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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Tiberius – Roman Emperor

The decline of a leader who ruled from a beautiful place of exile

The Death of Tiberius, perhaps attended by Caligula,
imagined in an 1864 painting by Jean-Paul Laurens

After starting his reign in glory, the Emperor Tiberius slowly deteriorated and is reputed to have become steadily crueller and more debauched until he died on this day in 37 AD in Misenum, now Miseno, in Campania.

Tiberius had become the second Roman Emperor, succeeding his stepfather, Augustus, in 14 AD. As a young man, he had been a successful general, but at the age of 36 he chose to retire and go and live in Rhodes because he was determined to avoid getting involved in politics. 

However, after the deaths of both grandsons of Augustus, his ailing stepfather had no choice but to make Tiberius his heir.

Tiberius inherited the throne at the age of 54 and was at first a hardworking ruler, trying to pass sensible and far-seeing laws. He stopped pointless, costly conflicts and the waste of the empire’s money and was said to have left the imperial coffers much fuller than when he inherited them.

But he was constantly at odds with the Senate, who claimed he gave vague orders to them and that they had to debate the orders among themselves so that they could decide what to do and therefore some of his legislation was never passed.

Tiberius left Rome after 13 years
and never returned to the city

After 13 years, Tiberius decided he had had enough and he went to live in a magnificent villa on the island of Capri in the Bay of Naples. He never visited Rome again and delegated his power over the Senate to the commander of his guard.

As the years passed by, Tiberius became increasingly paranoid and brooded constantly on the loss of his son, Drusus Julius Caesar, who was said to have died in mysterious circumstances.

Many historians have claimed that Tiberius became steadily more cruel and vindictive as he grew older, and that he enjoyed torturing his victims, the people he perceived to be his enemies. He then liked to kill them by having them thrown off the cliffs at a spot on Capri that has become known as Salto di Tiberio - Tiberius’s Leap.

One senator was allegedly condemned to death just for having carried a coin, with the head of Tiberius on it, into a public lavatory with him.

The Emperor Tiberius was also reputed to have become a paedophile, bringing in young boys and girls to take part in imperial orgies at his villa on Capri.

When he was 71, Tiberius brought his 18-year-old great-nephew, Caligula, to live on Capri and subsequently named him as heir to the empire. For six years Caligula remained docile and obedient towards Tiberius, although he was said to occasionally display signs of the sadism that would subsequently blight his years as emperor.

Early in AD 37, Tiberius travelled to what was then Misenum to take part in military games. After injuring his shoulder throwing the javelin, he became seriously ill. He eventually lapsed into unconsciousness and doctors declared that his death would be imminent. Caligula then took the imperial ring from his great uncle’s finger and showed himself to a local crowd as the new Roman emperor.

Then Tiberius apparently woke from his coma and demanded food, which terrified Caligula. However, one of the heir’s quick-thinking allies rushed into the bedroom of Tiberius and finished him off by smothering him in a blanket. Tiberius was 77 when he died and he had been in power for 22 years.

The historian Tacitus wrote that people in Rome cheered when they heard that Tiberius was dead, only to panic when they heard he had recovered. Then they rejoiced again when they heard that the debauched emperor’s life had finally ended.

Modern Miseno, looking towards Capo Miseno, 
which offers views across the Bay of Naples

Travel tip:

Misenum, where Tiberius was injured and died, is now known as Miseno and is one of the frazioni of Bacoli in the province of Naples. Nearby Capo Miseno marks the north western end of the Bay of Naples, from where there are incredible views of Capri, Ischia, Sorrento, and Mount Vesuvius. For centuries, Misenum was the biggest naval base in the Roman empire and housed thousands of sailors.  Its beautiful natural setting and proximity to the nearby Roman cities of Puteoli - modern Pozzuoli - and Neapolis (Naples), Misenum also became a popular location for Roman luxury villas.

Villa Jovis, as it might have looked in the time of
Tiberius. Today, there are only ruins

Travel tip:

Tiberius ruled his empire from the Villa Jovis on Capri and the sheer cliff beside the villa, known as the Salto di Tiberio - Tiberius’s Leap - is said to be the precipice from which the Emperor had his victims hurled to their deaths. The biggest of 12 residences Tiberius had built on Capri, Villa Jovis occupies a spectacular position at the top of Monte Tiberio on the north east corner of the island. With an elevation of 334m (1,096ft), Monte Tiberio is the second-highest peak on the island, topped only by Monte Solaro (589m; 1,932ft) in Anacapri. Access to the remains of the villa is only possible on foot, and involves an uphill walk of about two kilometres from Capri town along Via Tiberio.

Also on this day:

1820: The birth of tenor Enrico Tamberlik

1886: The birth of athlete Emilio Lunghi - Italy’s first Olympic medallist

1940: The birth of film director Bernardo Bertolucci

1978: The kidnapping of former Italian PM Aldo Moro

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Assassination of Caligula

Controversial emperor killed by Praetorian Guard

A line engraving depicting Caligula
from the Wellcome Collection gallery

Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus, the Roman emperor usually referred to by his childhood nickname, Caligula, was assassinated at the imperial palace on the Palatine Hill in Rome on this day in 41AD.

