D.C.)AR Denario 20 mm 3.03 gr.
Anv: "A VITELLIVS GERM IMP AVG TR P" - Busto laureado viendo a derecha.
Rev: "PONT MAXIM" - Vesta velada y vestida, sentada a der. en un trono, portando patera en mano der. y cetro vertical en izq.
Acuñada: Julio a Dic. del 69 D.C.
Ceca: Roma
Rareza: S
Referencias: RIC Vol.1 #107 Pag.273 - Sear RCTV Vol.1 #2200 Pag.422 - BMCRE Vol.I #34 - Cohen Vol.1 #72 Pag.361 - DVM #16 Pag.97 - CBN #71 - RSC Vol. II #72 Pag.36mdelvalle
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1au Otho69
Denarius
Bewigged head, right, IMP OTHO CAESAR AVG TR P
Securitas stg., SECVRITAS P R
RIC 10
Suetonius wrote: Otho was born on the 28th of April 32 AD, in the consulship of Furius Camillus Arruntius and Domitius Ahenobarbus, Nero’s father. In early youth he was so profligate and insolent that he earned many a beating from his own father. . . . After his father died, he feigned love for an influential freedwoman at Court, though she was old and decrepit, in order to win her favour, and then used her to insinuate himself among the emperor’s friends, easily achieving the role of Nero’s chief favourite, not only because they were of a similar disposition, but also some say because of a sexual relationship. . . .
Otho had hoped to be adopted by Galba as his successor, and anticipated the announcement daily. But Piso was chosen, dashing Otho’s hopes, and causing him to resort to force, prompted not only by feelings of resentment but also by his mounting debts. He declared that frankly he would have to declare himself bankrupt, unless he became emperor. . . . When the moment was finally ripe, . . . his friends hoisted him on their shoulders and acclaimed him Emperor. Everyone they met joined the throng, as readily as if they were sworn accomplices and a part of the conspiracy, and that is how Otho arrived at his headquarters, amidst cheering and the brandishing of swords. He at once sent men to kill Galba and Piso. . . .
Meanwhile the army in Germany had sworn allegiance to Vitellius. When the news reached Otho he persuaded the Senate to send a deputation, advising the soldiers to maintain peace and order, since an emperor had already been chosen. However he also sent envoys with letters and personal messages, offering to share power with Vitellius, and marry his daughter. With civil war clearly inevitable, on the approach of Vitellius’s advance guard, who had marched on Rome led by their generals, . . . Otho began his campaign vigorously, and indeed too hastily. . . .
His army won three engagements, but of a minor nature, firstly in the Alps, then near Placentia, and finally at a place called Castor’s, and were ultimately defeated in a decisive and treacherous encounter at Betriacum (on the 14th April). . . . After this defeat, Otho resolved to commit suicide, more from feelings of shame, which many have thought justified, and a reluctance to continue the struggle with such high cost to life and property, than from any diffidence or fear of failure shown by his soldiers. . . . On waking at dawn (on the 16th of April, AD69), he promptly dealt himself a single knife-blow in the left side of his chest, and first concealing and then showing the wound to those who rushed in at the sound of his groaning, he breathed his last. . . . Otho was thirty-six years old when he died, on the ninety-second day of his reign. . . .
Neither his bodily form nor appearance suggested great courage. He is said to have been of medium height, bandy-legged and splay-footed, though as fastidious as a woman in personal matters. He had his body-hair plucked, and wore a toupee to cover his scanty locks, so well-made and so close-fitting that its presence was not apparent. Blindado
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1av Vitellius69
Denarius
Portrait, right, A VITELLIVS GERMAN IMP TR P
Vesta std., PONT MAX
RIC 107
According to Suetonius: Lucius’s son Aulus, the future emperor, was born on the 24th of September 15AD, or according to some authorities on the 7th, during the consulship of Drusus Caesar and Norbanus Flaccus. . . . His boyhood and early youth were spent on Capreae (Capri) among Tiberius’s creatures, he himself being marked by the nickname of ‘Spintria’ (sex-token) throughout his life, and suspected of having secured his father’s first promotion to office by surrendering his own chastity. As he grew older, though contaminated by every kind of vice, Vitellius gained and kept a prominent place at court, winning Caligula’s friendship by his devotion to chariot-racing and Claudius’s by his love of dice. With Nero he was even closer. . . .
Honoured, as these emperors’ favourite, with high office in the priesthood, as well as political power, he governed Africa (under Nero, in 60/61AD) as proconsul, and was then Curator of Public Works (in 63AD), employing a contrasting approach, and with a contrasting effect on his reputation. In his province he acted with outstanding integrity over two successive years, since he served as deputy also to his brother who succeeded him (61/62AD) yet during his administration of the City he was said to have stolen various temple offerings and ornaments, and substituted brass and tin for the gold and silver in others. . . .
Contrary to all expectations, Galba appointed Vitellius to Lower Germany (in 68AD). Some think it was brought about by Titus Vinius, whose influence was powerful at that time, and whose friendship Vitellius had previously won through their mutual support for the ‘Blues’ in the Circus. But it is clear to everyone that Galba chose him as an act of contempt rather than favour, commenting that gluttons were among those least to be feared, and Vitellius’s endless appetite would now be able to sate itself on a province. . . .
He entered Rome to the sound of trumpets, surrounded by standards and banners, wearing a general’s cape, sword at his side, his officers in their military cloaks also, and the men with naked blades. With increasing disregard for the law, human or divine, he then assumed the office of High Priest on the anniversary of the Allia (18th July), arranged the elections for the next ten years, and made himself consul for life. . . .
Vitellius’s worst vices were cruelty and gluttony. . . . By the eighth month of his reign (November 69AD) the legions in Moesia and Pannonia had repudiated Vitellius, and sworn allegiance to Vespasian despite his absence, following those of Syria and Judaea who had done so in Vespasian’s presence. . . .
The vanguard of Vespasian’s army had now forced its way into the Palace, unopposed, and the soldiers were ransacking the rooms, in their usual manner. They hauled Vitellius, unrecognised, from his hiding place, asked his name and where the Emperor might be. He gave some lying answer, but was soon identified, so he begged for safe custody, even if that meant imprisonment, claiming he had important information for Vespasian regarding his security. However his arms were bound behind him and a noose flung over his head, and he was dragged along the Sacred Way to the Forum, amid a hail of mockery and abuse, half-naked, with his clothes in tatters. His head was held back by the hair, like a common criminal and, with a sword-point under his chin so that he was forced to look up and reveal his face, he was pelted with filth and dung, denounced as arsonist and glutton, and taunted with his bodily defects by the crowd. For, Vitellius was exceptionally tall, and his face was usually flushed from some drinking bout. He had a huge belly, too, and one thigh crippled by a blow from a four-horse chariot which struck him when he was in attendance on Caligula who was driving. At last, after being tormented by a host of cuts from the soldiers’ swords, he was killed on the Gemonian Stairs, and his body dragged with a hook to the Tiber.Blindado
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1aw Vespasian69-79
Denarius
Laureate head, right, IMP CAES VESP AVG CEN
Salus seated left with patera, SALVS AVG
RIC 513 (C2)
Suetonius wrote: The Flavians seized power, and the Empire, long troubled and adrift, afflicted by the usurpations and deaths of three emperors, at last achieved stability. True they were an obscure family, with no great names to boast of, yet one our country has no need to be ashamed of. . . . Vespasian was born in the Sabine country, in the little village of Falacrinae just beyond Reate (Rieti), on the 17th of November 9 AD in the consulship of Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus and Gaius Poppaeus Sabinus, five years before the death of Augustus. He was raised by his paternal grandmother Tertulla on her estate at Cosa. . . .
Under Claudius, he was sent to Germany (in 41 AD) to command a legion, thanks to the influence of Narcissus. From there he was posted to Britain (in 43 AD), where partly under the leadership of Aulus Plautius and partly that of Claudius himself, he fought thirty times, subjugating two powerful tribes, more than twenty strongholds, and the offshore island of Vectis (the Isle of Wight). This earned him triumphal regalia, and a little later two priesthoods and the consulship (in 51 AD) which he held for the last two months of the year. . . . He won, by lot, the governorship of Africa (in 63 AD), ruling it soundly and with considerable dignity. . . .
An ancient and well-established belief became widespread in the East that the ruler of the world at this time would arise from Judaea. This prophecy as events proved referred to the future Emperor of Rome, but was taken by the Jews to apply to them. They rebelled, killed their governor, and routed the consular ruler of Syria also, when he arrived to restore order, capturing an Eagle. To crush the rebels needed a considerable force under an enterprising leader, who would nevertheless not abuse power. Vespasian was chosen, as a man of proven vigour, from whom little need be feared, since his name and origins were quite obscure. Two legions with eight divisions of cavalry and ten cohorts of auxiliaries were added to the army in Judaea, and Vespasian took his elder son, Titus, along as one of his lieutenants. . . .
Yet Vespasian made no move, though his follower were ready and eager, until he was roused to action by the fortuitous support of a group of soldiers unknown to him, and based elsewhere. Two thousand men, of the three legions in Moesia reinforcing Otho’s forces, despite hearing on the march that he had been defeated and had committed suicide, had continued on to Aquileia, and there taken advantage of the temporary chaos to plunder at will. Fearing that if they returned they would be held to account and punished, they decided to choose and appoint an emperor of their own, on the basis that they were every bit as worthy of doing so as the Spanish legions who had appointed Galba, or the Praetorian Guard which had elected Otho, or the German army which had chosen Vitellius. They went through the list of serving consular governors, rejecting them for one reason or another, until in the end they unanimously adopted Vespasian, who was recommended strongly by some members of the Third Legion, which had been transferred to Moesia from Syria immediately prior to Nero’s death. . . .
Vespasian, an unheralded and newly-forged emperor, as yet lacked even a modicum of prestige and divine majesty, but this too he acquired. . . . Returning to Rome (in 70 AD) attended by such auspices, having won great renown, and after a triumph awarded for the Jewish War, he added eight consulships (AD 70-72, 74-77, 79) to his former one, and assumed the censorship. He first considered it essential to strengthen the State, which was unstable and well nigh fatally weakened, and then to enhance its role further during his reign. . . .
Blindado
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69 AD - VITELLIUS AE sestertius - Paduanobv: A VITELLIVS GERMAN IMP AVG PM TR P (laureate and draped bust right)
rev: Mars walking right, holding spear and trophy, S-C in field
ref: Klawans p. 59, 4; Lawrence 28
23.53gms, 35mm, "PADUAN" after Giovanni Cavino - 1500-1570
Although this coin is a fake, not struck in ancient, I added to my collection until I found an originalberserker
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69 AD - VITELLIUS AR denarius - struck April-Dec 69 ADobv: A VITELLIVS GERM IMP AVG TR P (laureate head right)
rev: XV VIR SACR FAC (tripod, raven below, dolphin above)
ref: RIC I 109, C.111 (3frcs), BMC39
3.22gms, 18mm
Scarceberserker
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706a, Nero, 13 October 54 - 9 June 68 A.D.6, Nero, 13 October 54 - 9 June 68 A.D. AE setertius, Date: 66 AD; RIC I 516, 36.71 mm; 25.5 grams; aVF. Obverse: IMP NERO CAESAR AVG PONT MAX TR POT PP, Laureate bust right; Reverse: S C, ROMA, Roma seated left, exceptional portrait and full obverse legends. Ex Ancient Imports.
NERO (54-68 A.D.)
It is difficult for the modern student of history to realize just how popular Nero actually was, at least at the beginning of his reign. Rome looked upon her new Emperor with hope. He was the student of Seneca, and he had a sensitive nature. He loved art, music, literature, and theatre. He was also devoted to horses and horse racing—a devotion shared by many of his subjects. The plebs loved their new Emperor. As Professor of Classics Judith P. Hallett (University of Maryland, College Park) says, “It is not clear to me that Nero ever changed or that Nero ever grew-up, and that was both his strength and his weakness. Nero was an extraordinarily popular Emperor: he was like Elvis” (The Roman Empire in the First Century, III. Dir. Margaret Koval and Lyn Goldfarb. 2001. DVD. PBS/Warner Bros. 2003).
De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families
Herbert W. Benario
Emory University
Introduction and Sources
The five Julio-Claudian emperors are very different one from the other. Augustus dominates in prestige and achievement from the enormous impact he had upon the Roman state and his long service to Rome, during which he attained unrivaled auctoritas. Tiberius was clearly the only possible successor when Augustus died in AD 14, but, upon his death twenty-three years later, the next three were a peculiar mix of viciousness, arrogance, and inexperience. Gaius, better known as Caligula, is generally styled a monster, whose brief tenure did Rome no service. His successor Claudius, his uncle, was a capable man who served Rome well, but was condemned for being subject to his wives and freedmen. The last of the dynasty, Nero, reigned more than three times as long as Gaius, and the damage for which he was responsible to the state was correspondingly greater. An emperor who is well described by statements such as these, "But above all he was carried away by a craze for popularity and he was jealous of all who in any way stirred the feeling of the mob." and "What an artist the world is losing!" and who is above all remembered for crimes against his mother and the Christians was indeed a sad falling-off from the levels of Augustus and Tiberius. Few will argue that Nero does not rank as one of the worst emperors of all.
