LXXXI.
Ante idus Iulias Syria omnis in eodem sacramento fuit. accessere cum regno Sohaemus haud spernendis viribus, Antiochus vetustis opibus ingens et servientium regum ditissimus. mox per occultos suorum nuntios excitus ab urbe Agrippa, ignaro adhuc Vitellio, celeri navigatione properaverat. nec minore animo regina Berenice partis iuvabat, florens aetate formaque et seni quoque Vespasiano magnificentia munerum grata. quidquid provinciarum adluitur mari Asia atque Achaia tenus, quantumque introrsus in Pontum et Armenios patescit, iuravere; sed inermes legati regebant, nondum additis Cappadociae legionibus. consilium de summa rerum Beryti habitum. illuc Mucianus cum legatis tribunisque et splendidissimo quoque centurionum ac militum venit, et e Iudaico exercitu lecta decora: tantum simul peditum equitumque et aemulantium inter se regum paratus speciem fortunae principalis effecerant.
81.
Before the middle of July all of Syria had taken the oath to Vespasian. Kings also and their subjects joined his cause: Sohaemus, whose forces were not negligeable and Antiochus, whom ancestral wealth made powerful and the richest of all subject kings. Soon Agrippa was sailing in great haste to join Vespasian, secretly summoned from Rome by messages from his friends, when Vitellius was still unaware of the insurrection. With equal alacrity queen Berenice helped the party, a woman of great beauty, still young, whom even the aging Vespasian found charming in view of the magnificence of her gifts. All the coastal provinces from Asia to Achaia and all those inland as far as Pontus and Arminia had sworn loyalty to him, though their governors had no troops and Cappadocia had not yet received its legion. A council was held at Berytus to assess the overall situation. Mucianus arrived with all his legion commanders, their officers and the best centurions and soldiers. The finest representatives of the army of Judaea also came. Such a vast parade of infantry and cavalry, together with kings competing with one another in lustre, had a grandeur befitting an emperor’s high fortunes.
LXXXII.
Prima belli cura agere dilectus, revocare veteranos; destinantur validae civitates exercendis armorum officinis; apud Antiochensis aurum argentumque signatur, eaque cuncta per idoneos ministros suis quaeque locis festinabantur. ipse Vespasianus adire, hortari, bonos laude, segnis exemplo incitare saepius quam coercere, vitia magis amicorum quam virtutes dissimulans. multos praefecturis et procurationibus, plerosque senatorii ordinis honore percoluit, egregios viros et mox summa adeptos; quibusdam fortuna pro virtutibus fuit. donativum militi neque Mucianus prima contione nisi modice ostenderat, ne Vespasianus quidem plus civili bello obtulit quam alii in pace, egregie firmus adversus militarem largitionem eoque exercitu meliore. missi ad Parthum Armeniumque legati, provisumque ne versis ad civile bellum legionibus terga nudarentur. Titum instare Iudaeae, Vespasianum obtinere claustra Aegypti placuit: sufficere videbantur adversus Vitellium pars copiarum et dux Mucianus et Vespasiani nomen ac nihil arduum fatis. ad omnis exercitus legatosque scriptae epistulae praeceptumque ut praetorianos Vitellio infensos reciperandae militiae praemio invitarent.
82.
The first war provision was to levy new troops and call back the veterans to service. Industrious communities were chosen to see to arms production and at Antioch new gold and silver money was coined. All these activities were speedily carried out in specific locations under expert supervision. Vespasian himself inspected each place in person, encouraging the good workers by praise, the lazy more by example than by constraint, prefering to see his friends’ merits than their faults. Many he distinguished by assigning prefectures and procuratorships and more still he promoted to senatorial rank. Most of these men had great talent and were destined to reach the highest positions, but in some cases luck served instead of merit. As for a donative to the soldiers, Mucianus had mentioned but a moderate one in his first addess to the troops and Vespasian himself was less generous during the civil war than others had been in peacetime. He was firmly opposed to any largesse to the troops and therefore had a better army. Ambassadors were sent to Parthia and Armenia and measures were implemented to avoid exposing the remote frontiers to attack while the legions’ attention was fixed on civil war. It was decided that Titus should stay [and fight the war] in Judaea and that Vespasian should hold the keys to Egypt. To fight Vitellius, a part of the troops under Mucianus, Vespasian’s fame, and destiny that knows no barriers were deemed sufficient. Letters were sent to all armies and heads of legions with recommendations to attract the praetorian troops, hostile to Vitellius, by promising readmission to the service.
