The Year Of The Four Emperors
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The Year Of The Four Emperors
The Year of the Four Emperors, AD 69, was the first civil war of the Roman Empire, during which four emperors ruled in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. It is considered an important interval, marking the transition from the Julio-Claudians, the first imperial dynasty, to the Flavian dynasty. The period witnessed several rebellions and claimants, with shifting allegiances and widespread turmoil in Rome and the provinces. In 68, Vindex, legate of Gallia Lugdunensis, revolted against Nero and encouraged Galba, governor of Hispania, to claim the Empire. The latter was acclaimed emperor by his legion in early April. He was notably supported by Otho, legate of Lusitania. Soon after, the legate of a legion in Africa, Clodius Macer, also rebelled against Nero. Vindex was defeated by the Rhine legions at the Battle of Vesontio, but they too rebelled against Nero. Finally, on 9 June 68, Nero committed suicide after being declared a public enemy by the Sena ...
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Year Of The Four Emperors
The Year of the Four Emperors, AD 69, was the first civil war of the Roman Empire, during which four emperors ruled in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. It is considered an important interval, marking the transition from the Julio-Claudians, the first imperial dynasty, to the Flavian dynasty. The period witnessed several rebellions and claimants, with shifting allegiances and widespread turmoil in Rome and the provinces. In 68, Vindex, legate of Gallia Lugdunensis, revolted against Nero and encouraged Galba, governor of Hispania, to claim the Empire. The latter was acclaimed emperor by his legion in early April. He was notably supported by Otho, legate of Lusitania. Soon after, the legate of a legion in Africa, Clodius Macer, also rebelled against Nero. Vindex was defeated by the Rhine legions at the Battle of Vesontio, but they too rebelled against Nero. Finally, on 9 June 68, Nero committed suicide after being declared a public enemy by the Senate, which m ...
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Legio III Augusta
("Third Augustan Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. Its origin may have been the Republican 3rd Legion which served the general Pompey during his civil war against Gaius Julius Caesar (49–45 BC). It supported the general Octavian (later emperor Augustus) in his civil war against Mark Antony (31–30 BC). It was officially refounded in 30 BC, when Octavian achieved sole mastery of the Roman empire. In that year, it was deployed in the Roman province of Africa, where it remained until at least the late 4th century AD. History and troop movements The Legio III Augusta was placed in Africa to ensure a steady grain supply to Rome. Under Augustus, the African Proconsul had command over it and several other legions. By the end of Tiberius's reign, it was the only legion in Africa. Under Caligula, command of the army was withdrawn from the proconsul and given to a Propraetorial legate who answered directly to the emperor. The Legio III Augusta first set up camp at Haidr ...
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Revolt Of The Batavi
The Revolt of the Batavi took place in the Roman province of Germania Inferior between AD 69 and 70. It was an uprising against the Roman Empire started by the Batavi, a small but militarily powerful Germanic tribe that inhabited Batavia, on the delta of the river Rhine. They were soon joined by the Celtic tribes from Gallia Belgica and some Germanic tribes. Under the leadership of their hereditary prince Gaius Julius Civilis, an auxiliary officer in the Imperial Roman army, the Batavi and their allies managed to inflict a series of humiliating defeats on the Roman army, including the destruction of two legions. After these initial successes, a massive Roman army led by the Roman general Quintus Petillius Cerialis eventually defeated the rebels. Following peace talks, the Batavi submitted again to Roman rule, but were forced to accept humiliating terms and a legion stationed permanently on their territory, at Noviomagus (modern day Nijmegen, The Netherlands). Background T ...
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Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals (Tacitus), ''Annals'' (Latin: ''Annales'') and the Histories (Tacitus), ''Histories'' (Latin: ''Historiae'')—examine the reigns of the Roman emperor, emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero, and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors (69 AD). These two works span the history of the Roman Empire from the death of Augustus (14 AD) to the death of Domitian (96 AD), although there are substantial Lacuna (manuscripts), lacunae in the surviving texts. Tacitus's other writings discuss Public speaking, oratory (in dialogue format, see ''Dialogus de oratoribus''), Germania (in Germania (book), ''De origine et situ Germanorum''), and the life of his father-in-law, Gnaeus Julius Agricola, Agricola (t ...
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Gaius Julius Civilis
Gaius Julius Civilis was the leader of the Batavian rebellion against the Romans in 69 AD. His nomen shows that he (or one of his male ancestors) was made a Roman citizen (and thus, the tribe a Roman vassal) by either Augustus or Caligula. Early history He was twice imprisoned on a charge of rebellion, and narrowly escaped execution. During the disturbances that followed the death of Nero, he took up arms under pretense of siding with Vespasian and induced the inhabitants of his native country to rebel. The Batavians, who had rendered valuable service under the early emperors, had been well treated in order to attach them to the cause of Rome. They were exempt from tribute, but were obliged to supply a large number of men for the army, and the burden of conscription and the oppression of provincial governors were important incentives to revolt. The Batavians were immediately joined by several neighboring Germanic tribes. Revolt The Roman garrisons near the Rhine were driven ou ...
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Batavi (Germanic Tribe)
The Batavi were an ancient Germanic tribe that lived around the modern Dutch Rhine delta in the area that the Romans called Batavia, from the second half of the first century BC to the third century AD. The name is also applied to several military units employed by the Romans that were originally raised among the Batavi. The tribal name, probably a derivation from ''batawjō'' ("good island", from Germanic ''bat-'' "good, excellent," which is also in the English "better," and ''awjō'' "island, land near water"), refers to the region's fertility, today known as the ''fruitbasket of the Netherlands'' (the Betuwe). Finds of wooden tablets show that at least some were literate . Location The Batavi themselves are not mentioned by Julius Caesar in his commentary ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'', although he is often thought to have founded his dynasty's Germanic bodyguard, which was at least in later generations dominated by Batavi. But he did mention the "Batavian island" in the ...