The prime sources for Nero's life and reign are Tacitus' Annales 12-16, Suetonius' Life of Nero, and Dio Cassius' Roman History 61-63, written in the early third century. Additional valuable material comes from inscriptions, coinage, papyri, and archaeology.
Early Life
He was born on December 15, 37, at Antium, the son of Cnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbusand Agrippina. Domitius was a member of an ancient noble family, consul in 32; Agrippina was the daughter of the popular Germanicus, who had died in 19, and Agrippina, daughter of Agrippa, Augustus' closest associate, and Julia, the emperor's daughter, and thus in direct descent from the first princeps. When the child was born, his uncle Gaius had only recently become emperor. The relationship between mother and uncle was difficult, and Agrippina suffered occasional humiliation. But the family survived the short reign of the "crazy" emperor, and when he was assassinated, it chanced that Agrippina's uncle, Claudius, was the chosen of the praetorian guard, although there may have been a conspiracy to accomplish this.
Ahenobarbus had died in 40, so the son was now the responsibility of Agrippina alone. She lived as a private citizen for much of the decade, until the death of Messalina, the emperor's wife, in 48 made competition among several likely candidates to become the new empress inevitable. Although Roman law forbade marriage between uncle and niece, an eloquent speech in the senate by Lucius Vitellius, Claudius' closest advisor in the senatorial order, persuaded his audience that the public good required their union. The marriage took place in 49, and soon thereafter the philosopher Seneca [[PIR2 A617]] was recalled from exile to become the young Domitius' tutor, a relationship which endured for some dozen years.
His advance was thereafter rapid. He was adopted by Claudius the following year and took the name Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar or Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was preferred to Claudius' natural son, Britannicus, who was about three years younger, was betrothed to the emperor's daughter Octavia, and was, in the eyes of the people, the clear successor to the emperor. In 54, Claudius died, having eaten some poisoned mushrooms, responsibility for which was believed to be Agrippina's, and the young Nero, not yet seventeen years old, was hailed on October 13 as emperor by the praetorian guard.
The First Years of Rule
The first five years of Nero's rule are customarily called the quinquennium, a period of good government under the influence, not always coinciding, of three people, his mother, Seneca, and Sextus Afranius Burrus, the praetorian prefect. The latter two were allies in their "education" of the emperor. Seneca continued his philosophical and rhetorical training, Burrus was more involved in advising on the actualities of government. They often combined their influence against Agrippina, who, having made her son emperor, never let him forget the debt he owed his mother, until finally, and fatally, he moved against her.
Nero's betrothal to Octavia was a significant step in his ultimate accession to the throne, as it were, but she was too quiet, too shy, too modest for his taste. He was early attracted to Poppaea Sabina, the wife of Otho, and she continually goaded him to break from Octavia and to show himself an adult by opposing his mother. In his private life, Nero honed the musical and artistic tastes which were his chief interest, but, at this stage, they were kept private, at the instigation of Seneca and Burrus.
As the year 59 began, Nero had just celebrated his twenty-first birthday and now felt the need to employ the powers which he possessed as emperor as he wished, without the limits imposed by others. Poppaea's urgings had their effect, first of all, at the very onset of the year, with Nero's murder of his mother in the Bay of Naples.
Agrippina had tried desperately to retain her influence with her son, going so far as to have intercourse with him. But the break between them proved irrevocable, and Nero undertook various devices to eliminate his mother without the appearance of guilt on his part. The choice was a splendid vessel which would collapse while she was on board. As this happened, she swam ashore and, when her attendant, having cried out that she was Agrippina, was clubbed to death, Agrippina knew what was going on. She sent Nero a message that she was well; his response was to send a detachment of sailors to finish the job. When she was struck across the head, she bared her womb and said, "Strike here, Anicetus, strike here, for this bore Nero," and she was brutally murdered.
Nero was petrified with fear when he learned that the deed had been done, yet his popularity with the plebs of Rome was not impaired. This matricide, however, proved a turning point in his life and principate. It appeared that all shackles were now removed. The influence of Seneca and Burrus began to wane, and when Burrus died in 62, Seneca realized that his powers of persuasion were at an end and soon went into retirement. Britannicus had died as early as 55; now Octavia was to follow, and Nero became free to marry Poppaea. It may be that it had been Burrus rather than Agrippina who had continually urged that Nero's position depended in large part upon his marriage to Octavia. Burrus' successor as commander of the praetorian guard, although now with a colleague, was Ofonius Tigellinus, quite the opposite of Burrus in character and outlook. Tigellinus became Nero's "evil twin," urging and assisting in the performance of crimes and the satisfaction of lusts.
Administrative and Foreign Policy
With Seneca and Burrus in charge of administration at home, the first half-dozen years of Nero's principate ran smoothly. He himself devoted his attention to his artistic, literary, and physical bents, with music, poetry, and chariot racing to the fore. But his advisors were able to keep these performances and displays private, with small, select audiences on hand. Yet there was a gradual trend toward public performance, with the establishment of games. Further, he spent many nights roaming the city in disguise, with numerous companions, who terrorized the streets and attacked individuals. Those who dared to defend themselves often faced death afterward, because they had shown disrespect for the emperor. The die was being cast for the last phases of Nero's reign.
The Great Fire at Rome and The Punishment
of the Christians
The year 64 was the most significant of Nero's principate up to this point. His mother and wife were dead, as was Burrus, and Seneca, unable to maintain his influence over Nero without his colleague's support, had withdrawn into private life. The abysmal Tigellinus was now the foremost advisor of the still young emperor, a man whose origin was from the lowest levels of society and who can accurately be described as criminal in outlook and action. Yet Nero must have considered that he was happier than he had ever been in his life. Those who had constrained his enjoyment of his (seemingly) limitless power were gone, he was married to Poppaea, a woman with all advantages save for a bad character the empire was essentially at peace, and the people of Rome enjoyed a full measure of panem et circenses. But then occurred one of the greatest disasters that the city of Rome, in its long history, had ever endured.
The fire began in the southeastern angle of the Circus Maximus, spreading through the shops which clustered there, and raged for the better part of a week. There was brief success in controlling the blaze, but then it burst forth once more, so that many people claimed that the fires were deliberately set. After about a fortnight, the fire burned itself out, having consumed ten of the fourteen Augustan regions into which the city had been divided.
Nero was in Antium through much of the disaster, but his efforts at relief were substantial. Yet many believed that he had been responsible, so that he could perform his own work comparing the current fate of Rome to the downfall of Troy. All his efforts to assist the stricken city could not remove the suspicion that "the emperor had fiddled while Rome burned." He lost favor even among the plebs who had been enthusiastic supporters, particularly when his plans for the rebuilding of the city revealed that a very large part of the center was to become his new home.
As his popularity waned, Nero and Tigellinus realized that individuals were needed who could be charged with the disaster. It so happened that there was such a group ready at hand, Christians, who had made themselves unpopular because of their refusal to worship the emperor, their way of life, and their secret meetings. Further, at this time two of their most significant "teachers" were in Rome, Peter and Paul. They were ideal scapegoats, individuals whom most Romans loathed, and who had continually sung of the forthcoming end of the world.
Their destruction was planned with the utmost precision and cruelty, for the entertainment of the populace. The venue was Nero's circus near the Mons Vaticanus. Christians were exposed to wild animals and were set ablaze, smeared with pitch, to illuminate the night. The executions were so grisly that even the populace displayed sympathy for the victims. Separately, Peter was crucified upside down on the Vatican hill and Paul was beheaded along the Via Ostiensis. But Nero's attempt, and hope, to shift all suspicion of arson to others failed. His popularity even among the lower classes was irrevocably impaired.
[For a detailed and interesting discussion of Nero’s reign please see http://www.roman-emperors.org/nero.htm]
The End - Nero's Death and its Aftermath
Nero's and Tigellinus' response to the conspiracy was immediate and long-lasting. The senatorial order was decimated, as one leading member after another was put to death or compelled to commit suicide. The year 66 saw the suicides of perhaps the most distinguished victims of the "reign of terror," Caius Petronius and Thrasea Paetus. Petronius, long a favorite of Nero because of his aesthetic taste, had been an able public servant before he turned to a life of ease and indolence. He was recognized as the arbiter elegantiae of Nero's circle, and may be the author of the Satyricon. At his death, he left for Nero a document which itemized many of the latter's crimes. Thrasea, a staunch Stoic who had been for some years an outspoken opponent of Nero's policies, committed suicide in the Socratic manner. This scene is the last episode in the surviving books of Tacitus' Annals.
In the year 68, revolt began in the provinces. . . the end of Nero's reign became inevitable. Galba claimed the throne and began his march from Spain. Nero panicked and was rapidly abandoned by his supporters. He finally committed suicide with assistance, on June 9, 68, and his body was tended and buried by three women who had been close to him in his younger days, chief of whom was Acte. His death scene is marked above all by the statement, "Qualis artifex pereo," (What an artist dies in me.) Even at the end he was more concerned with his private life than with the affairs of state.
The aftermath of Nero's death was cataclysmic. Galba was the first of four emperors who revealed the new secret of empire, that an emperor could be made elsewhere than in Rome. Civil war ensued, which was only ended by the victory of the fourth claimant, Vespasian, who established the brief dynasty of the Flavians. The dynasty of the Julio-Claudians was at an end.
Nero's popularity among the lower classes remained even after his death.
. . . .
It is not excessive to say that he was one of the worst of Rome's emperors in the first two centuries and more of the empire. Whatever talents he had, whatever good he may have done, all is overwhelmed by three events, the murder of his mother, the fire at Rome, and his savage treatment of the Christians.
Precisely these qualities are the reasons that he has remained so well known and has been the subject of many writers and opera composers in modern times. These works of fiction particularly merit mention: Henryk Sienkiewicz's Quo Vadis, one of the finest works of the 1907 Nobel Laureate in Literature, and John Hersey's The Conspiracy. Nero unquestionably will always be with us.
Copyright (C) 2006, Herbert W. Benario.
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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707a, Galba, 3 April 68 - 15 January 69 A.D.Galba AE As, 68-69 AD; cf. SRC 727, 729ff; 27.85mm, 12g; Rome: Obverse: GALBA IMP CAESAR…, Laureate head right; Reverse: S P Q R OB CIV SER in oak wreath; gF+/F Ex. Ancient Imports.
De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families
Galba (68-69 A.D.)
John Donahue
College of William and Mary
Introduction
The evidence for the principate of Galba is unsatisfactory. The sources either concentrate on the personality of the man, thereby failing to offer a balanced account of his policies and a firm chronological base for his actions; or, they focus on the final two weeks of his life at the expense of the earlier part of his reign. As a result, a detailed account of his principate is difficult to write. Even so, Galba is noteworthy because he was neither related to nor adopted by his predecessor Nero. Thus, his accession marked the end of the nearly century-long control of the Principate by the Julio-Claudians. Additionally, Galba's declaration as emperor by his troops abroad set a precedent for the further political upheavals of 68-69. Although these events worked to Galba's favor initially, they soon came back to haunt him, ending his tumultuous rule after only seven months.
Early Life and Rise to Power
Born 24 December 3 BC in Tarracina, a town on the Appian Way, 65 miles south of Rome, Servius Galba was the son of C. Sulpicius Galba and Mummia Achaica. Galba's connection with the noble house of the Servii gave him great prestige and assured his acceptance among the highest levels of Julio-Claudian society. Adopted in his youth by Livia, the mother of the emperor Tiberius, he is said to have owed much of his early advancement to her. Upon her death, Livia made Galba her chief legatee, bequeathing him some 50 million sesterces. Tiberius, Livia's heir, reduced the amount, however, and then never paid it. Galba's marriage proved to be a further source of disappointment, as he outlived both his wife Lepida and their two sons. Nothing else is known of Galba's immediate family, other than that he remained a widower for the rest of his life.
Although the details of Galba's early political career are incomplete, the surviving record is one of an ambitious Roman making his way in the Emperor's service. Suetonius records that as praetor Galba put on a new kind of exhibition for the people - elephants walking on a rope. Later, he served as governor of the province of Aquitania, followed by a six-month term as consul at the beginning of 33. Ironically, as consul he was succeeded by Salvius Otho, whose own son would succeed Galba as emperor. Over the years three more governorships followed - Upper Germany (date unknown), North Africa (45) and Hispania Tarraconensis, the largest of Spain's three provinces (61). He was selected as a proconsul of Africa by the emperor Claudius himself instead of by the usual method of drawing lots. During his two-year tenure in the province he successfully restored internal order and quelled a revolt by the barbarians. As an imperial legate he was a governor in Spain for eight years under Nero, even though he was already in his early sixties when he assumed his duties. The appointment showed that Galba was still considered efficient and loyal. In all of these posts Galba generally displayed an enthusiasm for old-fashioned disciplina, a trait consistent with the traditional characterization of the man as a hard-bitten aristocrat of the old Republican type. Such service did not go unnoticed, as he was honored with triumphal insignia and three priesthoods during his career.
