VESPASIAN, TITUS FLAVIUS
Roman Emperor in 69-79. Founder of the Flavian dynasty. Genus. 17 Nov. 9 Died June 24, 79
Vespasian came from a noble family of Flavians. His grandfather was a centurion or even a simple soldier in the army of Pompey. After retiring, he made a fortune by collecting money from sales. His father, who was a tax collector in Asia, did the same. This business brought him not only wealth, but also fame - many cities erected statues in his honor with the inscription: “To the Just Collector.” His mother’s family was much more famous, and Vespasian received his nickname from his maternal grandfather Vespasius Pollio, a three-time military tribune and camp commander.
The future emperor was born in the land of the Sabines, not far from Reate, and spent his childhood on his grandmother's estate near Koza in Erutria. He began his service under Tiberius as a military tribune in Thrace and completed it quickly and successfully: after the quaesture, he was given control of Crete and Cyrene, then he was elected aedile, and in 39 he received praetorship. Being an aedile, they say, he did not take good care of cleaning the streets, so that the angry Guy Caligula once ordered the soldiers to pile dirt into his bosom of his senatorial toga. Perhaps this lesson was beneficial, since when he was praetor, Vespasian did not miss a single opportunity to please Caligula: in honor of his German “victory”, he proposed organizing games out of turn, and after the execution of Lepidus and Gaetulik, he demanded that their bodies be thrown away without burial. Caligula honored him with an invitation to dinner, and Vespasian gave a speech of thanks to the Senate. In the meantime, he married Flavia Domicilla, with whom he had all his children. When his wife died, Vespasian again took in his former concubine, the freedwoman Caenida, and she lived with him as a legal wife, even when he had already become emperor.
Vespasian gained military glory during the reign of Claudius. At first he served as legate of the legion in Germany, and then, in 43, he was transferred to Britain, where he participated in more than thirty battles with the enemy, conquered two strong tribes, more than twenty cities and the Isle of Wight. For this he received triumphal decorations, pontificate and augurism, and in 51 - a consulate. Then, fearing Agrippina, the wife of Claudius, who persecuted him for his friendship with Narcissus, he retired from business and lived in retirement for ten years, not engaging in any public affairs. In 61, already under Nero, he received control of Africa, which, according to some sources, he ruled honestly and with great dignity, and according to others, on the contrary, very badly. In any case, he returned from the province without getting rich, lost the trust of his creditors and was forced to pledge all his estates to his elder brother, and to maintain his position, engage in the mule trade. For this, people called him “the donkey.” Nero at first treated Vespasian kindly and took him with him on a trip to Greece. But after Vespasian fell asleep during the emperor’s speech, he suffered severe disgrace: Nero forbade him not only to accompany himself, but also to greet him. Vespasian retired to a small town, where he lived in obscurity and fear for his life, until he suddenly unexpectedly received a province and an army: in 66, Nero instructed him to suppress the uprising in Judea. The war here assumed an unusually wide scope, and victory required a large army and a strong commander who could be entrusted with such a matter without fear; and Vespasian turned out to be chosen as a man of proven zeal and not at all dangerous due to the modesty of his family and name. And so, having received two more legions in addition to the local troops, he went to Judea (Suetonius: “Vespasian”; 1-5).
In Antioch, Vespasian took command of the army and pulled in auxiliary troops from everywhere. He began his campaign in 67, realizing that he faced a grueling and dangerous undertaking. The Jews did not risk fighting the legions in the open field, but took refuge behind the walls of the cities and defended themselves with extreme tenacity. First of all, from Ptolemais the Romans invaded Galilee and, after a heavy siege, took Iotapata, a large and well-fortified city on the coast. Its entire population was subjected to total extermination. Jaffa was captured immediately, and Tiberias surrendered without a fight. The inhabitants of Tarichea tried to resist, but their city was taken at the first attack. Vespasian initially promised the prisoners life and freedom, but then changed his mind. He sent all the newly arrived Jews to Tiberiada, about a thousand were executed and up to forty thousand more were sold into slavery (Flavius: “The Jewish War”; 3; 2, 7, 9, 10). Gamala, located nearby, defended itself with desperate tenacity. Having finally captured the city, the Romans killed even the infants in it. After this, all of Galilee recognized Roman rule (Flavius: “The Jewish War”; 4; 1, 6).
This campaign brought Vespasian great fame and popularity in the army. Indeed, in the very first battles he showed exceptional courage, so that during the siege of Iotapata he himself was wounded in the knee by a stone, and several arrows pierced his shield (Suetonius: “Vespasian”; 4). On the march, Vespasian usually walked ahead of the army himself, knew how to choose a place for a camp, day and night he thought about victory over his enemies, and if necessary, he struck them down with a mighty hand, ate whatever he had to, in clothes and habits he was almost no different from an ordinary soldier - in a word , if not for greed, he could have been considered a Roman commander of ancient times (Tacitus: “History”; 2; 5).
Meanwhile, in 68, news was received of unrest in Gaul and that Vindex with its native leaders had fallen away from Nero. This news prompted Vespasian to hasten to end the war, for he already foresaw the future civil strife and the dangerous situation of the entire state and thought that he would be able to free Italy from the horrors if he established peace in the East earlier. In the spring he moved along the Jordan and set up camp near Jericho. From here he sent detachments in different directions and conquered all the surrounding cities and villages. He was ready to begin the siege of Jerusalem when he learned of Nero's suicide. Then Vespasian changed his tactics and delayed his speech, waiting to see what turn events would take. Worried by the situation of the entire state, awaiting upheavals of the Roman power, he was less attentive to the war with the Jews and, terribly concerned about the fate of his own fatherland, considered an attack on strangers untimely. Meanwhile, the civil war in Italy flared up. Galba, declared emperor, was openly killed in the Roman forum, and in his place Otho was proclaimed emperor, who in turn fought with Vitellius and, defeated by him, took his own life. In April 69, Vitellius became emperor.
Vespasian consistently recognized all three and at each coup brought his legions to an oath of allegiance to the new prince. Although he knew how to obey as well as command, the news of the outrages of the Vitellians in Rome infuriated him. He despised Vitellius from the bottom of his heart and considered him unworthy of the throne. Imbued with the most painful thoughts, he felt the burden of his position as a conqueror of foreign lands, while his own fatherland was perishing. But no matter how his anger prompted him to take revenge, the thought of his distance from Rome, as well as the power of the German legions on which Vitellius relied, held him back. Meanwhile, military leaders and soldiers at their comradely meetings openly discussed a change in government, and the demand to proclaim Vespasian emperor was heard louder and louder (Flavius: “The Jewish War”; 4; 8-10).
The first to swear allegiance to Vespasiana were the Alexandrian legions on July 1, 69. As soon as the news of this reached Judea, the soldiers who ran to Vespasian’s tent joyfully greeted him as emperor. Immediately at the meeting he was awarded the titles of Caesar, Augustus and all other titles due to a prince. Vespasian himself, in these new and unusual circumstances, remained the same as before - without the slightest importance, without any arrogance. He addressed the army with a few words, simple and stern as a soldier. In response, loud cries of jubilation and devotion were heard from all sides. A joyful upsurge also gripped the legions stationed in Syria. Their commander, Licinius Mutsi-an, immediately swore the oath to Vespasian. Even before the Ides of July, all of Syria took the oath. Sochem, with his kingdom and the considerable military forces under his authority, as well as Antiochus, the largest of the local kings subordinate to Rome, joined the uprising. All the coastal provinces, right up to the borders of Asia and Achaea, and all the inland ones, right up to Pontus and Armenia, swore allegiance to the new emperor.
