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Later in the year 9 AD however, the campaign in Germania suffered a
major blow. Three of the 28 legions were annihilated in the German
forests of Tutoburger by the woodland tactics of a German tribe.
Augustus pulled the armies back to the Rhine, realizing that the
Germans would not be conquered so easily. in 14 AD Augustus died,
leaving the empire in the hands of his son, Tiberius. Tiberius had
little effect on the Roman territories, although a number of
victories against the Germans were acquired by Germanicus, general of
the Rhine armies. Tiberius died in 37 AD, leaving the empire to
Germanicus' third son, Caligula. Caligula apparently went mad after
recovering from a terrible sickness, and proved to be a nightmare for
the people of Rome. He was assassinated in 41 and was replaced by
Claudius, his uncle. Claudius' single military achievement was the
capture of southern Britain. He landed in Britain in 43 AD, and had
the countryside subdued the next year after a number of grand victories.
Claudius was poisoned by his wife in 54 AD, and his mad adoptive son
Nero took the throne. Nero killed himself in 68 AD after much of the
empire revolted against his rule. With Nero's death, no decedents of
Caesar or Octavian were left to take control. The empire was thrown
into another civil war as Galba, governor of Spain and friend of the
praetorian prefect, was put into power in 68 AD. His soldiers
revolted however, and transferred their allegiance to Otho, the
governor of Lusitania. He killed Galba and took the title of Caesar
in 69 AD. However, the armies of Aulus Vitellius on the Rhine
believed their general to be a better fit for the throne. After
Galba's troops lost to Vitellius on the field of battle, Galba
committed suicide and Vitellius was named emperor. Only one more
battle was left to be fought, this time between Vitellius and Titus
Flavius Vespasianus, a general popular in Egypt and Syria.
Vespasian's army marched on Rome, Vitellius was killed and Vespasian
took power upon his arrival in Rome in 70 AD. Titus, Vespasian's son,
took Jerusalem that year while similar victories were achieved in the
southwest and center of Britain. Vespasian died in 79 AD, and the
Flavian dynasty was continued on by Titus. |