On the basis of his ancestry, family tradition and service to the state Galba was the most distinguished Roman alive (with the exception of the houses of the Julii and Claudii) at the time of Nero's demise in 68. The complex chain of events that would lead him to the Principate later that year began in March with the rebellion of Gaius Iulius Vindex, the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis. Vindex had begun to sound out provincial governors about support for a rebellion perhaps in late 67 or early 68. Galba did not respond but, because of his displeasure with Neronian misgovernment, neither did he inform the emperor of these treasonous solicitations. This, of course, left him dangerously exposed; moreover, he was already aware that Nero, anxious to remove anyone of distinguished birth and noble achievements, had ordered his death. Given these circumstances, Galba likely felt that he had no choice but to rebel.
In April, 68, while still in Spain, Galba "went public," positioning himself as a vir militaris, a military representative of the senate and people of Rome. For the moment, he refused the title of Emperor, but it is clear that the Principate was his goal. To this end, he organized a concilium of advisors in order to make it known that any decisions were not made by him alone but only after consultation with a group. The arrangement was meant to recall the Augustan Age relationship between the emperor and senate in Rome. Even more revealing of his imperial ambitions were legends like LIBERTAS RESTITUTA (Liberty Restored), ROM RENASC (Rome Reborn) and SALUS GENERIS HUMANI (Salvation of Mankind), preserved on his coinage from the period. Such evidence has brought into question the traditional assessment of Galba as nothing more than an ineffectual representative of a bygone antiquus rigor in favor of a more balanced portrait of a traditional constitutionalist eager to publicize the virtues of an Augustan-style Principate.
Events now began to move quickly. In May, 68 Lucius Clodius Macer, legate of the III legio Augusta in Africa, revolted from Nero and cut off the grain supply to Rome. Choosing not to recognize Galba, he called himself propraetor, issued his own coinage, and raised a new legion, the I Macriana liberatrix. Galba later had him executed. At the same time, 68, Lucius Verginius Rufus, legionary commander in Upper Germany, led a combined force of soldiers from Upper and Lower Germany in defeating Vindex at Vesontio in Gallia Lugdunensis. Verginius refused to accept a call to the emperorship by his own troops and by those from the Danube, however, thereby creating at Rome an opportunity for Galba's agents to win over Gaius Nymphidius Sabinus, the corrupt praetorian prefect since 65. Sabinus was able to turn the imperial guard against Nero on the promise that they would be rewarded financially by Galba upon his arrival. That was the end for Nero. Deposed by the senate and abandoned by his supporters, he committed suicide in June. At this point, encouraged to march on Rome by the praetorians and especially by Sabinus, who had his own designs on the throne, Galba hurriedly established broad-based political and financial support and assembled his own legion (subsequently known as the legio VII Gemina). As he departed from Spain, he abandoned the title of governor in favor of "Caesar," apparently in an attempt to lay claim to the entire inheritance of the Julio-Claudian house. Even so, he continued to proceed cautiously, and did not actually adopt the name of Caesar (and with it the emperorship) until sometime after he had left Spain.
The Principate of Galba
Meanwhile, Rome was anything but serene. An unusual force of soldiers, many of whom had been mustered by Nero to crush the attempt of Vindex, remained idle and restless. In addition, there was the matter concerning Nymphidius Sabinus. Intent on being the power behind the throne, Nymphidius had orchestrated a demand from the praetorians that Galba appoint him sole praetorian prefect for life. The senate capitulated to his pretensions and he began to have designs on the throne himself. In an attempt to rattle Galba, Nymphidius then sent messages of alarm to the emperor telling of unrest in both the city and abroad. When Galba ignored these reports, Nymphidius decided to launch a coup by presenting himself to the praetorians. The plan misfired, and the praetorians killed him when he appeared at their camp. Upon learning of the incident, Galba ordered the executions of Nymphidius' followers. To make matters worse, Galba's arrival was preceded by a confrontation with a boisterous band of soldiers who had been formed into a legion by Nero and were now demanding legionary standards and regular quarters. When they persisted, Galba's forces attacked, with the result that many of them were killed.
Thus it was amid carnage and fear that Galba arrived at the capital in October, 68, accompanied by Otho, the governor of Lusitania, who had joined the cause. Once Galba was within Rome, miscalculations and missteps seemed to multiply. First, he relied upon the advice of a corrupt circle of advisors, most notably: Titus Vinius, a general from Spain; Cornelius Laco, praetorian prefect; and his own freedman, Icelus. Second, he zealously attempted to recover some of Nero's more excessive expenditures by seizing the property of many citizens, a measure that seems to have gone too far and to have caused real hardship and resentment. Third, he created further ill-will by disbanding the imperial corps of German bodyguards, effectively abolishing a tradition that originated with Marius and had been endorsed by Augustus. Finally, he seriously alienated the military by refusing cash rewards for both the praetorians and for the soldiers in Upper Germany who had fought against Vindex.
This last act proved to be the beginning of the end for Galba. On 1 January 69 ("The Year of the Four Emperors"), the troops in Upper Germany refused to declare allegiance to him and instead followed the men stationed in Lower Germany in proclaiming their commander, Aulus Vitellius, as the new ruler. In response, Galba adopted Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus to show that he was still in charge and that his successor would not be chosen for him. Piso, although an aristocrat, was a man completely without administrative or military experience. The choice meant little to the remote armies, the praetorians or the senate, and it especially angered Otho, who had hoped to succeed Galba. Otho quickly organized a conspiracy among the praetorians with the now-familiar promise of a material reward, and on 15 January 69 they declared him emperor and publicly killed Galba; Piso, dragged from hiding in the temple of Vesta, was also butchered.
Assessment
In sum, Galba had displayed talent and ambition during his lengthy career. He enjoyed distinguished ancestry, moved easily among the Julio-Claudian emperors (with the exception of Nero towards the end of his principate), and had been awarded the highest military and religious honors of ancient Rome. His qualifications for the principate cannot be questioned. Even so, history has been unkind to him. Tacitus characterized Galba as "weak and old," a man "equal to the imperial office, if he had never held it." Modern historians of the Roman world have been no less critical. To be sure, Galba's greatest mistake lay in his general handling of the military. His treatment of the army in Upper Germany was heedless, his policy towards the praetorians short sighted. Given the climate in 68-69, Galba was unrealistic in expecting disciplina without paying the promised rewards. He was also guilty of relying on poor advisors, who shielded him from reality and ultimately allowed Otho's conspiracy to succeed. Additionally, the excessive power of his henchmen brought the regime into disfavor and made Galba himself the principal target of the hatred that his aides had incited. Finally, the appointment of Piso, a young man in no way equal to the challenges placed before him, further underscored the emperor's isolation and lack of judgment. In the end, the instability of the post-Julio-Claudian political landscape offered challenges more formidable than a tired, septuagenarian aristocrat could hope to overcome. Ironically, his regime proved no more successful than the Neronian government he was so eager to replace. Another year of bloodshed would be necessary before the Principate could once again stand firm.
Copyright (C) 1999, John Donahue.
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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708a, OthoOtho (69 A.D.)
John Donahue
College of William and Mary
Introduction
In January 69 Otho led a successful coup to overthrow the emperor Galba. Upon advancing to the throne, he hoped to conciliate his adversaries and restore political stability to the Empire. These ambitions were never to be realized. Instead, our sources portray a leader never fully able to win political confidence at Rome or to overcome military anarchy abroad. As a result, he was defeated in battle by the forces of Vitellius, his successor, and took his own life at the conclusion of the conflict. His principate lasted only eight weeks.
Early Life and Career
Marcus Salvius Otho was born at Ferentium on 28 April 32 A. D. His grandfather, also named Marcus Salvius Otho, was a senator who did not advance beyond the rank of praetor. Lucius Otho, his father, was consul in 33 and a trusted administrator under the emperors Tiberius, Gaius and Claudius. His mother, Albia Terentia, was likely to have been nobly born as well. The cognomen "Otho" was Etruscan in origin, and the fact that it can be traced to three successive generations of this family perhaps reflects a desire to maintain a part of the Etruscan tradition that formed the family's background.
Otho is recorded as being extravagant and wild as a youth - a favorite pastime involved roving about at night to snare drunkards in a blanket. Such behavior earned floggings from his father, whose frequent absences from home on imperial business suggest little in the way of a stabilizing parental influence in Otho's formative years. These traits apparently persisted: Suetonius records that Otho and Nero became close friends because of the similarity of their characters; and Plutarch relates that the young man was so extravagant that he sometimes chided Nero about his meanness, and even outdid the emperor in reckless spending.
Most intriguing in this context is Otho's involvement with Nero's mistress, Poppaea Sabina, the greatest beauty of her day. A relationship between the two is widely cited in the ancient sources, but the story differs in essential details from one account to the next. As a result, it is impossible to establish who seduced whom, whether Otho ever married Poppaea, and whether his posting to Lusitania by Nero should be understood as a "banishment" for his part in this affair. About the only reliable detail to emerge is that Otho did indeed become governor of Lusitania in 59, and that he assumed the post as a quaestor, a rank below that of praetor or consul, the minimum usually required for the office. From here he would launch his initial thrust towards the imperial throne.
Overthrow of Galba
Nero's suicide in June 68 marked the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and opened up the principate to the prerogatives of the military beyond Rome. First to emerge was Servius Sulpicius Galba, governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, who had been encouraged to revolt by the praetorians and especially by Nymphidius Sabinus, the corrupt and scheming praetorian prefect at Rome. By this time Otho had been in Spain for close to ten years. His record seems to have been a good one, marked by capable administration and an unwillingness to enrich himself at the expense of the province. At the same time, perhaps seeing this as his best chance to improve his own circumstances, he supported the insurrection as vigorously as possible, even sending Galba all of his gold and his best table servants. At the same time, he made it a point to win the favor of every soldier he came in contact with, most notably the members of the praetorian guard who had come to Spain to accompany Galba to Rome. Galba set out from Spain in July, formally assuming the emperorship shortly thereafter. Otho accompanied him on the journey.
Galba had been in Rome little more than two months when on 1 January 69 the troops in Upper Germany refused to declare allegiance to him and instead followed the men stationed in Lower Germany in proclaiming their commander, Aulus Vitellius, as the new ruler. To show that he was still in charge Galba adopted his own successor, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus, an aristocrat completely without administrative or military experience. The choice meant little to the remote armies, the praetorians or the senate and particularly angered Otho, who had hoped to succeed Galba. Otho quickly organized a conspiracy among the praetorians with promise of a material reward, and on 15 January 69 they declared him emperor and publicly killed Galba; Piso, dragged from hiding in the temple of Vesta, was also butchered. On that same evening a powerless senate awarded Otho the imperial titles.
Otho's Principate in Rome
It is not possible to reconstruct a detailed chronology of Otho's brief eight and a half weeks as princeps in Rome (15 January-15 March). Even so, Galba's quick demise had surely impressed upon Otho the need to conciliate various groups. As a result, he continued his indulgence of the praetorian guard but he also tried to win over the senate by following a strict constitutionalist line and by generally keeping the designations for the consulship made by Nero and Galba. In the provinces, despite limited evidence, there are some indications that he tried to compensate for Galba's stinginess by being more generous with grants of citizenship. In short, Otho was eager not to offend anyone.
Problems remained, however. The praetorians had to be continually placated and they were always suspicious of the senate. On the other hand, the senate itself, along with the people, remained deeply disturbed at the manner of Otho's coming to power and his willingness to be associated with Nero. These suspicions and fears were most evident in the praetorian outbreak at Rome. Briefly, Otho had decided to move from Ostia to Rome a cohort of Roman citizens in order to replace some of Rome's garrison, much of which was to be utilized for the showdown with Vitellius. He ordered that weapons be moved from the praetorian camp in Rome by ship to Ostia at night so that the garrison replacements would be properly armed and made to look as soldierly as possible when they marched into the city. Thinking that a senatorial counter-coup against Otho was underway, the praetorians stormed the imperial palace to confirm the emperor's safety, with the result that they terrified Otho and his senatorial dinner guests. Although the praetorians' fears were eventually calmed and they were given a substantial cash payment, the incident dramatically underscored the unease at Rome in the early months of 69.
Otho's Offensive against Vitellius
Meanwhile, in the Rhineland, preparations for a march on Rome by the military legions that had declared for Vitellius were far advanced. Hampered by poor intelligence gathering in Gaul and Germany and having failed to negotiate a settlement with Vitellius in early 69, Otho finally summoned to Italy his forces for a counterattack against the invading Vitellian army. His support consisted of the four legions of Pannonia and Dalmatia, the three legions of Moesia and his own imperial retinue of about 9,000. Vitellius' own troops numbered some 30,000, while those of his two marshals, Aulus Caecina Alienus and Fabius Valens, were between 15,000 and 20,000 each.