Vespasian began preparing for war by recruiting recruits and drafting veterans into the army; the most prosperous cities were instructed to create workshops for the production of weapons; gold and silver coins began to be minted in Antioch. These measures were hastily carried out on the ground by special proxies. Vespasian appeared everywhere, encouraged everyone, praised honest and active people, taught the confused and weak by his own example, only occasionally resorting to punishment. He distributed the positions of prefects and procurators and appointed new members of the Senate, most of them outstanding people, who soon took positions high position in the state. As for the monetary gift to the soldiers, at the very first meeting it was announced that it would be very moderate, and Vespasian promised the troops for participation in the civil war no more than others paid them for service in peacetime: he was implacably opposed to senseless generosity towards to the soldiers, and therefore his army was always better than that of others. Legates were sent to the Parthians and to Armenia, and measures were taken to ensure that after the legions left for the civil war, the borders would not be unprotected. Titus, the son of Vespasian, remained in Judea, he himself decided to go to Egypt - it was decided that only part of the troops and such a commander as Mutian, as well as the glory surrounding the name of Vespasian, would be enough to defeat Vitellius (Tacitus: “History”; 2; 79-82).
So Mucianus marched to Italy, and Vespasian sailed to Egypt. He considered it a matter of paramount importance to secure this province for himself, since, firstly, he thus took control of the supply of grain to Rome, and secondly, he left himself room for retreat in case of defeat. Titus was entrusted with the end of the Jewish War (Flavius: “Jewish War”; 4; 10).
Vespasian spent the end of winter and the entire spring of 70 in Alexandria. Meanwhile, Mucian took Rome. Vitellius was killed, the Senate, all provinces and legions swore allegiance to Vespasian.
Returning to Italy in the summer of 70, Vespasian first of all restored order in the army, since the soldiers had reached complete debauchery: some were proud of victory, others were embittered by dishonor. Vespasian dismissed and punished many of Vitellius’ soldiers, but he also did not allow the victors anything beyond their due, and did not even pay them legal rewards right away. He did not miss a single opportunity to restore order. One young man came to thank him for his high appointment, fragrant with aromas - he turned away contemptuously and gloomily said to him: “It would be better if you stank of garlic!” - and took away the appointment order.
After the last civil war, the capital was disfigured by fires and ruins. The Capitoline Hill, where the oldest temples of Rome were located, burned to the ground. Vespasian allowed anyone to occupy and develop empty plots if the owners did not do so. Having begun to rebuild the Capitol, he was the first to begin clearing away the rubble with his own hands and carrying it out on his own back. The upper classes were thinned by endless executions and fell into decline from long-standing neglect. In order to cleanse and replenish them, in 73-74, as a censor, he inspected the Senate and the horsemanship, removed the unfit and included the most worthy of the Italians and provincials in the lists.
After Titus took Jerusalem and ended the Jewish War, a triumph was celebrated in 71. During the years of Vespasian's reign, Achaia, Lycia, Rhodes, Byzantium, and Samos again lost their freedom, and mountainous Cilicia and Commagena, previously under the rule of the kings, were turned into provinces.
From the first days of his reign until his death, Vespasian was accessible and lenient. He never hid his former low state and often even flaunted it. He never strived for outward splendor, and even on the day of triumph, exhausted by the slow and tedious procession, he could not resist saying:
“Serves me right, an old man: like a fool I wanted triumph, as if my ancestors deserved it or I myself could dream of it!” He accepted the tribunal power and the name of the father of the fatherland only many years later, although during his reign he was consul eight times and censor once. He was the first of the princeps to remove the guards at the doors of his palace, and he stopped searching those who greeted him in the morning during the internecine war. While in power, he always got up early, even before light, and read letters and reports from all officials; then he let his friends in and received greetings, while he himself got dressed and put on his shoes. Having finished with his current affairs, he took a walk and rested with one of the concubines: after the death of Tsenida, he had many of them. From the bedroom he went to the bathhouse, and then to the table: at this time, they say, he was at his softest and kindest, and the family tried to take advantage of this if they had any requests. At dinner, as always and everywhere, he was good-natured and often made jokes: he was a great mocker, but too prone to buffoonery and vulgarity, even reaching the point of obscenity. However, some of his jokes were very witty. They say that one woman swore that she was dying of love for him, and achieved his attention: he spent the night with her and gave her 400,000 sesterces, and when asked by the manager under what heading to enter this money, he said: “For extreme love for Vespasian "
The liberties of friends, the barbs of lawyers, the obstinacy of philosophers bothered him little. He never remembered the insults and enmity and did not take revenge for them. Suspicion or fear never pushed him to commit violence. It never turned out that an innocent person was executed - unless in his absence, without his knowledge, or even against his will. No death pleased him, and even over a well-deserved execution he sometimes complained and cried. The only thing he was rightly reproached for was love of money. Not only did he collect the arrears forgiven by Galba, impose new heavy taxes, increase and sometimes even double the tribute from the provinces, he openly engaged in such matters that even a private person would be ashamed of. He bought things only to sell them later at a profit; he did not hesitate to sell positions to applicants and exonerations to defendants, innocent and guilty indiscriminately. He even taxed the toilets, and when Titus reproached his father for this, he took a coin from the first profit, brought it to his nose and asked if it stank. “No,” answered Titus. “But this is money from urine,” said Vespasian. However, many think that he was greedy not by nature, but because of the extreme poverty of the state and imperial treasury: he himself admitted this when, at the very beginning of his reign, he declared that he needed forty billion sesterces for the state to get on its feet ( Suetonius: Vespasian; 8-9, 12-16, 21-24). In fact, under Vespasian in Rome, the restoration of the Capitol, the Temple of Peace, the monuments of Claudius, the Forum and much more was begun and completed; Construction of the Colosseum began. Throughout Italy, cities were renovated, roads were firmly fortified, and mountains on the Flaminieva were razed to create a less steep pass. All this was accomplished in a short time and without burdening the farmers, which proves his wisdom rather than greed (Victor: “On the Caesars”; 9).
He died as simply and calmly as he lived. During his ninth consulate, while in Campania, he felt mild bouts of fever. He went to the Reatina estates, where he usually spent the summer. Here the ailments intensified. Nevertheless, he continued, as always, to engage in state affairs and, lying in bed, even received ambassadors. When his stomach began to fail, Vespasian felt the approach of death and joked: “Alas, it seems that I am becoming a god.” He tried to get up, saying that the emperor should die standing, and died in the arms of those supporting him (Suetonius: “Vespasian”; 25).
