Year of the Four Emperors The Year of the Four Emperors was a year in the history of the Roman Empire , AD 69 , in which four emperors ruled in a remarkable succession . These four emperors were Galba , Otho , Vitellius , and Vespasian . The suicide of emperor Nero , in 68 , was followed by a brief period of civil war , the first Roman civil war since Mark Antony ' s death in 30 BC . Between June 68 and December of 69 , Rome witnessed the successive rise and fall of Galba , Otho and Vitellius until the final accession of Vespasian , first ruler of the Flavian Dynasty , in July 69 . This period of civil war has become emblematic of the cyclic political disturbances in the history of the Roman Empire . The military and political anarchy created by this civil war had serious repercussions , such as the outbreak of the Batavian rebellion . ( The Jewish Revolt was already in progress . ) Succession . Nero to Galba . In 65 , the Pisonian conspiracy attempted to restore the Republic , but failed . A number of executions followed leaving Nero with few political allies left in the Senate . In late 67 or early 68 , Caius Julius Vindex , governor of Gallia Lugdunensis , rebelled against Nero ' s tax policy , with the purpose of substituting Servius Sulpicius Galba , governor of Hispania Tarraconensis , for Nero . Vindex ' s revolt in Gaul was unsuccessful . The legions stationed at the border to Germania marched to meet Vindex and confront him as a traitor . Led by Lucius Verginius Rufus , the Rhine army defeated Vindex in battle and Vindex killed himself . Galba was at first declared a public enemy by the Senate . In June 68 , the Praetorian Guard prefect , Nymphidius Sabinus , as part of a plot to become emperor himself , incited his men to transfer their loyalty from Nero to Galba . Nero was suddenly powerless and the Senate was able to declare him an enemy of the state . He fled the city and committed suicide . Galba was recognized as emperor and welcomed into the city at the head of a single legion , VII Galbiana , later known as VII " Gemina " . Galba to Otho . This turn of events gave the German legions not the reward for loyalty that they had expected but rather accusations of having obstructed Galba ' s path to the throne . Their commander , Rufus , was immediately replaced by the new emperor . Aulus Vitellius was appointed governor of Germania Inferior . The loss of political confidence in Germania ' s loyalty also resulted in the dismissal of the Imperial Batavian Bodyguards and rebellion . Galba did not remain popular for long . On his march to Rome , he either destroyed or took enormous fines from towns that did not accept him immediately . In Rome , Galba cancelled all the reforms of Nero , including benefits for many important persons . Like his predecessor , Galba had a fear of conspirators and executed many senators and equites without trial . The Praetorian Guard were not happy either . After his safe arrival in Rome , Galba refused to pay them the rewards that the prefect Nymphidius had promised them in the new emperor ' s name . Moreover , in the start of the civil year of 69 on January 1 , the legions of Germania Inferior refused to swear allegiance and obedience to Galba . On the following day , the legions acclaimed Vitellius , their governor , as emperor . Hearing the news of the loss of the Rhine legions , Galba panicked . He adopted a young senator , Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus , as his successor . By doing this he offended many people , and above all Marcus Salvius Otho , an influential and ambitious man who desired the honour for himself . Otho bribed the Praetorian Guard , already very unhappy with the emperor , to his side . When Galba heard about the coup d ' état , he went to the streets in an attempt to stabilize the situation . It proved a mistake , because he could attract no supporters . Shortly afterwards , the Praetorian Guard killed him in the Forum along with Lucius . Otho to Vitellius . Otho was recognised as emperor by the Senate that same day . The new emperor was saluted with relief . Although ambitious and greedy , Otho did not have a record for tyranny or cruelty and was expected to be a fair emperor ; however , trouble in the form of Vitellius was marching down on Italy from Germany . Vitellius had behind him the finest legions of the empire , composed of veterans of the Germanic Wars , such as I " Germanica " and XXI " Rapax " . These would prove to be his best arguments in his bid for power . Otho was not keen to begin another civil war and sent emissaries to propose a peace and convey his offer to marry Vitellius ' daughter . It was too late to reason ; Vitellius ' generals had half of his army heading to Italy . After a series of minor victories , Otho was defeated in the Battle of Bedriacum . Rather than flee and attempt a counter - attack , Otho decided to put an end to the anarchy and committed suicide . He had been emperor for a little more than three months . Vitellius to Vespasian . On the news of Otho ' s suicide , Vitellius was recognized as emperor by the Senate . Granted this recognition , Vitellius set out for Rome ; however , he faced problems from the start of his reign . The city was left very skeptical when Vitellius chose the anniversary of the Battle of the Allia ( in 390 BC ) , a day of bad auspice s according to Roman superstition , to accede to the office of " Pontifex Maximus " . Events would seemingly prove them right . With the throne tightly secured , Vitellius engaged in a series of feasts , banquets ( Suetonius refers to three a day : morning , afternoon and night ) and triumphal parades that drove the imperial treasury close to bankruptcy . Debts were quickly accrued and money - lenders started to demand repayment . Vitellius showed his violent nature by ordering the torture and execution of those who dared to make such demands . With financial affairs in a state of calamity , Vitellius took the initiative of killing citizens who named him as their heir , often together with any co - heirs . Moreover , he engaged in a pursuit of every possible rival , inviting them to the palace with promises of power only to have them assassinated . Meanwhile , the legions stationed in the African province of Egypt and the Middle East provinces of Iudaea ( Judea / Palestine ) and Syria had acclaimed Vespasian as emperor . Vespasian had been given a special command in Judaea by Nero in 67 with the task of putting down the Great Jewish Revolt . He gained the support of the governor of Syria , Gaius Licinius Mucianus . A strong force drawn from the Judaean and Syrian legions marched on Rome under the command of Mucianus . Vespasian himself traveled to Alexandria where he had been acclaimed Emperor on July 1 , thereby gaining control of the vital grain supplies from Egypt . Vespasian ' s son Titus remained in Judaea to deal with the Jewish rebellion . Before the eastern legions could reach Rome , the Danubian legions of the provinces of Raetia and Moesia also acclaimed Vespasian as Emperor in August , and led by Marcus Antonius Primus invaded Italy . In October , the forces led by Primus won a crushing victory over Vitellius ' army at the Second Battle of Bedriacum . Surrounded by enemies , Vitellius made a last attempt to win the city to his side , distributing bribes and promises of power where needed . He tried to levy by force several allied tribes , such as the Batavians , only to be refused . The Danube army was now very near Rome . Realizing the immediate threat , Vitellius made a last attempt to gain time and sent emissaries , accompanied by Vestal Virgin s , to negotiate a truce and start peace talks . The following day , messengers arrived with news that the enemy was at the gates of the city . Vitellius went into hiding and prepared to flee , but decided on a last visit to the palace . There he was caught by Vespasian ' s men and killed . In seizing the capital , they burned down the temple of Jupiter . The Senate acknowledged Vespasian as emperor on the following day . It was December 21 , 69 , the year that had begun with Galba on the throne . Aftermath . Vespasian did not meet any direct threat to his imperial power after the death of Vitellius . He became the founder of the stable Flavian dynasty that succeeded the Julio - Claudian s and died of natural causes as emperor in 79 , with the famous last words , " " Vae , puto deus fio " " ( " Dear me , I must be turning into a god . . . " ) .