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VITELLIUS 269 Dominicus as an encore. When the flautist obliged with one of thesecompositions, Vitellius jumped up delightedly and led the applause.
12. This was how his reigra began. Later, he based many important political decisions on what the lowest performers in the theatre orarena told him, and relied particularly on the advice of his freedman Asiaticus. Asiaticus had been Vitellius's flave and calamite, but soongrew tired of this role and ran away. Aster a while he was discoveredselling che drinhs at Puteoli, and put in chalas untii Vitellius orderediati release and made his his favourite. However, Asiaticus bellavedso insolently, and so thievishly as well, that Vitellius sold him to an
itinerant trainer of gladiatori: but impulsively bought him bach whenhe was just about to take part in the final malch of a gladiatorial
contest. When sent to goVern Lower Germany, Vitellius seeed
Asiaticus, and on his first Jay as Eniperor presented hina with the goldring of knighthood; whicli surprised everyone, because that verymorning he had rejected a popular demand for this award, with the
large disti whicli Vitellius dedicated to the Goddess Minerva and named 'Shield of Minerva the Protectress'. The recipe called for pike
prey-mili: and the ingredients, collected in every corner of the Empire frona the Parthian frontier to the Stratis of Gibraltar, werebrought to Rome by navat triremes. Vitellius pald no attention toplace or time in satis' g his remarkable appetite. While a sacrifice was in progress, he thought nothing of snatching lumps of meat orcahe off the altar, almost out of the sacred fre, and botting them down; and on his traveis would devour cuts of meat setched smokingliot stom wayside cookshops, and even yesterday's haliaeaten scraps.14. His crueity was such that he would kill or torture anyone at
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a moment later cointermanded the order. The courtiers pressed this
knight's seeedman, ordered master and man to die together. He executed some of the commons for disparaging the 'Blues', on the suspicion that suci, criticism was directed against him. He particularlydishhed lampoonisis and astrologers, and made away at once with any who came up be re him. This reseniment dated stom when an edici of his, forbidding any astrologers to remari in Italy after 1 October, had been capped with a cointer-edici:
Decreed by ali astrologers In hi essing on Our State: Vitellius will he no more On the appotnted date. According to some accounts, a Chattian prophetess, whom Vitellius credited with oracular powers, had promised him a long and secure reign is he ouilived his mollier; so when ine sep sich. he had herstarved to death. Mother version of the sto is that his mother, grown weary of the present and apprehensive of the future, beggedhim for a supply of poison; a request Which he was not flow to grant. 13. In the eighth monili of Vitellius's reign the Moesian and Pa nonian legions repudiated him and swore allegiance to Vespasian; inose in Syria and Judaea followed fuit and could take their oaths tollim in person. To keep the goodwis of his rema ing troops, Vitellius embarhed on a course of limitiess public and private generosity. He
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service. When Vespasian's forces converged on Rome, he sent against
them the troops who had fought at Betriacum, under their originalossicers, and put his brother in command of a fleet manned by recruits and gladiators. Realiging, however, that he was being beaten orbetrayed on every fide, he approached Flavius Sabinus, Vespasian's brother, and asked: ' hat is my abdication worth ' Sabinus offeredhim his life and a see of a million gold pieces. Later, from the Palacesteps, Vitellius announced his decision to the assembled soldiers, explaining that the Imperis power had, after ali, been forced uponhim. When an roar of protest greeted this speech, he at onceretracted it; but nexi day went in mourning to the Rostra and team fully read it out again froni a scroll. Once more the soldiers and the
City crowds shouted 'Stand fasti' and outdid one another in their expressions of loyalty. Suddenly tahing heari, Vitellius drovetiae insuspecting Sabinus and his Flavian relatives into the Capitol, set sire to the Temple of Juppiter Greatest and Best, and burned themative. He walched the play of the flames and his victims' struggles while banqueting in the mansion which had belonged to the Emperor
Tiberius: but was soon oVercome by remorse and blamed someoneelse for the murder. He nexi called an assembly and sorced ali presentio bear witness that peace was noW his sole objective. Thera, dra ingliis dagger of state, he tried in turn to mine the Consul, the praetors,clae quaestors, and the rema ing senators accepi it. When ali refused, he went to lay it up in the Temple of Concord. However, they
and adopi the divine name you have gractousty awarded me.'16. Vitellius also made the Senate send enuoys, accompanted by the Vestat Virgins, to arrange an armistice with Uespasian, or at least togam time for deliberation. But on the following day, while he was watting to hear the outcome of these pourpartem, a scout arrived withnews that enemy delachments were close at hand. Stowing himselffurtively into a sedan-chair, and accompaesed by his pastr cook and
an escape stom there into Campania. But a facit rumour of peace
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gold pieces and hid in the janitor's quarters, tethering a dog oulside and jamining a bed against the door.
