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world. Vespasian, who had a strong vein of superstition, was made to believe that he was himself to fulfil this expectation, and all manner of omens and oracles and portents were applied to him. He also found encouragement in See also:

MUCIANUS, LICINIUS

Mucianus, the governor of See also:

SYRIA

Syria; and although a strict disciplinarian and reformer of abuses, he had a soldiery thoroughly devoted to him. All eyes in the East were now upon him; Mucianus and the Syrian legions were eager to support him; and on the 1st of See also:

JULY

July 69, while he was at Caesarea, he was, proclaimed emperor, first by the army in See also:

EGYPT

Egypt, and then by his troops in Judaea.

The legions of the East at once took the customary See also:

OATH (0. Eng. ddh)

oath of See also:

ALLEGIANCE (Mid. Eng. ligeaunce; med. Lat. ligeantia, &c.; the al- was probably added through confusion with another legal term, allegeance, an allegation; the Fr. allegeance comes from the English; the word is formed from " liege," of which the derivatio

allegiance. Nevertheless, See also:

VITELLIUS, AULUS

Vitellius, the occupant of the See also:

THRONE

throne, had on his See also:

side the See also:

VETERAN

veteran legions of See also:

Gaul and Germany, See also:

Rome's best troops. But the feeling in Vespasian's favour quickly gathered strength, and the armies of See also:

MOESIA (Gr. Muck and Mveia i)

Moesia, See also:

PANNONIA

Pannonia and Illyricum soon declared for him, and made him in fact See also:

MASTER (Lat. magister, related to tnagis, more, as the corresponding minister is to minus, less; the English form is due partly to the O. Eng. maegister, and partly to O. Fr. maistre, mod. maitre; cf. Du. meester, Ger. Meister, Ital. maestro)

master of See also:

HALF

half of the Roman world. They entered See also:

Italy on the See also:

north-east under the leadership of See also:

ANTONIUS

Antonius See also:

PRIMUS, MARCUS ANTONIUS

Primus, defeated the army of Vitellius at Bedriacum (or Betriacum), sacked See also:

Cremona and advanced on Rome, which they entered after furious fighting and a frightful confusion, in which the Capitol was destroyed by See also:

FIRE (in O. Eng. f j'r; the word is common to West German languages, cf. Dutch vuur, Ger. Feuer; the pre-Teutonic form is seen in Sanskrit pu, pavaka, and Gr. irup; the ultimate origin is usually taken to be a root meaning to purify, cf. Lat. purus)

fire. The new emperor received the tidings of his See also:

RIVAL

rival's defeat and See also:

DEATH

death at See also:

Alexandria, whence he at once forwarded supplies of See also:

corn to Rome, which were urgently needed, along with an See also:

EDICT (Lat. edictum, from e, out, and dicere, to say, speak)

edict or a See also:

DECLARATION (from Lat. declarare, to make fully clear, clams)

declaration of policy, in which he gave assurance of an entire reversal of the See also:

LAWS

laws of See also:

NERO (37-68)

Nero, especially those See also:

RELATING

relating to See also:

TREASON (Fr. trahison, Lat. traditio)

treason. While in Egypt he became more and more imbued with superstition, consulting astrologers and allowing himself to be flattered into a belief that he possessed a divine See also:

POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power which could See also:

WORK

work miracles. Leaving the war in Judaea to his son Titus, he arrived at Rome in 70. He at once devoted his energies to repairing the evils caused by See also:

CIVIL

civil war. He restored discipline in the army, which under Vitellius had become utterly demoralized, and, with the co-operation of the See also:

SENATE (Lat. senatus, from root sen-, as in senex, old; the root is the Sanskrit sana, cf. Gr. 'vos; the same element appears in senor, seigneur, seneschal)

senate, put the See also:

government and the finances on a See also:

sound footing. He renewed old taxes and instituted new, increased the See also:

TRIBUTE (Lat. tributurn, a stated payment, contribution)

tribute of the provinces, and kept a watchful See also:

eye upon the See also:

TREASURY

treasury officials. By his own example of simplicity of See also:

LIFE

life, he put to shame the luxury and extravagance of the Roman nobles and initiated in many respects a marked improvement in the general See also:

TONE, THEOBALD WOLFE (1763-1798)

tone of society. As See also:

CENSOR (from Lat. censere, assess, estimate; in Gr. rt s ris)

censor he raised the See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character of the senate, removing unfit and unworthy members and promoting See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good and able men, among them the excellent See also:

JULIUS

Julius See also:

Agricola.

