Aulus Vitellius - Roman emperor

Brief reign marked by gluttony and ineptitude

Vitellius had a reputation
for extravagance 

Aulus Vitellius, the third leader of Rome in the so-called Year of the Four Emperors, who history remembers mainly as a glutton, drunkard and gambler, died on this day in 69AD in Rome.

Captured by supporters of his successor, Vespasian, he was dragged through the streets of the capital to the Scalae Gemoniae - the Gemonian Stairs - a flight of steps leading from the Capitoline Hill to the Forum that acquired a symbolic identity as a place of execution, where he was beaten to death.

Vitellius had been emperor for just eight months, his death bringing to an end a period of civil war that brought the death of Nero, followed by the chaos of three short-lived administrations before Vespasian’s accession restored order and ushered in a decade of relative stability.

Born in 15AD in Nuceria Alfaterna - now the Campanian town of Nocera Superiore - Vitellius was the son of Lucius Vitellius, a censor in the employ of the emperor Claudius who served as a consul three times and was a former governor of Syria.

Vitellius spent most of his youth on Capri as a noble companion of the retired Emperor Tiberius. He found favour with successive emperors in Caligula, though chariot racing, Claudius, who admired his dice playing, and Nero, whom he would flatter at public events by persuading him to sing and play the lute.

This enabled Vitellius to secure prestigious appointments such as Minister of Public Works and governor-general of Africa. 

The emperor Caligula was among
those Vitellius befriended

His reputation for gluttony and gambling soon went before him. According to the historian Suetonius, Vitellius used emetics to enable him to indulge in as many as four banquets in a single day. In one such feast, laid on by his brother, Lucius, the table is said to have groaned under the weight of 2,000 fishes and 7,000 birds. 

He acquired virtually no military experience, so it came as a surprise when Galba, who had succeeded Nero as emperor, appointed him to be governor of Germania Inferior in 68. Suetonius speculated that Galba had reasoned that Vitellius, consumed by his addiction to excess, would be satisfied with the wealth and prestige that came with the appointment and pose no threat to his power. 

The Germanic armies, however, saw things differently. They took to Vitellius, who made himself popular with his generosity and scant attention to discipline, and saw an opportunity to seize power from Galba, with whom they shared a mutual distrust.

Led by Caecina and Fabius Valens, commanders of two legions on the Rhine, organised a revolt. At the beginning of 69, they refused to renew their vows of allegiance to Galba and, in Cologne, proclaimed Vitellius as emperor. 

Galba was killed shortly afterwards by members of the Praetorian Guard. He had refused to pay their bonuses and was in the habit of imposing heavy fines on or vengefully destroying towns that did not declare their allegiance to him and it did not take much in the way of bribes from Marcus Salvius Otho, a military commander with his eyes on power, to persuade them to murder him.

The Germanic armies remained intent on installing Vitellius as emperor in Rome nonetheless and, with the support of the armies of Gaul, Britannia and the central province of Raetia, marched on the capital.

Vespasian built a powerbase in the 
eastern empire before marching on Rome

They confronted Otho’s army at the Battle of Bedriacum and achieved a resounding victory, prompting Otho to take his own life. Vitellius was recognised emperor by the Roman Senate.

Roman historians were not united in their assessment of Vitellius’s term in office. While Suetonius described him as an unambitious leader whose time was dominated by his taste for luxury and vengeful cruelty, and pushing the imperial treasury close to bankruptcy, other historians, such as Tacitus, credit him with worthwhile and lasting changes to the way the empire was governed.

Moreover, he won favour with Rome’s lower classes by restoring the entertainments for the masses that had made Nero popular.

However, while Vitellius was recognised as emperor in Rome, the picture elsewhere was different. 

The eastern provinces proclaimed a rival emperor in their commander, Titus Flavius Vespasianus, who had the support of the armies of the East, Dalmatia and Illyricum.  Vespasian, as he was known, had been a military leader during the invasion of Britain in 43AD and built a powerbase following his appointment by Nero as commander in Judea, charged with quelling the Great Jewish Revolt of 67AD. 

