Emperor Galba's Reign Explained

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Servius Sulpicius Galba was the first of four Roman emperors to reign in the year 69. Three of them were killed by soldiers loyal to their successors.

He was born on December 24th of year 3 a. Born near Terracina, on the Italian coast south of Rome, in a rich family. He seems to have been an extraordinarily talented young man since Augustus and Tiberius had predicted that he would become the emperor of Rome. At the age of 23, he became Pretoria (elected judge) and consul at the age of 36. In 39 AD He was appointed Governor of Gaul, where he fought against the Germans.

When Caligula was overthrown in 41 AD, Galba was led by some to conquer the Empire but preferred to waste time and serve the new Emperor Claudius, who was appointed in 45 AD.,

Under Nero's reign (54-68 AD), Galba preferred to stay out of his office for the first time, which the Emperor suspected tyrannical and unstable could do later, but in 61 took up the post of a governor from a province in Spain. for eight years

In 68 apr. BC, Julius Vindex, the governor of part of Gaul, revolted and Galba learned that Nero had given the order of his murder. Then he joined the uprising Vindex, who did not want to be an emperor but wanted to put Galba on the throne. When Vindex was killed in the battle and Nero committed suicide, Galba went to Rome, where he was declared emperor.

However, once he settled as an emperor, Galba soon proved unworthy of office, starving in stern and money, and quickly lost popularity, especially with the soldiers. First, he was 71 years old, well beyond the normal life expectancy of the time, and he no longer had the personal resources to run a vast empire. For example, towards the end of his life, he had to be transported to a bed and a boyfriend because he could not walk without help. He also made the mistake of listening to the bad advice of a number of trusted favorites.

Seeing the weakness of his position, he accepted Apartment Licinianus as his successor, Marcus Salvius Otho exasperating, supporting the rebellion against Nero and Galba waiting for him to be named the successor of Galba. Otho conspired with the army, so they mutinied six days after Galba's decision. This was followed by the killing of Galba by his soldiers on January 15, 69, and the declaration of Otho as the second of four emperors of the year.

The main difference in Galba was that he was the first Roman emperor born or adopted, unrelated to the Julio-Claudian clan who has ruled the empire since its inception. However, he arrived too late to meet the imperial office or challenge his position. Like many emperors who were to follow him, he was completely at the mercy of his army; As soon as his support was lost, so was his life. He fulfilled the initial prediction that he would become emperor, but this was accomplished only at the end of a long life for seven months.