Meanwhile the army of the East, which had recognized Galba, Otho and, at first, Vitellius also, set up its own Imperator, Titus Flavius Vespasianus, who as legate of Judaea was conducting a war against the Jews. Vespasian himself proceeded to occupy Egypt and thus cut off the grain supply of Rome while his ablest lieutenant, Mucianus, set out for Italy. The Danubian legions, who had supported Otho, now declared themselves for Vespasian and, led by Antonius Primus, marched at once upon Italy. The fleet at Ravenna [pg 237]espoused Vespasian’s cause, and Caecina, who led the Vitellians against Primus, contemplated treachery. His troops, however, were loyal, but were defeated in a bloody night battle at Cremona and the way lay open to Rome. Vitellius then opened negotiations and offered to abdicate, but his soldiers would not let him and suppressed a rising in Rome led by the brother of Vespasian. Thereupon the city was stormed and sacked by the army of Primus. Vitellius himself was slain.
Vespasian, December, 69 A. D. Vespasian obtained his recognition as princeps from the Senate and the troops in the West. He entered Rome early in 70 A. D.
VI. Vespasian and Titus, 69–81 a. d.
Caesar an imperial title. Following the example of Galba, Vespasian on his accession took the name of Caesar, which became from this time a prerogative of the family of the princeps. The new princeps inherited from his predecessors two serious wars, both national revolts against Roman rule, the one in Gaul and Lower Germany, the other in Judaea.
The revolt of the Batavi, 69 A. D. The movement in Lower Germany was headed by Julius Civilis, a Batavian chieftain, formerly an officer in the Roman service, who won over the eight Batavian cohorts attached to the Rhine army. At first he posed as a supporter of Vespasian against Vitellius, but at the news of the former’s victory he renounced his allegiance to Rome and called to his aid Germanic tribes from across the Rhine. At the same time the Gallic Treveri and Lingones, the former led by Julius Classicus and Julius Tutor, the latter by Julius Sabinus, rose in rebellion and sought to establish an empire of the Gauls with its capital at Trèves (Augusta Treverorum). They were joined by the Roman legions stationed on the Rhine. However, the remaining peoples of Gaul refused to join the revolt, preferring the Roman peace to a renewal of the old intertribal struggles.
Upon the arrival of an adequate Roman force despatched by Vespasian the mutinous legions returned to their duty, the Treveri and Lingones were subdued, and Civilis forced to flee into Germany. The Batavi returned to their former status of Roman allies under the obligation of furnishing troops to the Roman armies (70 A. D.). But [pg 238]Rome had seen the danger of stationing national corps under their native officers in their home countries. Henceforth the auxiliaries were no longer organized on a national basis and served in provinces other than those in which they were recruited.
The Jewish War, 66–70 A. D. From the year 6 A. D. Judaea had formed a Roman procuratorial province except for its brief incorporation in the principality of Agrippa I (41–44 A. D.). During this time the Jews had occupied a privileged position among the Roman subjects, being exempted from military service and the obligation of the imperial cult, notwithstanding the design of Caligula to set up his image in the temple at Jerusalem. These privileges were the source of constant friction between the Jews and the Greco-Syrian inhabitants of the cities of Palestine, which frequently necessitated the interference of Roman officials. Another cause of unrest was the pressure of the Roman taxation, which rendered agriculture unprofitable and drove many persons from the plains to the mountains to find a livelihood through brigandage. But a more deeply-seated cause of animosity to Roman rule lay in the fact that the Jewish people were a religious community and that for them national loyalty was identical with religious fanaticism. The chief Jewish sects were those of the Sadducees and the Pharisees, of whom the former composed the aristocracy and the latter the democracy. The Sadducees were supported by the Romans and monopolized the offices of the religious community, whereas the Pharisees courted the support of the masses by a policy of hostility to Rome and religious intolerance. It is improbable that the Pharisees actually sought to bring about a revolt but they kindled a fire which they could not control and strengthened the development of a party of direct action, the Zealots, who aimed to liberate Judaea from the Roman force, trusting in the support of Jehovah. By 66 A. D. all Judaea was in a ferment and it required but little incitement to produce a national revolt.
Massacres in Caesarea and Jerusalem, 66 A. D. Such a provocation was afforded by the decision of the Roman government that Jews were not entitled to citizenship in Caesarea, the Roman capital of Judaea, and by a massacre of the Jews by the Greeks in a riot which followed. However, at the same time in Jerusalem the Zealots had overpowered the Roman garrison of one cohort, and massacred both the Romans and their Jewish supporters. At the news, further massacres took place in the towns of Syria and Egypt, the Jews suffer[pg 239]ing wherever they were in a minority but avenging their countrymen where they got the upper hand. The Romans awoke to the seriousness of the situation when the legate of Syria, Cestius Gallus, who had marched on Jerusalem, was forced to beat an ignominious retreat.
Vespasian in command, 67 A. D. In 67 A. D. Vespasian was appointed to the command of an army of 50,000 assembled for the reconquest of Judaea. In this and the following year he reduced the open country and isolated fortresses, and was ready to begin the blockade of Jerusalem, where the majority of the Jews had fled for refuge. However, Vespasian’s elevation to the principate caused a suspension of hostilities for ten months, during which factional strife raged fiercely within the city.