His killers were officers of the Praetorian Guard who confronted him in an underground corridor at the imperial palace, where he had been hosting the Palatine Games, an entertainment event comprising sport and dramatic plays.

According to one account, Caligula was stabbed 30 times in a deliberate act of symbolism, that being the number of knife wounds some believe were inflicted on Julius Caesar, his great-great-grandfather after whom he was named, when he was murdered in 44BC, although the number of blows Caesar suffered is disputed.

Most accounts agree that the chief plotter in Caligula’s murder, and the first to draw blood, was Cassius Chaerea, an officer Caligula was said to have frequently taunted for his weak, effeminate voice.

The motives behind the assassination were much more than one aggrieved officer wishing to avenge a personal slight.

This bronze bust of Caligula is displayed in the
Metropolitan Museum of New York

A descendent of Rome's most distinguished family, the Julio Claudiens, Caligula had initially been popular when he succeeded Tiberius to become the third emperor. His great-grandfather was Augustus, the first emperor, while his father, Germanicus, was a much-loved leader in his own right.

The young Gaius adored his father, who would take him on military campaigns from the age of three, fitting him out with a uniform and a small pair of boots - caligula in Latin - the name Germanicus’s soldiers adopted as a nickname for the little boy, which was to stick with him for life.

Tiberius, who killed or imprisoned most of Caligula’s family and whom Caligula blamed for the death of his father during a mission to Rome’s eastern provinces, was deeply disliked by the Roman public, with whom Caligula won favour immediately by releasing citizens unjustly imprisoned by Tiberius and scrapping a number of unpopular taxes.

He also staged chariot races, boxing matches, plays and gladiator shows for the amusement of himself and his citizens.

This bust can be found in the Ny Carlsberg
Glypotek museum in Copenhagen

But then a severe mystery illness that struck him down barely six months into his rule seemed to change his character.

Tormented by crippling headaches, Caligula distracted himself by brazenly indulged his sexual proclivities, committing incest with his sisters and sleeping with other men's wives, bragging about it to them afterwards. He began to flaunt his power in the most cruel ways, eliminating his political rivals and forcing parents to watch the executions of their sons.

He is said to have killed for mere amusement. Once, at a games event over which he was presiding, it is alleged that he ordered his guards to throw an entire section of the audience into the arena to be eaten by lions because there were no prisoners left and he was bored.

Caligula caused more outrage with his declaration that he was a living God, spending a fortune on a bridge between his palace and the Temple of Jupiter and demanded that a statue of himself be erected in the Temple of Jerusalem for his worship.

In his insanity, he was said to have promised to make his horse, Incitatus, a consul, and actually did appoint him a priest.

The remains of Caligula's Bridge on the Palatine Hill in Rome

Rome soon grew to hate its leader, and Chaerea’s plot was one of many conspiracies aimed at removing him from power, which gathered momentum when Caligula announced to the Senate that he planned to leave Rome permanently and to move to Alexandria in Egypt, which would have drastically reduced Rome’s political power.

Caligula’s wife and daughter were also killed and for a while the military were divided between those who sought the reinstatement of the Roman Republic and those who favoured a continuing imperial monarchy. Eventually, the latter faction prevailed, with Caligula’s uncle, Claudius, who is said to have hidden behind a curtain while his nephew was being murdered, announced as Caligula’s successor.

The ruins of the Palace of Augustus on the Palatine Hill,
seen from the Roman Forum

Travel tip:

From the time of Augustus, who ruled from 27 BC to 14 AD, Roman emperors traditionally lived in an imperial palace atop the Palatine Hill, the central hill among the seven hills of ancient Rome.  There are remains visible today of at least three palaces, built next to one another over the years, in which Augustus, Tiberius and Domitian lived.  The word ‘palace’ – palazzo in Italian – derives from the name of the hill, which looks down upon the Roman Forum on one side, and the Circus Maximus on the other.

Hotels in Rome by Booking.com

The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the
Capitoline Hill, as it would have looked

Travel tip:

The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, which was the most important temple in ancient Rome, was located on the Capitoline Hill. It was the equivalent to a basilica in status in the official religion of Rome, presiding over the Area Capitolina, a square used for certain assemblies and where numerous shrines, altars and statues were displayed. The remains of the temple podium and foundations can be seen today behind the Palazzo dei Conservatori, in an exhibition area built in the Caffarelli Garden, and within the Musei Capitolini.

More reading:

The assassination of Julius Caesar

The suspicious death of Claudius, the emperor who conquered Britian

Titus - the 'good' emperor who helped the victims of Vesuvius

Also on this day:

1444: The birth of Galeazzo Maria Sforza - Duke of Milan

1705: The birth of Farinelli, music's first superstar

1916: The birth of actor Arnoldo Foà

1947: The birth of footballer Giorgio Chinaglia

(Picture credits: Line engraving from Wellcome Images; second bust by Louis le Grand; Palace of Augustus by Lalupa; Model of temple by Hiro-o; all via Wikimedia Commons)

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