The Year of the Four Emperors was a period of civil war in the Roman Empire, in which four men, Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian, held the throne in quick succession. It began when Nero lost the support of the army and Senate and took his own life, ending the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Galba, governor in Spain, was proclaimed emperor but was killed within months by the Praetorian Guard, and Otho, who succeeded him, was defeated by the legions from the Rhine under Vitellius. The eastern legions then proclaimed Vespasian, whose forces defeated Vitellius at the second battle of Bedriacum and took Rome. Vespasian founded the Flavian dynasty, and the crisis showed that an emperor could be made by armies away from the capital.
Before and after
- 65 CEDeath of Saint Peter
- from 66 CE to 74 CEFirst Jewish-Roman War
- from 66 CE to 135 CEJewish–Roman Wars
- 66 CEDeath of Paul the Apostle
- from June 68 CE to December 69 CEYear of the Four Emperors
- 9 June 68 CEDeath of Nero
- August 70 CEThe Romans destroy the Temple in Jerusalem
- 24 January 76 CEBirth of Hadrian
- 79 CEVesuvius buries Pompeii and Herculaneum
More in Wars, politics & history
- 587 BCENebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and the First Temple
- from 218 BCE to 201 BCESecond Punic War
- 203 BCEScipio defeats Hannibal at Zama
- 43 CERome invades Britain
- 293 CEDiocletian establishes the Tetrarchy
- 17 January 395 CEThe Roman Empire is permanently divided
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 1st century.