Four Armies, One Throne

January first, AD 69: whoever has an army can have the throne. The Rhine, the East and the Danube against the emperor in Rome.

Transcript

January first, AD sixty-nine. The empire has one emperor.

Galba holds Rome and Hispania. Seven legions stand on the Rhine. Some of them crushed Vindex and got nothing for it.

That day in Upper Germany soldiers smash Galba’s statues. They swear only to the Senate and the people.

The next day in Cologne the legions of Lower Germany proclaim an emperor of their own. He is their governor, Vitellius.

In the East stand two great armies: one fighting the Jews, and that of the governor of Syria.

You will hear more of both. On the Danube the legions wait and have not yet chosen.

Four armies, one throne.