Aulus Vitellius Germanicus was one of the emperors of the Roman Empire from September 24, 15 to December 20, 69. In the "Year of the Four Emperors" in AD 69, his troops defeated Emperor Otto, Otto committed suicide, and Vitilius entered Rome, becoming the third emperor of the year. But at the end of 69, the troops supporting Vespasian entered Rome, and Vitilius was defeated and killed.

Early life

Vitilius' grandfather, Publius, was born into the Roman knightly class and served as Augustus' steward; his father, Ruchius, served as a consul under Emperor Claudius.

Vitilius himself grew up in a good relationship with the royal family and was very close to Emperor Nero. It is said that Nero had stage fright and did not dare to perform the harp in front of the crowd during the game "Neronia" held for him. Vitilius asked Nero to return to the theater to play "on behalf of the strong plea of the people."

Vitilius became consul in 48 AD, governor of Africa in 60 AD, and later returned to Rome as builder. He was very incorruptible during his tenure in the province, but when he was in the capital, he stole the gold and silver ornaments of the temple with copper and tin alloys. Vitilius had a certain reputation for being easy-going, generous, and not rejecting requests; but he also had the luxury and vices of the children of ordinary nobles of the time, so that he was often in debt.

Garba became emperor after Nero committed suicide in 68 AD. Vitilius was appointed governor of the Lower Germanic province by Garba, and Vitilius arrived in the Germanic region in December 68. In January 69 AD, the Lower Germanic Legion refused to swear allegiance to the Roman Emperor Garba as was customary. Soldiers broke into the commander's bedroom at dusk, dragged the newly appointed Vitilius out, and cheered him as emperor. The Upper Germanic Legion, who had been dissatisfied with Garba, later decided to swear allegiance to him, so Vitilius, surrounded by the crowd, agreed to call himself emperor with the title "Germanicus".

Imperial Civil War

After stabilizing Germanic affairs, Vettilus marched on Rome. He divided his troops into three parts, with Ketchner and Valens leading the main force of the German army to Rome, and he himself entered Gaul as backup troops. At the same time, Garba was killed and Otto proclaimed himself emperor. Otto sent envoys to talk with Vitilus, hoping to avoid a battle, but the two sides broke up on bad terms in the end. In April 1969, when the Vettilius army won the Battle of Bedriakum, Otto committed suicide. In June, Vettilius entered the city of Rome and was recognized by the Senate as emperor of the Roman Empire.

Emperor Vitilius

When Vitilius became emperor of the empire, he disbanded the guards stationed in Rome on the grounds that the guards had supported Otto in the murder of Galba. After he entered the city, he condoned the brutal looting of his Germanic legions and allied auxiliaries, which aroused the dissatisfaction of the Roman people. He was narrow-minded and persecuted his former creditors for various reasons. He was uninterested in government affairs. He arranged his cronies to serve as government priorities, and even appointed officials for the next ten years.

Vitilius was particularly fond of food. He often ate four times a day: breakfast, luncheon, dinner, and long night. After the food was in the mouth, he took emetic and spit it out, so that he could continue to enjoy each luxurious feast. He sent people to search the empire for all kinds of delicacies, such as sea fish liver, pheasant and peacock brain marrow, flamingo tongue and eel milk, which he liked very much. Pliny the Elder recorded in the Natural History that even each silver plate he used was worth one million Sestertius (copper coins in imperial times).

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In July 69, the Eastern Province established Vespasian as emperor, threatening the throne of Vitilius. In October, at the Second Battle of Bedriakum, Vitilius' army was defeated, and the capital, Rome, was in a hurry. Vitilius hoped to negotiate with Vespasian's brother Sabinus, who was then the capital's police chief, in exchange for his own safety in exchange for a conditional abdication. At the same time, Vitilius hoped to take advantage of the conflict between Sabinus and Vespasian, and turn it into a new situation where the three giants checked each other. But Vitilius was capricious, and his willingness to retire was not strong. When he publicly renounced the throne to his soldiers, the soldiers protested and firmly supported his power. Vitilius hesitated with tears on his face, and then showed that he was willing to accept the title of "Caesar." The next day, his officers suddenly attacked Sabinus' guards and besieged them in the Temple of Jupiter on Capitori. The temple burned and Sabinus was killed, cutting off the possibility of peace talks.

In December 69, Antoinus, the general who supported Vespasian, invaded Rome. Vitilius was captured in the chaos. He was killed after being humiliated and tortured by his enemies, and his body was thrown into the Tiber. He was killed along with a brother and son.