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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 Etruscan family, Otho was initially a friend and courtier of the young emperor Nero until he was effectively banished to the governorship of the remote province of Lusitania in 58 following his wife Poppaea Sabina's affair with Nero. After a period of moderate rule in the province, he allied himself with Galba, the governor of neighbouring Hispania Tarraconensis, during the revolts of 68. He accompanied Galba on his march to Rome, but revolted and murdered Galba at the start of the next year. Inheriting the problem of the rebellion of Vitellius, commander of the army in Germania Inferior, Otho led a sizeable force which met Vitellius' army at the Battle of Bedriacum. After initial fighting resulted in 40,000 casualties, and a retreat of his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucius Salvius Otho
Lucius Salvius Otho was the father of the Roman emperor Otho. He was born of a distinguished and well-connected family on his mother's side. His close friendship with Tiberius, and physical similarity to him, led to rumours that he was Tiberius's son. Biography Early life Lucius was the son of a Marcus Salvius Otho, whose father was an Etruscan. Marcus had been raised in empress Livia's home. His mother's identity is unknown, although she is described as having been well connected. The appearance of the name "Titianus" in his family has led to speculation that she may have been from the gens Titia. Potentially a daughter of Marcus Titius and his wife Fabia Paullina, but possibly his sister or niece instead. A Titia L. f. is known from inscription to have been the wife of a Salvius. This woman died young in 23 BC. It is not certain if this woman was Otho's mother or possibly grandmother. Regardless, Lucius was widely assumed to be emperor Tiberius's illegitimate son, due to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Year Of The Four Emperors
The Year of the Four Emperors, AD 69, was the first civil war of the Roman Empire, during which four emperors ruled in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. It is considered an important interval, marking the transition from the Julio-Claudians, the first imperial dynasty, to the Flavian dynasty. The period witnessed several rebellions and claimants, with shifting allegiances and widespread turmoil in Rome and the provinces. In 68, Vindex, legate of Gallia Lugdunensis, revolted against Nero and encouraged Galba, governor of Hispania, to claim the Empire. The latter was acclaimed emperor by his legion in early April. He was notably supported by Otho, legate of Lusitania. Soon after, the legate of a legion in Africa, Clodius Macer, also rebelled against Nero. Vindex was defeated by the Rhine legions at the Battle of Vesontio, but they too rebelled against Nero. Finally, on 9 June 68, Nero committed suicide after being declared a public enemy by the Senate, whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Bedriacum and Cremona, and the battles are sometimes called "First Cremona" and "Second Cremona". First Battle of Bedriacum Marcus Salvius Otho, with the support and aid of the Praetorian Guard, had his predecessor Galba murdered in January and claimed the throne. Legate Aulus Vitellius, governor of the province of Germania Inferior, had also claimed the throne earlier in the month and marched on Rome with his troops. Vitellius' forces were divided into two armies, one commanded by Aulus Caecina Alienus and the other by Fabius Valens. The Vitellian forces included legions XXI ''Rapax'', V ''Alaudae'', and powerful vexillationes from all the other legions stationed on the Rhine, together with a strong force of Batavian auxiliaries, totalli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Galba. He was the first emperor in the Year of the Four Emperors and assumed the throne following Emperor Nero's suicide. Born into a wealthy family, Galba held at various times the positions of praetor, consul, and governor to the provinces of Aquitania, Upper Germany, and Africa during the first half of the first century AD. He retired from his positions during the latter part of Claudius' reign (with the advent of Agrippina the Younger), but Nero later granted him the governorship of Hispania. Taking advantage of the defeat of Vindex's rebellion and Nero's suicide, he became emperor with the support of the Praetorian Guard. Galba's physical weakness and general apathy led to him being selected-over by favorites. Unable to gain popularit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcus Salvius Otho (grandfather Of Emperor Otho)
Marcus Salvius Otho was an ancient Roman politician and grandfather of emperor Otho. Biography Early life Marcus Salvius Otho was a member to the Salvia gens. His father is described by Suetonius as an Eques (knight) of Etruscan descent whose ancestors came from Ferentinum and were descended from the princes of Etruria. His mother is not named and stated as being of lowly origin, and may not even have been freeborn. There have been many attempts at identifying Marcus' father, among them an Otho mentioned to have been a "puny-headed" follower of Julius Caesar in one of Catullus poems was proposed by Ernst Bickel, T. P. Wiseman and Bruce W. Frier have proposed that he may be the Salvius who was tribune of the plebs in 43 BC (and that this man was the son of an Urban praetor in 76 BC) who Elizabeth Rawson also identifies as the Salvius who was the first victim of the proscriptions of the Second Triumvirate. Joachim Losehand argued against a connection with the Gabinian centurio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poppaea Sabina
