The first in Rome not a senator and not a son of a senator, and not his grandson - Titus Flavius Vespasian, an emperor from a farmer's family, began his reign on July 1, 1969, almost two thousand years ago. It was he who introduced rather high taxes on visiting public toilets, and then gave out to the patricians, squeamishly wrinkling their noses, the phrase that has survived to this day: "Non olet! (Money does not smell!)". Vespasian the emperor became famous, of course, not only for this. It was he who built the Colosseum and many other equally famous buildings. But for some reason, the first thing they remember is this ill-fated tax. He was not the only one introduced, by the way. In addition to toilets, both military service and justice were taxed. Vespasian - the emperor is very zealous, he put the almost completely disordered financial system of Rome in order.
The path
The future Roman emperor Vespasian was born in November of the ninth year from the Nativity of Christ inthe city of Reate, where the Sabines lived, and his whole family came from there. He managed to enter the Senate under the reign of Tiberius as a good military leader: he distinguished himself by conquering South Britain, commanding the Rhine legion. In 51, the next step to power was taken: Vespasian, emperor in the near future, becomes consul. Six years later, he once again distinguished himself when Nero instructed him to suppress the Jewish uprising. Two years later, all the legions in the eastern provinces proclaimed: "Titus Flavius Vespasian - emperor!". In addition to the eastern ones, the Danube legions also came out for Vespasian, which greatly helped in the fight against another contender - Vitellius. The Senate had no choice but to recognize Vespasian in 69.
What kind of empire did the son of the farmer get? Years of wars, including civil ones, have destroyed everything that is possible throughout the entire territory of this blessed country. Funding had to be found to restore it. So there were new various taxes, and among them - the one that immediately became the talk of the town. Titus Flavius Vespasian is an emperor who always kept up with the times, and often a couple of steps ahead. The composition of the Senate has changed. For the first time, representatives of the municipal aristocracy appeared in its ranks, and not only Rome, but also the western provinces, and Italy (it has not yet been as a single country - for those to whom this listing will seem strange). The Roman emperor Vespasian gave the cities of Spain exactly the same civil rights that all Latins had. And in order not to interfere with work, in 74 they kicked out of the country with a filthy broomall the opposition in the face of Stoic philosophers and other lyricists.
Acts
To rule alone a huge empire and achieve tangible success at the same time is almost impossible, and Emperor Flavius Vespasian attracted his smart and successful son Titus to manage. It was Titus who managed to victoriously end the Jewish War in the 70th, and he also suppressed the uprising of the Batavians of Julius Civilis. Emperor Flavius Vespasian was zealous in his work. He corrected the financial system, added new territories. By the year 74, his entire policy was aimed at capturing the Decumate fields (there was an opinion when Tacitus was incorrectly translated that these were lands subject to tithes, but no, this is just the settlement of a specific territory), that is, a vast strip of land lying on the site of modern Germany, to by that time already occupied by the Romans.
It was there that they gave free state housing to veterans of the Roman army, as well as immigrants from Gaul who distinguished themselves in the war. Until now, the boundaries of these territories are traced, marked by numerous long ramparts and ditches that separated these possessions from, apparently, not too happy with the neighborhood of the free Germans. After more than three hundred years, the Romans still lost these fields. Roman rule also expanded in the north of Britain, which also demonstrates how much a purposeful person Vespasian the emperor was. The time of his reign was marked almost every year by large-scale and useful deeds for the country. And what roads Vespasian built in the Roman Empire! Characteristic"for ages" does not fit here. The roads are still working! He ruled very soberly, but at the same time with exceptional energy. The Flavian dynasty started well: its founder became the most prominent ruler of the early principate, except for Augustus.
Vespasian, Emperor
His brief biography is not informative, because it does not contain even a thousandth of those wonderful innovations and benefits that Vespasian brought to the empire. The sculptural portrait kept in the Pergamon Museum tells us about the colossal power of his genius. At the beginning of the article there is an illustration - a monument in the photo. Emperor Vespasian is visible even there in all his grandeur. And the biography of Vespasian was excellently written by Suetonius. Farmers (tax collectors) in the Senate and on the imperial throne - this alone makes the biography of Vespasian an interesting story. The maternal uncle of the future emperor and Vespasian's brother Sabinus also became senators. Already at the age of thirty, Vespasian managed to become praetor, and then he began to advance faster and faster: Minister Claudius Narcissus appreciated his business acumen.
