Aulus Vitellius (; ; 24 September 1520 December 69) was
Roman emperor for eight months, from 19 April to 20 December AD 69. Vitellius was proclaimed emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors
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 ...
and
Otho, in a year of civil war known as the
Year of the Four Emperors. Vitellius was the first to add the honorific
cognomen ''
Germanicus
Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was an ancient Roman general, known for his campaigns in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of the pa ...
'' to his name instead of ''Caesar'' upon his accession. Like his direct predecessor, Otho, Vitellius attempted to rally public support to his cause by honoring and imitating
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 ...
who remained widely popular in the empire.
Originally from
Campania
(man), it, Campana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demog ...
, likely from
Nuceria Alfaterna
Nocera Superiore ( nap, Nucèrë or ) is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy.
It was the core of the ancient city of ', later known as ', ' and then ' ( it, Nocera dei Pagani), which ...
,
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
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τ� ...
, Vitellius, 4. he was born to the
Vitellia gens, a relatively obscure family in ancient Rome. He was a noble companion of
Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
' retirement on
Capri
Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has be ...
and there befriended
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 Germani ...
. He was elected
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 throu ...
in 48, and served 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 ' ...
ar governor of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
in either 60 or 61. In 68, he was chosen to command the army of
Germania Inferior by 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 ...
. He was later proclaimed emperor by the armies of
Germania
Germania ( ; ), also called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a large historical region in north-c ...
Inferior and
Superior
Superior may refer to:
*Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind
Places
*Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state
*Lake ...
, beginning a revolt against Galba.
Galba was assassinated by
Otho, and Vitellius then faced Otho in battle. He defeated Otho at the
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 Bedriac ...
, and was recognized emperor by the
Roman Senate
The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...
.
His claim to the throne was soon challenged by legions stationed in the eastern provinces, who proclaimed their commander
Vespasian
Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Emp ...
emperor instead. War ensued, leading to a crushing defeat for Vitellius at the
Second Battle of Bedriacum in northern
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. Once he realised his support was wavering, Vitellius prepared to abdicate in favor of Vespasian. He was not allowed to do so by his supporters, resulting in a brutal battle for Rome between Vitellius' forces and the armies of Vespasian. He was executed in Rome by Vespasian's soldiers on 20 December 69.
Early life
Aulus Vitellius was born on 24 September 15, in
Nuceria Alfaterna
Nocera Superiore ( nap, Nucèrë or ) is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy.
It was the core of the ancient city of ', later known as ', ' and then ' ( it, Nocera dei Pagani), which ...
,
Campania
(man), it, Campana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demog ...
. He was the son of
Lucius Vitellius and his wife
Sextilia, and had one brother, who was also named
Lucius Vitellius.
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
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τ� ...
recorded two different accounts of the origins of the
gens Vitellia, one making them descendants of past rulers of
Latium
Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire.
Definition
Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil ( Old Latium) on w ...
, the other describing their origins as lowly.
Suetonius makes the sensible remark that both accounts might have been made by either flatterers or enemies of Vitellius—except that both were in circulation before Vitellius became emperor.
[ 1.] Since his father was a member of the
equestrian
The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse".
Horseback riding (or Riding in British English)
Examples of this are:
*Equestrian sports
*Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...
class and achieved the
senatorial rank only later in his lifetime, Vitellius became the first emperor not to be born in the senatorial family. Suetonius also recorded that when Vitellius was born his
horoscope
A horoscope (or other commonly used names for the horoscope in English include natal chart, astrological chart, astro-chart, celestial map, sky-map, star-chart, cosmogram, vitasphere, radical chart, radix, chart wheel or simply chart) is an as ...
so horrified his parents that his father tried to prevent Aulus from becoming a consul.
In his youth, he was one of the noble companions of
Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
' retirement on
Capri
Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has be ...
.
Shortly thereafter, Vitellius was able to befriend the young
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 Germani ...
, due to their common passion for
chariots
A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nbs ...
and
games of dice.
Public service
Political and military career
He was
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 throu ...
in 48, and
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 ' ...
ar governor of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
in either 60 or 61, in which capacity he is said to have acquitted himself with credit. In 62 he apparently supported the death penalty against
Antistius Sosanius, and was notedly flattering to Nero At the end of 68,
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 ...
, to the general astonishment, selected him to command the army of
Germania Inferior, and here Vitellius made himself popular with his subalterns and with the soldiers by outrageous prodigality and excessive good nature, which soon proved fatal to order and discipline.