Vitellius despatched several legions, led by Caecina, only for Caecina, who had become unhappy with Vitellius's indisciplined conduct, to attempt to defect. This undermined the morale of the Vitellian troops and they were badly defeated at the Second Battle of Bedriacum. 

Fearing his imminent downfall as Vespasian’s army headed towards Rome, Vitellius was said to have agreed on the terms of abdication with Marcus Antonius Primus, the military commander of Vespasian's forces.  But the Praetorian Guard refused to allow him to sign the agreement.

Instead, a fierce battle ensued, with the mainly civilian supporters of Vitellius attacking Vespasian’s soldiers with rocks, javelins and heavy tiles ripped from walls and floors. Many buildings were destroyed and casualties from both sides combined may have exceeded 50,000.

Eventually, however, Vitellius was captured, dragged through the streets to meet his fate on the Scalae Gemoniae, his severed head then paraded around the city. Vespasian was pronounced emperor the next day and would rule for 10 years.

A 19th century painting
of Vitellius's last moments

Travel tip:

The Gemonian Stairs were a flight of steps in ancient Rome which acquired an infamous reputation in Roman history as a place of execution, earning the nickname the Stairs of Mourning. They led from Capitoline Hill down to the Roman Forum, passing the Tabularium and the Temple of Concord on one side, and the Mamertine Prison on the other. The location of the steps is thought to coincide roughly with the current Via di San Pietro in Carcere, which passes the ruins of the Mamertine Prison. It is believed they became a place of execution during the later years of the reign of Tiberius. It was customary for the condemned to be strangled before their bodies were left to rot, the remains picked at by birds and dogs before being thrown in the Tiber.  Those executed were usually common criminals, their undignified end intended to heap shame on their families. Apart from Vitellius, the most high profile individual to be slain there was probably Lucius Aelius Sejanus, who was Prefect of the Praetorian Guard under Tiberius. He was executed for treason, suspected of conspiracy to kill his employer.

The remains of a Roman necropolis
discovered near Nocera Superiore

Travel tip:

The birthplace of Vitellius, Nuceria Alfaterna, evolved over time into the present day Nocera Superiore, a town in the province of Salerno in Campania. It can be found just off the main highway connecting Naples, about 42km (26 miles) to the northwest, with Salerno, about 15km (nine miles) to the southeast. The railway line between those two cities also passes through Nocera Superiore. The town is about 21km (13 miles) from the ruins of Pompeii.  It suffered serious damage when Vesuvius erupted in 79AD, which while not as catastrophic as that inflicted on some of its neighbours was enough to cause irreparable harm to its prosperity. Among the ruins in the town are those of an Hellenistic-Roman theatre and a monumental Roman necropolis, offering a glimpse into ancient Roman burial practices. Remains also exist of an amphitheatre unearthed as recently as 1926 and city walls that date back to the 2nd century BC.

Also on this day:

1676: The birth of San Leonardo da Porto Maurizio

1856: The death of Sicilian patriot Francesco Bentivegna

1947: The birth of singer and TV presenter Gigliola Cinquetti

1948: The birth of journalist Giuliana Sgrena

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Trajan - Roman emperor

Military expansionist with progressive social policies

This bust of the Emperor Trajan, one of many, can be
found in the Royal Baths Park in Warsaw, Poland

Marcus Ulpius Traianus succeeded to the role of Roman Emperor on this day in 98 AD.  The 13th ruler of the empire and known as Trajan, he presided over the greatest military expansion in Roman history, the consequence of which was that in terms of physical territory the empire was at its largest during his period in office.

Despite his taste for military campaigns - he conquered Dacia (the area now called Romania), Armenia, Mesopotamia, and the Sinai Peninsula - Trajan was seen as the second of the so-called Good Emperors to rule during the years known as Pax Romana, a long period of relative peace and stability.

He was credited with maintaining peace by working with rather than against the Senate and the ruling classes, introducing policies aimed at improving the welfare of citizens, and engaging in massive building projects that were to the benefit of ordinary Romans.

Marcus Ulpius Traianus was born in the Roman province of Baetica, which approximates to the area now known as Andalusia in southern Spain. His father was a provincial governor who then turned soldier, commanding a legion in the Roman war against Jews. He became a consul and then governor, successively, of Syria and Asia.

