Suetonius, a Roman of the early second century, wrote The Twelve Caesars, lives of the emperors from Julius Caesar through Domitian. This chapter is Galba. In 68 AD, after Nero’s death, Spain sends an old governor to Rome, capital of an empire covering much of Europe, North Africa, and the Near East, to correct the last reign.

The correction fails in seven months. Galba’s severity and stinginess strike soldiers who wanted a donative, a cash gift from a new emperor, as insult. He adopts Piso as heir. Otho, passed over, buys the Praetorian Guard, the troops who keep the emperor in the city. They kill Galba and Piso in the Forum, Rome’s main public square. Armies on the Rhine already look at Vitellius. This is the opening of 69: an old man among hungry soldiers, and Romans killing Romans in the heart of the city.