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Galba

For other uses, see Galba (disambiguation).
"Servius Sulpicius Galba" redirects here. For other uses, see Servius Sulpicius Galba (disambiguation).

Servius Sulpicius Galba (/ˈsɜːrviəs sʌlˈpɪʃəs ˈɡælbə/; Latin: Servius Sulpicius Galba Caesar Augustus;[2] 24 December 3 BC – 15 January 69 AD), known as Lucius Livius Galba Ocella after his adoption by his stepmother before taking the throne, was Roman emperor from 68 to 69. He was the first emperor in the Year of the Four Emperors. The governor of Hispania at the time of the rebellion of Gaius Julius Vindex in Gaul, he seized the throne following Nero's suicide.

Galba
Augustus
Bust of a bald man with an aquiline nose
Head Sculpture of Galba
Emperor of the Roman Empire
Reign9 June 68 – 15 January 69
(7 months)
PredecessorNero
SuccessorOtho
Born24 December 3 BC
Near Terracina, Italy
Died(69-01-15)15 January 69 (aged 71)
Rome
SpouseAemilia Lepida
Full name
Servius Sulpicius Galba
(at birth);
Lucius Livius Ocella Sulpicius Galba
(until ascension)
Regnal name
Imperator Servius Sulpicius Galba Caesar Augustus (imperial name)[1]
DynastyYear of the Four Emperors
FatherGaius Sulpicius Galba
MotherMummia Achaica

Born into a wealthy family, Galba was a capable military officer during the first half of the first century AD. He retired during Nero's reign but was later granted the governorship of Hispania. Taking advantage of the defeat of Vindex's rebellion and Nero's suicide, he became emperor with the support of the Praetorian Guard. Galba was the oldest emperor to date when he became Emperor and his physical weakness and general apathy led to his being dominated by favorites. Unable to gain popularity with the people or maintain the support of the Praetorian Guard, Galba was murdered by Otho, who rebelled when Galba passed him over as his successor.

Contents

Origins and family lifeEdit

Galba was not related to any of the emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, but he was a member of a distinguished noble family. The origin of the cognomen Galba is uncertain. Suetonius offers a number of possible explanations; the first member of the gens Sulpicia to bear the name might have gotten the name from the term galba, which the Romans used to describe the Gauls, or after an insect called galbae.[3] One of Galba's ancestors had been consul in 200 BC, and another ancestor was consul in 144 BC; yet another Sulpicius Galba would hold the office in 22 AD. Galba's grandfather was a historian and his son was a barrister whose first marriage was to Mummia Achaica, granddaughter of Quintus Lutatius Catulus and great-granddaughter of Lucius Mummius Achaicus;[4] Galba prided himself on his descent from his great-grandfather Catulus. According to Suetonius, he fabricated a genealogy of paternal descent from the god Jupiter and maternal descent from the legendary Pasiphaë, wife of Minos.[5]

Servius Sulpicius Galba was born near Terracina on 24 December 3 BC. His elder brother Gaius fled from Rome and committed suicide because the emperor Tiberius would not allow him to control a Roman province. Livia Ocellina became the second wife of Galba's father, whom she may have married because of his wealth; he was short and hunchbacked. Ocellina adopted Galba, and he took the name Lucius Livius Galba Ocella.[6] Galba married a woman named Aemilia Lepida. Galba and Aemilia had two sons.[7] Aemilia and their sons died during the early years of the reign of Claudius (r. 41–54). Galba would remain a widower for the rest of his life.[8] Galba suffered from chronic gout by the time he came to the throne. He had a sexual appetite for males, whom he preferred over females.[9] According to Suetonius, "he was more inclined to … the hard bodied and those past their prime".[10]