Bid for power
He owed his elevation to the throne to
Caecina and
Fabius Valens
Fabius Valens of Anagnia (died 69) was a Roman commander favoured by Nero. Valens was an undisciplined character but not without talent; he tried to portray himself as witty by behaving frivolously.
In 69 he was commander of Legio I ''Germanica' ...
, commanders of two legions on the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, source ...
. Through these two men a military revolution was speedily accomplished; they refused to renew their vows of allegiance to 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 ...
on 1 January 69. Vitellius was proclaimed emperor at
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
on the following day, and then again on the day after. More accurately, he was proclaimed emperor of the armies of Germania Inferior and
Superior
Superior may refer to:
*Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind
Places
*Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state
*Lake ...
.
The armies of Gaul, Britannia and Raetia sided with them shortly afterwards. By the time that they marched on Rome, however, it was
Otho, and not Galba, whom they had to confront.
In fact, he was never acknowledged as emperor by the entire Roman world, though at Rome the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
accepted him and decreed to him the usual Imperial honours on 19 April. He advanced into Italy at the head of a licentious and rough soldiery, and Rome became the scene of riot and massacre, gladiatorial shows and extravagant feasting.
To reward his victorious legionaries, Vitellius expanded the existing
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 installed his own men from his Rhine army.
Emperor
Administration
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
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τ� ...
, whose father had fought for
Otho at
Bedriacum
Calvatone ( lmo, Calvatòon) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cremona, Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about east of Cremona. Its territory is crossed by the Oglio River
The Oglio (; Latin ''Ollius'', or ''O ...
, gives an unfavourable account of Vitellius' brief administration: he describes him as unambitious and notes that Vitellius showed indications of a desire to govern wisely, but that Valens and Caecina encouraged him in a course of vicious excesses which threw his better qualities into the background.
He is even reported to have starved his own mother to death—to fulfill a prophecy by a
Chattian seeress that he would rule longer if his mother died first; alternatively there is a report that his mother asked for poison to commit suicide—a request he granted. Suetonius additionally remarks that Vitellius' besetting sins were luxury and cruelty. Other writers, namely
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...
and
Cassius Dio
Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
, disagree with some of Suetonius' assertions, even though their own accounts are scarcely positive ones.
Despite his short reign he made two important government contributions which outlasted him.
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...
describes them both in his
''Histories'':
*Vitellius ended the practice of centurions selling furloughs and exemptions of duty to their men, a change Tacitus describes as being adopted by 'all good emperors'.
*He also expanded the offices of the Imperial administration beyond the imperial pool of freedmen, allowing those of the
Equites
The ''equites'' (; literally "horse-" or "cavalrymen", though sometimes referred to as "knights" in English) constituted the second of the property-based classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the senatorial class. A member of the equestrian ...
to take up positions in the Imperial civil service.
Vitellius also banned astrologers from Rome and Italy on 1 October 69. Some astrologers responded to his decree by anonymously publishing a decree of their own: "Decreed by all astrologers in blessing on our State Vitellius will be no more on the appointed date." In response, Vitellius executed any astrologers he came across.
Furthermore, Vitellius continued Otho's policies in regard to Nero's memory, in that he honored the dead emperor and sacrificed to his spirit. He also had Nero's songs performed in public, and attempted to imitate Nero, who remained extremely popular among the lower classes of the Roman Empire.
Reputation
Suetonius is particularly responsible for giving Vitellius the reputation of being an obese glutton, using emetics so as to be able to indulge in banquets four times a day, and often having himself invited over to a different noble's house for each one. One of the most famous of these feasts was offered Vitellius by his brother Lucius,
:at which, it is said, there were served up no less than two thousand choice fishes, and seven thousand birds. Yet even this supper he himself outdid, at a feast which he gave upon the first use of a dish which had been made for him, and which, for its extraordinary size, he called "The Shield of Minerva". In this dish there were tossed up together the livers of
pike, the brains of pheasants and peacocks, with the tongues of flamingos, and the entrails of
lampreys, which had been brought in ships of war as far as from
Parthia
Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...
and the
Spanish Straits.
A noted gourmet of that time,
Marcus Gavius Apicius
Marcus Gavius Apicius is believed to have been a Roman gourmet and lover of luxury, who lived sometime in the 1st century AD, during the reign of Tiberius. The Roman cookbook ''Apicius'' is often attributed to him, though it is impossible to pro ...