Otho's strategy was to make a quick diversionary strike in order to allow time for his own forces to assemble in Italy before engaging the enemy. The strategy worked, as the diversionary army, comprised of urban cohorts, praetorians and marines all from Rome or nearby, was successful in Narbonese Gaul in latter March. An advance guard sent to hold the line on the Po River until the Danubian legions arrived also enjoyed initial success. Otho himself arrived at Bedriacum in northern Italy about 10 April for a strategy session with his commanders. The main concern was that the Vitellians were building a bridge across the Po in order to drive southward towards the Apennines and eventually to Rome. Otho decided to counter by ordering a substantial part of his main force to advance from Bedriacum and establish a new base close enough to the new Vitellian bridge to interrupt its completion. While en route, the Othonian forces, strung out along the via Postumia amid baggage and supply trains, were attacked by Caecina and Valens near Cremona on 14 April. The clash, know as the Battle of Bedriacum, resulted in the defeat of the Othonian forces, their retreat cut off by the river behind them. Otho himself, meanwhile, was not present, but had gone to Brixellum with a considerable force of infantry and cavalry in order to impede any Vitellian units that had managed to cross the Po.
The plan had backfired. Otho's strategy of obtaining victory while avoiding any major battles had proven too risky. Realizing perhaps that a new round of fighting would have involved not only a significant re-grouping of his existing troops but also a potentially bloody civil war at Rome, if Vitellius' troops reached the capital, Otho decided that enough blood had been shed. Two weeks shy of his thirty-seventh birthday, on 16 April 69, he took his own life.
Assessment
To be sure, Otho remains an enigma - part profligate Neronian wastrel and part conscientious military commander willing to give his life for the good of the state. Our sources are at a loss to explain the paradox. Perhaps, like Petronius, he saw it was safer to appear a profligate in Nero's court? In the final analysis, Otho proved to be an organized and efficient military commander, who appealed more to the soldier than to the civilian. He also seems to have been a capable governor, with administrative talents that recalled those of his father. Nevertheless, his violent overthrow of Galba, the lingering doubts that it raised about his character, and his unsuccessful offensive against Vitellius are all vivid reminders of the turbulence that plagued the Roman world between the reigns of Nero and Vespasian. Regrettably, the scenario would play itself out one more time before peace and stability returned to the empire.
Copyright (C) 1999, John Donahue
Edited by J.P.Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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709a, Vitellius, 2 January - 20 December 69 A.D.VITELLIUS AR silver denarius. RSC 72, RCV 2200. 19mm, 3.2 g. Obverse: A VITELLIVS GERM IMP AVG TR P, laureate head right; Reverse - PONT MAXIM, Vesta seated right, holding scepter and patera. Quite decent. Ex. Incitatus Coins. Photo courtesy of Incitatus Coins.
De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families
Vitellius (69 A.D.)
John F. Donahue
College of William and Mary
It is often difficult to separate fact from fiction in assessing the life and reign of Vitellius. Maligned in the ancient sources as gluttonous and cruel, he was also a victim of a hostile biographical tradition established in the regime of the Flavians who had overthrown him. Nevertheless, his decision to march against Rome in 69 was pivotal, since his subsequent defeat signalled the end of military anarchy and the beginning of an extended period of political stability under Vespasian and his successors.
Early Life and Career
Aulus Vitellius was born in September, 15 AD, the son of Lucius Vitellius and his wife Sestilia. One of the most successful public figures of the Julio-Claudian period, Lucius Vitellius was a three-time consul and a fellow censor with the emperor Claudius. Aulus seems to have moved with equal ease in aristocratic circles, successively winning the attention of the emperors Gaius, Claudius, and Nero through flattery and political skill.
Among his attested public offices, Vitellius was a curator of public works, a senatorial post concerned with the maintenance and repair of public buildings in Rome, and he was also proconsul of North Africa, where he served as a deputy to his brother, perhaps about 55 A. D. In addition, he held at least two priesthoods, the first as a member of the Arval Brethren, in whose rituals he participated from 57 A.D., and the second, as one of the quindecemviri sacris faciundis, a sacred college famous for its feasts.
With respect to marriage and family, Vitellius first wed a certain Petroniana, the daughter of a consul, sometime in the early to mid thirties A.D. The union produced a son, Petronianus, allegedly blind in one eye and emancipated from his father's control as a result of being named his mother's heir. Tradition records that Vitellius killed the boy shortly after emancipation amid charges of parricide; the marriage soon ended in divorce. A second marriage, to Galeria Fundana, daughter of an ex-praetor, was more stable than the first. It produced another son, who was eventually killed by the Flavians after the overthrow of Vitellius, as well as a daughter. Galeria is praised by Tacitus for her good qualities, and in the end it was she who saw to Vitellius' burial.
Rise to Power and Emperorship
Without doubt, the most fortuitous moment in Vitellius' political career was his appointment as governor of Lower Germany by the emperor Galba late in 68. The decision seemed to have caught everybody by surprise, including Vitellius himself, who, according to Suetonius, was in straitened circumstances at the time. The choice may have been made to reduce the possibility of rebellion by the Rhine armies, disaffected by Galba's refusal to reward them for their part in suppressing the earlier uprising of Julius Vindex. Ironically, it was Vitellius' lack of military achievement and his reputation for gambling and gluttony that may have also figured in his selection. Galba perhaps calculated that a man with little military experience who could now plunder a province to satisfy his own stomach would never become disloyal. If so, it was a critical misjudgement by the emperor.
The rebellion began on January 1, 69 ("The Year of the Four Emperors"), when the legions of Upper Germany refused to renew their oath of allegiance to Galba. On January 2, Vitellius' own men, having heard of the previous day's events, saluted him as emperor at the instigation of the legionary legate Fabius Valens and his colleagues. Soon, in addition to the seven legions that Vitellius now had at his command in both Germanies, the forces in Gaul, Britain, and Raetia also came over to his side. Perhaps aware of his military inexperience, Vitellius did not immediately march on Rome himself. Instead, the advance was led by Valens and another legionary general, Aulus Caecina Alienus, with each man commanding a separate column. Vitellius would remain behind to mobilize a reserve force and follow later.
Caecina was already one hundred fifty miles on his way when news reached him that Galba had been overthrown and Otho had taken his place as emperor. Undeterred, he passed rapidly down the eastern borders of Gaul; Valens followed a more westerly route, quelling a mutiny along the way. By March both armies had successfully crossed the Alps and joined at Cremona, just north of the Po. Here they launced their Batavian auxiliaries against Otho's troops and routed them in the First Battle of Bedriacum. Otho killed himself on April 16, and three days later the soldiers in Rome swore their allegience to Vitellius. The senate too hailed him as emperor.
When Vitellius learned of these developments, he set out to Rome from Gaul. By all accounts the journey was a drunken feast marked by the lack of discipline of both the troops and the imperial entourage. Along the way he stopped at Lugdunum to present his six-year-old son Germanicus to the legions as his eventual successor. Later, at Cremona, Vitellius witnessed the corpse-filled battlefield of Otho's recent defeat with joy, unmoved by so many citizens denied a proper burial.
The emperor entered Rome in late June-early July. Conscious of making a break with the Julio-Claudian past, Vitellius was reluctant to assume the traditional titles of the princes, even though he enthusiastically made offerings to Nero and declared himself consul for life. To his credit, Vitellius did seem to show a measure of moderation in the transition to the principate. He assumed his powers gradually and was generally lenient to Otho's supporters, even pardoning Otho's brother Salvius Titianus, who had played a key role in the earlier regime. In addition, he participated in Senate meetings and continued the practice of providing entertainments for the Roman masses. An important practical change involved the awarding of posts customarily held by freedmen to equites, an indication of the growth of the imperial bureaucracy and its attractiveness to men of ambition.
In other matters, he replaced the existing praetorian guard and urban cohorts with sixteen praetorian cohorts and four urban units, all comprised of soldiers from the German armies. According to Tacitus, the decision prompted a mad scramble, with the men, and not their officers, choosing the branch of service that they preferred. The situation was clearly unsatisfactory but not surprising, given that Vitellius was a creation of his own troops. To secure his position further, he sent back to their old postings the legions that had fought for Otho, or he reassigned them to distant provinces. Yet discontent remained: the troops who had been defeated or betrayed at Bedriacum remained bitter, and detachments of three Moesian legions called upon by Otho were returned to their bases, having agitated against Vitellius at Aquileia.
Flavian Revolt
The Vitellian era at Rome was short-lived. By mid-July news had arrived that the legions of Egypt under Tiberius Julius Alexander had sworn allegiance to a rival emperor, Titus Flavius Vespasianus, the governor of Judaea and a successful and popular general. Vespasian was to hold Egypt while his colleague Mucianus, governor of Syria, was to invade Italy. Before the plan could be enacted, however, the Danube legions, former supporters of Otho, joined Vespasian's cause. Under the leadership of Antonius Primus, commander of the Sixth legion in Pannonia, and Cornelius Fuscus, imperial procurator in Illyricum, the legions made a rapid descent on Italy.
Although his forces were only half of what Vitellius commanded in Italy, Primus struck first before the emperor could muster additional reinforcements from Germany. To make matters worse for the Vitellians, Valens was ill, and Caecina, now consul, had begun collaborating with the Flavians. His troops refused to follow his lead, however, and arrested him at Hostilia near Cremona. They then joined the rest of the Vitellian forces trying to hold the Po River. With Vitellius still in Rome and his forces virtually leaderless, the two sides met in October in the Second Battle of Bedriacum. The emperor's troops were soundly defeated and Cremona was brutally sacked by the victors. In addition, Valens, whose health had recovered, was captured while raising an army for Vitellius in Gaul and Germany; he was eventually executed.
Meanwhile, Primus continued towards Rome. Vitellius made a weak attempt to thwart the advance at the Apennine passes, but his forces switched to the Flavian side without a fight at Narnia in mid-December. At Rome, matters were no better. Vespasian's elder brother, Titus Flavius Sabinus, the city prefect, was successful in an effort to convince Vitellius to abdicate but was frustrated by the mob in Rome and the emperor's soldiers. Forced to flee to the Capitol, Sabinus was set upon by Vitellius' German troops and soon killed, with the venerable Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus set ablaze in the process. Within two days, the Flavian army fought its way into Rome. In a pathetic final move, Vitellius disguised himself in dirty clothing and hid in the imperial doorkeeper's quarters, leaning a couch and a mattress against the door for protection. Dragged from his hiding place by the Flavian forces, he was hauled off half-naked to the Forum, where he was tortured, killed, and tossed into the Tiber. The principate could now pass to Vespasian.
Assessment
Vitellius has not escaped the hostility of his biographers. While he may well have been gluttonous, his depiction as indolent, cruel, and extravagant is based almost entirely on the propaganda of his enemies. On the other hand, whatever moderating tendencies he did show were overshadowed by his clear lack of military expertise, a deficiency that forced him to rely in critical situations on largely inneffective lieutenants. As a result he was no match for his Flavian successors, and his humiliating demise was perfectly in keeping with the overall failure of his reign.
Copyright (C) 1999, John Donahue.
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr. Cleisthenes
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710a, Vespasian, 1 July 69 - 24 June 79 A.D.Silver denarius, RIC II, 10, aVF, 3.5 g, 18mm, Rome mint, 69-71 AD; Obverse: IMP CAESA[R] VESPASIANV[S AV]G - Laureate head right; Reverse: COS ITER [T]R POT - Pax seated left holding branch and caduceus. Ex Imperial Coins.
De Imperatoribus Romanis:
An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families
Titus Flavius Vespasianus (A.D. 69-79)
John Donahue
College of William and Mary
Introduction
Titus Flavius Vespasianus (b. A.D. 9, d. A.D. 79, emperor A.D. 69-79) restored peace and stability to an empire in disarray following the death of Nero in A.D. 68. In the process he established the Flavian dynasty as the legitimate successor to the Imperial throne. Although we lack many details about the events and chronology of his reign, Vespasian provided practical leadership and a return to stable government - accomplishments which, when combined with his other achievements, make his emperorship particularly notable within the history of the Principate.