Monarchs. 2012
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(9-79) - Roman Emperor... - VESPASIAN TITUS FLAVIUS
Roman emperor (69-79 AD), b. in the 9th year of the Christian calendar near Reata, in Central Italy. His father was... - VESPASIAN TITUS FLAVIUS in the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedia:
? Roman emperor (69 - 79 AD), b. in the 9th year of the Christian calendar near Reata, in Central Italy. ... - VESPASIAN TITUS FLAVIUS in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, TSB:
Titus Flavius Vespasianus (9, Reate, - 79, ibid.), Roman emperor (reigned 69-79), founder of the Flavian dynasty (69-96). ... - VESPASIAN in the Directory of Characters and Cult Objects of Greek Mythology:
Titus Flavius Roman Emperor in 69-79. Founder of the Flavian dynasty. Genus. 17 Nov. 9 Died June 24, 79 ... - TIT
Flavius Vespasian (Roman Emperor 79-81) The eldest son of Emperor Vespasian, before ascending the throne, had a brilliant military career, the pinnacle of which... - TIT in Collier's Dictionary:
(Titus Flavius Vespasianus) (41-81 AD), Roman emperor (reigned 79-81), son of Emperor Vespasian, full name Titus Flavius Vespasian. Started a military... - VESPASIAN in the Wiki Quotation Book:
Data: 2009-07-01 Time: 14:27:19 * Money does not smell (lat. - Pecunia non ... - TIT in the Bible Dictionary:
(2 Cor. 2:13; 2 Cor. 7:6,13,14; 2 Cor. 8:6,16,23; 2 Cor. 12:18; Gal. 2:1,3; 2 Tim. 4:10; Titus 1 :4) - Greek by nationality, converted through the preaching of St. Paul and became his employee. ... - TIT in the Bible Encyclopedia of Nikephoros:
(venerable; Galat. 2:1) - one of the 70 apostles, a pagan by origin, from Antioch, but converted to Christianity by the preaching of the apostle. Pavel... - FLAVIUS in Sayings of Great Men:
...the one who does not want to die when necessary, and the one who wants to die when there is no need, are equally cowardly. ... - TIT
(Titus Flavius Vespassianus) Roman Emperor (79-81 AD). He was the son of Vespassian and Flavia Domitilla. Even during the reign... - VESPASIAN in the Concise Dictionary of Mythology and Antiquities:
(Vespasianus). Roman emperor who reigned between 70-79. from R. X. His full name was Flavius Sabinus Vespasian. He was dark... - TIT in the Dictionary of Generals:
Flavius Vespasianus (79-81), rom. emperor The eldest son of Rome. Emperor Vespasian. Team Rome. troops that besieged and captured Jerusalem (70). ... - VESPASIAN in the Dictionary of Generals:
(lat. Flavius Vespasianus) Titus Flavius (9-79), rom. Emperor, founder of the Flavian dynasty. Genus. in the family of a tax collector. The first emperor of non-Nator origin. ... - VESPASIAN in the Dictionary-Reference Book of Who's Who in the Ancient World:
(Titus Flavius Vespasian, Roman Emperor 69-79 AD) First emperor of the Flavian dynasty after the assassination of Nero and a year of civil war; legions... - TIT
(1st century) associate of the Apostle Paul and addressee of his message, participant in the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem (c. 49), first bishop of Crete. Memory … - VESPASIAN in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
(Vespasianus) (9-79) Roman emperor from 69, founder of the Flavian dynasty. Much more widely than his predecessors, he extended the rights of Roman and... - TITUS THE APOSTLE in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron:
(?????, from the Greek ??? - venerable) - an apostle from among the seventy, a fellow apostle. Paul, Hellenic, i.e. Greek by birth... - TIT in the Modern Encyclopedic Dictionary:
- TIT in the Encyclopedic Dictionary:
(self-names Tyt, Shat, May, Ruk, Malieng) - a nationality with a total number of 2 thousand people living in the territory of Vietnam. Language - tit. ... - TIT
(Titus) (39-81), rom. Emperor since 79, from the Flavian dynasty. Son of Vespasian. During the Jewish War he captured and destroyed Jerusalem... - TIT in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
(1st century), companion of the Apostle Paul and addressee of his message, participant in the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem (c. 49), first bishop ... - VESPASIAN in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
VESPASIAN (Vespasianus) (9-79), rom. Emperor since 69, founder of the Flavian dynasty. Much more widely than his predecessors, he extended the rights to provincials... - VESPASIAN in Collier's Dictionary:
(Titus Flavius Vespasianus) (9-79 AD), Roman emperor, founder of the Flavian dynasty. Born in Reata (modern Rieti, 70 km northeast of ... - FLAVIUS in the Dictionary for solving and composing scanwords:
Male... - TIT in the dictionary of Synonyms of the Russian language.
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Flavius, (Flavievich, Flavievna and Flavievich, ... - TIT in the Complete Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language:
Titus, (Titovich, ... - FLAVIUS
Sebastian (d. ca. 320), one of the forty Sebastian ... - TIT in the Modern Explanatory Dictionary, TSB:
(Titus) (39-8..1), Roman emperor from 79, from the Flavian dynasty. Son of Vespasian. During the Jewish War he took and destroyed Jerusalem (70). -... - VESPASIAN in the Modern Explanatory Dictionary, TSB:
(Vespasianus) (9-79), Roman emperor from 69, founder of the Flavian dynasty. Much more widely than his predecessors, he extended Roman rights to provincials... - TITUS, FLAVIUS VESPASIAN in biographies of Monarchs:
Roman emperor from the Flavian family, who reigned from 79 to 81. Son of Vespasian. Genus. 30 Dec 39 Died September 13 81...
Vespasian became the first commoner to lead the Roman Empire. He liked to repeat that he was a simple peasant who saved every sestertius. He went down in history thanks to the phrase “money has no smell.” For Vespasian they really had no smell: he was used to getting them by all available means...
Vespasian died at the age of 69. Before his death, he was ill for a long time: he was tormented by a fever, old wounds opened. According to the tradition that had developed at that time, after his death he should have been immediately deified.
On the morning of June 24, 79, the emperor joked: “ Alas, it seems I'm becoming a god" In the evening he was gone. As you can see, Vespasian managed to maintain a sense of humor until the very end of his life.
The full name of the emperor is Titus Flavius Vespasian. He came from an obscure Italian family. My grandfather was a soldier and then a small trader. My father at one time collected taxes in Asia. The future emperor lost his parents early and was raised by his grandmother on a small farm in central Italy.
The family led an almost peasant lifestyle. This affected the character and appearance of the emperor himself. He was tall, strong and densely built, with rough features.
The famous biographer Suetonius wrote: “ He enjoyed excellent health, although he did not care about it at all, and only rubbed his throat and all his limbs in the bathhouse, and did not eat anything one day a month. He got up before dark and immediately got down to business, receiving the first visitors while still getting dressed.”
The rootless young man saw only one career path - the army, so he began serving under Emperor Tiberius. Vespasian was born for the army. Personal courage and courage allowed him to quickly achieve officer positions.
At age 30, he left the army and began a civilian career. An absolutely standard story for that time: to become, in turn, a quaestor, a praetor, and then a governor in Crete. The pinnacle of such a career could be the consulate - by that time a nominal, but very honorable position.
Vespasian was appointed consul after a successful military campaign in Britain. He was 42 years old, he achieved fame, his career was successful, his beloved wife bore him two sons - the future emperors Titus and Domitian. Life is good...
Everything changed a year later. Returning from Britain, Vespasian bet on the wrong political party: he became close to the freedman Narcissus, the favorite of Emperor Claudius. Narcissus fought for influence on the emperor with his wife, Agrippina. The freedman lost this fight, he was accused of treason and executed. Vespasian retired and disappeared from Roman politics for 10 long years.
War in Judea
Vespasian returned to Roman politics at age 57. At that time, his age was more than respectable. The average life expectancy was then short, and a person over 50 was perceived as very old.
The war helped Vespasian become emperor. The Arch of Titus still stands in the very center of Rome, near the Colosseum. On its bas-reliefs, Roman legionaries carry treasures from the looted Jerusalem temple: minors, precious cups and musical instruments. The arch was erected in honor of the Jewish War of 66–71. Vespasian went to this war as a forgotten commander and returned as an emperor.
Arch of Titus.
In 66, the inhabitants of Jerusalem killed the Roman garrison. The reason was oppression by the governor of the province, Gessia Florus, who not only massively plundered the local population, but also mocked the local religion in every possible way.
As a result, the uprising in Judea was distinguished by its intransigence, since it immediately acquired a religious overtones: the Jews fought to save their faith. In a short time, the Roman garrisons in the cities were slaughtered and officials were executed. The Jews restored theocratic rule; At the head of the rebels was the high priest Anna.
Emperor Nero did not at first realize how serious the situation was. He ordered the uprising to be suppressed with the help of a legion stationed in Syria. The Roman troops were almost completely destroyed. Judea practically regained its independence.