, named after the emperor a less exotic dish of peas or broad beans mashed with sweet and sour ingredients.
Challenges
In July 69, Vitellius learned that the armies of the eastern provinces had proclaimed a rival emperor: their commander,
Titus Flavius Vespasianus. As soon as it was known that the armies of the East,
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, str ...
, and
Illyricum had declared for Vespasianus, Vitellius sent several legions under Caecina to prevent the Eastern armies from entering Italy, but Caecina, dissatisfied with Vitellius's poor administration, attempted without success to defect to Vespasian. This undermined the morale of the Vitellian legions, and they were decisively defeated at the
Second Battle of Bedriacum. Fabius Valens was then sent by Vitellius to rally supporting armies in Gaul, but forces loyal to Vespasian captured and executed him soon after. Vitellius, now deserted by many of his adherents, prepared to abdicate the title of emperor.
Abdication and death
Tacitus' ''Histories'' state that Vitellius awaited Vespasian's army at
Mevania
Bevagna is a town and ''comune'' in the central part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria), in the flood plain of the Topino river.
Bevagna is south-east of Perugia, west of Foligno, north-north-west of Montefalco, south of Assisi an ...
. The terms of abdication had actually been agreed upon with
Marcus Antonius Primus, the commander of the sixth legion serving in
Pannonia
Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now west ...
and one of Vespasian's chief supporters. However, as he was on his way to deposit the insignia of empire in the Temple of Concord, the Praetorian Guard refused to allow him to carry out the agreement, and forced him to return to the palace.
On the entrance of Vespasian's troops into Rome, Vitellius' supporters (mostly civilians) organized heavy resistance, resulting in a brutal battle. Entrenched on the city's buildings, they threw stones, javelins, and tiles on Vespasian's soldiers who consequently suffered heavy casualties in the
urban fighting
Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both the operational and the tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the presence of civilians and ...
. Cassius Dio claims that 50,000 people died in the battle for Rome. Large parts of the city were destroyed, including the
Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. Vitellius was eventually dragged out of a hiding-place (according to
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...
a door-keeper's lodge), driven to the fatal
Gemonian stairs, and there struck down by Vespasian's supporters. "Yet I was once your emperor," were his last words. His body was thrown into the Tiber 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
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τ� ...
;
Cassius Dio
Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
's account is that Vitellius was beheaded and his head paraded around Rome, and his wife attended to his burial. His brother and son were also killed.
Suetonius, in writing of Vitellius' execution, offers his physical description: "...He was in fact abnormally tall, with a face usually flushed from hard drinking, a huge belly, and one thigh crippled from being struck once by a four-horse chariot, when he was in attendance on
Gaius
Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus, Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen).
People
* Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist
*Gaius Acilius
*Gaius Antonius
* Gaius Antonius Hybrida
*Gaius Asinius Gallus
* Gaius Asiniu ...
as he was driving..."
Years before there was a prediction that he would fall into the power of a man from
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
; the man who slew him was Antonius Primus of Tolosa and whose nickname was Becco which means "rooster's beak" (Gallus means both "a cock" and "a Gaul").
Personal life
He married firstly before the year 40 a woman named Petronia, the daughter of Publius Petronius or Gaius Petronius Pontius Nigrinus with whom he had a son, Aulus Vitellius Petronianus, the universal heir of his mother and grandfather, whom Vitellius had killed in 69 in order to inherit his fortune. He married secondly, around the year 50, a woman named
Galeria Fundana, perhaps the granddaughter of
Gaius Galerius, Prefect of Egypt in 23. They had two children, a son called Aulus Vitellius Germanicus or Novis, the Younger, and a daughter,
Vitellia, who married
Decimus Valerius Asiaticus
Decimus Valerius Asiaticus (around 5 BCP.J. Sijpesteijn"Another οὐσία of Decimus Valerius Asiaticus in Egypt" ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'', 79 (1989), p. 19347 AD,Alston, ''Aspects of Roman History AD 14-117'', p. 92 el, ...
.
Portrayals
In coinage
As Vitellius was not recognised emperor by the Senate until 19 April 69—soon after Otho's suicide—he had to rely on other mints for his coin supply until his arrival at Rome. He first used the Spanish mint of
Tarraco
Tarraco is the ancient name of the current city of Tarragona (Catalonia, Spain). It was the oldest Roman settlement on the Iberian Peninsula. It became the capital of the Roman province of Hispania Citerior during the period of the Roman Republi ...
