Titus Vinius (12 – 69) was a Roman general and one of the most powerful men in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

during the reign of the Emperor

Galba Galba (; born Servius Sulpicius Galba; 24 December 3 BC – 15 January AD 69) was the sixth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 68 to 69. After his adoption by his stepmother, and before becoming emperor, he was known as Livius Ocella Sulpicius Ga ...

Stories

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

has a number of stories of Vinius' early life, all to his discredit. He says that when, as a young man, he was serving in his first campaign, he brought his commander's wife into the camp by night disguised as a soldier, and had sex with her in the general's quarters. He was imprisoned for this by

Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...

, but on that emperor's death was released. Later on, again according to Plutarch and

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 t ...

, when he was invited to supper by the emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

he stole a gold drinking cup. Claudius was told of this, and invited him to supper again the following evening. When Vinius came, Claudius made his point by having his attendants set earthenware plates before him instead of silver. Nevertheless, Tacitus, who elsewhere describes him as "the most worthless of mankind", says that as

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ' ...

Gallia Narbonensis Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the ...

he administered the province with strict integrity.

As consul

Vinius was commander of one of the legions in

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...

when Galba was governor there. When Galba was proclaimed emperor in 68, Vinius accompanied him to Rome, where Galba chose him to be his colleague as

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

. Vinius quickly came to have great influence—indeed, it was said that he and two others,

Cornelius Laco Cornelius Laco (died 69) was a prefect of the Roman imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, under Emperor Galba from 68 until his death on 15 January of AD 69. Laco acceded to this office upon the suicide of the previous emperor Nero ...

, the commander of the

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 fo ...

, and Galba's

freedman A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom a ...

Icelus Martianus Icelus Martianus (died 69 CE) was a freedman of and adviser to the Roman Emperor Galba. Icelus had been imprisoned and released during the revolt against Nero and was present at Nero's suicide where he granted Nero's request that his body would b ...

, virtually controlled the emperor. The three were called "the three pedagogues" because of their influence on Galba. Tacitus writes that Vinius' "unpopularity grew every day along with his power". According to

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...

and Plutarch, Vinius was exceedingly greedy for money, prepared to do anything in return for a bribe. In particular, he protected

Tigellinus Ofonius Tigellinus (c. 10 – 69) was a prefect of the Roman imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, from 62 until 68, during the reign of emperor Nero. Tigellinus gained imperial favour through his acquaintance wit ...

, who was blamed for having corrupted

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

, from retribution in exchange for a large bribe.

Support for Otho, and death

In early 69 Galba was faced with the need to designate an heir. Titus Vinius supported

Otho Marcus Otho (; born Marcus Salvius Otho; 28 April 32 – 16 April 69) was the seventh Roman emperor, ruling for three months from 15 January to 16 April 69. He was the second emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors. A member of a noble Etru ...

, having already secretly agreed that Otho should marry his daughter Crispina. Galba, however, for once refused to follow Vinius' advice and instead selected Piso Licinianus as his adopted son and designated heir. Otho responded by persuading the Praetorian guard to proclaim him emperor instead of Galba. With turmoil in the streets, Titus Vinius advised Galba to remain in the palace and to arm the slaves in the palace to help defend it. Laco and Icelus, however, advised Galba to go out and show himself. Galba followed their advice, and was killed by the Praetorians. Vinius tried to run away, calling out that Otho had not ordered him killed, but was pierced from one side to the other with a sword by a legionary.

References

External links

Life of Galba
(Plutarch; English translation)
Titus Vinius
Quotes from

(www.romansonline.com) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vinius, Titus 12 births 69 deaths 1st-century Romans Imperial Roman consuls Roman consuls who died in office Roman governors of Gallia Narbonensis Ancient Roman generals People of the Year of the Four Emperors Assassinated Roman politicians