Birthday Greetings #21

Happy birthday to Galba, very briefly Roman emperor. Like most high ranking Romans of the time Galba changed his name more often than his clothing but ultimately settled on Lucius Livius Ocella Sulpicius Galba most of which was in honour of his stepmother (she was wealthy and adopted him). Born into a high ranked but not particularly impressive family Galba soon shone in a series of appointments where he demonstrated military skill and an impressive degree of integrity. Despite this he survived both Caligula and Nero.

He was governing Hispania Tarraconensis a province in Spain when he got news first that Nero wanted to kill him and second that Nero had killed himself first. Possibly a death sentence from the previous ruler was considered a qualification for the highest position and he set of from Spain to become emperor. To smooth his path various associates made juicy promises to the Praetorian Guard in return for their support.

Unfortunately while age seems to have destroyed Galba's energy and skill it hadn't destroyed his integrity and he point blank refused to pay soldiers bribes in return for loyalty. The Praetorians muttered under their breath and started sharpening their swords. Concern for the empire's financial state caused Galba to cut down on both state entertainments and personal charity. The people of Rome muttered under their breath and started sharpening their swords. Perhaps Galba just came to the throne too old because despite his good intentions he didn't seem to have the stamina to push his policies and relied on a coterie of favourites who seemed to control the aging emperor. The palace bureaucrats muttered under their breath and started sharpening their swords.

Strangely it was none of the above who toppled Galba but rather a character named Otho who was one of Galba's supporters. Otho was piqued when Galba chose somebody else as successor and raised the standard of revolt. Meanwhile the legions in Germany had appointed their commander Vitellius emperor and raised their own standard of revolt. Otho got to Rome first killed Galba and took over the empire, for about three months before Vitellius killed him and took over the empire. A few months after that somebody else killed Vitellius and Vespasian took over the empire. Somebody tell me why all these apparently sane people wanted such a dangerous job?