(now
Tarragona
Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tarr ...
) from January 69, then the mint of
Lugdunum
Lugdunum (also spelled Lugudunum, ; modern Lyon, France) was an important Roman city in Gaul, established on the current site of Lyon. The Roman city was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus, but continued an existing Gallic settle ...
(now
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...
, France) a bit later. Taracco produced much more coins than Lugdunum, which might have not even struck bronze coinage. These two mints closed at the beginning of Summer; by now, the mint of Rome had taken over.
Every coin of Vitellius features the title "Germanicus", referring to the legions of the Rhine that supported his bid for power. Regardless of the mint, this title was progressively shortened to "Germ" on the coins. Numismatist
C. H. V. Sutherland notes that the prevalence of the title indicates that Vitellius used it almost like a
cognomen. The coins Vitellius minted before his official proclamation as Emperor on 19 April do not bear the title "Augustus", while the title "Pontifex Maximus" appears on coins minted after his election at this title on 18 July.
The last type of coin minted by Vitellius were
aurei
The ''aureus'' ( ''aurei'', 'golden', used as a noun) was a gold coin of ancient Rome originally valued at 25 pure silver ''denarii'' (sin. denarius). The ''aureus'' was regularly issued from the 1st century BC to the beginning of the 4th cen ...
and
denarii
The denarius (, dēnāriī ) was the standard Roman silver coin from its introduction in the Second Punic War to the reign of Gordian III (AD 238–244), when it was gradually replaced by the antoninianus. It continued to be minted in very ...
with the goddess
Victory
The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...
building a trophy, likely alluding to his hopeful victory against the incoming armies of Vespasian.
In art
Busts from the time of Vitellius, particularly the one in the
Capitoline Museums, represent him as broad-faced with several double chins, and it is this type which informs paintings of the emperor from the Renaissance on. There were once other ancient busts claimed to be of Vitellius which later scholarship has proved to be of someone else. The features of the Grimani Vitellius particularly, according to
Mary Beard, were once used by painters to suggest that the character who bears them is destined to come to a bleak end. Another such bust figures in
Michiel Sweerts'
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...
genre piece of a young art student drawing a copy.
The Grimani portrait bust also served as the model for one by Giovanni Battista and Nicola Bonanome (ca.1565), one of a series of
The Twelve Caesars
''De vita Caesarum'' (Latin; "About the Life of the Caesars"), commonly known as ''The Twelve Caesars'', is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus. The gr ...
that were once fashionable in large households. The series was also a popular subject for paintings, of which there have been examples by
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
,
Peter Paul Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradit ...
,
Otto van Veen, and many others.
Several 19th-century French artists pictured the violent end of Vitellius. That by
Georges Rochegrosse (1883) depicts him being dragged by the populace down the steep
Gemonian stairs, stretching from high on the canvas to its foot
ee above There he appears bound and surrounded by a gesticulating mob with hooting ragamuffins at their head. The stairs are covered with the rubbish with which the deposed emperor has been pelted and, as Suetonius describes the scene, a long blade is held at his throat so that he cannot look down. Others paintings show the moment of his execution, of which there are examples by
:fr:Charles-Gustave Housez,
Paul-Jacques-Aimé Baudry
Paul-Jacques-Aimé Baudry (7 November 1828 17 January 1886) was a French painter.
Life
Baudry was born in 1828 in La Roche-sur-Yon in the Vendée. He studied art under Michel Martin Drolling and enrolled in the École des Beaux-Arts in 1845. ...
(1847),
Jules-Eugène Lenepveu (1847), and an engraving by Edouard Vimont (1876-1930).
Much as the appearance of Vitellius prefigured approaching doom in earlier centuries,
Thomas Couture
Thomas Couture (21 December 1815 – 30 March 1879) was a French history painter and teacher. He taught such later luminaries of the art world as Édouard Manet, Henri Fantin-Latour, John La Farge,Wilkinson, Burke. ''The Life and Works o ...
pictures him in shadow to the left of centre in the painting ''
The Romans in their Decadence
''The Romans in their Decadence'' (french: link=no, Les Romains de la décadence) is a painting by the French artist Thomas Couture, first exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1847, a year before the 1848 Revolution which toppled the July Monarchy. ...
