The first in Rome is not a senator and not the son of a senator, and not his grandson - Titus Flavius Vespasian, the emperor from the family of the farmer, began his reign on the first of July sixty-ninth year, almost two thousand years ago. It was he who introduced quite high taxes on visits to public toilets, and then gave patricians a squeamishly wrinkled nose phrase that survived to our days: "Non olet! (Money doesn’t smell!)". Vespasian emperor became famous, of course, not only this. It was he who built the Coliseum and many other no less famous buildings. But for some reason they recall the first thing about this unfortunate tax. It was not the only one introduced, by the way. In addition to toilets, military service and justice were taxed. Vespasian - the emperor is very zealous, he put in order the entire almost completely upset financial system of Rome.
Way
The future Roman emperor Vespasian was born in November of the ninth year from Christmas in the city of Reate, where the sabins lived, and his whole family came from there. Under the rule of Tiberius, he managed to enter the Senate as a good military leader: he distinguished himself by conquering Southern Britain, commanding the Rhine Legion. In 51, the next step was taken to power: Vespasian, the emperor in the near future, became consul. Six years later, he again distinguished himself when Nero instructed him to crush the Jewish rebellion. Two years later, all the legions in the eastern provinces proclaimed: "Titus Flavius Vespasian - Emperor!" In addition to the East, the Danube legions also spoke for Vespasian, which greatly helped in the fight against another contender - Vitellius. The Senate had no choice but, in 69, he recognized Vespasian.
What kind of empire went to the son of a farmer? Years of war, including civil wars, destroyed everything that is possible in the entire territory of this blessed country. It was necessary to seek finance for its restoration. So there were various new taxes, and among them - the one that immediately became a byword. Titus Flavius Vespasian is an emperor who has always kept pace 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, not only of Rome, but also of the western provinces, and Italy (it was not yet as a single country - for those to whom this enumeration would seem strange). The cities of Spain, the Roman emperor Vespasian, gave exactly the same civil rights that all Latins had. And in order not to interfere with their work, in 74, the whole opposition in the person of Stoic philosophers and other lyricists was expelled from the country by a filthy broom.
Acts
It is almost impossible to rule a huge empire alone and achieve tangible successes, and the emperor Flavius Vespasian attracted the control of his smart and successful son Titus. It was Titus who succeeded in the 70th in victoriously ending the Judean War, and he also crushed the rebellion of the Batavians Julius Civilis. Emperor Flavius Vespasian was jealous of his cause. Corrected the financial system, added new territories. By the year 74, his entire policy was aimed at capturing the Decumatian fields (there was an opinion when Tacitus was incorrectly translated that it was land taxable, but no, it was just settling a specific territory), that is, an extensive strip of land lying on the site of modern Germany, that time already occupied by the Romans.
It was there that they gave state free housing to veterans of the Roman army, as well as immigrants from Gaul who distinguished themselves in the war. The borders of these territories are still traced, marked by numerous long ramparts and moats that separated these possessions from, apparently, not too happy about the neighborhood of free Germans. After more than three hundred years, the Romans still lost these fields. Roman rule also expanded in northern Britain, which also demonstrates how determined the emperor Vespasian was. His reign was almost annually marked by large-scale and useful deeds for the country. And what roads did Vespasian build in the Roman Empire ! The characteristic "for centuries" is not suitable here. Roads are still functioning! He ruled very soberly, but at the same time extremely energetically. The Flavian dynasty began well: its founder became the most prominent ruler of the early principate, with the exception of Augustus.
Vespasian, Emperor
A brief biography of him is not informative, since it will not contain even a thousandth of those wonderful innovations and benefits that the Vespasian empire brought. The tremendous power of his genius is reported to us by a sculptural portrait stored in the Pergamon Museum. At the beginning of the article there is an illustration - a monument in the photo. Emperor Vespasian is visible even there in all his greatness. And the biography of Vespasian was excellently written by Suetonius. Traders (tax collectors) in the Senate and on the imperial throne - this alone makes Vespasian’s biography an interesting story. The senators also became the uncle of the future emperor from the mother and brother of Vespasian Sabin. Already at the age of thirty, Vespasian managed to become a praetor, and then he began to move faster and faster: Minister Claudius Narcissus appreciated his business acumen.
For Britain, the legion commander received the insignia of a triumph 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 incredibly many. Nevertheless, a couple of times his brother saved him from bankruptcy by mortgaging his land and home. Vespasian was in the immediate circle of the emperor Nero when, during his departure for Achaea, he accidentally dozed off during imperial singing. As you know, for such an offense, one could lose one’s life. But a year later, Nero got cold and yet appointed Vespasian the governor of Judea.
Intrigue
And in Judea there was a war, as it was called by the Jews themselves - the First Roman. Vespasian led his formidable army to suppress this rebellion and less than a year later, submission to Rome was restored in almost all provinces. There remained a surrendered Jerusalem and several more fortresses. And then in Judea came the news of the suicide of Nero. Clever Vespasian stopped storming Jerusalem when news came that the throne of Rome had been given to Galba. During the hostilities, he talked a lot with the governor of Syria, Guy Lucinius Mucian, and communication was rarely quite friendly. Mucian was greatly 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 man, and after the death of Nero, Mucian forgot these grievances as soon as they jointly discussed the political situation.
