69 AD: The Year of Four Emperors

Nero's suicide in June of A.D. 68 touched off a tumultuous year in the Roman Empire, full of political intrigue, social upheaval and military disorder. With judicious historical insight, Morgan, who teaches classics and history at the University of Texas–Austin, provides a first-rate history of this chaotic year while challenging many of the reigning theories. Unlike earlier books, Morgan's incorporates the versions of Tacitus, Plutarch, Suetonius and Dio in his quest for a balanced account. Galba was the first of four emperors to rule in this one-year span. But he never achieved popularity, and Otho, one of Nero's closest companions, murdered him in January 69 and took the reins. A civil war erupted between Otho's supporters and those of Vitellius, leading to Otho's suicide in April. The Senate then confirmed Vitellius as emperor, though his nine-month reign was marked by great extravagance. In December, the Senate acclaimed Vespasian, who had murdered Vitellius, as emperor, and he brought an end, temporarily, to the civil strife in the empire. Despite its turbulence, Morgan prudently points out that the year 69 was not the period of total anarchy that others have claimed. Although at times pedantic and even turgid, Morgan's book provides a superb portrait of this enigmatic and intriguing year. 4 maps. (Dec.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review A modern historian fills in the gaps left by previous accounts of the Roman Empire's most politically chaotic year. The period between June 68 and December 69 saw four different men claim the imperial throne, aided by murders, suicides, conspiracies, mutinies, civil war and no small amount of happenstance. Five ancient historians recorded these events, chief among them Tacitus, Suetonius and Plutarch. Since their accounts do not always agree, it falls to their present-day counterparts to adjudicate fact from fiction and history from invention. Morgan (Classics and History/Univ. of Texas, Austin) does an admirably thorough job of guiding his readers through the minutiae of political intrigue and the conflicting chronicles that have come to define the year 69. Few details escape his purview: A precise account of the emperor Galba's incongruously pompous march into Rome is representative of the narrative's tenor, as is the patient sifting through different versions of the suicide of Galba's usurper, Otho. In addition to supplying a near-forensic level of detail, the author also considers how contemporary historians have misunderstood their predecessors. Literary conventions shaped the ancient historical method, he argues. Failing to acknowledge this, 20th-century studies of 69 A.D. in general and Tacitus in particular have drawn erroneous conclusions about both the facts of the period and Tacitus' opinion of them. Famous for his curt and epigrammatic style, the senator and orator emerges here not so much as disdainful or obscure but rather as a literary stylist of the first order. Unfortunately, Morgan's dedication to fleshing out the ambiguous moments in the lives of Tacitus and others slows the book's pace considerably. Only scholars and the most diehard Roman aficionados will feel compelled to read it cover to cover. Informative, but heavy as a sack of Roman coins. (Kirkus Reviews) A superb portrait of this enigmatic and intriguing year. Publisher's Weekly "there will be much here for historians to chew, and fight, over" Peter Jones, Literary Review 'gripping account' Sunday Times Culture See all Editorial Reviews -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Product Details Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (December 1, 2005) Language: English

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