'' (1847). This was shown prophetically at the
Paris Salon
The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial ar ...
in the year before the
French Revolution of 1848
The French Revolution of 1848 (french: Révolution française de 1848), also known as the February Revolution (), was a brief period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundatio ...
toppled the
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 ...
.
In literature
The earliest fictional appearance of a Vitellius was of the Roman Consul in Syria, Lucius Vitellius (the father of Aulus), who intervened in Judaean affairs in the time of
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of ...
. It is he who figures in
Gustave Flaubert
Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flauber ...
's novella
''Hérodias'' (1877) and in ''Hérodiade'', the 1881 opera based on it by
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are '' Manon'' (1884) and '' Werther ...
. The same character also makes an appearance in the 1930 novel by Iwan Naschiwin (1874-1940), ''A Certain Jesus: the Gospel According to Thomas : an Historical Novel of the First Century''.
The son of Lucius, Aulus Vitellius, played a minor part in
Henryk Sienkiewicz
Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish writer, novelist, journalist and Nobel Prize laureate. He is best remembered for his historical novels, espe ...
's novel
''Quo Vadis'', set at the end of
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 ...
's reign. Although he survived as a character in the 1900 Broadway production, and in the Italian films based on it of
1913 and
1924
Events
January
* January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after.
* January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hold ...
, he disappeared from later adaptations. But some later novels deal with incidents in the military career of this Vitellius. In
Simon Scarrow
Simon Scarrow (born 3 October 1962) is a British author. Scarrow completed a master's degree at the University of East Anglia after working at the Inland Revenue, and then went into teaching as a lecturer, firstly at East Norfolk Sixth Form C ...
's
Eagles of the Empire
''Eagles of the Empire'' is a series of historical military fiction novels written by Simon Scarrow. The series began in July 2000 with the publication of ''Under the Eagle'', and as of March 2022 there have been 20 novels released in the series ...
series, he is introduced as a rival to Vespasian during the
Roman invasion of Britain. And in later chapters of Henry Venmore-Rowland's novel ''The Last Caesar'' (2012) he figures as the newly appointed Governor of
Lower Germania and something of a
glutton.
Naturally Vitellius is a character in the rash of recent novels dealing with the
Year of the Four Emperors. He is in the background in
Kate Quinn's novel ''Daughters of Rome'' (2011), and shares a section of
Steven Saylor's ''Empire: The Novel of Imperial Rome'' (2010). His fall features in
M C Scott
Manda Scott (born 1962) is a former Scottish veterinary surgeon who is now a novelist, blogger, columnist and occasional broadcaster. Born and educated in Glasgow, Scotland, she trained at the University of Glasgow School of Veterinary Medici ...
's ''Rome, The Art of War'' (2013), and he also appears in James Mace's two-part series, ''The Year of the Four Emperors''.
Fantastic Fiction
/ref>
References
Bibliography
Primary sources
* Cassius Dio
Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...
, ''Roman History'', fragments of Book 64
English translation
by Earnest Cary on LacusCurtius).
* Plutarch, ''Life of Galba'' (wikisource:Plutarch's_Lives_(Clough)/Life_of_Galba, English translation by Arthur Hugh Clough, A.H. Clough on Wikisource).
* 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
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τ� ...
, ''The Twelve Caesars
''De vita Caesarum'' (Latin; "About the Life of the Caesars"), commonly known as ''The Twelve Caesars'', is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus. The gr ...
, Vitellius'' (wikisource:The_Lives_of_the_Twelve_Caesars/Vitellius, English translation by John Carew Rolfe on Wikisource).
* Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars.
The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...
, ''Annales (Tacitus)'' (wikisource:The_Annals_(Tacitus), English translation by Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb (1876) on Wikisource).
Secondary sources
*
*
*Biography a
Livius
*Biography a
* C. H. V. Sutherland & R. A. G. Carson, ''Roman Imperial Coinage, The Roman Imperial Coinage'', volume I, revised edition, London, Spink, 1984 [originally published in 1923].
{{Authority control
15 births
69 deaths
1st-century executions
1st-century murdered monarchs
1st-century Roman emperors
Executed Roman emperors
Filicides
Imperial Roman consuls
People executed by the Roman Empire
People of the Year of the Four Emperors
Roman governors of Africa
Roman governors of Germania Inferior
Vitellii