Nero needed an experienced commander, but finding a candidate was not easy.
IN last years During his life, Nero was mainly engaged in art and singing, while destroying in his personal environment anyone who could potentially become a conspirator. There was no man who could lead the troops among Nero’s courtiers. And then he remembered Vespasian.
Giulio Romano "The Triumph of Titus and Vespasian". The plot of the film is based on a magnificent triumphal procession organized in honor of the victory over Judea.
Vespasian received a strong army to control and in 67 entered Judea. Despite his advanced age, Vespasian’s behavior during military operations was ideal: he always walked ahead of the army, chose the place for the camp himself, never indulged in idleness or luxury, ate and dressed like an ordinary soldier, and often went into battle himself. During the siege of Iotapata, he was wounded in the knee by a stone, and several arrows pierced his shield.
His son Titus was always with him, to whom Vespasian gave the most difficult assignments. The soldiers saw in Vespasian a reflection of the ancient ideal of a commander. It is unlikely that the stories of personal bravery were an exaggeration.
We know about the course of the war from the writings of Josephus, one of the leaders of the rebel Jews, who was captured by Vespasian, and then wrote the book “The Jewish War.”
The conquest of Judea took a year and a half. Only Jerusalem remained independent, and Vespasian was preparing to storm it. But then news came from Rome that completely changed his plans. Nero died.
The emperor tired his inner circle with terror and crazy antics. Almost all prominent courtiers took part in the conspiracy. Nero realized that he had nowhere to run, and in his villa he threw himself on the sword, uttering the words: “ What artist dies! Nero had no children. The dynasty founded by the great Augustus was interrupted. A struggle for power began.
The power in Rome was held hostage by the legions. In just one year, three generals were declared emperors: Galba, Otho and Vitellius. Legionnaires were ready to elect anyone for gifts. The battles took place right in the city, gangs of marauders were operating throughout Italy, the emperors did not have time to settle into the palace before it was already stormed by the next contender for power.
All this time Vespasian waited. He did not risk the soldiers and take the well-fortified Jerusalem. The commander made peace with the Parthian kingdom so as not to leave a strong enemy in his rear, and secured friendship from the governors of neighboring provinces.
Painting by Lawrence Alma-Tadema The Triumph of Titus.
Only on July 1, 69, Vespasian proclaimed himself the new emperor. Nine eastern legions - more than 60,000 soldiers - swore allegiance to him. The path to Rome was open. Moreover, the city was waiting for a person who could restore order. In the summer of 70, Vespasian arrived in Italy and took the Eternal City without a fight.
Greed as politics
Vespasian received the empire in a sad state. The city was destroyed. The center of Rome, where Nero's palace was located, turned into ruins and burned out. The treasury was empty, and looters from former legionnaires were rampaging throughout the country.
The situation required drastic measures, and Vespasian lived up to expectations. He massively fired legionnaires who participated in street fighting and looting, moreover, he sent them to live on the far borders of the empire. The pacification of crime was facilitated by his own legions from the east, completely devoted to Vespasian personally.
The emperor then turned to economics. The state budget needed 40 billion sesterces. And this money had to be obtained at any cost. The end of the Jewish War brought the most money. In 71, Titus took Jerusalem and destroyed the temple, bringing enormous valuables into the treasury.
Dark times had come for Judea. Throughout the war, according to ancient writers, 600,000 people were killed. Palestine was divided into plots and distributed or sold to new settlers. The temple - the symbol of Judea - was razed to the ground, and in its place the sanctuary of Jupiter Capitolinus was erected.
The emperor's praetorian legate was usually appointed governor of Judea. All Jews in the empire were subject to a special tax. The emperor really received money in any way.
Coin with the image of Vespasian.
But even the funds from conquered Judea were not enough to replenish the treasury. And Vespasian practically created an analogue of the Ministry of Finance. Previously, the state treasury was separated from the imperial treasury, but now they have been united.
The emperor imposed new taxes on the provinces and governors. Taxes for the provinces were doubled. Regions that did not like the new order were brought into submission by legions.
At the same time, Vespasian made life easier for large landowners in every possible way. He returned to many senators and equestrians their lands confiscated by Nero.
The emperor’s logic was simple: large farmers actively participated in trade, which brought huge funds to the treasury through taxes.
Following the same logic, Vespasian actively developed infrastructure. The center of Rome was practically destroyed to him. The emperor allowed empty plots to be occupied and developed if their rightful owners did not do so. He personally set an example by taking part in the cleanup of the destroyed Capitol.
With an extremely thrifty attitude towards funds, Vespasian built cities and strengthened roads throughout Italy. On the strategic Flaminian Way, entire mountains were razed to straighten the terrain.
In Rome itself, the emperor glorified his name with two grandiose monuments. The first was the Temple of Peace - a symbol that the era of civil wars had passed. The second is a huge amphitheater, which we call the Colosseum, it is still a symbol of Rome. The emperor built it on the site of Nero's palace as a symbol of his returning the city to the Romans themselves.
Temple of Peace
The most exotic way of making money, which Vespasian came up with, has become a legend. In Rome, urine has been collected since ancient times: it was used to treat leather and bleach fabrics.
The collection technology was simple. Laundries in ancient Rome placed giant clay vessels in public places as urinals, from which urine was collected by special collectors. It was them who the emperor taxed.
To expand the tax base, Vespasian even opened the first paid public restrooms in human history in 74. With this innovation, Vespasian also immortalized his name. The ancient Romans had a good sense of humor - for a long time people called public restrooms in Rome “Vespasian toilets.”
As for the famous phrase about money that has no smell, Vespasian uttered it in a conversation with his son Titus. When the latter was outraged that the emperor was charging money from public latrines, Vespasian took a gold coin, brought it to his son’s nose and asked if it stank. " No", answered Titus. " But this is money from the restroom“,” Vespasian remarked morally.
Paid public restrooms
During the nine years of his reign, Vespasian managed to leave a prosperous state to his heirs, Rome was rebuilt, and peace reigned on the borders of the empire. The emperor himself was most proud of the fact that during his time the temple of Janus remained closed (the Romans opened this temple when they fought wars). For several centuries in a row its doors were open, the last time they were closed for several years during the reign of Augustus. Now Vespasian has closed them.
Posthumous fame
Vespasian was the first to bet that power should be as open as possible to the people. He constantly emphasized his simple origins and was proud of them. When someone, out of flattery, tried to trace his family back to one of the companions of Hercules, the emperor laughed loudest of all.
Vespasian took an unprecedented step. He ordered the security at the doors of his home to be removed so that every citizen could enter there at any time. The emperor especially noted his accessibility to ordinary Romans. For that time it was incredible democracy.
Vespasian's contemporaries did not value him very much. The entire empire mocked his stinginess. The emperor himself listened to such jokes calmly.
They say that even at his funeral, the famous Roman mime Tabor, performing as usual in a mask and depicting the words and deeds of the deceased, loudly asked the officials how much the funeral procession cost. And, hearing that it was ten million, he exclaimed: “ Give me ten thousand and throw me into the Tiber!” The crowd and courtiers laughed.
After the reign of Nero, when political murders were committed openly, this laughter was probably the main achievement of Emperor Vespasian.