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THE FLAvi ANs, admittedly an obscure family, none of whose members had ever enjoyed high office, at last brought stillegoveminent to the Empire; they had found it dristing uneasi lythrough a year of revolution in the course of whicli three successive emperors tost their lives by violence. me have no cause to be ashamed of the Flavian record, though it is generalty admitted that Domitian 'scruelty and greed justissed his assassination. Titus Flavius Petro, a burgher of Retti, who fought for Pompey in ille Civit War as a centurion, or perhaps a reservist, made his waybach there froni the batilefield os Pharsalus: secured an honourable discliarge, with a fuit pardon, and took up tax-collecting. Although
his son Sabinus is said ei ther to have been a leading-centurion, Or toliave resigned command of a battalion on grounds of ill-health, thetruth is that he avoided military service and became a customS SUper- visor in Asia, where severat cities honoured him with statues inscribed: 'To an Honest Tax-gatherer'. He later turned banker in
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Switzerland, and there died, leaving a wise, Vespasia Polla, and two sons, Sabinus and Vespasian. Sabinus, the elder, attained the rank of City Presect at Rome: Vespasian becanae Emperor. Vespasia Pollabelonged to a good family from Nursia. Vespasius Pollio, her fallier, had three times held a colonelcy and been Camp Ρrefeci; lier brotherentered the Senate as a praetor. Moreover, on a histop some siti miles
along tiae road to Spoleto, stands the village of Vespasiae, where agreat many tombs testi' to the fami*'s antiquity and locat renown As for tiae popular account of their origins - that the Emperor's great-grandfather had been a foreman of the Umbrian labourers whocross iste Po every summer to help the Sabines with their harvest, and that he married and setiled in Retti my own caresta researches have
Falacrina, just beyond Reiti: during the consulfhip of Quintus Suti
picius Camerinus and Gaius Poppaeus Sabinus, and fue years beseretile death of Augustus. His patemat grandmother, Tertulla, broughthim up on her estate at Cosa; and as Emperor he would osten revisit the liouse, which he kept exactly as it had a Vs been, in an attemptio preserve his childhood memories intact. On feast days and holydays, he made a practice of drinhing from a litile silver cup which hadonce belonged to his grandmother, so dear was her memory to him. For years he postponed his candidature for the broad purple stripeos senatorial rank, already eamed by his brother, and in the end it was Uespasia Polla who drove his to take this step; not by pleading withhim or commanding him as his mother, but by constant sarcastic Use of the phrase 'your brother's footman'.λVespasian semed is a colonet in Thrace, and when quaestorsi ipswere being assigned by tot, drew that os Crete and Cyrenaica. His first attempt to win an aedileship came to nothing; at the secondhe scraped through in oesy the sicilli place; however, as soon as hestood for the praetorship, he was one of the most popular choices. The Senate then being at odds with Gaius Caligula, Vespasian, whonever missed a chance of winning favour at Couri, proposed that special Games should be held to celebrate the Emperor's Germanvictory. He also proposed that, as an additiones punishment, the
I. There is no modem English equivalent for the Latin anteambulo: meminga client who goes in front of his important patron to clear the way.
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bodies of Lepidus and Gaetulicus, the conspirators, should be dented public buriat: ind. during a fuit session of the House, achnowledged the Emperor's gractousness in hau g invited him to dine at the Palace. 3. Meanwhile, Vespasian had married Flavia Domitilla, the e mistress of Statilius Capella, an African knight stom Sabrata. Hersether, Flavius Liberalis, a limbie quaestor's clerk from Ferulium, had appeared be re a board os arbitration and established her claim to the fuit Roman citigenship, in place of oesy a Latin one. Vespasianhad three children by Flavia, nainely Titus, Domitian, and Domitilla: but Domitilla di ed besore he held a magistracy, and so did Flavia herseis: he then took up with Caenis, his former mistress and one of
4. On Claudius's accession, Vespasian was indebled to Narcissus sorthe command of a legion in Germas: and proceeded to Britain,*where he fought thirty batiles, subjugaled two warlle tribes, and captured more than menty towns, besides the entire Iste of Wight. In these campaigris he semed at times under Aulus Plautius, the Consular commander, and at times directly under Claudius, earning triumphat decorations; and soon afte ards held a couple of pries hoods, as weli as a consulfhip for the last two monilis of the year. While watting for a proconsular appotniment, however, he lived inretirement: sor fear of Agrippina's power over Nero, and of the animosi ty which she continued to feel towards any friend of Narcissus's even after his death. In the distribution os provinces Vespasian drew Africa, where hisrule was characteriged by justice and great dignity, excepi on a single occasion when the people of Hadrumetum rioted and pelted him illi turnips. It is known that he came bach no richer than he went, because his credit was so nearly exhausted that, in order to keep up his position, he had to morigage ali his estates to his brother and go intollae mul trade: whicli gave him the nictaame 'Mule Driver'. Vespasian is also said to have earned a severe reprimand after gettinga young man rat sed to senatoris rank, against his sither's wishes, sor a
