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Nero’s tyrannical behaviour encouraged conspiracies. Julius Vindex, governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, rebelled against Nero in March A.D. 68 and he was eager to promote a figurehead. Servius Sulpicius Galba, the aged governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, accepted Vindex’s invitation and soon gained support from the army and most of the governors in the western provinces. Galba was renowned for his severity and greed, coupled with a tactless and superior attitude. It was his blunt refusal to reward the troops for their support which hastened his end; the legions in Germany declared Aulus Vitellius their new emperor. Galba was hacked to death in the Roman Forum and his head paraded around the city.
Meanwhile, Marcus Salvius Otho, governor of Lusitania under Nero, won over the Praetorian Guard and seized power before Vitellius could reach Rome. Otho seemed an able man, but the Senate viewed him with suspicion and the army in Germany had already proclaimed a rival emperor. The forces of Otho and Vitellius met at Cremona in April AD 69. With his legions completely routed, Otho committed suicide on April 16th.
Vitellius was a tool of the German legions who had declared him emperor. He had no great achievements to his name, and was known as a glutton. In July A.D. 69 Vitellius learned that the eastern legions had proclaimed a new emperor, their general Titus Flavius Vespasianus. The forces of Vitellius and Vespasian met at the second battle at Cremona in October A.D. 69 and Vespasian’s hardened troops won the day. An orgy of destruction followed as Vespasian’s victorious legions entered Rome. Vitellius was murdered in the Forum on December 20th. Vespasian was confirmed Emperor in absentia. James R. Wadman B.A., M.A. [History and Archaeology] for Time Line Originals.