VESPASIAN, Titus Flavius
Roman Emperor in 69-79. Founder of the Flavian dynasty. Genus. 17 Nov. 9 years old, d. 24 June 79
Vespasian came from a noble family of Flavians. His grandfather was a centurion or even a simple soldier in the army of Pompey. After retiring, he made a fortune by collecting money from sales. His father, who was a tax collector in Asia, did the same. This business brought him not only wealth, but also fame - many cities erected statues in his honor with the inscription: “To the fair collector.” His mother’s family was much more famous, and Vespasian received his nickname from his maternal grandfather Vespasius Pollio, a three-time military tribune and camp commander. The future emperor was born in the land of the Sabines, not far from Reate, and spent his childhood on his grandmother's estate near Koza in Erutria. He began his service under Tiberius as a military tribune in Thrace and completed it quickly and successfully: after the quaesture, he was given control of Crete and Cyrene, then he was elected aedile, and in 39 he received praetorship. Being an aedile, they say, he did not take good care of cleaning the streets, so that the angry Guy Caligula once ordered the soldiers to pile dirt into his bosom of his senatorial toga. Perhaps this lesson was beneficial, since when he was praetor, Vespasian did not miss a single opportunity to please Caligula: in honor of his German “victory”, he proposed organizing games out of turn, and after the execution of Lepidus and Gaetulik, he demanded that their bodies be thrown away without burial. Caligula honored him with an invitation to dinner, and Vespasian gave a speech of thanks to the Senate. In the meantime he married Flavia Domitilla, with whom he had all his children. When his wife died, Vespasian again took in his former concubine, the freedwoman Caenida, and she lived with him as a legal wife, even when he had already become emperor.
Vespasian gained military glory during the reign of Claudius. At first he served as legate of the legion in Germany, and then, in 43, he was transferred to Britain, where he participated in more than thirty battles with the enemy, conquered two strong tribes, more than twenty cities and the Isle of Wight. For this he received triumphal decorations, pontificate and augurism, and in 51 - a consulate. Then, fearing Agrippina, the wife of Claudius, who persecuted him for his friendship with Narcissus, he retired from business and lived in retirement for ten years, not engaging in any public affairs. In 61, already under Nero, he received control of Africa, which, according to some sources, he ruled honestly and with great dignity, and according to others, on the contrary, very badly. In any case, he returned from the province without getting rich, lost the trust of his creditors and was forced to pledge all his estates to his elder brother, and to maintain his position, engage in the mule trade. For this, people called him “the donkey.” Nero at first treated Vespasian kindly and took him with him on a trip to Greece. But after Vespasian fell asleep during the emperor’s speech, he suffered severe disgrace: Nero forbade him not only to accompany himself, but also to greet him. Vespasian retired to a small town, where he lived in obscurity and fear for his life, until he suddenly unexpectedly received a province and an army: in 66, Nero instructed him to suppress the uprising in Judea. The war here assumed an unusually wide scope, and victory required a large army and a strong commander who could be entrusted with such a matter without fear; and Vespasian turned out to be chosen as a man of proven zeal and not at all dangerous due to the modesty of his family and name. And so, having received two more legions in addition to the local troops, he went to Judea (Suetonius: “Vespasian”; 1-5).
In Antioch, Vespasian took command of the army and pulled in auxiliary troops from everywhere. He began his campaign in 67, realizing that he faced a grueling and dangerous undertaking. The Jews did not risk fighting the legions in the open field, but took refuge behind the walls of the cities and defended themselves with extreme tenacity. First of all, from Ptolemais the Romans invaded Galilee and, after a heavy siege, took Iotapata, a large and well-fortified city on the coast. Its entire population was subjected to total extermination. Jaffa was captured immediately, and Tiberias surrendered without a fight. The inhabitants of Tarichea tried to resist, but their city was taken at the first attack. Vespasian initially promised the prisoners life and freedom, but then changed his mind. He sent all the newly arrived Jews to Tiberias, about a thousand were executed and up to forty thousand more were sold into slavery (Flavius: “The Jewish War”; 3; 2, 7, 9, 10). Gamala, located nearby, defended itself with desperate tenacity. Having finally captured the city, the Romans killed even the infants in it. After this, all of Galilee recognized Roman rule (Flavius: “The Jewish War”; 4; 1, 6).
This campaign brought Vespasian great fame and popularity in the army. Indeed, in the very first battles he showed exceptional courage, so that during the siege of Iotapata he himself was wounded in the knee by a stone, and several arrows pierced his shield (Suetonius: “Vespasian”; 4). On the march, Vespasian usually walked ahead of the army himself, knew how to choose a place for a camp, day and night he thought about victory over his enemies, and if necessary, he struck them down with a mighty hand, ate whatever he had to, in clothes and habits he was almost no different from an ordinary soldier - in a word , if not for greed, he could have been considered a Roman commander of ancient times (Tacitus: “History”; 2; 5).
Meanwhile, in 68, news was received of unrest in Gaul and that Vindex with its native leaders had fallen away from Nero. This news prompted Vespasian to hasten to end the war, for he already foresaw the future civil strife and the dangerous situation of the entire state and thought that he would be able to free Italy from the horrors if he established peace in the East earlier. In the spring he moved along the Jordan and set up camp near Jericho. From here he sent detachments in different directions and conquered all the surrounding cities and villages. He was ready to begin the siege of Jerusalem when he learned of Nero's suicide. Then Vespasian changed his tactics and delayed his speech, waiting to see what turn events would take. Worried by the situation of the entire state, awaiting upheavals of the Roman power, he was less attentive to the war with the Jews and, terribly concerned about the fate of his own fatherland, considered an attack on strangers untimely. Meanwhile, the civil war in Italy flared up. Galba, declared emperor, was openly killed in the Roman forum, and in his place Otho was proclaimed emperor, who in turn fought with Vitellius and, defeated by him, took his own life. In April 69, Vitellius became emperor. Vespasian consistently recognized all three and at each coup led his legions to swear allegiance to the new princeps. Although he knew how to obey as well as command, the news of the outrages of the Vitellians in Rome infuriated him. He despised Vitellius from the bottom of his heart and considered him unworthy of the throne. Imbued with the most painful thoughts, he felt the burden of his position as a conqueror of foreign lands, while his own fatherland was perishing. But no matter how his anger prompted him to take revenge, the thought of his distance from Rome, as well as the power of the German legions on which Vitellius relied, held him back.
Meanwhile, military leaders and soldiers at their comradely meetings openly discussed a change in government, and the demand to proclaim Vespasian emperor was louder and louder (Flavius: “The Jewish War”; 4; 8-10). The first to swear allegiance to Vespasian were the Alexandrian legions on July 1, 69. As soon as the news of this reached Judea, the soldiers who ran to Vespasian’s tent joyfully greeted him as emperor. Immediately at the meeting he was awarded the titles of Caesar, Augustus and all other titles due to a princeps. Vespasian himself, in these new and unusual circumstances, remained the same as before - without the slightest importance, without any arrogance. He addressed the army with a few words, simple and stern as a soldier. In response, loud cries of jubilation and devotion were heard from all sides. A joyful upsurge also gripped the legions stationed in Syria. Their commander, Licinius Mutian, immediately swore allegiance to Vespasian. Even before the Ides of July, all of Syria took the oath. Sochem, with his kingdom and the considerable military forces under his authority, as well as Antiochus, the largest of the local kings subordinate to Rome, joined the uprising. All the coastal provinces, right up to the borders of Asia and Achaea, and all the inland ones, right up to Pontus and Armenia, swore allegiance to the new emperor.