Trajan served 10 years as a legionary staff tribune before being appointed to the command of a legion in Spain in 89 AD, in which capacity he was sent to help quell a revolt against the emperor Domitian by the governor of Upper Germany. Domitian rewarded him with a consulship.

His rise to emperor followed the assassination of Domitian in a palace conspiracy. Domitian's replacement, Nerva, was childless but adopted Trajan as his successor as someone who seemed acceptable both to the army commanders and to the Senate.

Trajan's Column, built in 113 AD

Trajan, who had married Pompeia Plotina but, in common with many among the Roman high command, had male and female sexual partners, was a much more active ruler than Nerva had been during his short reign. He immediately began planning for his Dacia campaign, remaining at his governer's residence in Upper Germany for almost a year before returning to Rome to accept the imperial powers.

When he finally did return to Rome in 99 AD, he made generous gifts to the people, distributing cash handouts and giving more poor citizens free grain from the state.  He reduced taxes and began a public fund for the support of poor children in the Italian cities, who had previously had to rely on donations from private individuals.

He saw to it that competent and honest officials administered  the provinces, with special governors appointed to provinces whose cities had suffered financial difficulties.

Trajan undertook or encouraged extensive public works. Roads, bridges and aqueducts were built, wastelands reclaimed and harbours constructed.

Rome, in particular, saw substantial improvements, including a new aqueduct bringing water from the north. An impressive public bathing complex was built on the Esquiline Hill, and a magnificent new forum, designed by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus, at the centre of which was a colossal equestrian statue of the emperor. New streets of shops and warehouses sprang up nearby.

A court flanked by libraries for Greek and Latin books and backed by a temple was developed close to the forum. Trajan’s Column, an innovative work of art that commemorated his Dacian Wars, is still standing. Trajan's ashes were later placed in the column's cubical base. The statue of Trajan on top was removed during the Middle Ages and replaced in 1588 by one of Saint Peter.

Scenes from the Dacian Wars are captured on the
extraordinary bas relief that decorates Trajan's Column

Away from his civil accom- plishments, Trajan made his mark chiefly by abandoning the policy, established by the first Roman emperor, Augustus, and generally maintained by his success- ors, of not extending the Roman frontiers. In 101, he resumed the invasion of Dacia that Domitian had been forced to abandon, creating a new province that enabled Rome to exploit rich mines of gold and salt.

Trajan’s second major war was against the Parthians. He annexed the Nabataean kingdom, the part of Arabia extending east and south of Judaea, reinstated the pre-Roman king of Armenia previously deposed by the Parthians, annexed upper Mesopotamia and captured the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon.

In 115, Trajan survived the earthquake that devastated Antioch (modern Antakya, Turkey) but not long afterwards decided to leave after revolts had broken out in the newly conquered territories. He intended to return to Rome but did not get there. Aged 64 and in failing health, he died at Selinus - now the southern Turkish resort of Gazipasa.

His ashes were returned to Rome for a state funeral. Just before his death was made public, it was announced that he had nominated Hadrian as his successor.

Travel tip:

Trajan's Column is located in what remains of Trajan's Forum, built near the Quirinal Hill in Rome. The freestanding column is most famous for its spiral bas relief, which depicts 155 scenes from the Dacian Wars.  Standing about 30m (98 feet) in height -  35m including the pedestal - the column is made from 20 colossal drums in Carrara marble, each weighing about 32 tons. Inside the shaft, a spiral staircase of 185 steps provides access to a viewing platform at the top. After construction, a statue of Trajan was put in place on the top but this statue disappeared in the Middle Ages. In 1587, Pope Sixtus V replaced it with a bronze figure of St. Peter, which remains to this day.

The remains of Trajan's Forum, looking towards the
 church of  Santissimo Nome di Maria al Foro Traiano

Travel tip:

Trajan's Forum, situated in Via Alessandrina, was the last Imperial forum to be constructed in ancient Rome. It consisted of a vast portico-lined piazza measuring 300m (980 feet) by 185m (607 feet), which required parts of the Quirinal and Capitoline hills to be excavated to make a flat area sufficiently large. The main entrance on the southern side was via a triumphal arch surmounted by a statue of Trajan in a six-horse chariot.  Today, only a restored section of the nearby markets - off Via Quattro Novembre - and Trajan's Column remain. A number of columns from the Basilica Ulpia which remained on site have been re-erected.