I. See Claudius 9. a. See Claudius IT.
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ship, where he hid in terror of his life untii finalty offered the militarycommand of a proVince. An ancient superstition was current in the East, that out of Judaea would come the rulers of the worid. This prediction, as it later proved, referred to two Roman Emperors, Vespasian and his son Titus; butine rebellious Jews, who read ii as referring to themselves, murderediheir Procurator, routed the Governo generes of Syria when he camedown to restore order, and captured an Εagle. To crusti this uprising the Romans needed a strong army Under an energetic commander,
who could be trusted not to abuse his plenary powers. The choice fellon Vespasian. He had given signat proos of energy and nothing, itfeemed, need be seared from a man os such modest antecedents. Two legions, with eight cavsry divisions and ten supernumerary batta hons, were there re despalched to join the forces atready in Judaea: and Vespasian took his eider son, Titus, to serve on his staff. Nosooner had they reached Judaea than he impressed the neighbouring provinces by his prompt tightening up of discipline and lais audacious
conduci in batile aster batile. During the assauit on one eneo cityhe was wounded on the linee by a stone and caught severat arrows onliis sitiet d. 3. When Nero and Galba were both dead and Vitellius was dis puting the purple with Otho, Vespasian began to remember his Imperiat ambitions, which had originalty been ressed by the followingomens. An ancient Oa tree, sacred to Mars, growing on the Flavianestate near Rome, put out a shoot for each of the three occasions when
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root again and was greener and stronger than eVer.
In Greece, Vespasian dreamed that he and his family would beginto prosper frona the moment when Nero tost a tooth: and on the
In Judaea, Vespasian consulted the God of Carmel and was given a promise that he would never be disappointed in what he planned ordestred, however losty his ambitions. Also, a distinguished Jewishprisoner of Vespasian's, Josephus by name, insisted that he would soonbe released by the very man who had now put him in fellers, and whowould then be Emperor. Reporis of further omens came froni Rome; Nero, it seemed, had been wamed in a dream shortly be re his deathio tahe the sacred chariot of Juppiter Greatest and Best Dom the Capitol to the Circus, calling at Vespasian's house as he went. Soonaster this, while Galba was on his way to the clections whicli gavehim a second consul si ip, a statue of Julius Caesar turned os ita own accord to face east; and at Betriacum, when the batile was about tobegin, two eagies fought in fult view of both armies, but a third appeared from the rising sun and drove off the victor. 6. Stili Uespasian made no move, although his adherents were impatient to press his clainas to the Empire: untii he was suddenlysthred to action by the fortuitous suppori os a distant group of soldiers whom he did not even know: a,OOo men belonging to thethree legions in Moesia that were rei forcing Otho. They had marched forward as far as Aquileia, despite the news of Otho's des eat
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Guards, Otho: and the troops in Germany, Vitellius. So they went through the whole Est os provincial governors, rejecting each namein tum for this reason or that, untii finalty choosing Vespasian - onthe strong recommendation of some Third Legion men who Eadbeen sent to Moesia Dom Syria just prior to Nero's death - and marking si their standards with his name. Though they were temporarila recassed to duty at this potest, and did no more in the matter, the news of their decision leaked oui. Tiberius Alexander, the Prefectin Egypt, thereupon made his legions iste the oath to Vespasian; this was I July, later celebrated as Accession Day, and on II July thear in Judaea swore allegiance to Vespasian in person.
iae Vengeance on Vitellius. Second, a persistent rumour that Vitelutius had planned, after his victory, to r station the legions, transferringinose in Germany to the Orient, a much soster option. Lastly, thesuppore of Lucius Mucianus, then commanding in Syria, who,
swallowing his jealousy of Vespasian which he had long made noessori to hide, promised to lend him the whole Syrian ar : and the support of Vologaesus, Mng of the Parthians, who promised him
7. So Vespasian began a new civit War: having sent troops ineadio Italy, he crossed into Africa and occupied Alexandria, the key to Egypt. There he dismissed his servants and entered the Temple of Serapis, alone, to consult tiae auspices and discover how long he would last as Emperor. Aster many propitiatory sacrifices he turned to go, but was granted a vision of his freedman Basilides handing him thecustomary branches, gariands, and bread - although Basilides had sora long time been nearly crippled by rheumatism and was, moreoVer, far a way. Almost at once dispalches Dom Italy brought the news of
Vitellius's deseat at Cremona, and his assassination at Rome.
Vespasian, stili rather bewildered in his new role of Εmperor, seli acertain lack of authority and of what might be called the divine spark:yet both these attributes were granted him. As he sat on the Tribunal,