 
Servius Sulpicius Galba

Public serviceEdit

Galba became praetor in about 30,[11] then governor of Aquitania for about a year,[12] then consul in 33.[13] In 39 the emperor Caligula learned of a plot against himself in which Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus, the general of the Upper German legions, was an important figure; Caligula installed Galba in the post held by Gaetulicus.[14] As commander of the legions of Upper Germany, Galba gained a reputation as a disciplinarian.[15] Suetonius writes that Galba was advised to take the throne following the assassination of Caligula in 41, but loyally served Caligula's uncle and successor Claudius (r. 41–54); this story may simply be fictional. Galba was appointed as governor of Africa in 44 or 45. He retired at an uncertain time during the reign of Claudius, possibly in 49. He was recalled in 59 or 60 by the emperor Nero (r. 54–68) to govern Hispania.[16]

A rebellion against Nero was orchestrated by Gaius Julius Vindex in Gaul on the anniversary of the death of Nero's mother, Agrippina the Younger, in 68. Shortly afterwards Galba, in rebellion against Nero, revoked his title "General of Caesar" in favour of "General of the Senate and People of Rome". He was supported by the imperial official Tigellinus. On 8 June 68 another imperial official, Nymphidius Sabinus, falsely announced to the Praetorian Guard that Nero had fled to Egypt, and the Senate proclaimed Galba emperor. Nero then committed suicide with help from his secretary.[17]

Emperor (June 68)Edit

RuleEdit

 
Galba - Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon. Laureate head right; IMP. SER. GALBA CAES. AVG. TR. P.
 
Obverse Portrait of Galba, AD 68-69, Roman Mint. Obverse: Laureate haed right; IMP. SER. GALBA CAESAR AVG. Reverse: Victory standing on globe left, holding wreath and palm branch; VICTORIA P. R.

Galba's primary concern during his brief reign was restoring state finances, and to this end he undertook a number of unpopular measures, the most dangerous was his refusal to pay the praetorians the reward promised in his name. Galba scorned the notion that soldiers should be "bribed" for their loyalty.[citation needed] According to the historian Suetonius, Galba levied massive taxes against areas that were slow to receive him as Emperor.[18]

He also sentenced many to death without trial, and rarely accepted requests for citizenship. He further disgusted the populace by his meanness and dislike of pomp and display. Aged 70 at the time he became emperor, he would be the oldest person to become emperor until the 81 year old Gordian I in 238. Due to his advanced age, he had little energy and was entirely in the hands of favourites. Three of these — Titus Vinius, who became Galba's colleague as consul, Cornelius Laco, the commander of the Praetorian Guard, and Galba's freedman Icelus Marcianus — were said to virtually control the emperor.[18] The three were called "The Three Pedagogues" because of their influence on Galba. All this made the new emperor gravely unpopular.

During the later period of his provincial administration, Galba was indolent and apathetic, but this was due either to a desire not to attract Nero's notice or to the growing infirmities of age. Tacitus says all pronounced him worthy of the empire, until he became emperor ("omnium consensū cāpax imperiī nisi imperāsset"). As Pharaoh of Egypt, Galba adopted the titulary Autokrator Servios Galbas (“Emperor Servius Galba”).[19]

Mutiny on the frontierEdit

On 1 January 69, two legions in Germania Superior refused to swear loyalty to Galba. They toppled his statues, demanding that a new emperor be chosen. On the following day, the soldiers of Germania Inferior also rebelled and took the decision of who should be the next emperor into their own hands, proclaiming the governor of the province, Vitellius, as Emperor.

This outbreak of revolt made Galba aware of his own unpopularity and of the general discontent. In order to check the rising storm, he adopted as his heir and successor L. Calpurnius Piso. The populace regarded the choice of successor as a sign of fear and the Praetorians were indignant, because the usual donative was not forthcoming. Furthermore, M. Salvius Otho, who was expecting to be adopted, was alienated by the choice of Piso.