More reading:

How Emperor Titus rallied support for the victims of Vesuvius eruption

Walk around the forum inspired Edward Gibbon's epic history of the Roman empire

Santa Giustina and the purge of Christians that claimed her life

Also on this day:

1901: The sudden death in Milan of the great composer Giuseppe Verdi

(Picture credits: Warsaw bust by Brandmeister; Trajan's Column by Alvesgaspar; Forum and church by LPLT;  all via Wikimedia Commons)

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Historic victory at Rome Olympics

Bikila's golden moment for African athletics

Abebe Bikila (left) during the opening stages of the
marathon at the 1960 Rome Olympics

History was made on this day at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome when Ethiopia's Abebe Bikila won the marathon.

Not only did he run the whole 26 mile 385 yards (42.195km) barefoot, he also became the first athlete from sub-Saharan Africa to win an Olympic gold medal.

Bikila retained the marathon title at Tokyo in 1964.  Subsequently, the middle and long-distance running events have become increasingly dominated by sub-Saharan runners, particularly Kenyans and Ethiopians.

The British runner Mo Farah - born in Somalia - continued that domination by winning both the 5,000m and 10,000m gold medals at consecutive summer Olympics in London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro this year.

In total, more than 40 gold medals at distances from 800m to the marathon have been won by sub-Saharan runners since Bikila's breakthrough.

Bikila competed in Rome only after a late call-up to the Ethiopia squad to fill a place vacated when a colleague became ill.

Bikila on the podium with runner-up Rhadi Ben Abdesselam

He arrived with no running shoes but hoped to be supplied with some by adidas, one of the Games sponsors.  However, by the time Bikila went to see their representatives in Rome, they had only a few pairs left and none would fit him comfortably, so he decided to run barefoot.

It was no real inconvenience in any event because he rarely trained in running shoes.

The starting point for the marathon was the foot of the wide staircase leading up to the Piazza del Campidoglio on Capitoline Hill and the finish line was at the Arch of Constantine, just outside the Colosseum.

Bikila came home first in a time of two hours 15 minutes 16.2 seconds, which at the time was an Olympic record.  He crossed the line 25 seconds ahead of the Moroccan runner, Rhadi Ben Abdesselam, from whom he had sprinted away in the last 500m.

The beautiful Piazza del Campidoglio on the
Capitoline Hill in the centre of Rome

According to accounts of the race, Bikila had been told before the race that Rhadi was his most dangerous rival but expected him to be wearing the number 26 on his vest.  In fact, Rhadi wore 185. The two ran side by side for more than half the distance with Bikila still believing there was another runner ahead of them, wearing 26.

Later in 1960, Bikila was briefly detained following an attempted coup in Ethiopia but was soon able to resume his career.  His winning time at Tokyo in 1964 was a world record 2 hours 12 minutes 11.2 seconds.

Travel tips:

The Capitoline is one of the Seven Hills of Rome.  It was the site of an ancient Roman citadel but few ruins exist.  The area was redeveloped in the 16th century in line with an urban plan drawn up by the artist and architect Michelangelo Buonarotti as a central square - the Piazza del Campidoglio - surrounded by palaces.

The parade of athletes at the opening ceremony
of the 1960 Olympics at the Stadio Olimpico

Travel tips:

Rome's Olympic Stadium - the Stadio Olimpico - was built between 1928 and 1938 as part of the Foro Mussolini (now Foro Italico), a sports complex Mussolini hoped would enable Rome to host the 1944 Olympics had they taken place.  Originally named Stadio dei Cipressi and later Stadio dei Centomila, it was renamed when Rome won the bidding process for the 1960 Games, pipping the Swiss city of Lausanne.  Rebuilt for the 1990 football World Cup, it is now home to the Roma and Lazio football clubs and has hosted four European Cup/Champions League finals.

(Photo of Piazza del Campidoglio by Prasenberg CC BY 2.0)
(Photo of Stadio Olimpico by Alex Dawson (Flickr) CC BY-SA 2.0)

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