Three Emperors
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After the death of Nero the government faced a period in which there was no true successor from Nero and the title of emperor was given to those who essentially deemed themselves the emperor. The three emperors that followed the death of Nero caused the government to fall into turmoil for a brief period of time. During the aftermath of Vindex's rebellion, Galba was named the new emperor of Rome and although people were happy that they got rid of Nero this satisfaction didn't last long.
The army of the Rhine who served under Nero and the army who fought off Vindex's rebellion were not pleased with the decision to crown Galba as emperor. American historian Jona Lendering, author of Livius.org, mentions that the Rhine army thought that they had done a good job suppressing the revolt however, they then realised that it didn't matter what they do because Galba still would have been emperor. Their uneasiness was even increased when the leader of the Rhine army Verginius Rufus was replaced by Marcus Hordeonius Flaccus. This particular event is barely documented and is just glossed over in multiple sources and it doesn't help when the main primary reference which for the time is Tacitus who was very opposed to the Batavian/Vindex rebellion and also despises the Rhine leader Flaccus, so this information may be false as there is nothing to really back up how the Rhine army really felt. The distrust on behalf of the Rhine army shows how dysfunctional the government at the time was, The army of the Rhine served loyal to the emperor up to this point and without their support more crack would appear in the government.
Galba's reign came to an end when offended to many Senators and the Praetorian guards killed him in the forum, he reigned for 7 months. Soon after he was then succeeded by a rich senator Marcus Salvius Otho whose rule lasted a measly 3 months and basically contributed nothing to the government and overall stability of Rome, if anything the only thing he did accomplish was lose a major battle to allow a rivalling Aulus Vitellius passage to Rome so he could take full leadership. Roman historian Suetonius has stated in his writing of Otho that he showed good promise when he was governor suggesting "With the rank of quaestor Otho governed the province for ten years with remarkable moderation and integrity."(Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars, P231). Suetonius' commended his previous actions during his time as quaestor shows that Otho could have at least made an impact if he reigned for a longer duration. Due to his death the problems were prolonged longer
Although Vitellius showed good promise with decent social skills a view that is supported by E. Badian "The troops in Germany were not friendly to Galba, and Vitellius won them over with generosity"(E. Badian Encyclopaedia Britannica). Vitellius didn't last long, he was murdered only 8 months into his reign having contributed nothing to the Roman stability.
The army of the Rhine who served under Nero and the army who fought off Vindex's rebellion were not pleased with the decision to crown Galba as emperor. American historian Jona Lendering, author of Livius.org, mentions that the Rhine army thought that they had done a good job suppressing the revolt however, they then realised that it didn't matter what they do because Galba still would have been emperor. Their uneasiness was even increased when the leader of the Rhine army Verginius Rufus was replaced by Marcus Hordeonius Flaccus. This particular event is barely documented and is just glossed over in multiple sources and it doesn't help when the main primary reference which for the time is Tacitus who was very opposed to the Batavian/Vindex rebellion and also despises the Rhine leader Flaccus, so this information may be false as there is nothing to really back up how the Rhine army really felt. The distrust on behalf of the Rhine army shows how dysfunctional the government at the time was, The army of the Rhine served loyal to the emperor up to this point and without their support more crack would appear in the government.
Galba's reign came to an end when offended to many Senators and the Praetorian guards killed him in the forum, he reigned for 7 months. Soon after he was then succeeded by a rich senator Marcus Salvius Otho whose rule lasted a measly 3 months and basically contributed nothing to the government and overall stability of Rome, if anything the only thing he did accomplish was lose a major battle to allow a rivalling Aulus Vitellius passage to Rome so he could take full leadership. Roman historian Suetonius has stated in his writing of Otho that he showed good promise when he was governor suggesting "With the rank of quaestor Otho governed the province for ten years with remarkable moderation and integrity."(Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars, P231). Suetonius' commended his previous actions during his time as quaestor shows that Otho could have at least made an impact if he reigned for a longer duration. Due to his death the problems were prolonged longer
Although Vitellius showed good promise with decent social skills a view that is supported by E. Badian "The troops in Germany were not friendly to Galba, and Vitellius won them over with generosity"(E. Badian Encyclopaedia Britannica). Vitellius didn't last long, he was murdered only 8 months into his reign having contributed nothing to the Roman stability.