068 - Three Emperors

Hello, and welcome to the History of Rome, episode 68, Three Emperors. The house of Caesar was no more. Though the name Caesar would live on as a symbol of power, authority, and legitimacy, the family itself was now officially defunct. From the moment Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 49 BC, to the moment Nero committed suicide some 117 years later, Rome had been dominated by the Julio-Claudian dynasty. No one alive remembered a time before they rose to power, and now suddenly, without warning, they were gone. Does anyone around here have any idea what we're supposed to do now?

The thing was, the initial transition from republic to autocratic empire had been midwifed by Julius Caesar and his adopted son Augustus, two men with personalities so strong that they couldn't help but shape the whole governmental apparatus to match their own individual quirks, habits, strengths, and weaknesses. Their descendants had more or less failed to live up to the standards set by the two great patriarchs of the family, but they had also more or less continued the forms and practices of governance that had been handed down to them.

One of the quirks of the initial principate was that the legitimacy and authority of the emperor lay not in codified rules or a spelled-out job description. Rather, it rested on an ad-hoc collection of powers that had been accumulated by Augustus personally during the constitutional settlements of the 20s BC. After his death, those powers had been passed along to his descendants for no other reason than that they were his descendants. It was an issue not of constitutional authority, but of family inheritance.

So now that Nero was dead, and there were no more descendants of Augustus, would the collection of powers the family had accumulated remain bundled together and handed intact to some successor outside the family, or would they be broken up, with different pieces being claimed by different men? And the biggest question of all, if that happened, who would put them back together again?

Without a doubt, the most important power upon which the emperor's authority rested was his command over the legions. In the constitutional settlements, Augustus had made sure that he claimed as his own personal jurisdiction any province that contained a significant military presence. This meant that at the end of the day, however else you might feel about the emperor or his policies, you knew that you could never match the literally hundreds of thousands of soldiers he personally commanded. This had a tendency to keep everyone in line.

Part and parcel of this authority was the fact that basically every general scattered across the empire was subordinate to the emperor. These various generals may have been rivals with one another, but they could each take comfort in the fact that they all answered to the same man, and were thus in a sense all at least equal to each other.

But when Nero died and this uppermost slot in the chain of command was lost, all of those same generals were now technically subordinate to no one. Well maybe they were subordinate in some abstract way to the senate and the people of Rome, but that was neither here nor there.

The year of the four emperors then is best understood as a competition between the leading regional generals of the time to climb into that uppermost slot on the chain of command left vacant by Nero. Galba came from Spain, Vitellius came from the Rhineland, and Vespasian came from the East. While the Julio-Claudian emperors had commanded a force so large it was impossible to match, each of these men controlled forces that were large enough to prompt high ambition, but not so large that they couldn't be met in the field by a force of equal size.

And as much as regional politics played a role in why the various legions backed this or that general, the individual personalities of each of the four emperors—Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian—played a significant role in how events played out.

As I mentioned last week, the man who ascended to the throne upon the death of Nero was Servius Sulpicius Galba. Born in either 3 or 5 BC, he was an old stock patrician and the son of a prominent attorney who had served his consul during the reign of Augustus. An undistinguished man, the elder Galba was best known for the fact that he was a hunchback, a birth defect endlessly mocked by the notoriously un-PC Romans. Augustus himself was even said to have poked fun at the hunchbacked lawyer.

Galba's mother was the granddaughter of Quintus Catullus, a giant in the final days of the Republic, who had defeated the post-sullen coup led by his consular colleague Lepidus, and then stood firmly opposed to Pompey, Crassus, and young Julius Caesar as they rose to prominence, and would have been one of the first triumvirate's key opponents had he not died just before its official formation. Galba was proud of his relation to Catullus and used the great old senator's career as the model for his own life.

His mother, however, died shortly after his birth, and young Galba was subsequently raised by his father's second wife, a beautiful and wealthy woman who would posthumously adopt Galba and leave him a fortune so long as he carried on her family name, which Galba did, though only officially.

He had an older brother who made some attempt at a public career, but was plagued by scandal and poor judgment until he committed suicide during the reign of Tiberius after being passed over for a pro-consular promotion one too many times.

