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Ch. 18.
1. Vitellius: Aulus Vitellius was Roman emperor from January 2 to December 22, 69 A.D. When the news of Galba’s death reached Upper Germany, where Vitellius was in command, his legions proclaimed him emperor at Cologne. He immediately sent his generals, Fabius Valens and Caecina, at the head of a large force, to Italy, and, having defeated Otho’s troops, obtained the undisputed command of all the West. He was moderate in his rule, disturbing no one in the enjoyment of what had been given by Nero, Galba, or Otho. He was a glutton and an epicure, spending enormous sums on his table. Creighton, p. 96; The Early Empire, Ch. VIII.
10. id … ferret: ‘aimed so openly at this.’
13. cum Capitōliō: “In the confusion of the fight the famous temple of Jupiter caught fire. All were too busy to give time or thought to stay the flames, and in a few hours only ruins were left of the greatest of the national monuments of Rome, which, full of the associations of the past, had served for ages as a sort of record office in which were treasured the memorials of ancient history, the laws, the treaties, and the proclamations of old times. The loss was one that could not be replaced.” The Early Empire, p. 146.
17. in Tiberim … sepultūrā: Eutropius is mistaken. His body was recovered and buried by his wife, Galeria Fundana.
Ch. 19.
20. Vespasiānus: Titus Flavius Sabinus Vespasian. He was proclaimed emperor at Alexandria on the 1st of July, 69 A.D., although it was a year before he entered Rome. He lived more like a private person than like the emperor of Rome. The many stories that are told of his avarice and his methods of raising money are probably exaggerated. Although he was frugal in his personal expenditures, he spent large sums in adorning the city. He was the first of the Flavian dynasty. The others were his two sons and successors. He died on the 24th of June, 79 A.D. “His last words were characteristic of his somewhat cynical humour, ‘Methinks I am becoming a god.’” Creighton, p. 96; The Early Empire, Ch. IX.
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8. Hierosolyma: Vespasian was besieging Jerusalem when the war broke out between Otho and Vitellius. When he started for Rome he left Titus, his son, in charge of the war against the Jews. Titus captured the city after a stubborn siege of five months, September 8, 70 A.D., and despite his efforts the Temple was burned. Thousands of Jews perished in the siege.