For Britain, the legion commander received the insignia of a triumphant and two priestly orders at once. In 51, Vespasian was given a consulate, from the 63rd he was the proconsul of Africa. Most of all, the Romans were struck by his honesty: there was no case that Vespasian personally enriched himself using his official position. But he could! The possibilities were incredible. However, a couple of times his brother saved him from bankruptcy by mortgaging his land and house. Vespasian was in the inner circle of Emperor Nero when, during a trip to Achaia, he accidentally dozed off during the imperial singing. As you know, for such an offense one could lose one's life. But a year later, Nero cooled down and nevertheless appointed Vespasian as the governor of Judea.
Intrigue
And in Judea there was a war, as the Jews themselves called it - the First Roman War. Vespasian led his formidable army to suppress this uprising, and in less than a year obedience to Rome was restored in almost all provinces. There remained unsurrendered Jerusalem and several other fortresses. And then the news came to Judea about the suicide of Nero. Clever Vespasian stopped storming Jerusalem when the news came that the throne of Rome had been given to Galba. During the hostilities, he talked a lot with the governor of Syria, Gaius Lucinius Mucianus, and the communication was quite rarely friendly. Mucianus was very offended by Nero for the fact that the "upstart" Vespasian received a higher status as the governor of Judea. However, Vespasian was an extremely charismatic person, and after the death of Nero, Mucian forgot these grievances as soon as they discussed the political situation together.
And when Roman regicides began in 69 (first Galba, then Otho died, and Vitellius enjoyed the victory), the newly-made friends began to act: they enlisted the support of another governor - from Egypt. Tiberius Julius Alexander could not claim the throne because he was not a senator, but an apostate Jew, and Mucian could not become emperor because he did not startsons to found a dynasty. Vespasian the emperor was much more prudent. His personal life was established: Titus and Domitian had already been born and grown up. He was a senator and consul. And all three governors agreed that Vespasian is a fully established candidate for the Roman throne. First, the Egyptian legions swore allegiance to him, then both armies of Syria and Judea.
Invaders
They acted according to a carefully thought-out plan: Mucian goes on a campaign against Italy, and Vespasian remains in reserve and controls the grain supply from Egypt. However, all plans in the course of their implementation are subject to adjustments. Vespasian was unexpectedly supported by Gall Mark Antony Primus, who led the Danuvian armies. He came to Italy faster than Mucian, without waiting for initiation into general plans, then, without any instructions, defeated the army of Vitellius, after which he rushed to Rome. There the resistance was much more serious. Most of the Vespasian family at that time was in Rome. The city prefect Sabin tried to persuade Vitellius to capitulate. He shouldn't have done it.
The future emperor Vespasian, whose years of reign had not yet begun, had already lost his brother during the struggle for power. He was executed right on Capitol Hill. But Vitellius himself was soon killed - and with particular cruelty, it must be admitted. The next day, the solemn entry into Rome of the army of Mark Antony Primus took place, after which the senate was forced to declare that Vespasian was emperor. Mucian hurried as best he could, but came to Rome only towards the endrepression. He severely condemned the self-willed Prim, called him cruel and seriously condemned him for self-will. Primus was offended and complained to Vespasian. He accepted the hero with all honors, but nevertheless sent him to his native Tolosa - into exile.
Start of reign
However, Mucian was not very good-hearted either. In any case, he de alt with potential oppositionists immediately. But at the same time, he took care of Domitian, the youngest son of Vespasian, who had miraculously escaped death. Meanwhile, his eldest son Titus launched an assault on Jerusalem and succeeded. The famous coin Ivdaea Capta was issued in his honor. The returning Emperor Vespasian awarded Mucianus with triumphal signs, but did not give a small fraction of real power, although Mucianus was the emperor's chief adviser for the remaining six years until his death.
Prosperity reigned in the country: all civil wars ended, the magnificent Temple of Peace (ranked by Pliny among the Wonders of the World) ascended on the new forum. The emperor valued the opinion of the people and knew how to direct it in his favor. Perhaps this is because he himself was from the people. Nevertheless, the army still functioned as the main element of the structure: the uprising of the Jews was suppressed, in the north the rebellious Gauls and Germans were calmed down. Vespasian the emperor was famous for the striking combinations of his character traits. For example, exceptional cruelty and tact perfectly coexisted in him. Most importantly, he was not wasteful.