Galba himself rose quickly up the ranks, serving as praetor in 20 AD and then consul in 33. During Tiberius's reign, Galba caught the eye of the Augusta and was brought into her sphere of influence, but of course this put him at odds with the emperor who did not get along with his mother at all. When Livia died in 29, she left a generous bequeathal to Galba, but as executor of his mother's estate, Tiberius first cut the number down by a third, and then simply refused to pay it out.

When Tiberius died, though, one of the first things Caligula did to curry favor with the aristocracy was to restore all those inheritances that Tiberius had canceled or confiscated over the years. This sudden windfall had the intended effect on Galba, and he remained loyal to Caligula even as the emperor's erratic behavior became unsustainable.

He remained loyal to the Julio-Claudians throughout his career, and wound up serving administrative and military functions in Gaul, Germania, Africa, and finally, Hispania. He did however go into retirement during the early years of Nero's reign, though, as Agrippina continued to nurse a heavy grudge against him because Galba had once publicly refused her romantic advances. But after Nero killed his mother, Galba returned to public life and in 61 AD he was posted to Hispania Terraconnensis, the largest of the Spanish provinces. He would serve as governor there for the next seven years until he was declared emperor in 68, first by his own men, and then by the Senate.

Galba had a reputation for being a humorless throwback conservative, in the mold of Cato the Elder. The Romans disliked extremes in either direction, so while the enormously wealthy Galba was always hailed for his restraint, he was also criticized for erring too far on the side of frugality.

Throughout this period, though, he stands out as one of the few generals who did not actively bribe soldiers to join his cause, a practice he thought immoral and unnecessary. This refusal to bribe his men gets to the heart of another of Galba's most notable personality traits, his belief in strict and unquestioning discipline. He did not feel inclined to hand out bribes just because he was a miser, but also because an army should naturally obey its general. One should not have to convince soldiers to fall in line, one should simply order them to do so. And not only did Galba expect his men to follow his every command precisely, he also expected them to do no more than he had commanded either. Disobedience and personal initiative both were frowned upon in the legions of Galba, and as you can imagine he both benefited from and was hurt by this approach.

His reputation as a strict disciplinarian with an almost naive faith in the power of the chain of command is critical to the unfolding events of 69 AD. Following the aborted plot against his life in Germania, Caligula had brought in Galba to restore order to the legions stationed on the Rhine. Galba had apparently taken such a harsh tack with the men under his command that twenty years later those same units would refuse to back the man that they had learned to hate, which led first to their attempt to make Virginia's emperor, as I mentioned last week, and then later to their elevation of Vitellius.

By the time the events that would define Galba's career unfolded, he was already an old man, about seventy years old, give or take. And as a result, his flagging energy led him to rely more and more on a core circle of advisors. Ironically, the man who believed so strongly that every subordinate was merely an extension of his own will, was now widely rumored to be a wholly owned subsidiary of his three closest advisors, who became known as the Three Pedagogues because they taught Galba everything he needed to know.

The most influential was Titus Vinius, a man of senatorial rank who was, according to Tacitus, quote, the most worthless of mankind. He was dogged by scandals of all sorts, with Plutarch reporting that he was imprisoned at one point by Caligula, and was later accused of stealing a golden cup after attending a dinner hosted by Claudius. He wound up in charge of a legion in Spain, and somehow, though I don't really know how or why, he came to exert enormous influence on Galba, even though the two could not have been more different. Galba hated bribes. Vinius, it was said, would do anything for one.

Along with Vinius, there was Cornelius Laco, who served as Galba's legal advisor. In contrast to Vinius, he was an honest, if lazy, man. When Galba ascended to the throne, he would appoint Laco as praetorian prefect, even though Laco had no military or administrative experience.

Rounding out the trio was a freedman advisor named Aecellus, who was in Rome when Nero committed suicide, and was the one who brought the news to Galba. For making the trip from Rome to Spain in just seven days, Galba elevated Aecellus to equestrian status. The former slave would then spend the rest of his short life accumulating the money his new rank required, like Vinius, by any means necessary.