LXXXIII.
Mucianus cum expedita manu, socium magis imperii quam ministrum agens, non lento itinere, ne cunctari videretur, neque tamen properans, gliscere famam ipso spatio sinebat, gnarus modicas viris sibi et maiora credi de absentibus; sed legio sexta et tredecim vexillariorum milia ingenti agmine sequebantur. classem e Ponto Byzantium adigi iusserat, ambiguus consilii num omissa Moesia Dyrrachium pedite atque equite, simul longis navibus versum in Italiam mare clauderet, tuta pone tergum Achaia Asiaque, quas inermis exponi Vitellio, ni praesidiis firmarentur; atque ipsum Vitellium in incerto fore quam partem Italiae protegeret, si sibi Brundisium Tarentumque et Calabriae Lucaniaeque litora infestis classibus peterentur.
83.
Mucianus left with lightly armed troops, conducting himself more like Vespasian’s associate than his lieutenant. He did not advance slowly, lest he might be seen hesitant, nor too rapidly to allow rumor time to grow as it spread, well-aware that his force was small and that what is not seen always seems larger. Yet the marching column following him, the Sixth legion and thirteen thousand veterans, was anything but unimpressive. He had ordered the Black Sea fleet to converge on Byzantium, still uncertain whether he should bypass Moesia and with his infantry and cavalry blockade Dyrrachium, at the same time closing the Adriatic Sea with his warships. That way he would protect Asia and Achaia in his rear, otherwise exposed to attack by Vitellius, unless properly reinforced with garrisons. Vitellius himself would then be at a loss which part of Italy to defend, if he, Mucianus, were to attack Brundisium, Tarentum, and the coast of Calabria and Lucania
LXXXIV.
Igitur navium militum armorum paratu strepere provinciae, sed nihil aeque fatigabat quam pecuniarum conquisitio: eos esse belli civilis nervos dictitans Mucianus non ius aut verum in cognitionibus, sed solam magnitudinem opum spectabat. passim delationes, et locupletissimus quisque in praedam correpti. quae gravia atque intoleranda, sed necessitate armorum excusata etiam in pace mansere, ipso Vespasiano inter initia imperii ad obtinendas iniquitates haud perinde obstinante, donec indulgentia fortunae et pravis magistris didicit aususque est. propriis quoque opibus Mucianus bellum iuvit, largus privatim, quod avidius de re publica sumeret. ceteri conferendarum pecuniarum exemplum secuti, rarissimus quisque eandem in reciperando licentiam habuerunt.
84.
Thus the eastern provinces were abuzz with getting ships, troops, and equipment ready for war, but nothing vexed them so much as the exactions of money. Mucianus never tired of saying that money was the sinews of war. In his official evaluation of property, he had no regard for fair play or facts: only the size of a man’s fortune mattered. Hence, informers were everywhere, the richest being pounced on as so much plunder. These abuses, oppressive and intolerable, were blamed on the necessities of war, but continued into peacetime. At the outset of his reign, Vespasian was not himself especially disposed to rely on iniquitous practices, but the day came when the indulgence of Fortune and perverse mentors taught him otherwise, then he dared [to do as others did]. Mucianus contributed to the war out of his own purse, for he was prodigal with his money, [perhaps] because he was so adept at fleecing the state. Others followed his example in contributing, but only the rare one was able to recover his money with the same impunity.
LXXXV.
Adcelerata interim Vespasiani coepta Illyrici exercitus studio transgressi in partis: tertia legio exemplum ceteris Moesiae legionibus praebuit; octava erat ac septima Claudiana, imbutae favore Othonis, quamvis proelio non interfuissent. Aquileiam progressae, proturbatis qui de Othone nuntiabant laceratisque vexillis nomen Vitellii praeferentibus, rapta postremo pecunia et inter se divisa, hostiliter egerant. unde metus et ex metu consilium, posse imputari Vespasiano quae apud Vitellium excusanda erant. ita tres Moesicae legiones per epistulas adliciebant Pannonicum exercitum aut abnuenti vim parabant. in eo motu Aponius Saturninus Moesiae rector pessimum facinus audet, misso centurione ad interficiendum Tettium Iulianum septimae legionis legatum ob simultates, quibus causam partium praetendebat. Iulianus comperto discrimine et gnaris locorum adscitis per avia Moesiae ultra montem Haemum profugit; nec deinde civili bello interfuit, per varias moras susceptum ad Vespasianum iter trahens et ex nuntiis cunctabundus aut properans.
