Vespasian

Caesar Vespasianus Augustus (November 18, 9 – June 23, 79), originally known as Titus Flavius Vespasianus and best known as Vespasian, was the emperor of Rome from 69 to 79. He was founder of the Flavian dynasty and ascended the throne in the end of the Year of the four emperors.

Vespasian as Emperor

Leaving the war in Judaea to his son Titus, he arrived at Rome in 70. He at once devoted his energies to repairing the evils caused by civil war. He restored discipline in the army, which under Vitellius had become utterly demoralized, and, with the cooperation of the Senate, put the government and the finances on a sound footing.

Related Topics:
70 - Senate

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He renewed old taxes and instituted new ones, increased the tribute of the provinces, and kept a watchful eye upon the treasury officials. By his own example of simplicity of life, he put to shame the luxury and extravagance of the Roman nobles and initiated in many respects a marked improvement in the general tone of society.

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As censor he reformed the Senatorial and Equestrian orders, removing unfit and unworthy members and promoting good and able men, among them Gnaeus Julius Agricola. At the same time, he made it more dependent upon the Emperor, by exercising an influence upon its composition. He altered the constitution of the Praetorian Guard, in which only Italians, formed into nine cohorts, were enrolled.

Related Topics:
Censor - Equestrian - Gnaeus Julius Agricola - Praetorian Guard - Italians - Cohorts

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In 70, a formidable rising in Gaul, headed by Gaius Julius Civilis, was suppressed by Vespasian's brother-in-law, Quintus Petillius Cerialis, and the German frontier made secure; the Jewish War was brought to a close by Titus's capture of Jerusalem, and in the following year, after the joint triumph of Vespasian and Titus, memorable as the first occasion on which a father and his son were thus associated together in the Western world, the temple of Janus was closed, and the Roman world had rest for the remaining nine years of Vespasian's reign. "The peace of Vespasian" passed into a proverb.

Related Topics:
70 - Gaul - Gaius Julius Civilis - Quintus Petillius Cerialis - Jewish War - Capture of Jerusalem - Janus - Proverb

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In 78 Agricola went to Britain, and both extended and consolidated the Roman dominion in that province, pushing his way into what is now Scotland. In the following year Vespasian died, on June 23.

Related Topics:
78 - Scotland - June 23

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