Early Life and Career
Vespasian was born at Falacrina near Sabine Reate on 17 November, A.D. 9, the son of T. Flavius Sabinus, a successful tax collector and banker, and Vespasia Polla. Both parents were of equestrian status. Few details of his first fifteen years survive, yet it appears that his father and mother were often away from home on business for long periods. As a result, Vespasian's early education became the responsibility of his paternal grandmother, Tertulla. [[1]] In about A.D. 25 Vespasian assumed the toga virilis and later accepted the wearing of the latus clavus, and with it the senatorial path that his older brother, T. Flavius Sabinus, had already chosen. [[2]] Although many of the particulars are lacking, the posts typically occupied by one intent upon a senatorial career soon followed: a military tribunate in Thrace, perhaps for three or four years; a quaestorship in Crete-Cyrene; and the offices of aedile and praetor, successively, under the emperor Gaius. [[3]]
It was during this period that Vespasian married Flavia Domitilla. Daughter of a treasury clerk and former mistress of an African knight, Flavia lacked the social standing and family connections that the politically ambitious usually sought through marriage. In any case, the couple produced three children, a daughter, also named Flavia Domitilla, and two sons, the future emperors Titus and Domitian . Flavia did not live to witness her husband's emperorship and after her death Vespasian returned to his former mistress Caenis, who had been secretary to Antonia (daughter of Marc Antony and mother of Claudius). Caenis apparently exerted considerable influence over Vespasian, prompting Suetonius to assert that she remained his wife in all but name, even after he became emperor. [[4]]
Following the assassination of Gaius on 24 January, A.D. 41, Vespasian advanced rapidly, thanks in large part to the new princeps Claudius, whose favor the Flavians had wisely secured with that of Antonia, the mother of Germanicus, and of Claudius' freedmen, especially Narcissus. [[5]] The emperor soon dispatched Vespasian to Argentoratum (Strasbourg) as legatus legionis II Augustae, apparently to prepare the legion for the invasion of Britain. Vespasian first appeared at the battle of Medway in A.D. 43, and soon thereafter led his legion across the south of England, where he engaged the enemy thirty times in battle, subdued two tribes, and conquered the Isle of Wight. According to Suetonius, these operations were conducted partly under Claudius and partly under Vespasian's commander, Aulus Plautius. Vespasian's contributions, however, did not go unnoticed; he received the ornamenta triumphalia and two priesthoods from Claudius for his exploits in Britain. [[6]]
By the end of A.D. 51 Vespasian had reached the consulship, the pinnacle of a political career at Rome. For reasons that remain obscure he withdrew from political life at this point, only to return when chosen proconsul of Africa about A.D. 63-64. His subsequent administration of the province was marked by severity and parsimony, earning him a reputation for being scrupulous but unpopular. [[7]] Upon completion of his term, Vespasian returned to Rome where, as a senior senator, he became a man of influence in the emperor Nero's court. [[8]] Important enough to be included on Nero's tour of Greece in A.D. 66-67, Vespasian soon found himself in the vicinity of increasing political turbulence in the East. The situation would prove pivotal in advancing his career.
Judaea and the Accession to Power
In response to rioting in Caesarea and Jerusalem that had led to the slaughter in the latter city of Jewish leaders and Roman soldiers, Nero granted to Vespasian in A.D. 66 a special command in the East with the objective of settling the revolt in Judaea. By spring A.D. 67, with 60,000 legionaries, auxiliaries, and allies under his control, Vespasian set out to subdue Galilee and then to cut off Jerusalem. Success was quick and decisive. By October all of Galilee had been pacified and plans for the strategic encirclement of Jerusalem were soon formed. [[9]] Meanwhile, at the other end of the empire, the revolts of Gaius Iulius Vindex, governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, and Servius Sulpicius Galba , governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, had brought Nero's reign to the brink of collapse. The emperor committed suicide in June, A.D. 68, thereby ensuring chaos for the next eighteen months, as first Galba and then Marcus Salvius Otho and Aulus Vitellius acceded to power. Each lacked broad-based military and senatorial support; each would be violently deposed in turn. [[10]]
Still occupied with plans against Jerusalem, Vespasian swore allegiance to each emperor. Shortly after Vitellius assumed power in spring, A.D. 69, however, Vespasian met on the border of Judaea and Syria with Gaius Licinius Mucianus, governor of Syria, and after a series of private and public consultations, the two decided to revolt. [[11]] On July 1, at the urging of Tiberius Alexander, prefect of Egypt, the legions of Alexandria declared for Vespasian, as did the legions of Judaea two days later. By August all of Syria and the Danube legions had done likewise. Vespasian next dispatched Mucianus to Italy with 20,000 troops, while he set out from Syria to Alexandria in order to control grain shipments for the purpose of starving Italy into submission. [[12]] The siege of Jerusalem he placed in the hands of his son Titus.
Meanwhile, the Danubian legions, unwilling to wait for Mucianus' arrival, began their march against Vitellius ' forces. The latter army, suffering from a lack of discipline and training, and unaccustomed to the heat of Rome, was defeated at Cremona in late October. [[13]] By mid-December the Flavian forces had reached Carsulae, 95 kilometers north of Rome on the Flaminian Road, where the Vitellians, with no further hope of reinforcements, soon surrendered. At Rome, unable to persuade his followers to accept terms for his abdication, Vitellius was in peril. On the morning of December 20 the Flavian army entered Rome. By that afternoon, the emperor was dead. [[14]]
Tacitus records that by December 22, A.D. 69, Vespasian had been given all the honors and privileges usually granted to emperors. Even so, the issue remains unclear, owing largely to a surviving fragment of an enabling law, the lex de imperio Vespasiani, which conferred powers, privileges, and exemptions, most with Julio-Claudian precedents, on the new emperor. Whether the fragment represents a typical granting of imperial powers that has uniquely survived in Vespasian's case, or is an attempt to limit or expand such powers, remains difficult to know. In any case, the lex sanctioned all that Vespasian had done up to its passing and gave him authority to act as he saw fit on behalf of the Roman people. [[15]]
What does seem clear is that Vespasian felt the need to legitimize his new reign with vigor. He zealously publicized the number of divine omens that predicted his accession and at every opportunity he accumulated multiple consulships and imperial salutations. He also actively promoted the principle of dynastic succession, insisting that the emperorship would fall to his son. The initiative was fulfilled when Titus succeeded his father in A.D. 79.[[16]]
Emperorship
Upon his arrival in Rome in late summer, A.D. 70, Vespasian faced the daunting task of restoring a city and a government ravaged by the recent civil wars. Although many particulars are missing, a portrait nevertheles emerges of a ruler conscientiously committed to the methodical renewal of both city and empire. Concerning Rome itself, the emperor encouraged rebuilding on vacated lots, restored the Capitol (burned in A.D. 69), and also began work on several new buildings: a temple to the deified Claudius on the Caelian Hill, a project designed to identify Vespasian as a legitimate heir to the Julio-Claudians, while distancing himself from Nero ; a temple of Peace near the Forum; and the magnificent Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheatre), located on the site of the lake of Nero 's Golden House. [[17]]
Claiming that he needed forty thousand million sesterces for these projects and for others aimed at putting the state on more secure footing, Vespasian is said to have revoked various imperial immunities, manipulated the supply of certain commodities to inflate their price, and increased provincial taxation. [[18]] The measures are consistent with his characterization in the sources as both obdurate and avaricious. There were occasional political problems as well: Helvidius Priscus, an advocate of senatorial independence and a critic of the Flavian regime from the start, was exiled after A.D. 75 and later executed; Marcellus Eprius and A. Alienus Caecina were condemned by Titus for conspiracy, the former committing suicide, the latter executed in A.D. 79.
As Suetonius claims, however, in financial matters Vespasian always put revenues to the best possible advantage, regardless of their source. Tacitus, too, offers a generally favorable assessment, citing Vespasian as the first man to improve after becoming emperor. [[19]] Thus do we find the princeps offering subventions to senators not possessing the property qualifications of their rank, restoring many cities throughout the empire, and granting state salaries for the first time to teachers of Latin and Greek rhetoric. To enhance Roman economic and social life even further, he encouraged theatrical productions by building a new stage for the Theatre of Marcellus, and he also put on lavish state dinners to assist the food trades. [[20]]
In other matters the emperor displayed similar concern. He restored the depleted ranks of the senatorial and equestrian orders with eligible Italian and provincial candidates and reduced the backlog of pending court cases at Rome. Vespasian also re-established discipline in the army, while punishing or dismissing large numbers of Vitellius ' men. [[21]]
Beyond Rome, the emperor increased the number of legions in the East and continued the process of imperial expansion by the annexation of northern England, the pacification of Wales, and by advances into Scotland and southwest Germany between the Rhine and the Danube. Vespasian also conferred rights on communities abroad, especially in Spain, where the granting of Latin rights to all native communities contributed to the rapid Romanization of that province during the Imperial period. [[22]]
Death and Assessment
In contrast to his immediate imperial predecessors, Vespasian died peacefully - at Aquae Cutiliae near his birthplace in Sabine country on 23 June, A.D. 79, after contracting a brief illness. The occasion is said to have inspired his deathbed quip: "Oh my, I must be turning into a god!" [[23]] In fact, public deification did follow his death, as did his internment in the Mausoleum of Augustus alongside the Julio-Claudians.
A man of strict military discipline and simple tastes, Vespasian proved to be a conscientious and generally tolerant administrator. More importantly, following the upheavals of A.D. 68-69, his reign was welcome for its general tranquility and restoration of peace. In Vespasian Rome found a leader who made no great breaks with tradition, yet his ability ro rebuild the empire and especially his willingness to expand the composition of the governing class helped to establish a positive working model for the "good emperors" of the second century.
Bibliography
Since the scholarship on Vespasian is more comprehensive than can be treated here, the works listed below are main accounts or bear directly upon issues discussed in the entry above. A comprehensive modern anglophone study of this emperor is yet to be produced.
Atti congresso internazionale di studi Flaviani, 2 vols. Rieti, 1983.
Atti congresso internazionale di studi Vespasianei, 2 vols. Rieti, 1981.
Bosworth, A.B. "Vespasian and the Provinces: Some Problems of the Early 70s A.D." Athenaeum 51 (1973): 49-78.
Brunt, P. A. "Lex de imperio Vespasiani." JRS (67) 1977: 95-116.
D'Espèrey, S. Franchet. "Vespasien, Titus et la littérature." ANRW II.32.5: 3048-3086.
Dudley, D. and Webster, G. The Roman Conquest of Britain. London, 1965.
Gonzalez, J. "The Lex Irnitana: A New Copy of the Flavian Municipal Law." JRS 76 (1986): 147-243.
Grant, M. The Roman Emperors: A Biographical Guide to the Rulers of Rome, 31 B.C. - A.D. 476. New York, 1985.
Homo, L. Vespasien, l'Empereur du bons sens (69-79 ap. J.-C.). Paris, 1949.
Levi, M.A. "I Flavi." ANRW II.2: 177-207.
McCrum, M. and Woodhead, A. G. Select Documents of the Principates of the Flavian Emperors Including the Year of the Revolution. Cambridge, 1966.
Nicols, John. Vespasian and the Partes Flavianae. Wiesbaden, 1978.
Scarre, C. Chronicle of the Roman Emperors. The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial Rome. London, 1995.
Suddington, D. B. The Development of the Roman Auxiliary Forces from Caesar to Vespasian, 49 B.C. - A.D. 79. Harare: U. of Zimbabwe, 1982.
Syme, R. Tacitus. Oxford, 1958.
Wardel, David. "Vespasian, Helvidius Priscus and the Restoration of the Capitol." Historia 45 (1996): 208-222.
Wellesley, K. The Long Year: A.D. 69. Bristol, 1989, 2nd ed.
Notes
[[1]] Suet. Vesp. 2.1. Suetonius remains the major source but see also Tac. Hist. 2-5; Cass. Dio 65; Joseph. BJ 3-4.
[[2]] Suetonius (Vesp. 2.1) claims that Vespasian did not accept the latus clavus, the broad striped toga worn by one aspiring to a senatorial career, immediately. The delay, however, was perhaps no more than three years. See J. Nicols, Vespasian and the Partes Flavianae (Wiesbaden, 1978), 2.
[[3]] Military tribunate and quaestorship: Suet. Vesp. 2.3; aedileship: ibid., 5.3, in which Gaius, furious that Vespasian had not kept the streets clean, as was his duty, ordered some soldiers to load him with filth;,they complied by stuffing his toga with as much as it could hold. See also Dio 59.12.2-3; praetorship: Suet. Vesp. 2.3, in which Vespasian is depicted as one of Gaius' leading adulators, an account consistent with Tacitus' portrayal (Hist 1.50.4; 2.5.1) of his early career. For a more complete discussion of these posts and attendant problems of dating, see Nicols, Vespasian, 2-7.
[[4]] Marriage and Caenis: Suet. Vesp. 3; Cass. Dio 65.14.
[[5]] Nicols, Vespasian, 12-39.
[[6]] Suet. Vesp. 4.1 For additional details on Vespasian's exploits in Britain, see D. Dudley and G. Webster, The Roman Conquest of Britain (London, 1965), 55 ff., 98.
[[7]] Concerning Vespasian's years between his consulship and proconsulship, see Suet. Vesp. 4.2 and Nicols, Vespasian, 9. On his unpopularity in Africa, see Suet. Vesp. 4.3, an account of a riot at Hadrumentum, where he was once pelted with turnips. In recording that Africa supported Vitellius in A.D. 69, Tacitus too suggests popular dissatisfaction with Vespasian's proconsulship. See Hist. 2.97.2.