Assassination (January 69)Edit

While Otho had governed Lusitania and was one of Galba's earliest supporters, he was disappointed at the selection of Piso and entered into communication with the discontented Praetorians, who hailed him as their emperor on 15 January 69. Galba at once set out to meet the rebels, though he was so feeble that he had to be carried in a litter. According to Suetonius, Galba prior to his death had put on a linen corset—although remarking that it had little protection against so many swords.[20] He was met by a troop of Otho's cavalry and was killed near Lacus Curtius. One guard, centurion Sempronius Densus, died defending him. According to Plutarch, during Galba's last moments he offered his neck, and said, "Strike, if it be for the good of the Romans!" Piso was killed shortly afterwards. Titus Vinius tried to run away, calling out that Otho had not ordered him killed, but was run through with a spear.[21] Cornelius Laco was banished to an island where he was later murdered by soldiers of Otho. Icelus Martianus was also executed [22]

After his death, Galba's head was brought to Otho, who gave it to his camp followers who paraded and mocked it in angry response to a remark by Galba that his strength was unimpaired. The head was then bought by a freedman so he could throw it on the place where his former master had been executed on Galba's orders. Galba's steward buried both head and trunk in a tomb by the Aurelian Road.

See alsoEdit

NotesEdit

  1. ^ Galba's regal name has an equivalent meaning in English as "Commander Servius Galba Caesar, the Emperor".
  2. ^ Classical Latin spelling and reconstructed Classical Latin pronunciation:
    SERVIVS SVLPICIVS GALBA CAESAR AVGVSTVS
    IPA: [ˈsɛr.wi.ʊs sʊɫˈpɪ.ki.ʊs ˈgaɫ.ba ˈkae̯.sar au̯ˈgʊs.tʊs]
  3. ^ Tranquillus, C. Suetonius. The Lives of the Twelve Caesars. Life of Galba, p. 193.
  4. ^ Greenhalgh, P. A. L. The Year of the Four Emperors. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1975. p. 11.
  5. ^ Morgan, Gwyn. 69 AD: The Year of Four Emperors. Oxford University Press, 2005. pp. 31–32.
  6. ^ Greenhalgh, P. A. L. The Year of the Four Emperors. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1975. p. 11.
  7. ^ Lendering, Jona. Galba. Livius.org.
  8. ^ Morgan, Gwyn. 69 AD: The Year of Four Emperors. Oxford University Press, 2005. p. 32.
  9. ^ Greenhalgh, P. A. L. The Year of the Four Emperors. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1975. p. 11.
  10. ^ Tranquillus, C. Suetonius. The Lives of the Twelve Caesars. Life of Galba, p. 227.
  11. ^ Lendering, Jona. Galba. Livius.org.
  12. ^ Greenhalgh, P. A. L. The Year of the Four Emperors. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1975. p. 15.
  13. ^ Lendering, Jona. Galba. Livius.org.
  14. ^ Morgan, Gwyn. 69 AD: The Year of Four Emperors. Oxford University Press, 2005. pp. 33–34.
  15. ^ Greenhalgh, P. A. L. The Year of the Four Emperors. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1975. p. 15.
  16. ^ Morgan, Gwyn. 69 AD: The Year of Four Emperors. Oxford University Press, 2005. pp. 33–34.
  17. ^ Greenhalgh, P. A. L. The Year of the Four Emperors. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1975. pp. 7–11.
  18. ^ a b Suetonious. The Twelve Caesars. Penguin. pp. 242–254. ISBN 978-0-14-045516-8.
  19. ^ "Galba". The Royal Titulary of Ancient Egypt. Retrieved March 13, 2018.
  20. ^ Suetonius "Galba" Chapter 19
  21. ^ Cornelius Tacitus (1770). The Works of Tacitus. J. and F. Rivington. pp. 12–.
  22. ^ The Works of Cornelius Tacitus: With an Essay on His Life and Genius, Notes ...p.360

ReferencesEdit

External linksEdit

Primary sourcesEdit

Secondary sourcesEdit

Political offices
Preceded by
Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus,
and Aulus Vitellius 		Consul of the Roman Empire
33
with Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix 		Succeeded by
Lucius Salvius Otho,
and Gaius Octavius Laenas
Preceded by
Nero 		Roman Emperor
68–69 		Succeeded by
Otho
Preceded by
Gaius Bellicius Natalis, and
Publius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus
as Suffect consuls 		Consul of the Roman Empire
with Titus Vinius
69 		Succeeded by
Otho II, and
Lucius Salvius Otho Titianus II
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