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Marcus Antonius Primus
Marcus Antonius Primus (born between 20 AD and 35 AD – died after 81 AD) was a senator and general of the Roman Empire. Biography Early life Primus was born at Tolosa (Toulouse) in Gaul. He was likely the son/grandson of Lucius Antonius (grandson of Mark Antony). Another possibility is that he was descended from Gauls who had been enfranchised by Mark Antony during his Gallic campaign. He was nicknamed ''Beccus'' ("Beaky"), likely due to his physique. Career During the reign of Nero, he was resident in Rome and a member of the Senate, from which he was expelled for conspiring to forge a will with Valerius Fabianus, and was banished from the city. He was subsequently reinstated by Galba, and placed in command of the Legio VII Galbiana in Pannonia. During the civil war, Primus was one of Vespasian's strongest supporters. Advancing into Italy, he gained a decisive victory over the Vitellians at Bedriacum in October 69, and on the same day stormed and captured Cremona. His vict ...
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Gaius Licinius Mucianus
Gaius Licinius Mucianus (fl. 1st century AD) was a Roman general, statesman and writer. He is considered to have played a role behind the scenes in the elevation of Vespasian to the throne. Life His name shows that he had passed by adoption from the '' gens Mucia'' to the '' gens Licinia''. Mucianus was sent by Claudius to Armenia with Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo. He was a suffect consul during the reign of Nero, most likely during the years 63 or 64. Mucianus served as governor of Syria in 67 AD, following the outbreak of the Jewish revolt during the previous year. The future emperor Vespasian had been sent on a special mission to Judaea in 66 AD to put down the revolt. Initially, Mucianus and Vespasian were poorly disposed towards one another, however the feud was resolved by the beginning of 69. After the death of Galba, Mucianus and Vespasian both swore allegiance to Otho, but when the civil war broke out, Mucianus persuaded Vespasian to take up arms against Vitellius, who ...
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Roman Syria
Roman Syria was an early Roman province annexed to the Roman Republic in 64 BC by Pompey in the Third Mithridatic War following the defeat of King of Armenia Tigranes the Great. Following the partition of the Herodian Kingdom of Judea into tetrarchies in 6 AD, it was gradually absorbed into Roman provinces, with Roman Syria annexing Iturea and Trachonitis. Provincia Syria Syria was annexed to the Roman Republic in 64 BC, when Pompey the Great had the Seleucid king Antiochus XIII Asiaticus executed and deposed his successor Philip II Philoromaeus. Pompey appointed Marcus Aemilius Scaurus to the post of Proconsul of Syria. Following the fall of the Roman Republic and its transformation into the Roman Empire, Syria became a Roman imperial province, governed by a Legate. During the early empire, the Roman army in Syria accounted for three legions with auxiliaries who defended the border with Parthia. In 6 AD Emperor Augustus deposed the ethnarch Herod Archelaus and united J ...
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Battle Of Bedriacum
The Battle of Bedriacum refers to two battles fought during the Year of the Four Emperors (AD 69) near the village of Bedriacum (now Calvatone), about from the town of Cremona in northern Italy. The fighting in fact took place between Bedriacum and Cremona, and the battles are sometimes called "First Cremona" and "Second Cremona". First Battle of Bedriacum Marcus Salvius Otho, with the support and aid of the Praetorian Guard, had his predecessor Galba murdered in January and claimed the throne. Legate Aulus Vitellius, governor of the province of Germania Inferior, had also claimed the throne earlier in the month and marched on Rome with his troops. Vitellius' forces were divided into two armies, one commanded by Aulus Caecina Alienus and the other by Fabius Valens. The Vitellian forces included legions XXI ''Rapax'', V ''Alaudae'', and powerful vexillationes from all the other legions stationed on the Rhine, together with a strong force of Batavian auxiliaries, totalling a ...
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Praetorian Guard
The Praetorian Guard (Latin: ''cohortēs praetōriae'') was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guard were an escort for high-rank political officials ( senators and procurators) and were bodyguards for the senior officers of the Roman legions. In 27 BC, after Rome's transition from republic to empire, the first emperor of Rome, Augustus, designated the Praetorians as his personal security escort. For three centuries, the guards of the Roman emperor were also known for their palace intrigues, by which influence upon imperial politics the Praetorians could overthrow an emperor and then proclaim his successor as the new ''caesar'' of Rome. In AD 312, Constantine the Great disbanded the and destroyed their barracks at the Castra Praetoria. In the Roman Republic In the period of the Roman Republic (509–27 BC) the Praetorian Guard originated as bodyguards ...
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Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus
Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus (38 – 15 January 69) was a Roman nobleman who lived in the 1st century. He was adopted by the Roman Emperor Galba as his heir to the throne, only to be killed during the Year of Four Emperors on the same day as Galba. Life Licinianus was a nobleman of the highest ancient birth. Licinianus was one among the sons of Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi (consul 27) and Scribonia. By birth and adoption through his father, Licinianus was of the ''gens Licinia''. From his name, it appears he was likely adopted into the '' gens Calpurnia'', but by whom is uncertain. Licinianus’ maternal grandparents were both direct descendants of Pompeia, the daughter of triumvir Pompey from third marriage to Mucia Tertia. His paternal grandfather was consul and governor Marcus Licinius Crassus, (consul 14 BC). Crassus was the adoptive son of consul and general Marcus Licinius Crassus (consul 30 BC), the grandson of triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus. He was the l ...
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