Poppaea Sabina (AD 30 – 65), also known as Ollia, was a Roman empress as the second wife of the Emperor Nero. She had also been wife to the future emperor Otho. The historians of antiquity describe her as a beautiful woman who used intrigues to become empress. There is a large villa near Pompeii that bears her name because of the archaeological finds there. It has been largely excavated and can be visited today. Early life Birth Poppaea Sabina the Younger was born in Pompeii in AD 30 as the daughter of Titus Ollius and Poppaea Sabina the Elder.Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth-E.A. (edd.), Oxford Classical Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 2003 , 1221. At birth and for most of her childhood she went by her proper patronymic nomen "Ollia," belonging to women of her father's gens, the Ollii, but at some point, probably before her first marriage, decided to start going by her mother's name instead, potentially due to her father's disgrace and suicide. It is very lik ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vitellius
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 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'' 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 who remained widely popular in the empire. Originally from Campania, likely from Nuceria Alfaterna,Suetonius, Vitellius, 4. he was born to the Vitellia gens, a relatively obscure family in ancient Rome. He was a noble companion of Tiberius' retirement on Capri and there befriended Caligula. He was elected consul in 48, and served as proconsular governor of Africa in either 60 or 61. In 68, he was chosen to command the army of Germania Inferior by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aulus Marius Celsus
Aulus Marius Celsus was a Roman senator who held several offices in the emperor's service during the first century AD, as well as playing a role in the Year of Four Emperors. He was suffect consul of the '' nundinium'' of July to August 69 as the colleague of Gnaeus Arrius Antoninus. Life Ronald Syme suggests that Marius Celsus was a native of Nemausus in Gallia Narbonensis (modern Nîmes), based on the existence of Gaius Marius Celsus, a magistrate of that city and husband of Pompeia the daughter of Toutodivix. His career began under Nero. Celsus' earliest known appointment was ''legatus legionis'' or commander of the Legio XV Apollinaris, first in Pannonia, then in Asia Minor. Nero designated Celsus suffect consul for a designated ''nundinium'' in 69 before his death. After the suicide of Nero, Galba made him part of his inner circle; Celsus was present, along with Aulus Ducenius Geminus, Urban prefect, when Galba announced Piso Licinianus as his choice for his heir. Then Ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus
Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus (38 – 15 January 69) was a Roman nobleman who lived in the 1st century. He was adopted by the Roman Emperor Galba as his heir to the throne, only to be killed during the Year of Four Emperors on the same day as Galba. Life Licinianus was a nobleman of the highest ancient birth. Licinianus was one among the sons of Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi (consul 27) and Scribonia. By birth and adoption through his father, Licinianus was of the ''gens Licinia''. From his name, it appears he was likely adopted into the '' gens Calpurnia'', but by whom is uncertain. Licinianus’ maternal grandparents were both direct descendants of Pompeia, the daughter of triumvir Pompey from third marriage to Mucia Tertia. His paternal grandfather was consul and governor Marcus Licinius Crassus, (consul 14 BC). Crassus was the adoptive son of consul and general Marcus Licinius Crassus (consul 30 BC), the grandson of triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus. He was the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 until his death in AD 68. He was Adoption in Ancient Rome, adopted by the Roman emperor Claudius at the age of 13 and succeeded him on the throne. Nero was popular with the members of his Praetorian Guard and lower-class commoners in Rome and its provinces, but he was deeply resented by the Roman aristocracy. Most contemporary sources describe him as tyrannical, self-indulgent, and debauched. After being declared a public enemy by the Roman Senate, he committed suicide at age 30. Nero was born at Antium in AD 37, the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (father of Nero), Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger, a great-granddaughter of the emperor Augustus. When Nero was two years old, his father died. His mother married the e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Titus Vinius
Titus Vinius (12 – 69) was a Roman general and one of the most powerful men in Rome during the reign of the Emperor Galba. Stories Plutarch 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, but on that emperor's death was released. Later on, again according to Plutarch and Tacitus, when he was invited to supper by the emperor Claudius 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 of Gallia Narbonensis he administered the province ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sporus
Sporus was a young slave boy whom the Roman Emperor Nero favored, had castrated, and married.Champlin, 2005, p.145Smith, 1849, p.897 Life Little is known about Sporus' background except that he was a youth to whom Nero took a liking. He may have been a '' puer delicatus'', who were sometimes castrated to preserve their youthful qualities. The ''puer delicatus'' generally was a child-slave chosen by his master for his beauty and sexual attractiveness. Cassius Dio identifies Sporus as the child of a freedman. Marriage to Nero Nero's wife, Poppaea Sabina, died in 65 AD. This was supposedly in childbirth, although it was later rumored Nero kicked her to death. At the beginning of 66, Nero married Statilia Messalina. Later that year or in 67, he married Sporus, who was said to bear a remarkable resemblance to Poppaea. Nero had Sporus castrated, and during their marriage, Nero had Sporus appear in public as his wife wearing the regalia that was customary for Roman empresses. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
