Rome’s Greatest Emperor: Vespasian

Follow Vespasian’s rise from Roman general in Britain to emperor, shaping the Flavian dynasty during Rome’s turbulent civil war.

To anyone scanning the sea from the southern coast of Britain in the year 43 AD, the sight of hundreds of ships appearing one by one as dots on the horizon would have filled them with awe and dread. On a leading warship, a hundred and twenty oarsmen heaved at their work as one of the four legionary legates scanned the cliff tops expecting to see them lined with warriors as Julius Caesar had described nearly a hundred years before. Vespasian would lead the Second Augusta in the initial invasion and in a remarkable campaign across southern Britain, capturing a score of strongholds, oppida, such as the formidable Maiden Castle, along the way.

His career later suffered from the intrigues of court politics during the reign of Nero, at one point making the near-fatal mistake of falling asleep during one of the emperor’s artistic performances. Vespasian’s fortunes were revived by the outbreak of revolt in Judea.

Thus Vespasian found himself in the right place at the right time commanding a vast battle-hardened victorious army as the empire descended into civil war and chaos. The year 68-69 became known as ’The Year of the Four Emperors’ as, after Nero’s suicide, Galba, Otho and Vitellius seized the throne in quick succession. When Vitellius emerged as the victor Vespasian took his chance.

It would prove a pivotal moment in Rome’s history, stabilising the political and economic situation, and establishing the Flavian dynasty.