At the same See also:

time he made it more dependent upon the emperor, by exercising an See also:

INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence upon its See also:

composition. He altered the constitution . of the praetorian guard, in which only Italians, formed into nine cohorts, were enrolled. In 70 a formidable rising in Gaul, headed by Claudius See also:

CIVILIS, CLAUDIUS

Civilis, was suppressed and the See also:

German frontier made secure; the Jewish War was brought to a See also:

close by Titus's See also:

CAPTURE (from Lat. capere, to take; Fr. prise maritime; Ger. Wegnahme)

capture of See also:

Jerusalem, and in the following See also:

YEAR

year, after the See also:

JOINT (through Fr. from Lat. junctum, jungere, to join)

joint See also:

TRIUMPH (triumphus)

triumph of Vespasian and Titus, memorable as the first occasion on which a father and his son were thus associated together, the See also:

temple of See also:

JANUS

Janus was closed, and the Roman world had See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest for the remaining nine years of Vespasian's reign. The See also:

peace of Vespasian passed into a See also:

PROVERB (Lat. proverbium, from pro, forth, publicly, verbum, word; the Greek equivalent is irapolµia, from 7rapa, alongside, and oiµos, way, road, i.e. a wayside saying; Ger. Sprichwort)

proverb. In 78 Agricola went to Britain, and both extended and consolidated the Roman dominion in that See also:

province, pushing his arms into North See also:

WALES (Cymru, Gwalia, Cambria)

Wales and the Isle of See also:

Anglesey. In the following year Vespasian died, on the 23rd of See also:

JUNE

June. The avarice with which both Tacitus and Suetonius stigmatize Vespasian seems really to have been an enlightened See also:

ECONOMY

economy, which, in the disordered See also:

state of the Roman finances, was an See also:

ABSOLUTE (Lat. absolvere, to loose, set free)

absolute See also:

NECESSITY (Lat. necessitas)

necessity. Vespasian could be liberal to impoverished senators and knights, to cities and towns desolated by natural calamity, and especially to men of letters and of the See also:

PROFESSOR (the Latin noun formed from the verb profiteri, to declare publicly, to acknowledge, profess)

professor class, several of whom he pensioned with salaries of as much as O800 a year. See also:

QUINTILIAN [MARCUS FABIUS QUINTILIANUS] (C. A.D. 35-95)

Quintilian is said to have been the first public teacher who enjoyed this imperial favour. See also:

Pliny's See also:

GREAT

great work,the Natural See also:

HISTORY

History, was written during Vespasian's reign, and dedicated to his son Titus. Some of the philosophers who talked idly of the good old times of the See also:

REPUBLIC (Lat. respublica, a commonweal or common-wealth)

republic, and thus indirectly encouraged See also:

CONSPIRACY (from Lat. conspirare, literally to breathe together, to agree, combine, and especially to form a secret plot)

conspiracy, provoked him into reviving the obsolete penal laws against this class, but only one, Helvidius See also:

PRISCUS

Priscus, was put to death, and he had affronted the emperor by studied insults. " I will not kill a See also:

dog that barks at me," were words honestLy expressing the See also:

TEMPER (from Lat. temperare, to mingle or compound in due proportion, to qualify, rule, regulate, to be moderate, formed from tempos, time, fit or due season)

temper of Vespasian.

Much money was spent on public See also:

WORKS

works and the restoration and beautifying of Rome—a new See also:

FORUM (Lat. from foris, " out of doors ")

forum, the splendid temple of Peace, the public See also:

BATHS

baths and the vast Colosseum being begun under Vespasian. The roads and aqueducts were repaired, and the limits of the pomerium extended. To the last Vespasian was a See also:

PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain, See also:

blunt soldier, with decided strength of character and ability, and with a steady purpose to establish good See also:

order and secure the prosperity and welfare of his subjects. In his habits he was punctual and See also:

REGULAR

regular, transacting his business See also:

early in the See also:

MORNING

morning, and enjoying his siesta after.a drive. He had not quite the distinguished bearing looked for in an emperor. He was See also:

FREE

free in his conversation, and his See also:

HUMOUR (Latin humor)

humour, of which he had a good See also:

DEAL

deal, was See also:

apt to take the See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form of rather coarse jokes. He could jest, it was said, even in his last moments. " Methinks I am becoming a See also:

god," he whispered to those around him. There is something very characteristic in the exclamation he is said to have uttered in his last illness, " An emperor ought to See also:

die See also:

STANDING

standing." See Tacitus, Histories; Suetonius, Vespasian; Dio See also:

Cassius, lxvi.; See also:

Merivale, Hist. of the See also:

Romans under the See also:

EMPIRE

Empire, chs. 57–60; H. See also:

SCHILLER, JOHANN CHRISTOPH FRIEDRICH VON (1759-18o5)

Schiller, Geschichte der romischen Kaiserzeit, i. pt. 2; B.

W. See also:

Henderson, Civil War and See also:

REBELLION

Rebellion in the Roman Empire A.D. 69-70 (190$).

End of Article: VESPASIAN

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