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Julio-Claudian Emperors

The Year of the Four Emperors

By the later 60s, Nero managed to alienate just about everyone around him. The final straw came when he even managed to make the army disgusted with him. He tried to have some generals arrested, and some formed a conspiracy to do him in.

When Nero learned of the plot, he tried to flee. It was a sad sight. One by one, his supporters faded away into the night, until at last Nero was surrounded and nearly alone. He tried to commit suicide, but was unable to keep his hand steady. So he had one slave hold the sword and had another push him on to it.

The story of one chronicler is that Nero's dying words were: Qualis artifex pereo! -- What a loss I shall be to the arts! We don't really know if he said this, but the words are certainly in character.

Nero was succeeded by one of the conspiring generals, Galba. He was murdered within months and was replaced by another general, Otho.  He did not last the year and was replaced by Vitellius. And still twelve months had not elapsed when Vitellius was killed and was succeeded by Vespasian.  The latter managed to stick, founding a new dynasty, the Flavians.  Thus, the year 69AD is known as the Year of the Four Emperors. It's a tribute to the essential strength of the young Empire that it did not fall apart under such strains.