Vespasian began preparing for war by recruiting recruits and drafting veterans into the army; the most prosperous cities were instructed to create workshops for the production of weapons; gold and silver coins began to be minted in Antioch. These measures were hastily carried out on the ground by special proxies. Vespasian appeared everywhere, encouraged everyone, praised honest and active people, taught the confused and weak by his own example, only occasionally resorting to punishment. He distributed the positions of prefects and procurators and appointed new members of the Senate, most of them outstanding people, who soon occupied a high position in the state. As for the monetary gift to the soldiers, at the very first meeting it was announced that it would be very moderate, and Vespasian promised the troops for participation in the civil war no more than others paid them for service in peacetime: he was implacably opposed to senseless generosity towards to the soldiers, and therefore his army was always better than that of others. Legates were sent to the Parthians and to Armenia, and measures were taken to ensure that after the legions left for the civil war, the borders would not be unprotected. Titus, the son of Vespasian, remained in Judea, he himself decided to go to Egypt - it was decided that only part of the troops and such a commander as Mutian, as well as the glory surrounding the name of Vespasian, would be enough to defeat Vitellius (Tacitus: “History”; 2; 79-82). So Mucianus marched to Italy, and Vespasian sailed to Egypt. He considered it a matter of paramount importance to secure this province for himself, since, firstly, he thus took control of the supply of grain to Rome, and secondly, he left himself room for retreat in case of defeat. Titus was entrusted with the end of the Jewish War (Flavius: “Jewish War”; 4; 10).
Vespasian spent the end of winter and the entire spring of 70 in Alexandria. Meanwhile, Mucian took Rome. Vitellius was killed, the Senate, all provinces and legions swore allegiance to Vespasian. Returning to Italy in the summer of 70, Vespasian first of all restored order in the army, since the soldiers had reached complete debauchery: some were proud of victory, others were embittered by dishonor. Vespasian dismissed and punished many of Vitellius’ soldiers, but he also did not allow the victors anything beyond their due, and did not even pay them legal rewards right away. He did not miss a single opportunity to restore order. One young man came to thank him for his high appointment, fragrant with aromas - he turned away contemptuously and gloomily said to him: “It would be better if you stank of garlic!” - and took away the appointment order.
After the last civil war, the capital was disfigured by fires and ruins. The Capitoline Hill, where the oldest temples of Rome were located, burned to the ground. Vespasian allowed anyone to occupy and develop empty plots if the owners did not do so. Having begun to rebuild the Capitol, he was the first to begin clearing away the rubble with his own hands and carrying it out on his own back. The upper classes were thinned by endless executions and fell into decline from long-standing neglect. In order to cleanse and replenish them, in 73-74, as a censor, he inspected the Senate and the equestrians, removed the unfit and included the most worthy of the Italians and provincials in the lists.
After Titus took Jerusalem and ended the Jewish War, a triumph was celebrated in 71. During the reign of Vespasian, Achaia, Lycia, Rhodes, Byzantium, Samos again lost their freedom, and mountainous Cilicia and Commagene, previously under the rule of the kings, were turned into provinces.
From the first days of his reign until his death, Vespasian was accessible and lenient. He never hid his former low state and often even flaunted it. He never strived for outward splendor, and even on the day of triumph, exhausted by the slow and tedious procession, he could not resist saying: “Serves me right, an old man: like a fool I wanted triumph, as if my ancestors deserved it or I myself could dream of it.” ! He accepted the tribunal power and the name of the father of the fatherland only many years later, although during his reign he was consul eight times and censor once. He was the first of the princeps to remove the guards at the doors of his palace, and he stopped searching those who greeted him in the morning during the internecine war. While in power, he always got up early, even before light, and read letters and reports from all officials; then he let his friends in and received greetings, while he himself got dressed and put on his shoes. Having finished with his current affairs, he took a walk and rested with one of the concubines: after the death of Tsenida, he had many of them. From the bedroom he went to the bathhouse, and then to the table: at this time, they say, he was at his softest and kindest, and the family tried to take advantage of this if they had any requests. At dinner, as always and everywhere, he was good-natured and often made jokes: he was a great mocker, but too prone to buffoonery and vulgarity, even reaching the point of obscenity. However, some of his jokes were very witty. They say that one woman swore that she was dying of love for him, and achieved his attention: he spent the night with her and gave her 400,000 sesterces, and when asked by the manager under what heading to enter this money, he said: “For extreme love for Vespasian "
The liberties of friends, the barbs of lawyers, the obstinacy of philosophers bothered him little. He never remembered the insults and enmity and did not take revenge for them. Suspicion or fear never pushed him to commit violence. It never turned out that an innocent person was executed - unless in his absence, without his knowledge, or even against his will. No death pleased him, and even over a well-deserved execution he sometimes complained and cried. The only thing he was rightly reproached for was love of money. Not only did he collect the arrears forgiven by Galba, impose new heavy taxes, increase and sometimes even double the tribute from the provinces, he openly engaged in such matters that even a private person would be ashamed of. He bought things only to sell them later at a profit; he did not hesitate to sell positions to applicants and exonerations to defendants, innocent and guilty indiscriminately. He even taxed the toilets, and when Titus reproached his father for this, he took a coin from the first profit, brought it to his nose and asked if it stank. “No,” answered Titus. “But this is money from urine,” said Vespasian. However, many think that he was greedy not by nature, but because of the extreme poverty of the state and imperial treasury: he himself admitted this when, at the very beginning of his reign, he declared that he needed forty billion sesterces for the state to get on its feet ( Suetonius: “Vespasian”; 8-9, 12-16, 21-24). In fact, under Vespasian in Rome, the restoration of the Capitol, the Temple of Peace, the monuments of Claudius, the Forum and much more was begun and completed; Construction of the Colosseum began. Throughout Italy, cities were renovated, roads were firmly fortified, and mountains on the Flaminieva were razed to create a less steep pass. All this was accomplished in a short time and without burdening the farmers, which proves his wisdom rather than greed (Victor: “On the Caesars”; 9).
He died as simply and calmly as he lived. During his ninth consulate, while in Campania, he felt mild bouts of fever. He went to the Reatina estates, where he usually spent the summer. Here the ailments intensified. Nevertheless, he continued, as always, to engage in state affairs and, lying in bed, even received ambassadors. When his stomach began to fail, Vespasian felt death approaching and joked: “Alas, it seems that I am becoming a god.” He tried to get up, saying that the emperor should die standing, and died in the arms of those supporting him (Suetonius: “Vespasian”; 25).
All the monarchs of the world. - Academician. 2009 .
Vespasian (Titus Flavius Vespasian) - Roman emperor of the 1st century AD.
He received the cognomen “Vespasian” not from the fact that he loved to breed bees (that’s how the name is translated), as the famous legend says, but simply from the name of his mother, Vespasia Polla.
early years
Vespasian was born in the Sabine land in a small rural house. The house belonged to his father, who at that time served as a tax collector. The family was not distinguished by noble origin and great wealth, but lived in prosperity and enjoyed the respect of others.
Having started his career as a military tribune, he gradually climbed the then career ladder. At the same time, he honestly fulfilled his duty, for which he was loved by ordinary residents and noble people.
The emperors also favored him - Caligula, Claudius, Nero. True, under Caligula there was a small incident that quarreled between the emperor and Vespasian. In those years he served as Roman praetor. When Caligula left the city with his retinue, he was caught by a terrible impassability.
Responsibility for the condition of the roads lay precisely with the praetor, so the emperor decided to punish Vespasian - he ordered him to be thrown into a dirty puddle in the middle of the road. However, Caligula did not seriously pursue his subordinate, and Vespasian continued to serve diligently. Apparently, this quarrel explains the zeal with which he, on the orders of Caligula, dealt with the participants in the conspiracy of Getulik and Lepidus.
Among the rich and noble conspirators were those who were relatives of the emperor, and Vespasian’s cruelty was directed against them. Nero appointed him commander during the war with the Jews.
This suggests that Vespasian aroused respect from those around him despite everything: the fact is that Nero did not like him, because Vespasian did not approve of the emperor’s singing performances and did not appear at them, and if he did come, he often fell asleep during them.
