Appius Annius Gallus was a Roman

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

and general who flourished during the first century. He held the office of

suffect consul The consuls were the highest elected public officials of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC). Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum''an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspire ...

in 67 with Lucius Verulanus Severus as his colleague. The suffect consul of 67 is commonly identified as the general who supported

Otho Otho ( ; born Marcus Salvius Otho; 28 April 32 – 16 April 69) was 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 civilization, ...

during the

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 change from the ...

Life

Military career under Otho

Except for his tenure as suffect consul, Gallus' life prior to the year 69 is a blank. In that year, the ephemeral emperor Otho selected him to be one of his generals. Gallus, along with

Gaius Suetonius Paulinus Gaius Suetonius Paulinus (fl. AD 40–69) was a Roman general best known as the commander who defeated Boudica and her army during the Boudican revolt. Early life Little is known of Suetonius' family, but it likely came from Pisaurum (modern Pe ...

and Aulus Marius Celsus, led the assembled troops north from Rome to confront the legions supporting

Vitellius Aulus Vitellius ( ; ; 24 September 1520 December 69) was Roman emperor for eight months, from 19 April to 20 December AD 69. Vitellius became emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of civil wa ...

near the

Po river The Po ( , ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy, starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is , or if the Maira (river), Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. The headwaters of the Po are forme ...

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. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

notes that Gallus took command of the lead elements along with

Titus Vestricius Spurinna Titus Vestricius Spurinna (c. 24 – after 105 AD) was a Roman senator, consul, and a friend and role model of Pliny the Younger.Jo-Ann Shelton, ''The Women of Pliny's Letters'' (Routledge, 2013), p. 131. He was consul at least twice, the first t ...

. Once they reached the Po, Otho sent Spurinna on to occupy Placentia while he marched to

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

. Upon hearing that Spurinna's men were encircled by soldiers loyal to Vitellius, Gallus moved to assist his associate, but stopped at Bedriacum when word reached him that the enemy was driven off after an unsuccessful assault. Gallus was not present at the Battle of Bedriacum that followed, because he had been injured by a fall from his horse.Tacitus, ''Histories'', II.33 Along with Suetonius Paulinus and Marius Celsus, he opposed engaging Vitellius' men immediately, concurring with their advice that Otho would do better to wait until the legions from the Balkans arrived. Nevertheless, Emperor Otho ignored their advice and his men were defeated at Bedriacum. When Vedius Aquila, the commander of one of legions supporting Otho, returned to camp and found himself the potential victim of a murderous group of defeated soldiers, Annius Gallus intervened and saved his life.

Under Vespasian

Despite having supported one of the unsuccessful rivals for the imperial insignia, Gallus managed to avoid becoming a victim of the ensuing proscriptions. He is next found as a general under

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

, assigned to assist in suppressing the

Sequani The Sequani were a Gallic tribe dwelling in the upper river basin of the Arar river (Saône), the valley of the Doubs and the Jura Mountains during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Sequanos'' by Caesar (mid-1 ...

, who had risen in revolt along with the

Batavians The Batavi were an ancient Germanic tribe that lived around the modern Dutch Rhine delta in the area that the Romans called Batavia, from the second half of the first century BC to the third century AD. The name is also applied to several mil ...

Werner Eck Werner Eck (born 17 December 1939) is professor of Ancient History at Cologne University, Germany, and a noted expert on the history and epigraphy of imperial Rome.Eck, W. (2007) ''The Age of Augustus''. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, cover notes. Hi ...

sees this as evidence that Gallus had been appointed governor of

Germania Superior Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesont ...

near the end of the year 69 which he held until 72 when he was replaced by Gnaeus Pinarius Cornelius Clemens.Eck, "Jahres- und Provinzialfasten der senatorischen Statthalter von 69/70 bis 138/139", ''

Chiron In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs". Biography Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology for ...

'', 12 (1982), pp. 284-291 His actions after returning to Rome from Germania Superior are not known.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Annius Gallus, Appius Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome 1st-century Romans Gallus