World
Financial prudence asnever came in handy for Vespasian. He inherited an empire devastated by wars and riots. It was cash reserves that were needed, and they had to be mined in the most unusual, even unexplored ways. The Roman emperor Vespasian, introducing a tax, was not going to overly oppress his own people, on the contrary, he constantly monitored that the provinces did not go bankrupt. However, new taxes increased dramatically in number, and attempts to evade them were suppressed with all severity. All these measures were unheard of for Rome, the emperor was openly mocked. However, he knew what he was doing, and any business he did went quickly and to complete success. When the Temple of Peace was ready, Vespasian began the construction of the Colosseum, and very large funds were spent on the opening of the Latin and Greek libraries.
And Vespasian's military abilities were enormous: the legionnaires saluted the victor more than twenty times. The foreign policy of Emperor Vespasian was that he took away independence from free lands and cities. Thus, Byzantium, Samos, Rhodes became Roman provinces, Vespasian and many Asian allied states - Emesa, Commagene, Lesser Armenia, Cilicia - joined. Wars continued with the border peoples (in the Caucasus - Armenia, nearby - Parthia), the tribes of Mesopotamia and the Syrian desert were restless. He considered the main task of his reign to be the strengthening of the central government: he revived censorship, controlled the senate. As a result, a state turned out that was much less focused on the capital, on the nobility living in it, but a developed self-government appeared in the country, and the importance of Italy grew verySeriously. The number of provinces has increased.
Provinces
In government administration, Italy still dominated, but the provinces one by one received their "Latin rights" and quickly gained influence on the infrastructure of the empire. Vespasian perfectly understood their problems and helped them to solve them in every possible way. The breadth of his thinking was imperially enormous. Roman history, thanks to the reforms that the emperor Vespasian carried out, changed more and more. During the ten years of his reign, it ceased to be the history of palaces, it captured an already civilized community of different peoples.
Vespasian worked every day and a lot, only in the evenings allowing himself a walk. He also kept a siesta and spent it with his mistress - he managed to do everything. Even before dawn, he woke up and with the first rays of the sun began to read the mail. Further, his isolated life from society ended. Even dressing, he received visitors, consulted with friends. Quite a significant part of the day was devoted to refereeing. His personal availability was at the highest level, because of this, even security measures were observed very poorly. However, attempts on the life of the emperor were avoided. Vespasian caught a fever on his own and died in 79, even making fun of it.
Jokes aside
Suetonius describes Vespasian as a very strong and very he althy man. He was engaged in he alth promotion systematically. His sense of humor was not patrician, but common folk, to manywhich seemed rude, as with the coin that he gave sniffing to his eldest son, who reproached him for imposing a new tax. "The coin doesn't smell? Strange. It should smell like urine." And the conclusion: "Money does not smell!". The people, as we can see, really liked this sense of humor, and this joke, along with many others, will literally always be popular - until the end of time.
And if we seriously analyze the activities of the Roman emperors, it immediately becomes clear that with the advent of Vespasian, the empire knew a golden age. Following him, efficient emperors and good people ascended the throne one after another. They were distinguished, like their predecessor, by a firm character, simple (often military) habits, and a clear practical mind. The main thing is that those vices and extravagances with which his predecessors disgraced themselves throughout the world and for all ages began to disappear. It was Vespasian who significantly accelerated the legal proceedings, stopped the denunciation that had embraced everything and everyone in Rome, and canceled the articles on insulting Caesar. He supplemented and improved the civil laws.
Conclusions
Although contemporaries laughed at the stinginess of Vespasian, they gave him due justice even then, because all the money received from taxes went only to useful things. Roman weapons won victories, and they were brilliant. Truly magnificent structures of enormous size and dazzling, eternal beauty have been erected. Military roads were laid, for which rocks were broken and mountains were dug, the most daring bridges across huge rivers were also built under Vespasian.
Thousands of copper boards withby resolutions of the Senate were melted down in the fire of the Capitol. Vespasian rebuilt the Capitol better than before, and restored the boards, looking for lists of laws even from private people. The streets were built up by him where the fire under Nero destroyed a large part of Rome. Even the colonnades, which Claudius began to build, were brought to readiness by Vespasian, the emperor of Rome. Under him, Roman aqueducts were enlarged and improved. The public buildings that made up the forum of Vespasian were decorated with amazing works of Greek sculpture and painting. The public library was opened. But the excessive luxury from the imperial court was removed immediately and forever.