[[8]] This despite the fact that the sources record two rebukes of Vespasian, one for extorting money from a young man seeking career advancement (Suet. Vesp. 4.3), the other for either leaving the room or dozing off during one of the emperor's recitals (Suet. Vesp. 4.4 and 14, which places the transgression in Greece; Tac. (Ann. 16.5.3), who makes Rome and the Quinquennial Games of A.D. 65 the setting; A. Braithwaite, C. Suetoni Tranquilli Divus Vespasianus, Oxford, 1927, 30, who argues for both Greece and Rome).
[[9]] Subjugation of Galilee: Joseph. BJ 3.65-4.106; siege of Jerusalem: ibid., 4.366-376, 414.
[[10]] Revolt of Vindex: Suet. Nero 40; Tac. Ann. 14.4; revolt of Galba: Suet. Galba 10; Plut. Galba, 4-5; suicide of Nero: Suet. Nero 49; Cass. Dio 63.29.2. For the most complete account of the period between Nero's death and the accession of Vespasian, see K. Wellesley, The Long Year: A.D. 69, 2nd. ed. (Bristol, 1989).
[[11]] Tac. Hist. 2.76.
[[12]] Troops in support of Vespasian: Suet. Vit. 15; Mucianus and his forces: Tac. Hist. 2.83; Vespasian and grain shipments: Joseph. BJ 4.605 ff.; see also Tac. Hist. 3.48, on Vespasian's possible plan to shut off grain shipments to Italy from Carthage as well.
[[13]] On Vitellius' army and its lack of discipline, see Tac. Hist. 2.93-94; illness of army: ibid., 2.99.1; Cremona: ibid., 3.32-33.
[[14]] On Vitellius' last days, see Tac. Hist. 3.68-81. On the complicated issue of Vitellius' death date, see L. Holzapfel, "Römische Kaiserdaten," Klio 13 (1913): 301.
[[15]] Honors, etc. Tac. Hist. 4.3. For more on the lex de imperio Vespasiani, see P. A. Brunt, "Lex de imperio Vespasiani," JRS (67) 1977: 95-116.
[[16]] Omens: Suet. Vesp. 5; consulships and honors: ibid., 8; succession of sons: ibid., 25.
[[17]] On Vespasian's restoration of Rome, see Suet. Vesp. 9; Cass. Dio 65.10; D. Wardel, "Vespasian, Helvidius Priscus and the Restoration of the Capitol," Historia 45 (1996): 208-222.
[[18]] Suet. Vesp. 16.
[[19]] Ibid.; Tac. Hist. 1.50.
[[20]] Suet. Vesp. 17-19.
[[21]] Ibid., 8-10.
[[22]] On Vespasian's exploits in Britain, see esp. Tac., Agricola, eds. R. M. Ogilvie and I. A. Richmond (1967), and W. S. Hanson, Agricola and the Conquest of the North (1987); on the granting of Latin rights in Spain, see, e.g., J. Gonzalez, "The Lex Irnitana: a New Copy of the Flavian Municipal Law." JRS 76 (1986): 147-243.
[[23]] For this witticism and other anecdotes concerning Vespasian's sense of humor, see Suet. Vesp. 23.
Copyright (C) 1998, John Donahue. Published on De Imperatoribus Romanis, an Online Encyplopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families.
http://www.roman-emperors.org/vespasia.htm
Used by permission.
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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712a, Domitian, 13 September 81 - 18 September 96 A.D.Domitian, as Caesar, AR Denarius. 77-78 AD; RIC 242, VF, 18mm, 3.18grams. Obverse: CAESAR AVG F DOMITIA[NVS], laureate head right ; Reverse: COS V below man with hand raised out behind him on horse prancing right. RSC 49a. Scarce. Ex Zuzim Judaea.
De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families
Titus Flavius Domitianus(A.D. 81-96)
John Donahue
College of William and Mary
Domitian was born in Rome on 24 October A.D. 51, the youngest son of Vespasian, Roman emperor (A.D. 69-79) and Domitilla I, a treasury clerk's daughter. Little is known about Domitian in the turbulent 18 months of the four (five?) emperors, but in the aftermath of the downfall of Vitellius in A.D. 69 he presented himself to the invading Flavian forces, was hailed as Caesar, and moved into the imperial residence.
As emperor, Domitian was to become one of Rome's foremost micromanagers, especially concerning the economy. Shortly after taking office, he raised the silver content of the denarius by about 12% (to the earlier level of Augustus), only to devaluate it in A.D. 85, when the imperial income must have proved insufficient to meet military and public expenses.
Domitian's reach extended well beyond the economy. Late in A.D. 85 he made himself censor perpetuus, censor for life, with a general supervision of conduct and morals. The move was without precedent and, although largely symbolic, it nevertheless revealed Domitian's obsessive interest in all aspects of Roman life. An ardent supporter of traditional Roman religion, he also closely identified himself with Minerva and Jupiter, publicly linking the latter divinity to his regime through the Ludi Capitolini, the Capitoline Games, begun in A.D.86. Held every four years in the early summer, the Games consisted of chariot races, athletics and gymnastics, and music, oratory and poetry.
Beyond Rome, Domitian taxed provincials rigorously and was not afraid to impose his will on officials of every rank. Consistent with his concern for the details of administration, he also made essential changes in the organization of several provinces and established the office of curator to investigate financial mismanagement in the cities. Other evidence points to a concern with civic improvements of all kinds, from road building in Asia Minor, Sardinia and near the Danube to building and defensive improvements in North Africa.
While the military abilities of Vespasian and Titus were genuine, those of Domitian were not. Partly as an attempt to remedy this deficiency, Domitian frequently became involved in his own military exploits outside of Rome. He claimed a triumph in A.D. 83 for subduing the Chatti in Gaul, but the conquest was illusory. Final victory did not really come until A.D. 89. In Britain, similar propaganda masked the withdrawal of Roman forces from the northern borders to positions farther south, a clear sign of Domitian's rejection of expansionist warfare in the province.
Domitian's autocratic tendencies meant that the real seat of power during his reign resided with his court. The features typically associated with later courts - a small band of favored courtiers, a keen interest in the bizarre and the unusual (e.g., wrestlers, jesters, and dwarves), and a highly mannered, if somewhat artificial atmosphere, characterized Domitian's palace too, whether at Rome or at his Alban villa, some 20 kilometers outside of the capital.
On 18 September, A.D. 96, Domitian was assassinated and was succeeded on the very same day by M. Cocceius Nerva, a senator and one of his amici. The sources are unanimous in stressing that this was a palace plot, yet it is difficult to determine the level of culpability among the various potential conspirators.
In many ways, Domitian is still a mystery - a lazy and licentious ruler by some accounts, an ambitious administrator and keeper of traditional Roman religion by others. As many of his economic, provincial, and military policies reveal, he was efficient and practical in much that he undertook, yet he also did nothing to hide the harsher despotic realities of his rule. This fact, combined with his solitary personality and frequent absences from Rome, guaranteed a harsh portrayal of his rule. The ultimate truths of his reign remain difficult to know.
Copyright (C) 1997, John Donahue.
Published: De Imperatoribus Romanis: An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Rulers and their Families http://www.roman-emperors.org/startup.htm. Used by permission.
Perhaps the reverse of this Domitian/Horseman specimen depicts Domitian as he rode a white horse behind his father, Vespasian, and his brother, Titus, during their joint triumph celebrating their victory over Judaea (see: Suetonius. The Twelve Caesars. Trans. Robert Graves. London: Penguin, 2003. 304).
Edited by J. P. Fitzgerald, Jr.
Cleisthenes
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81-96 AD - DOMITIAN AR denarius - struck 82 ADobv: IMP CAES DOMITIANVS AVG P M (laureate head right)
rev: TR POT COS VIII P P (dolphin twined around anchor)
ref: RIC Vol 2.1 (2008) 96, RSC 593 (2frcs), not too common issue
mint: Rome
2.81gms, 18.5mm
This reverse reminds me of Legio II Adiutrix. This legion was formed in (early March?) 70 by the emperor Vespasian. Its soldiers were marines from the Ravenna navy, who had sided with Vespasian during his war against the emperor Vitellius.berserker
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Antony & The 12 CaesarsA variation on my other virtual coin trays. This one includes a lifetime portrait of Julius Caesar. It's difficult choosing which coin to include in this set, in some cases I only had one (Galba, Otho) but others I had many more to choose from. I do have better portraits of some but I thought these had more interesting reverse types or portrait styles:
Marcus Antonius denarius
Julius Caesar denarius
Augustus denarius
Tiberius denarius
Caligula AE As
Claudius AE As
Nero Dupondius
Galba AE As
Otho Tetradrachm
Vitellius denarius
Vespasian denarius
Titus denarius
Domitian denarius
Image is clickable for larger size.
To see the coins individually see them in my gallery.Jay GT4
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Civil Wars of 68-69 Jupiter / VestaCivil Wars. Silver Denarius (3.09 g), AD 68-69 Uncertain mint in Southern Gaul, ca. AD 69.
O: I O M CAPITOLINVS, diademed and heroic bust of Jupiter Capitolinus left, small branch before, with slight mantle showing on near shoulder.
R: VESTA P R QVIRITIVM, Vesta seated left, holding patera and torch.
- RIC 125a (Group IV); AM 96; BMC 72; RSC 432. Ex Dr. Rainer Pudill; Ex Auktionshaus H. D. Rauch GmbH Summer 2010 Lot 490
Struck for Vitellius, perhaps by his commander Fabius Valens, in southern Gaul shortly before the First Battle of Bedriacum, which saw the annihilation of Otho's forces in mid-April, AD 69. This type draws on the two most important cults in Rome. The figure of Jupiter Optimus Maximus Capitolinus invokes the invincible might of Rome, while the figure of Vesta, who was the goddess of the Rome's sacred hearth, symbolizes the Empire's permanence.
Nemonater
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Digital tray of Civil War 68 - 69 ADFrom top left to bottom right:
Nero
Vindex
Galba
Otho
Vitellius
VespasianLimes
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EB0396 Vitellius / LibertasVitellius, AR Denarius, 69 AD.
Obv: A VITELLIVS [GERM IMP] AVG TR P, laureate head right.
Rev: LIBERTAS RESTIT[VTA], Libertas standing facing, head right, holding pileus and long staff.
References: RIC I 105; RSC 47.
Diameter: 18.5mm, Weight: 3.278 grams.
With the same devices as RIC I 81, the difference on this coin is the abbreviated title GERM.
Note: Sold.EB
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Egypt, Alexandria, AD 069, VitelliusVitellius
Egypt, Alexandria
Billon-Tetradrachme, year1, AD 69
Obv.: ΩΛOY OYIT KAIΣ ΣEB ΓEPM AYT Head laureate right.
Rev.: Nike advancing left holding wreath and palm, date LA in left field
Billon, 12,73g, 23mm
Ref.: RPC 5372 (18 spec.), Oxford 372, Dattari 340, Geißen 260 ff., Emmett 196/1
Ex Dionysos Numismatikshanxi
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Egypt, Alexandria; VitelliusEGYPT, Alexandria. Vitellius. AD 69. BI Tetradrachm (24mm, 13.48 g, 12h). Dated RY 1 (AD 69). Laureate head right / Nike standing left, holding wreath and palm frond; LA (date) to left. RPC 5372; Köln 260-2; Dattari 340; K&G 19.1.ecoli
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Elagabalus AE26 Tetrassarion of Marcianopolis.AVT K M AVP H LI ANTWNEINOC, laureate head right,
VP IOVL ANT CELEVKOV MAPKIANOPOLITWN, Victory advancing left,
Issued under the Consular Legate Julius Antonius Seleucus, Governor of Moesia between AD218-222. A 5th century historian Polemius Silvius, mentions a usurper by the name of Seleucus during Elagabal's reign. Whether or not this usurper is our Legate or another Consul (AD 221) by the name of M. Flavius Vitellius Seleucus, is unknown. What is known is that Seleucus was succeeded by Sergius Titianus in AD 222, the year of Elagabal's murder.
AMNG Vol.I No.824, Pg.254
ex-Gitbud & Naumann Münzhandlung München Will Hooton
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FantasyThis fake has a reverse known from coinf of Falba (Spain only) and Vitellius. The fabric is clearly modern, the portrait is off and the lettering is uneven both in eexecution and actual size. Has "copy" written on, but that would easily "wear out".jmuona
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Herod Antipas Half UnitHERODIANS. Herod Antipas (4 BCE - 39 CE). Tiberias Mint, Æ half denomination, 19.4mm, 5.3 g.
O: TIBE PIAC in two lines within wreath.
R: HPΩΔOY TETPAPXOY (Herod Tetrarch), vertical palm branch, L to left, ΛZ to right, (RY 37 = 33/34 CE)
Hendin-1212 in GBC 5; ex. Hendin; ex Leu Numismatic AG 2003 Auction 86 (part of) lot 494; ex. Teddy Kollek Collection, Mayor of Jerusalem from 1965-1993; Menorah Coin Project ANT 15, Die 02/R12; Sear certificate.