The three men were, of course, rivals for Galba's favor and attention, but they transcended their own bickering when it came to keeping others locked out of the inner circle. If you wanted to talk to Galba, you had to go through one of them.

This was why the neighboring governor of Lusitania was forced to form a short-lived alliance with Vinius in an attempt to secure his own adoption by the childless Galba. Everyone knew that the old man would be dead soon, so as soon as Galba came to power, it was already time to start planning for the future.

Marcus Salvius Otho, the young governor in question, was convinced that he could convince Galba to adopt him so that when the old man died, he, Otho, would become emperor. After all, an astrologer had told him that it would be so.

Otho was born in 32 BC, making him by far the youngest of the four emperors. He was descended from Etruscan nobility, but his family had only reached senatorial status with his grandfather, who did so after the Augusta took a liking to him. As a result of this connection, Otho's father became close to Tiberius and the family thrived under the Julio-Claudian dynasty.

Otho himself was only five years older than Nero, and when the teenager became emperor in 54, Otho was right there by his side and quickly became one of Nero's most prominent drinking buddies. Together, they would spend their nights blowing through money, alcohol, and women, and Otho earned a reputation as a ringleader of the decadent proceedings.

But in 58, the two had a falling out over Otho's wife, Papaea Sabina. As I said last week, it is entirely possible that Papaea only targeted Otho to get close to Nero, but it has also been suggested that Nero and Otho had arranged the match to put Papaea on hold for Nero until the emperor could figure out how to rid himself of his wife, Claudia Octavia. If this latter version is true, then it seems that when it came time to hand Papaea over, Otho had had a change of heart.

However it happened though, Papaea went over to Nero and Otho wasn't happy about it. To deal with this problem, Nero appointed Otho governor of Lusitania, which on the one hand was a fat promotion, as Otho had only served previously as a quaestor and didn't qualify for the post, but on the other hand, it was obviously meant to exile him from Rome.

Despite everyone's expectations that this drunken gadabout would prove to be a disaster, Otho emerged as a competent administrator, and though he no doubt longed to get out of his backwater province, he seemed to have served his time conscientiously.

But when his neighbor Galba declared his intention to take control of the empire though, Otho seized on his chance not only to revenge himself upon Nero, but also to free himself from exile. He immediately sent word to Galba that the treasury of Lusitania was at the old man's disposal, an announcement Otho hoped would demonstrate some unique level of commitment to the cause, but apparently Galba received the news blandly, stating in essence, well of course your treasury is at my disposal, I don't need you to tell me that.

Undeterred, Otho also sent along some of his better slaves, who were worthy of service to a new emperor, but they were greeted with disdain by the frugal Galba, who disapproved of the extravagance that was beginning to affix itself to his entourage.

But Otho convinced himself that he had really gotten on Galba's good side with all of these gestures, and set about trying to figure a way to convince Galba to adopt him, so that when Galba died, Otho could rise up in his place. He was especially convinced that this was his destiny, because during his time in Lusitania, he had grown enamored with an astrologer, who predicted soon after the news came of Nero's death, that Otho would become emperor soon. It was Otho himself though who made the leap to the belief that that meant Galba would be adopting him.

In his excellent 69 AD, the year of four emperors, which I'll be drawing on heavily for the next few episodes, Gwyn Morgan points out that if this was his plan, then Otho's power for self-deception was unparalleled. The taciturn and conservative Galba had not risen in revolt against Nero just to make sure one of Nero's drinking buddies wound up on the throne.

But Otho was sure he was on the right track, and arranged a deal to marry Vinius's daughter in exchange for Vinius's support on the issue of adoption. And in fact, Otho was so convinced that Galba was going to adopt him, that when he learned Galba had chosen the more stable Lucius Calpurnius Piso instead, a blindsided Otho flew into such a rage that he assassinated Galba less than a week later. But we'll get into all that in a bit.

So so far, we have here two men, one at the end of his career, and convinced that it was not just his duty, but his right to assume the title of Caesar, and one who had barely started his career, but was crazy ambitious enough to believe that he was destined to don the purple.