Emperor
Being prone to caution and not liking rashness, Vespasian did not interfere in court vicissitudes and sent his delegates to swear allegiance to each new person who occupied the throne. However, when he sent them to Vitellius, they were clearly unhappy: they did not like this new ruler, and they themselves had long wanted to see Vespasian as emperor.
After some struggle for power, Vespasian was loudly proclaimed emperor: the governors and legions of Syria, Judea and a number of other provinces voted for this. In 70, the new emperor Vespasian entered Rome.
Governing body
Vespasian, despite the military operations carried out during the time of his predecessors, did not like to fight. In the entire history of his reign, he did not wage a single war, except for the British one: his predecessors started it, and he was forced to bring it to the end.
Vespasian ordered the closure of the Temple of Janus, which stood in this form throughout his reign. Open temple doors meant martial law, closed doors meant peace. He was even more intolerant of civil discontent, corruption, embezzlement and other unrest; he despised external splendor and “greatness.” In general, he was a quiet family man who longed for peace and justice.
The reign of Vespasian was marked by positive (though not always) orders for the empire:
- He tried to overcome the consequences of the civil war and put the country in order.
- To overcome the financial depletion of the treasury, he increased taxes and introduced new ones. One of the most unusual was a tax on urine collected in public toilets. The introduction of this tax caused ridicule from the crowd, to which the emperor responded with a phrase that went down in history: “Money has no smell.”
However, among the methods of replenishing the budget, the emperor also practiced illegal ones. Despite such frugality and stinginess, Vespasian generously allocated funds for the construction of public buildings. So, he restored the Capitol, built the Temple of Peace - one of the most impressive buildings of antiquity, and also erected the famous Colosseum.
The emperor tried to restore internal order in the country. To this end, he punished criminals, deprived Greek cities of privileges, and expelled astrologers and philosophers from the capital. Vespasian, by and large, ruled as a strong authoritarian dictator. Occasionally he showed cruelty, but otherwise he was distinguished by moderation.
The emperor did not tolerate opposition in the Senate and even dealt with one Republican, but on the whole the Senate remained satisfied with its ruler.
Vespasian died in 79, and until the last days of his life he worked, despite his illness.
Espasian came from a noble family of Flavians. His grandfather was a centurion or even a simple soldier in the army of Pompey. After retiring, he made a fortune by collecting money from sales. His father, who was a tax collector in Asia, did the same. This business brought him not only wealth, but also fame - many cities erected statues in his honor with the inscription: “To the fair collector.” His mother’s family was much more famous, and Vespasian received his nickname from his maternal grandfather Vespasius Pollio, a three-time military tribune and camp commander.
The future emperor was born in the land of the Sabines, not far from Reate, and spent his childhood on his grandmother's estate near Koza in Erutria. He began his service as a military tribune in Thrace and completed it quickly and successfully: after the quaesture, he was given control of Crete and Cyrene, then he was elected aedile, and in 39 he received praetorship. Being an aedile, they say, he did not take good care of cleaning the streets, so that, angry, he once ordered the soldiers to pile dirt into the bosom of his senatorial toga. Perhaps this lesson was beneficial, since when he was praetor, Vespasian did not miss a single opportunity to please Caligula: in honor of his German “victory,” he proposed organizing games out of turn, and after the execution of Lepidus and Gaetulik, he demanded that their bodies be thrown away without burial. Caligula honored him with an invitation to dinner, and Vespasian gave a speech of thanks to the Senate. In the meantime he married Flavia Domitilla, with whom he had all his children. When his wife died, Vespasian again took in his former concubine, the freedwoman Caenida, and she lived with him as a legal wife, even when he had already become emperor.
Vespasian gained military glory during his reign. At first he served as legate of the legion in Germany, and then, in 43, he was transferred to Britain, where he participated in more than thirty battles with the enemy, conquered two strong tribes, more than twenty cities and the Isle of Wight. For this he received triumphal decorations, pontificate and augurism, and in 51 - a consulate. Then, fearing Agrippina, the wife of Claudius, who persecuted him for his friendship with Narcissus, he retired from business and lived in retirement for ten years, not engaging in any public affairs. In 61, already under Nero, he received control of Africa, which, according to some sources, he ruled honestly and with great dignity, and according to others, on the contrary, very badly. In any case, he returned from the province without getting rich, lost the trust of his creditors and was forced to pledge all his estates to his elder brother, and to maintain his position, engage in the mule trade. For this, people called him “the donkey.” Nero at first treated Vespasian kindly and took him with him on a trip to Greece. But after Vespasian fell asleep during the emperor’s speech, he suffered severe disgrace: Nero forbade him not only to accompany himself, but also to greet him. Vespasian retired to a small town, where he lived in obscurity and fear for his life, until he suddenly unexpectedly received a province and an army: in 66, Nero instructed him to suppress the uprising in Judea. The war here assumed an unusually wide scope, and victory required a large army and a strong commander who could be entrusted with such a matter without fear; and Vespasian turned out to be chosen as a man of proven zeal and not at all dangerous due to the modesty of his family and name. And so, having received two more legions in addition to the local troops, he went to Judea.
In Antioch, Vespasian took command of the army and pulled in auxiliary troops from everywhere. He began his campaign in 67, realizing that he faced a grueling and dangerous undertaking. The Jews did not risk fighting the legions in the open field, but took refuge behind the walls of the cities and defended themselves with extreme tenacity. First of all, from Ptolemais the Romans invaded Galilee and, after a heavy siege, took Iotapata, a large and well-fortified city on the coast. Its entire population was subjected to total extermination. Jaffa was captured immediately, and Tiberias surrendered without a fight. The inhabitants of Tarichea tried to resist, but their city was taken at the first attack. Vespasian initially promised the prisoners life and freedom, but then changed his mind. He sent all the newly arrived Jews to Tiberias, about a thousand were executed and up to forty thousand more were sold into slavery. Gamala, located nearby, defended itself with desperate tenacity. Having finally captured the city, the Romans killed even the infants in it. After this, the whole of Galilee recognized Roman rule.
This campaign brought Vespasian great fame and popularity in the army. Indeed, in the very first battles he showed exceptional courage, so that during the siege of Iotapata he himself was wounded in the knee by a stone, and several arrows pierced his shield. On the march, Vespasian usually walked ahead of the army himself, knew how to choose a place for a camp, day and night he thought about victory over his enemies, and if necessary, he struck them down with a mighty hand, ate whatever he had to, in clothes and habits he was almost no different from an ordinary soldier - in a word , if not for greed, he could be considered a Roman commander of ancient times.
Meanwhile, in 68, news was received of unrest in Gaul and that Vindex with its native leaders had fallen away from. This news prompted Vespasian to hasten to end the war, for he already foresaw the future civil strife and the dangerous situation of the entire state and thought that he would be able to free Italy from the horrors if he established peace in the East earlier. In the spring he moved along the Jordan and set up camp near Jericho. From here he sent detachments in different directions and conquered all the surrounding cities and villages. He was ready to begin the siege of Jerusalem when he learned of the suicide. Then Vespasian changed his tactics and delayed his speech, waiting to see what turn events would take. Worried by the situation of the entire state, awaiting upheavals of the Roman power, he was less attentive to the war with the Jews and, terribly concerned about the fate of his own fatherland, considered an attack on strangers untimely. Meanwhile, the civil war in Italy flared up. Declared emperor, he was openly killed in the Roman forum, and instead proclaimed emperor, who in turn fought with and, defeated by him, took his own life. In April 69 he became emperor.