Herod Antipas was the son of Herod the Great and Malthace, a Samaritan woman. He was brought up in Rome with his brother Archelaus.
In Herod’s will, Antipas had been named to receive the kingship, but Herod changed his will, naming Archelaus instead. Antipas contested the will before Augustus Caesar, who upheld Archelaus’ claim but divided the kingdom, giving Antipas the tetrarchy of Galilee and Perea. “Tetrarch,” meaning ‘ruler over one fourth’ of a province, was a term applied to a minor district ruler or territorial prince.
Antipas married the daughter of Aretas, king of Arabia. But on one of his trips to Rome, Antipas visited his half brother Herod Philip, the son of Herod the Great and Mariamne II (not Philip the tetrarch). While visiting, he became infatuated with Philip’s wife Herodias, who was quite the ambitious woman. He took her back to Galilee and married her, divorcing Aretas’ daughter and sending her back home. This insulting action brought war. Aretas invaded and Antipas suffered major losses before receiving orders from Rome for Aretas to stop.
According to Josephus, Herod's defeat was popularly believed to be divine punishment for his execution of John the Baptist. Tiberius ordered Vitellius, the governor of Syria, to capture or kill Aretas, but Vitellius was reluctant to support Herod and abandoned his campaign upon Tiberius' death in 37.
It was Herod Antipas’ adulterous relationship with Herodias that brought reproof from John the Baptizer. John was correct in reproving Antipas, because Antipas was nominally a Jew and professedly under the Law. This would lead to John's murder being schemed during a celebration of Antipas' birthday.
On the last day of Jesus’ earthly life, when he was brought before Pontius Pilate and Pilate heard that Jesus was a Galilean, Pilate sent him to Herod Antipas who happened to be in Jerusalem. Herod, disappointed in Jesus, discredited him and made fun of him, then sent him back to Pilate, who was the superior authority as far as Rome was concerned. Pilate and Herod had been enemies, possibly because of certain accusations that Herod had leveled against Pilate. But this move on Pilate’s part pleased Herod and they became friends.Nemonater
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Judaea, First Revolt Shekel, Year 2Judaea, First Jewish War AR Shekel. Dated year 2 (AD 67/8)
O: Hebrew script read from right to left SKL ISRAL “Shekel of Israel”, the date Shin Bet, "Year Two" of the revolution, above Omer cup with beaded rim
R: Hebrew script YRUSLIM H KDOSA “Jerusalem the Holy” around sprig of three pomegranates.
This coin was minted during times of great upheaval in Judaea as well as the rest of the Roman empire.
As Jewish factions were fighting for control in Jerusalem, General Vespasian's armies invaded Galilee in 67 CE with 60,000 men as they began the effort to quell the rebellion started a year earlier. Vespasian captured the commander of Galilee, Josephus ben Matthias, in the little mountain town of Jotapata, which fell after a fierce siege of 47 days. It was the second bloodiest battle of the revolt, surpassed only by the sacking of Jerusalem, and the longest except for Jerusalem and Masada.
Driven from Galilee, Zealot rebels and thousands of refugees arrived in Judea, causing even greater political turmoil in Jerusalem.
Meanwhile, back in Rome in 68 CE, Nero commits suicide, plunging the Empire into a civil war. Galba, Otho and Vitellius would assume the purple till Vespasian, leaving the battle in Judaea to Titus, brought the matter to a conclusion in 69.Nemonater
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Lugdunum_RIC1213,17 gr., max 18 mm, die-axis 4. Although anonymous, this is certainly a pro-Vitellian type. The mint is an educated guess. The RIC number refers to "Civil War" coins, not Vitellius.jmuona
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MARC ANTONY legionary denarius - 32-31 BCobv: ANT AVG III VIR R P C (praetorian galley right)
rev: LEG XVI (Legio XVI Gallica - the legion from Gaul) (legionary eagle between two standards)
ref: Cr544/31, RSC 48, Albert1732 (100eur)
3.35g, 17mm
This legion was founded in 41 or 40 by Octavian, who needed it to put an end to Sextus Pompeius' occupation of Sicily. This legio also took part in the war of the first Marcomanni, against king Maroboduus in Czechia in 6 AD. They fought against German tribes: in the winter of 40/41, Servius Sulpicius Galba (the future emperor) overcame the Chatti. As the part of the army of Germania Inferior (led by Vitellius), XVI Gallica surrendered, at Bonn in April 70, and were renamed XVI Flavia Firma by Vespasianus.berserker
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Mark Antony Legionary Denarius LEG IIANT AVG III VIR R P C
galley r. mast with banners at prow
LEG II
legionary eagle between two standards
Patrae mint 32-31BC
3.17g
Perfect tiny hole for suspension with great dark toning
Origianlly founded by Pompey the Great in 84 BC. Legio II was given the title of "Augusta" in about 25 BC by Augustus. The II Augusta legion took part in Germanicus' campaigns in Germany and was commanded by Germanicus' friend Publius Vitellius who held the rank of legate. Publius Vitellius later prosecuted Piso for the murder of Germanicus.
Ex-ECIN, Ex-Littleton Coin CompanyJay GT4
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Mark Antony Legionary Denarius LEG IIANT AVG III VIR R P C
Galley right, mast with banners at prow
LEG II
legionary eagle between two standards
Patrae mint 32-31BC
3.14g
Great "bankers" mark on reverse, a very nice "C"
Origianlly founded by Pompey the Great in 84 BC. Legio II was given the title of "Augusta" in about 25 BC by Augustus. The II Augusta legion took part in Germanicus' campaigns in Germany and was commanded by Germanicus' friend Publius Vitellius who held the rank of legate. Publius Vitellius later prosecuted Piso for the murder of Germanicus.Jay GT4
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Mark Antony Legionary Denarius LEG VI ANT AVG III VIR R P C
galley r. mast with banners at prow
Rev LEG VI legionary eagle between two standards
Patrae mint 32-31BC
The photo appears to show this as LEG VII but in hand you can see that the second I is a scratch
Background History on the VI Legion
Raised in Cisalpine Gaul in 58 BC by Julius Caesar, the Sixth Legion served with him during his tenure as governor and was withdrawn to Spain in 49 BC where it earned the title “Hispaniensis”.
Later seeing action at Pharsalus in 48 BC, Julius Caesar took the 6th to Alexandria to settle the dispute in Egypt with Cleopatra. Alexandria was laid to siege and the 6th was almost wiped out losing almost two thirds of its entire manpower. Julius Caesar eventually triumphed when reinforcements arrived.
Julius Caesar took his “Veteran Sixth Legion” with him to Syria and Pontus. The Legion then served in Pontus under Caesar in 48 BC and 47 BC. This culminated in the battle of Zela where victory was won by Legio VI.
During Caesar’s African war against Scipio, the Sixth Legion deserted en masse from Scipio to reinforce Caesar and fought under him.
The legion was disbanded in 45 BC after Munda establishing a colony at Arelate (Arles), but was re-formed by Lepidus the following year (44 BC) and given over to Marcus Antonius the year after that. Following the defeat of the republican generals Cassius and Brutus in successive battles at Philippi in 42 BC and the subsequent division of control between Antony and Octavian, a colony was again formed from retired veterans at Beneventum in 41 BC (this is the colony which it is believed became Legio VI Victrix) and the remainder of Legio VI Ferrata was taken by Antony to the East where it garrisoned Judea.
Legio VI fought in the Parthian War in 36 BC.
Another Legio VI Victrix evidently saw action at Perusia in 41 BC, which presents us with a problem because the official Legio VI Ferrata was at that moment with Anthony in the East. This is explained in Lawrence Keppie's excellent book The Making of the Roman Army - from Republic to Empire (pp.134); “Octavian did not hesitate to duplicate legionary numerals already in use by Antony. The latter had serving with him legio V Alaudae, legio VI Ferrata and legio X Equestris. Soon we find Octavian's army boasting of a legio V (the later Macedonica), legio VI (the later Victrix) and legio X (soon to be Fretensis). Of these, legio V and legio X, and less certainly legio VI, bore under the empire a bull-emblem which would normally indicate a foundation by Caesar; but the true Caesarian legions with these numerals (Alaudae, Ferrata and Equestris) were with Antony.”
It would seem, therefore, that Octavian had again used the veterans of Caesars Sixth Legion, this time from those left at Beneventum, to form the core of his own Sixth Legion used at Perusia.
Both Legio VI’s (Ferrata and Victrix) fought at the Battle of Actium, after this event the legio VI Ferrata was dispatched back to Judea and the next time we hear of the legio VI Victrix was in Spain.
Legio VI Ferrata was severely mauled at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC by the forces loyal to Caesar's nephew and heir, Octavian. Following the Battle of Actium, another colony of veterans seems to have been created at Byllis, probably together with soldiers from other legions, and the remainder of VI Ferrata was moved to Syria/Judea where it was to remain.
From 9 BC to 73 AD the VI Ferrata was garrisoned the area of Judea. It was in this time frame that Jesus Christ was tried before Pontius Pilatus, the Roman Governor of Judea.
From 54 AD to 68 AD the Legion served under Corbulo at Artaxata and Tigranocerta against the Parthians. In 69 AD the Legion returned to Judea and fought in the Jewish Civil War. As the Jewish Civil War wound down, the sixth was placed under Mucianis and fought against Vitellius. Legion VI was largely responsible for Mucianis victory over the forces of Vitellius during the brief Roman Civil War .
Jay GT4
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Otho AR DenariusOtho, 69.
Denarius, Rome;
3.03 g.
Obv: Head r .IMP M OTHO CAESAR AUG TR P
Rev:Equitas stands l. with scales and scepter. PONT MAX
BMC 6; Coh. 9; RIC² 19.
Fine tone fine
Ex: The Jyrki Muona collection
auction Fritz Rudolf Künker 304, Osnabrück March 2018, No. 1073
auction Fritz Rudolf Künker 312, Osnabrück October 2018, No. 2822.
I am thrilled to have bought my second denarius of Otho. Otho was the second of the emperors n the year of the four emperors in 69 CE. After losing a battle to Aulus Vitellius he took his own life rather than needlessly spill more blood.
I absolutely love the portrait on this coin. It is rendered in a truly artistic style. The PONT MAX reverse is rarer than the SECURITAS reverse of my first coin of OTHO. This coin was struck on a rather large flan and the quality of silver is very nice indeed.
After winning this coin I was contacted by Dr. Jyrki Muona who informed me that the coin once belonged to him. Dr. Muona has written on the topic of coins of Otho including the paper "The Rome mint coins of Marcus Salvius Otho". I am very pleased to own a coin of Otho from his collection.
Some have claimed that Otho was an insignificant historical figure and that his coins are only collected because collecting the 12 Caesars based on the book by Suetonius means that one needs a coin of Otho. I would have to disagree. Otho ruled in a time of civil war during a truly formative century for the Roman empire. He also gave his life to spare others. To me this makes him significant enough for me.
orfew
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Otho TetradrachmAYTOKPATWP M OΘWN KAICAP CEBACTOC
Laureate head right
ETOYC A
Eagle, wings raised, standing left on two laurel branches, wreath in beak, palm branch in left field, crescent between eagle's legs
Seleucis and Pieria, Antioch ad Orontem
69 AD
14.44g
Prieur-101, RPC-4199, McAlee-316.
Rare
ex-ANE
Amazing jet black toning
From Numiswiki:
"Having to contest the crown with his competitor Vitellius, whom he three times defeated, Otho was vanquished in his turn at the battle of Bedriacum and rather than be the coccasion of further bloodshed in civil war, he preferred making the sacrifice of his life, and with a frimness wholly unlooked for from so effeminately luxurious a character,deliberately slew himself with his own hand. He died on the 16th of April 69 AD, in the 37th year of his age, having reigned only ninety-five days."Jay GT4
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PADUAN, VitelliusVitellius aftercast paduan
Imitation Sesterce de Vitellius coulé
Avers : A VITELLIVS GERMANICVS IMP AVG P M TR P. Laureate and draped bust right
Revers : HONOS ET VIRTVS. Honos and Virtus standing facing one another. Exergue : S C
Réfs : Klawans 2; Lawrence 27.
Diamètre : 38 mm | Poids : 18,7 g
Je le sens bien comme étant une copie moulée d' un vrai Padouan .. (vu également la présence de la tortue et du dauphin sous les pieds d' Honos et Virtus). La difficulté consistant à connaître l' époque du moulage ... là je ne trouve aucuns documents la précisant (c' est peut être juste impossible à savoir).
