Assassination of Galba (January 15, AD 69)

Name: Assassination of Galba (January 15, AD 69)
Start: 0069-01-15

Galba: a portrait in a medallion, print from the “Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae” series (Marcantonio Raimondi and others, 16th century), Metropolitan Museum of Art. An image related to this event, not a record from the period.

On the morning of January 15, AD 69, Otho left Galba’s sacrifice on a prearranged signal, and under the golden milestone twenty-three soldiers hailed him as emperor. A rumor of his death drew Galba out of the palace. In the Forum, by the Lacus Curtius, the emperor was killed by soldiers. Piso and Vinius were killed too. In the evening the Senate gave Otho power (Tacitus, Histories 1.27–47; Suetonius, Galba 19–20; Cassius Dio 64.5–6).

Sources

Image: Marcantonio Raimondi and others, 16th c., Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Wikimedia Commons, CC0