69 Revolt of the Gauls and Batavians
Vespasian consistently recognized all three and at each coup led his legions to swear allegiance to the new princeps. Although he knew how to obey as well as command, the news of the outrages of the Vitellians in Rome infuriated him. He despised Vitellius from the bottom of his heart and considered him unworthy of the throne. Imbued with the most painful thoughts, he felt the burden of his position as a conqueror of foreign lands, while his own fatherland was perishing. But no matter how his anger prompted him to take revenge, the thought of his distance from Rome, as well as the power of the German legions on which Vitellius relied, held him back. Meanwhile, military leaders and soldiers at their comradely meetings openly discussed a change in government, and the demand to proclaim Vespasian emperor was heard louder and louder.
The first to swear allegiance to Vespasian were the Alexandrian legions on July 1, 69. As soon as the news of this reached Judea, the soldiers who ran to Vespasian’s tent joyfully greeted him as emperor. Immediately at the meeting he was awarded the titles of Caesar, Augustus and all other titles due to a princeps. Vespasian himself, in these new and unusual circumstances, remained the same as before - without the slightest importance, without any arrogance. He addressed the army with a few words, simple and stern as a soldier. In response, loud cries of jubilation and devotion were heard from all sides. A joyful upsurge also gripped the legions stationed in Syria. Their commander, Licinius Mutian, immediately swore allegiance to Vespasian. Even before the Ides of July, all of Syria took the oath. Sochem, with his kingdom and the considerable military forces under his authority, as well as Antiochus, the largest of the local kings subordinate to Rome, joined the uprising. All the coastal provinces, right up to the borders of Asia and Achaea, and all the inland ones, right up to Pontus and Armenia, swore allegiance to the new emperor.
Vespasian began preparing for war by recruiting recruits and drafting veterans into the army; the most prosperous cities were instructed to create workshops for the production of weapons; gold and silver coins began to be minted in Antioch. These measures were hastily carried out on the ground by special proxies. Vespasian appeared everywhere, encouraged everyone, praised honest and active people, taught the confused and weak by his own example, only occasionally resorting to punishment. He distributed the positions of prefects and procurators and appointed new members of the Senate, most of them outstanding people, who soon occupied a high position in the state. As for the monetary gift to the soldiers, at the very first meeting it was announced that it would be very moderate, and Vespasian promised the troops for participation in the civil war no more than others paid them for service in peacetime: he was implacably opposed to senseless generosity towards to the soldiers, and therefore his army was always better than that of others. Legates were sent to the Parthians and to Armenia, and measures were taken to ensure that after the legions left for the civil war, the borders would not be unprotected. Titus, the son of Vespasian, remained in Judea, he himself decided to go to Egypt - it was decided that only part of the troops and such a commander as Mutian, as well as the glory surrounding the name of Vespasian, would be enough to defeat Vitellius.
So Mucianus marched to Italy, and Vespasian sailed to Egypt. He considered it a matter of paramount importance to secure this province for himself, since, firstly, he thus took control of the supply of grain to Rome, and secondly, he left himself room for retreat in case of defeat. Titus was charged with ending the Jewish War.
Vespasian spent the end of winter and the entire spring of 70 in Alexandria. Meanwhile, Mucian took Rome. Vitellius was killed, the Senate, all provinces and legions swore allegiance to Vespasian.
Returning to Italy in the summer of 70, Vespasian first of all restored order in the army, since the soldiers had reached complete debauchery: some were proud of victory, others were embittered by dishonor. Vespasian dismissed and punished many of Vitellius’ soldiers, but he also did not allow the victors anything beyond their due, and did not even pay them legal rewards right away. He did not miss a single opportunity to restore order. One young man came to thank him for his high appointment, fragrant with aromas - he turned away contemptuously and gloomily said to him: “It would be better if you stank of garlic!” - and took away the appointment order.
After the last civil war, the capital was disfigured by fires and ruins. The Capitoline Hill, where the oldest temples of Rome were located, burned to the ground. Vespasian allowed anyone to occupy and develop empty plots if the owners did not do so. Having begun to rebuild the Capitol, he was the first to begin clearing away the rubble with his own hands and carrying it out on his own back. The upper classes were thinned by endless executions and fell into decline from long-standing neglect. In order to cleanse and replenish them, in 73-74, as a censor, he inspected the Senate and the equestrians, removed the unfit and included the most worthy of the Italians and provincials in the lists.
After taking Jerusalem and ending the Jewish War, a triumph was celebrated in 71. During the reign of Vespasian, Achaia, Lycia, Rhodes, Byzantium, Samos again lost their freedom, and mountainous Cilicia and Commagene, previously under the rule of the kings, were turned into provinces.
From the first days of his reign until his death, Vespasian was accessible and lenient. He never hid his former low state and often even flaunted it. He never strived for outward splendor, and even on the day of triumph, exhausted by the slow and tedious procession, he could not resist saying:
Bust of Vespasian
“Serves me right, an old man: like a fool I wanted triumph, as if my ancestors deserved it or I myself could dream of it!” He accepted the tribunal power and the name of the father of the fatherland only many years later, although during his reign he was consul eight times and censor once. He was the first of the princeps to remove the guards at the doors of his palace, and he stopped searching those who greeted him in the morning during the internecine war. While in power, he always got up early, even before light, and read letters and reports from all officials; then he let his friends in and received greetings, while he himself got dressed and put on his shoes. Having finished with his current affairs, he took a walk and rested with one of the concubines: after the death of Tsenida, he had many of them. From the bedroom he went to the bathhouse, and then to the table: at this time, they say, he was at his softest and kindest, and the family tried to take advantage of this if they had any requests. At dinner, as always and everywhere, he was good-natured and often made jokes: he was a great mocker, but too prone to buffoonery and vulgarity, even reaching the point of obscenity. However, some of his jokes were very witty. They say that one woman swore that she was dying of love for him, and achieved his attention: he spent the night with her and gave her 400,000 sesterces, and when asked by the manager under what heading to enter this money, he said: “For extreme love for Vespasian ".
The liberties of friends, the barbs of lawyers, the obstinacy of philosophers bothered him little. He never remembered the insults and enmity and did not take revenge for them. Suspicion or fear never pushed him to commit violence. It never turned out that an innocent person was executed - unless in his absence, without his knowledge, or even against his will. No death pleased him, and even over a well-deserved execution he sometimes complained and cried. The only thing he was rightly reproached for was love of money. Not only did he collect the arrears forgiven by Galba, impose new heavy taxes, increase and sometimes even double the tribute from the provinces, he openly engaged in such matters that even a private person would be ashamed of. He bought things only to sell them later at a profit; he did not hesitate to sell positions to applicants and exonerations to defendants, innocent and guilty indiscriminately. He even taxed the toilets, and when he reproached his father for this, he took a coin from the first profit, brought it to his nose and asked if it stank. “No,” answered. “But this is money from urine,” said Vespasian. However, many think that he was greedy not by nature, but because of the extreme poverty of the state and imperial treasury: he himself admitted this when, at the very beginning of his reign, he declared that he needed forty billion sesterces for the state to get on its feet. In fact, under Vespasian in Rome, the restoration of the Capitol, the Temple of Peace, the monuments of Claudius, the Forum and much more was begun and completed; Construction of the Colosseum began. Throughout Italy, cities were renovated, roads were firmly fortified, and mountains on the Flaminieva were razed to create a less steep pass. All this was accomplished in a short time and without burdening the farmers, which proves his wisdom rather than greed.
He died as simply and calmly as he lived. During his ninth consulate, while in Campania, he felt mild bouts of fever. He went to the Reatina estates, where he usually spent the summer. Here the ailments intensified. Nevertheless, he continued, as always, to engage in state affairs and, lying in bed, even received ambassadors. When his stomach began to fail, Vespasian felt death approaching and joked: “Alas, it seems that I am becoming a god.” He tried to get up, saying that the emperor should die standing, and died in the arms of those supporting him.
Konstantin Ryzhov: “All the monarchs of the world: Greece. Rome. Byzantium"