85.
Meanwhile Vespasian’s undertaking gained momentum with the help of the army of Illyricum coming over to his side. The Third legion set the example for the others in Moesia, namely the Eighth and the Seventh Claudiana, both especially devoted to Otho, even though they had not been present at the battle. Having advanced as far as Aquileia, they had used violence on the messengers bringing news of Otho’s defeat, torn the banners bearing Vitellius’ name, and finally rifled the camp money, which they divided among themselves, generally behaving like hostile troops. Such conduct led to fear of pumishment and fear led to the realisation that the things they would have to ask pardon for from Vitellius would gain them credit with Vespasian. So the three Moesian legions sent messages to the Pannonian army, trying to induce them to join their cause, determined to use force if they refused. During the upheaval, Aponius Saturninus, the governor of Moesia, ventured on a heinous crime by sending a centurion to murder the legate of the Seventh legion, Tettium Julianus, to satisfy a personal vendetta while alleging party interests. Informed of the danger, Julianus found some men who knew the country and through the trackless regions of Moesia escaped to the other side of Mt. Haemus. He managed to keep out of the ensuing civil war, prolonging under various pretexts for delay the journey to join Vespasian, slowing down or speeding up his progress, depending on the news he received.
LXXXVI.
At in Pannonia tertia decima legio ac septima Galbiana, dolorem iramque Bedriacensis pugnae retinentes, haud cunctanter Vespasiano accessere, vi praecipua Primi Antonii. is legibus nocens et tempore Neronis falsi damnatus inter alia belli mala senatorium ordinem reciperaverat. praepositus a Galba septimae legioni scriptitasse Othoni credebatur, ducem se partibus offerens; a quo neglectus in nullo Othoniani belli usu fuit. labantibus Vitellii rebus Vespasianum secutus grande momentum addidit, strenuus manu, sermone promptus, serendae in alios invidiae artifex, discordiis et seditionibus potens, raptor, largitor, pace pessimus, bello non spernendus. iuncti inde Moesici ac Pannonici exercitus Dalmaticum militem traxere, quamquam consularibus legatis nihil turbantibus. Tampius Flavianus Pannoniam, Pompeius Silvanus Dalmatiam tenebant, divites senes; sed procurator aderat Cornelius Fuscus, vigens aetate, claris natalibus. prima iuventa quietis cupidine senatorium ordinem exuerat; idem pro Galba dux coloniae suae, eaque opera procurationem adeptus, susceptis Vespasiani partibus acerrimam bello facem praetulit: non tam praemiis periculorum quam ipsis periculis laetus pro certis et olim partis nova ambigua ancipitia malebat. igitur movere et quatere, quidquid usquam aegrum foret, adgrediuntur. scriptae in Britanniam ad quartadecimanos, in Hispaniam ad primanos epistulae, quod utraque legio pro Othone, adversa Vitellio fuerat; sparguntur per Gallias litterae; momentoque temporis flagrabat ingens bellum, Illyricis exercitibus palam desciscentibus, ceteris fortunam secuturis.
86.