Having covered Vespasian, the man who would outlast them both last week, though I did botch his birth date, he was born in 980, not 17, and his son Titus was born in 39, not 41, thanks to alert listener Sarah for catching that, we are left then with just one more emperor to introduce, the third leg of the relay, which as students of track and field will tell you, is always the slowest member of the team. And I don't just mean that figuratively, though I do mean it figuratively, I also mean that literally, Aulus Vitellius was probably one of the slowest men to ever ascend to the throne.

Vitellius was born in 1580, to a family either descended from ancient Latin nobility, or descended from common stock nobodies, depending on whether you are talking to a supporter or an opponent of the man. His father was a prominent official who served with distinction under Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius. Such was the esteem in which the elder Vitellius was held that when he died, Claudius honored him with a state funeral.

Not much is known about the early years of young Aulus, except for the rumor that when he was born, the horoscope taken on the occasion of his birth so horrified his parents that Vitellius' father wound up actually trying to hinder his son's career for his own sake, The alleged horoscope stated that if Vitellius was ever put in charge of an army, that disaster would ensue. This prophecy hung over Vitellius' head, and as I said, his father used what influence he had to make sure that his son was always posted to non-military provinces.

When Galba appointed him to command the legions of the lower Rhine, it would prove to be the first military posting of his career. Did disaster ensue? Well, the legions under his command revolted against their emperor, won, then lost a civil war, and Vitellius himself was dead just a year after assuming the post, so yeah, I would call that disastrous for pretty much everyone involved.

But up until that point, the affable and non-threatening Vitellius managed to thrive in a political environment where talent was viewed with suspicion, and he rose to the rank of consul during the reign of Claudius in 48 AD. More than a decade later, he was named proconsul to Africa by Nero in either 60 or 61.

Throughout his career, Vitellius earned a reputation for good-natured laziness, unambitious but honest administration, but above all, a massive appetite for all the finer things in life. An unrepentant glutton, he banqueted frequently, usually stuffing four full meals into a day. His one major vice, beyond gambling, was that he would use the men at his disposal to go out into the wide world and bring home delicacies from across the empire.

But though he was not cut from the same vigorous and athletic mold that perhaps his forebearers were, Vitellius was always well liked by his subordinates wherever he went. The stories of his arrival on the Rhine after the ascension of Galba are peppered with accounts of his shaking hands with mule drivers, learning the names of slaves, and generally showing interest in all the various nobodies under his command. In short, Vitellius was a classic player's coach, the kind of man you loved to play for even if he wasn't strict enough to get the most out of your team. Discipline was lax and parties were frequent.

There could not have been a stronger contrast to the strict and humorless Galba than the flush-cheeked and jovial Vitellius, and the troops along the Rhine did not miss the distinction. On the one hand, there was the hated Galba, who had beaten them and worked them and driven them like pack animals, and on the other hand was beloved Vitellius, who joined in their dice games, let them off the hook if their uniforms were out of order, and shared his table with anyone who wanted to have some good food.

So on January 1, 69 AD, when the legions across the empire were supposed to renew their oaths to serve the new Emperor Galba, the legions on the Rhine refused. They were done with Galba. Vitellius was their man, and they declared him Emperor by acclaim.

The man most shocked to find Vitellius suddenly leading a full-blown revolt against Galba? Vitellius himself, of course.

When I return from the break, we'll dive into the guts of the year of the four Emperors. Galba will ascend to the throne, but as Tacitus says, everyone agreed that Galba would make an excellent Emperor until he actually became Emperor. His short and unpopular reign will be cut short when Otho assassinates him in January of 69. Otho will wind up committing suicide in April after suffering defeat in Northern Italy at the hands of Vitellius' invading Rhine legions. Vitellius himself will only last until December. In over his head and ready to bow to the more formidable Vespasian, he will be unnecessarily murdered by Flavian partisans just before the arrival of the new year. Vespasian will then emerge into 70 AD as the founder of a new imperial dynasty.

Next week, though, I'm going to pause our forward progress, and in honor of my own fast-approaching nuptials, will dedicate an episode to Roman wedding customs. And if there's not enough material to cover a whole episode, maybe I'll just ramble on a bit about Roman family life. Should be fun, so join me next week for A History of Rome Wedding.