Est ce un moulage de Cavino lui même ou du moins XVII ème ? (puisqu' il existe bel et bien des "Padouans coulés" ) .. ou un moulage postèrieur jusque XIX ème ? Je pencherai pour cette hypothèse pour celui ci .. c' est tellement difficile de s' y retrouver dans les faux finalement ...
http://www.sesterzio.eu/Cavino/cavino.htm
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/board/index.php?topic=97685.0
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RIC 0002 Vespasian denariusIMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG
Laureate head of Vespasian right
IVDAEA
Judaea as mourning captive seated right on ground at foot of trophy.
Celebrating the success of Vespasian and Titus in quelling the first Jewish Revolt. Portrait looks like a cross between Otho and Vitellius
Rome 69-70 AD
RIC 2 (C2); Sear 2296; Hendin 6509 (6th)
3.285g
Ex-Forum from the Maridvnvm collection
Jay GT4
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RIC 0010 Vespasian Æ As, 10.12g
Rome mint, 70 AD
Obv: IMP CAESAR AVG•VIISPAS•SIAN ; Head of Vespasian, bare, r.
Rev: PROVID in exergue; S C in field; Altar
RIC 10 (R2). BMC -. BNC -.
Acquired from London Ancient Coins, May 2022.
A rare Rome mint first bronze issue as struck for Vespasian in early 70. The standardised legend formula and portrait for Vespasian had yet to be developed. Instead, we have an unusual obverse legend featuring the odd misspelling VIISPAS•SIAN(!) paired with a bare headed portrait of the newly throned emperor. Although attributed to Rome, RIC speculates this could be an early Spanish issue, however, there are no Spanish findspots attested. The reverse copies a Provident Altar type struck for Divus Augustus by Tiberius and was later revived during the Civil War by Galba and Vitellius. This is the first occasion of the type on Flavian coinage. Bronze coinage was not the Rome mint's primary concern at the outset, as evident by the extreme rarity of this early as. It may have predated the massive denarius issues which were struck later that same year. Missing from both the BM and Paris collections. Obverse and reverse die match with the lone Oxford specimen cited by RIC.
I can forgive the off-centre obverse legend and worn state, especially for such a scarce piece! David Atherton
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RIC 0019 Vespasian (2)AR Denarius, 3.45g
Rome mint, January - June 70 AD
Obv: IMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.
Rev: COS ITER FORT RED; Fortuna, draped, standing l.,setting r. hand on prow and holding cornucopiae in l. hand
RIC 19 (C). BMC 7. RSC 84. BNC 7.
Ex eBay, March 2017.
Early in Vespasian's reign the Rome mint had a hard time getting his portrait right because he spent the balance of his first year as emperor in Egypt. There is a wide variation in portrait types and styles until the mint was able to procure a suitable portrait bust. Some, such as the one on this common Fortuna type, are unmodified Vitellius portraits. Certainly this denarius was one of the first coined for Vespasian at the mint.
A strikingly unusual portrait struck on a large flan.David Atherton
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RIC 0021 Vespasian DenariiusIMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG
laureate head right
COS ITER TR POT
Aequitas standing left holding scales and sceptre
Rome 70 AD
3.51g
RIC II 21 (C), BMC 17, RSC 94a, Sear 2284
Another early portrait that has Vitellius' features.
New PhotoJay GT4
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RIC 0029 Vespasian denariusIMP CAESAR VESPASIANVS AVG
Laur. head of Vespasian right
COS ITER TR POT
Pax seated left holding olive branch and caduceus
Rome 70 AD
RIC 29 (C3), BMC 26, RSC 94h, Sear 2285
3.4g
Interesting early portrait looks very much like VitelliusJay GT4
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RIC 0221 VespasianÆ Sestertius, 19.38g
Rome mint, 71 AD
Obv: IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG P M TR P P P COS III; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.
Rev: VICTORIA AVGVSTI; S C in exergue; Victory stg. r., l. foot on helmet, inscribing OB / CIV / SERV on shield on palm tree; to r., Judaea std. r.
RIC 221 (C3). BMC 582. BNC 561. Hendin 1508.
Ex CNG eAuction 453, 2 October 2019, lot 522.
The commonness of most Judaea Capta types underscores how important the Jewish War and subsequent defeat of the Jews was to the fledgling Flavian dynasty. This iconic sestertius from the second bronze issue of 71 was struck in fairly plentiful numbers and copies a similar Victory type coined under Vitellius. It very likely was the first 'Judaea Capta' type struck for Vespasian. Colin Kraay records 21 different reverse dies used for this one type alone. The iconography on the reverse is quite explicit. Victory, nude from the waist up, is inscribing a shield attached to the trunk of a palm tree, the palm being a topographical symbol for the land of Judaea. The personification of Judaea herself sits in dejected mode to the right of the palm. The inscription on the shield, OB CIV SERV - 'for saving the citizens', credits the emperor for keeping the empire safe. The clear allegorical message of the reverse giving the credit to Vespasian for defeating the Jews and saving the empire would have been quite apparent to most people handling this coin. The amount of propaganda squeezed from the rebellion of such a small region is indeed remarkable. Josephus' declaration of the Jewish War as the 'greatest' of all time would have been quite welcomed by the Flavian regime.
Beautiful dark olive green patina good style.
NB: Special thanks to Curtis Clay for the Kraay citation.David Atherton
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RIC 0238 VespasianÆ Sestertius, 25.68g
Rome mint, 71 AD
Obv: IMP CAES VESPAS AVG P M TR P P P COS III; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.
Rev: MARS VICTOR; S C in field; Mars, armoured, adv. l., with Victory and trophy
RIC 238 (C). BMC 552. BNC 509.
Ex CNG E443, 1 May 2019, lot 530.
A sestertius struck in Vespasian's great bronze issue of 71. The reverse features the first Mars type coined for the new emperor, copied from one previously struck for Vitellius. Mars is seen here in full military dress instead of the heroic nude he is normally depicted as on the contemporary denarii. This MARS VICTOR type pays proper respect to the god of war for granting Flavian success in the recently concluded Jewish War (an open display of celebration for defeating Vitellius would be taboo on the coinage). The portraits from this aes issue can be quite extraordinary. C.H.V. Sutherland in his book Roman Coins writes: 'Vespasian's aes, however, and not merely the sestertii, developed a full magnificence of portraiture ... The beauty of this work lay in it's realism, strong in authority and yet delicate in execution ...' (p. 189). Perhaps, a portrait such as this is what Sutherland had in mind when he wrote that passage.
The minor porosity does not detract from the superb veristic portrait and beautiful dark brown patina. David Atherton
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RIC 0282 VespasianÆ Dupondius, 14.36g
Rome mint, 71 AD
Obv: IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG COS III; Head of Vespasian, radiate, r.
Rev: TVTELA AVGVSTI; S C in exergue; Tutela std. l., with a child either side
RIC 282 (R2). BMC 596. BNC 572.
Acquired from Praefectus Coins, July 2019. Ex The Morris Collection. Formerly in NGC holder 4632640-020, grade 'Ch VF', strike 5/5, surface 3/5.
Tutela, the goddess of guardianship, is a rare personification on Roman coinage. She first appears on the dupondii of Vitellius and later under Vespasian during his great bronze issue of 71, both on the dupondius and a unique sestertius. The type under Vespasian is extremely scarce with only two reverse dies known for the dupondius. The unique sestertius was acquired by Curtis Clay, for which he wrote the following concerning the TVTELA reverse type:
'Cohen suggested a dynastic interpretation of this TVTELA AVGVSTI rev. type: Vitellius seated with his two children, one boy and one girl, under Vitellius; Domitilla, Vespasian's deceased wife, seated with her sons Titus and Domitian under Vespasian.
Mattingly, in BMC, p. xliv, modified Cohen's interpretation: "Cohen can hardly be right in identifying the woman with Domitilla, but the children seem to stand for Titus and Domitian, and Tutela is the guardian care of the Emperor that watches over his sons."
However, I prefer Mattingly's alternate interpretation, which he explains in a footnote:
"Or the children might represent citizens and Tutela would then be the Emperor's ward over his subjects. Cf. Suetonius, Divus Vespasianus, 5, an omen that portended 'desertam rem p. civili aliqua perturbatione in tutelam eius ac velut in gremium deventuram' ['that the Roman state, abandoned because of some civil agitation, would fall under his protection (tutela) and as it were into his lap']....Martial (v.1.7ff.) addresses Domitian as 'o rerum felix tutela salusque / sospite quo gratum credimus esse Iovem' [O happy protector (tutela) and savior of our affairs, whose continuing good health makes us believe that Jupiter is on our side']."
These quotes, and others that Mattingly indicates in the same note, show that 'tutela' was commonly used in Vespasian's day to mean the emperor's solicitous care for his subjects. Plus, the few later appearances of a Tutela type on Roman coins, under Tetricus I and Carausius, do not include children and seem to refer to governing not childrearing.'
As can clearly be seen on this well preserved dupondius the two children standing either side of Tutela are togate, indicating that they are both boys and perhaps can be viewed as further evidence that Mattingly's alternate theory is correct and the two children do indeed represent the empire's citizens. Unfortunately, the Tutela type was struck rather fleetingly in 71 and did not become part of Vespasian's regular canon of reverse types.
One of the finest known examples of the type. A double die match with the ANS specimen 1906.236.246.
NB: BMC 527 records the type with an obverse reading COS II, however, the obverse has been tooled from an original COS III die. Its reverse die is also known to be paired with other COS III obverses.
David Atherton
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RIC 0315 VespasianÆ As, 9.84g
Rome mint, 71 AD
Obv: IMP CAES VESPASIAN AVG COS III; Head of Vespasian, laureate, r.
Rev: PROVIDEN in exergue; S C in field; Altar
RIC 315 (R). BMC -. BNC -.
Acquired from Dr. Claus W. Hild, May 2019.
Originally, Tiberius struck the Provident altar type for Divus Augustus. The altar depicted is dedicated to Providentia, the personification of the emperor's divine providence. Although the type is commonly described as an altar, Marvin Tameanko has convincingly argued it is actually a sacellum, or small shrine. This popular type was later revived during the Civil War by Galba and Vitellius. Vespasian began striking it early in his reign both at Rome and Lyon, confining the type to the as issues. This example is the rare Rome mint variant with the unique abbreviated 'PROVIDEN' legend struck during the great bronze issue of 71. It is missing from the BM's extensive collection. The variant spellings can range the gamut from 'PROVID' to 'PROVIDENT'.
Well centred with a nice dark coppery patina.David Atherton
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RIC 0448 Titus as Caesar [Vespasian]Æ As, 9.94g
Rome mint, 72 AD
Obv: T CAES VESPASIAN IMP P TR P COS II; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, r.
Rev: PROVIDENT in exergue; S C in field; Altar
RIC 448 (R). BMC 692A. BNC 634.
Acquired from Incitatus Coins, November 2020.
Originally, Tiberius struck the Provident altar type for Divus Augustus. The altar depicted is dedicated to Providentia, the personification of the emperor's divine providence. Although the type is commonly described as an altar, Marvin Tameanko has convincingly argued it is actually a sacellum, or small shrine. Vespasian began striking it early in his reign both at Rome and Lyon, confining the type to the as issues. Nathan T. Elkins in his Monuments in Miniature wrote the following concerning the type - 'Asses with an altar enclosure labeled PROVIDENT, combine with obverses of Vespasian or his sons, are the emperor's most common architectural type and were produced from c. 71 to 78. The Ara Providentiae, which had appeared before on coins of Tiberius, Galba, and Vitellius, celebrated the emperor's foresight in the designation of his successors. The combination of the reverse type with obverses of one of the two Caesars further underscored the dynastic message.' This rare PROVIDENT from 72 is the first instance of the type struck for Titus Caesar.
Oddly, the coin has a 12 o'clock die axis, unusual for Rome at this time.David Atherton
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RIC 0631 Titus as Caesar [Vespasian]Æ As, 8.13g
Rome mint, 73 AD
Obv: T CAES IMP PON TR P COS II CENS; Head of Titus, laureate, bearded, l.
Rev: PROVIDENT in exergue; S C in field; Altar
RIC 631 (R). BMC -. BNC -.
Ex Savoca Blue 145, 16 October 2022, lot 1306.
Originally, Tiberius struck the Provident altar type for Divus Augustus. The altar depicted is dedicated to Providentia, the personification of the emperor's divine providence. Although the type is commonly described as an altar, Marvin Tameanko has convincingly argued it is actually a sacellum, or small shrine. Vespasian began striking it early in his reign both at Rome and Lyon, confining the type to the as issues. Nathan T. Elkins in his Monuments in Miniature wrote the following concerning the type - 'Asses with an altar enclosure labeled PROVIDENT, combine with obverses of Vespasian or his sons, are the emperor's most common architectural type and were produced from c. 71 to 78. The Ara Providentiae, which had appeared before on coins of Tiberius, Galba, and Vitellius, celebrated the emperor's foresight in the designation of his successors. The combination of the reverse type with obverses of one of the two Caesars further underscored the dynastic message.' This PROVIDENT from 73 features the less common left facing portrait of Titus Caesar. Missing from both the BM and Paris collections.David Atherton
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