In Pannonia, however, the Thirteenth legion and the Seventh Galbiana, harboring bitter resentment for the defeat at Bedriacum, showed no hesitancy in joining Vespasian, thanks to the energetic efforts of Antonius Primus. A lawbreaker condemned under Nero for fraud, later reinstated (another of the evils of civil war) to senatorial rank, Primus was assigned command of the Seventh legion by Galba. It was believed he had written to Otho, offering himself as a leader of his party. Ignored by Otho, he played no part in the war between him and Vitellius. With the decline of Vitellius’ fortunes, he followed Vespasian and added great vigor to his cause: a man of action, an effective speaker, a master at provoking hatred against his rivals, a dangerous promoter of discontent and sedition, at the same time a thief and a squanderer, the worst of mortals in peace, and by far not the best of enemies in war. Soon after the junction of the Moesian and the Pannonian armies, the Dalmatian troops were drawn along with them, although the ex-consuls governing these provinces played no part in these events. Tampius Flavianus held Pannonia, Pompeius Silvanus Dalmatia, both men rich and old. But Cornelius Fuscus, the imperial procurator, was with them, a man in his prime and of noble birth. In his early youth he had resigned his senatorial status from a desire to lead a quiet life. Yet he had led his colony in support of Galba and in return had gained a procuratorship. After taking Vespasian’s side he revealed himself one of the most ardent advocates of the war, not so much for the advantages of danger as for the pleasure danger procured him. To old established ways he preferred new, uncertain, risky enterprises. Consequently, Fuscus and the other leaders of the Flavian party aggressively set about to poke and stir the embers of discontent wherever they might be found. Dispatches were sent to the Fourteenth legion in Britain and to the First legion in Spain, for both had sided with Otho against Vitellius. The Gallic provinces were assailed with messages and in no time serious war blazed up, the Illyricum openly revolting and the rest ready to follow Fortune’s beckoning.
LXXXVII.
Dum haec per provincias a Vespasiano ducibusque partium geruntur, Vitellius contemptior in dies segniorque, ad omnis municipiorum villarumque amoenitates resistens, gravi urbem agmine petebat. sexaginta milia armatorum sequebantur, licentia corrupta; calonum numerus amplior, procacissimis etiam inter servos lixarum ingeniis; tot legatorum amicorumque comitatus inhabilis ad parendum, etiam si summa modestia regeretur. onerabant multitudinem obvii ex urbe senatores equitesque, quidam metu, multi per adulationem, ceteri ac paulatim omnes ne aliis proficiscentibus ipsi remanerent. adgregabantur e plebe flagitiosa per obsequia Vitellio cogniti, scurrae, histriones, aurigae, quibus ille amicitiarum dehonestamentis mire gaudebat. nec coloniae modo aut municipia congestu copiarum, sed ipsi cultores arvaque maturis iam frugibus ut hostile solum vastabantur.
87.
While in the provinces Vespasian and his party leaders were thus advancing their cause, Vitellius, each day more sordid and slothful, was halting at every town and villa that presented any pleasurable attraction in his slow progress towards Rome with a lumbersome following in tow. After him came sixty thousand troops, spoiled by license; the number of camp followers was even greater and of these the sutlers and merchants stood out even among the slaves for their offensiveness; then came as many officers and courtiers, a horde of men impossible to restrain even with strictest discipline. To further swell this vast multitude, senators and knights arrived from Rome to meet him, some prompted by fear, many from a desire to flatter, the rest –and in the end all of them—to avoid staying behind when everybody had left. From the worthless rabble came crowds of clowns, actors, charioteers, known to Vitellius for their shameful compliance and in whose degrading friendship he took immoderate delight. Not only colonies and municipal towns were being ransacked to secure supplies, but even farms and their crops, now mature, were pillaged, as if the land were enemy territory.
LXXXVIII.
Multae et atroces inter se militum caedes, post seditionem Ticini coeptam manente legionum auxiliorumque discordia; ubi adversus paganos certandum foret, consensu. sed plurima strages ad septimum ab urbe lapidem. singulis ibi militibus Vitellius paratos cibos ut gladiatoriam saginam dividebat; et effusa plebes totis se castris miscuerat. incuriosos milites–vernacula utebantur urbanitate–quidam spoliavere, abscisis furtim balteis an accincti forent rogitantes. non tulit ludibrium insolens contumeliarum animus: inermem populum gladiis invasere. caesus inter alios pater militis, cum filium comitaretur; deinde agnitus et vulgata caede temperatum ab innoxiis. in urbe tamen trepidatum praecurrentibus passim militibus; forum maxime petebant, cupidine visendi locum in quo Galba iacuisset. nec minus saevum spectaculum erant ipsi, tergis ferarum et ingentibus telis horrentes, cum turbam populi per inscitiam parum vitarent, aut ubi lubrico viae vel occursu alicuius procidissent, ad iurgium, mox ad manus et ferrum transirent. quin et tribuni praefectique cum terrore et armatorum catervis volitabant.
88.
