Titus Vinius (12 – 69) was a Roman general and one of the most powerful men in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

during the reign of the Emperor

Galba Galba ( ; born Servius Sulpicius Galba; 24 December 3 BC – 15 January AD 69) was Roman emperor, ruling for 7 months from 8 June AD 68 to 15 January 69. He was the first emperor in the Year of the Four Emperors and assumed the throne follow ...

Stories

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

recounts several stories about Vinius' early life, all casting him in a negative light. According to one account, during his first military campaign, he smuggled his commander's wife into the camp at night disguised as a soldier and had sexual relations with her in the general's quarters. As a result, he was imprisoned by Emperor

Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

, but was released following Caligula's death. Later on, again according to Plutarch and

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'' ( ...

, when he was invited to supper by the emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

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 A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a Roman consul, 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 ...

Gallia Narbonensis Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in Occitania and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the first ...

he administered the province with strict integrity.

As consul

Vinius was commander of one of the legions in

Hispania Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...

when Galba was governor there. When Galba was proclaimed emperor in 68, Vinius accompanied him to Rome, where Galba chose him to be his colleague as

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 thro ...

. Vinius quickly came to have great influence—indeed, it was said that he and two others, Cornelius Laco, the commander of the

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin language, Latin: ''cohortes praetoriae'') was the imperial guard of the Imperial Roman army that served various roles for the Roman emperor including being a bodyguard unit, counterintelligence, crowd control and ga ...

, and Galba's

freedman A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

Icelus Martianus, virtually controlled the emperor. The three were called "the three pedagogues" because of their influence on Galba. Tacitus writes that Vinius' "unpopularity grew every day along with his power". According to

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is ''De vita Caesarum'', common ...

and Plutarch, Vinius was exceedingly greedy for money, prepared to do anything in return for a bribe. In particular, he protected

Tigellinus Ofonius Tigellinus'' Oxford Classical Dictionary'',Ofonius Tigellinus ( – 69) was a prefect of the Roman imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, from 62 until 68, during the reign of emperor Nero. Tigellinus gained ...

, who was blamed for having corrupted

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

, from retribution in exchange for a large bribe.

Support for Otho, and death

In early 69 Galba was faced with the need to designate an heir. Titus Vinius 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, ...

, having already secretly agreed that Otho should marry his daughter Crispina. Galba, however, for once refused to follow Vinius' advice and instead selected Piso Licinianus as his adopted son and designated heir. Otho responded by persuading the Praetorian guard to proclaim him emperor instead of Galba. With turmoil in the streets, Titus Vinius advised Galba to remain in the palace and to arm the slaves in the palace to help defend it. Laco and Icelus, however, advised Galba to go out and show himself. Galba followed their advice, and was killed by the Praetorians. Vinius tried to run away, calling out that Otho had not ordered him killed, but was pierced from one side to the other with a sword by a legionary.

References

External links

Life of Galba
(Plutarch; English translation)
Titus Vinius
Quotes from

(www.romansonline.com) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vinius, Titus 12 births 69 deaths 1st-century Roman consuls Roman consuls who died in office Roman governors of Gallia Narbonensis Ancient Roman generals People of the Year of the Four Emperors Assassinated ancient Roman politicians