Vespasian (reigned AD 69–⁠79)

Son of a tax collector from the land of the Sabines. Under Claudius he fought in Britain, under Nero he commanded the war in Judaea. On July 1, AD 69, the legions in Egypt swore allegiance to him as emperor. The war against Vitellius was won for him by his commanders, while he held Egypt and Rome’s grain supply.

He ruled for ten years. He raised taxes, sold offices and taxed even the urine from the latrines, but the money went into rebuilding the Capitol, the Temple of Peace and the amphitheater. Suetonius charges him only with greed. Tacitus writes that he was the only emperor up to then whom power changed for the better.

He died of a fever while trying to stand up, because “an emperor ought to die standing.” He was the first emperor succeeded on the throne by his own son.