Many and terrible were the murderous fights breaking out among the soldiers after the incident at Ticinum. The antagonism between the legions and the auxiliaries persisted: they were all of one mind only when they fought the local people. But the worst carnage occurred seven miles from Rome. There Vitellius was having a cooked meal, similar to the rich food of gladiators, distributed to the soldiers, while crowds of people streamed into the camp and mingled with the troops. Some of these civilians, eager to show their city wit, played crude tricks on the soldiers when they were not paying attention. First they would disarm them by stealthily cutting their baldric, then they would ask them if they had their swords. The pleasantry was offensive to natures unaccustomed to ridicule. The soldiers drew their weapons and fell upon the unarmed civilians. Among other victims was the father of one of the soldiers killed while he was in his son’s company. When he was recognized and news of the tragic error spread, the massacre of innocents stopped. However, there was commotion in the city itself, for soldiers were entering Rome everywhere, ahead of the main body, in their desire above all else to reach the Forum and view the spot where Galba’s body had lain. But the spectacle they themselves presented was no less horrible, covered in shaggy animal skins and armed with incredible long pikes. In their ignorance of the city, they were not careful in making their way through dense crowds without incident and whenever the slippery pavement or a knock against a passerby caused them a fall, they broke into abuse and soon might even use their fists or draw their swords. To add to the state of confusion, tribunes and prefects marched their soldiery here and there with great urgency, spreading terror in the process.
LXXXIX.
Ipse Vitellius a ponte Mulvio insigni equo, paludatus accinctusque, senatum et populum ante se agens, quo minus ut captam urbem ingrederetur, amicorum consilio deterritus, sumpta praetexta et composito agmine incessit. quattuor legionum aquilae per frontem totidemque circa e legionibus aliis vexilla, mox duodecim alarum signa et post peditum ordines eques; dein quattuor et triginta cohortes, ut nomina gentium aut species armorum forent, discretae. ante aquilas praefecti castrorum tribunique et primi centurionum candida veste, ceteri iuxta suam quisque centuriam, armis donisque fulgentes; et militum phalerae torquesque splendebant: decora facies et non Vitellio principe dignus exercitus. sic Capitolium ingressus atque ibi matrem complexus Augustae nomine honoravit.
89.
As for Vitellius, he was approaching Rome from the Milvian Bridge, riding a majestic horse, wearing the red mantle of a conquering general and the sword at his side, driving before him the Senate and the people. He was discouraged by his friends from entering Rome as if it were a captured city, so he wore instead the toga praetexta, and having arranged his troops in proper order, he entered Rome on foot. In a line across the head of the column were the eagles of four legions and on their sides the banners of the detachments from as many other legions; then came the standards of twelve cavalry regiments; after the lines of infantry, the cavalry filed past, followed by thirty-four auxiliary cohorts, arranged according to national origin or type of armament. Before the eagles marched the prefects of camps, the tribunes, and the senior centurions dressed in white; the other centurions flanked each his own century, resplendent in their polished armor and decorations. As to the soldiers, their medals and neck bands also shone forth with dazzling brilliance. An imposing spectacle and an army worthy of prince other than Vitellius. Thus he reached the Capitol and there embraced his mother, honoring her with the title of Augusta.
XC.
Postera die tamquam apud alterius civitatis senatum populumque magnificam orationem de semet ipso prompsit, industriam temperantiamque suam laudibus attollens, consciis flagitiorum ipsis qui aderant omnique Italia, per quam somno et luxu pudendus incesserat. vulgus tamen vacuum curis et sine falsi verique discrimine solitas adulationes edoctum clamore et vocibus adstrepebat; abnuentique nomen Augusti expressere ut adsumeret, tam frustra quam recusaverat.
90.
The day after he pronounced a panegyric of his own virtues, as if he were addressing the senators and people of a foreign nation. He praised and exalted his own energy and temperance, even though everyone in the audience, not to mention the whole of Italy trough which he had just made his shameful progress in torpor and reckless waste, had witnessed his scandalous behaviour. Yet the heedless multitude, incapable of distinguishing facts from lies, but well-schooled not to stint their customary adulation, acclaimed with shouts and loud applause, and since he refused the title of Augustus, they forced it on him, though his acceptance was as pointless as his refusal had been.