page_title: Galba
section_title: Rule
hierarchical_section_title: Galba / Emperor (June 68) / Rule
caption_attribution_description: Galba. AD 68-69. AR Denarius (18mm, 3.51 g, 6h). Rome mint. IMP SER GALBA CAESAR AVG, laureate and draped bust right / VICTORIA P R, Victory standing left on globe, holding wreath in right hand, palm frond in left. RIC I 217; RSC 328; BMCRE 49; BN 97. Good VF, deeply toned. Well centered and boldly struck. Rare.
context_page_description: Galba was Roman emperor from 68 to 69, the first emperor in the Year of the Four Emperors. He was known as Lucius Livius Ocella Sulpicius Galba prior to taking the throne as a result of his adoption by his stepmother, Livia Ocellina. The governor of Hispania at the time of the rebellion of Gaius Julius Vindex in Gaul, he seized the throne following Nero's suicide.
  Born into a wealthy family, Galba held at various times the offices of praetor, consul, and governor of the provinces Aquitania, Upper Germany, and Africa during the first half of the first century AD. He retired during the latter part of Claudius' reign with the advent of Agrippina the Younger, but Nero later granted him 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. His physical weakness and general apathy led to him 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 then became emperor.
context_section_description: Upon becoming emperor, Galba was faced by the rebellion of Nymphidius Sabinus, who had his own aspirations for the imperial throne. However, Sabinus was killed by the Praetorians before he could take the throne. While Galba was arriving to Rome with the Lusitanian governor Marcus Salvius Otho, his army was attacked by a legion that had been organized by Nero; a number of Galba's troops were killed in the fighting. Galba, who suffered from chronic gout by the time he came to the throne, was advised by a corrupt group which included the Spanish general Titus Vinius, the praetorian prefect Cornelius Laco, and Icelus, a freedman of Galba. Galba seized the property of Roman citizens, disbanded the German legions, and did not pay the Praetorians and the soldiers who fought against Vindex. These actions caused him to become unpopular.
caption: 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.
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