And when the Roman regicide began in 69 (first Galba, then Oton died, and Vitellius enjoyed the victory), 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 have sons to establish a dynasty. Vespasian the emperor was much more prudent. His personal life was established: Titus and Domitian were already born and grew up. He was a senator and consul. And all three governors agreed that Vespasian was a fully-fledged cantidate to the Roman throne. First, the Egyptian legions swore allegiance to him, then both the armies of Syria and Judea.
The invaders
They acted according to a carefully thought-out plan: Mucian goes on a campaign in Italy, and Vespasian remains in reserve and controls the supply of grain from Egypt. However, all plans in the course of their implementation are subject to adjustments. Vespasian was unexpectedly supported by Gaul Mark Antony Prim, who led the Danube army. He came to Italy faster than Mucian, without waiting for initiation into general plans, then, without any prescription, defeated Vitellius army, 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. In vain he did it.
The future emperor Vespasian, whose reign has not yet begun, has already lost his sibling 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 army of Marc Anthony Prim was inaugurated in Rome, after which the Senate was forced to declare that Vespasian was the emperor. Mucian was in a hurry as he could, but he came to Rome only at the end of the repressions. He severely condemned the unauthorized Prim, called him cruel and seriously condemned for self-will. Prim was offended, complained to Vespasian. He received the hero with all sorts of honors, but still then sent to his native Tolosa - in exile.
The beginning of the reign
However, Mucian's kindness was not too characteristic. In any case, he dealt with potential opposition immediately. But at the same time, in every way he took care of the miracle of Domitian, the youngest son of Vespasian, who escaped from death. Meanwhile, his eldest son Titus launched an assault on Jerusalem and succeeded. In his honor, the famous coin was issued - Ivdaea Capta. The returning emperor Vespasian awarded Mucian with triumphal signs, but did not give a bit of real power, although Mucian was the chief adviser to the emperor for the remaining six years until his death.
Prosperity reigned in the country: all civil wars ended, the magnificent Temple of Peace ascended upward on a new forum (ranked by Pliny as a Wonder of the World). The emperor cherished the opinion of the people and knew how to direct him 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 Emperor was famous for his striking combinations of features of his character. For example, exceptional brutality and tact perfectly coexisted in it. Most importantly, he was not wasteful.
World
Financial foresight has never been easier for Vespasian. He got an empire devastated by wars and riots. It was money reserves that were needed, and they had to be extracted in the most unusual, even unexplored ways. The Roman emperor Vespasian, introducing a tax, was not going to excessively oppress his own people, on the contrary, he constantly monitored so that the provinces would not go bankrupt. However, new taxes sharply increased in number, and attempts to evade them were thwarted with all severity. All these measures for Rome were unheard of, the emperor was openly joked. However, he knew what he was doing, and everything went quickly for him and to complete success. When the Temple of Peace was ready, Vespasian began the construction of the Coliseum, and also very large funds went to open the Latin and Greek libraries.
And the military abilities of Vespasian were huge: more than twenty times the legionnaires saluted the winner. The foreign policy of the emperor Vespasian was that he robbed of independence from free lands and cities. So Byzantium, Samos, Rhodes became the Roman provinces, annexed Vespasian and many Asian union states - Ames, Kommagen, Lesser Armenia, Cilicia. 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 business of his government the strengthening of central authority: he revived censorship, controlled the Senate. The result was a state that was much less focused on the capital, on the nobility living in it, but developed self-government appeared in the country, and the importance of Italy grew very seriously. The number of provinces has increased.
Provinces
Italy still dominated the government administration, but the provinces received their “Latin rights” one by one and quickly gained influence on the empire’s infrastructure. Vespasian perfectly understood their problems and in every possible way helped to solve them. The breadth of his thinking was imperially huge. Roman history, thanks to the reforms carried out by the emperor Vespasian, was changing more and more. During the ten years of his reign, it ceased to be the history of palaces; it already captured a civilized community of different nations.
Vespasian worked daily and a lot, only in the evenings allowing himself a walk. He also respected the siesta and spent it with his mistress, - he managed everything. Even before dawn, he woke up and with the first rays of the sun began to read the mail. Further, his isolation from society ended. Even dressing, he received visitors, consulted with friends. Quite a significant part of the day was devoted to refereeing. His personal accessibility 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 picked up a fever on his own and died in 79, never ceasing to play a joke even on this.
Jokes aside
Suetonius describes Vespasian as a man of a very strong and very healthy. He has been promoting health systematically. His sense of humor was not patrician, but ordinary people, who seemed rude to many, like with the coin that he had let his eldest son sniff at, reproaching him for introducing a new tax. "Coin doesn’t smell? Strange. But it should smell like pure urine." And the conclusion: "Money does not smell!". The people, as we see, really liked this sense of humor, and this joke, along with many others, will be literally always popular - until the end of time.
And if you seriously analyze the activities of the Roman emperors, it immediately becomes clear that with the advent of Vespasian, the empire recognized the golden age. Following him, emperors and good people ascended the throne one after another. They were distinguished in the same way as their predecessor, their solid character, simple (often military) habits, and a clear practical mind. The main thing is that those vices and folly began to disappear that his predecessors had disgraced themselves all over the world and for all centuries. It was Vespasian who significantly accelerated the legal proceedings, stopped the information that had been announced in Rome and everything, and canceled the articles about insulting Caesar. He enriched and improved civil laws.
conclusions
Although contemporaries chuckled at Vespasian’s stinginess, he was given due justice even then, because all the money received from taxes went only to useful things. Roman weapons won, 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 over huge rivers were also built under Vespasian.
Thousands of copper planks with Senate resolutions melted during the Capitol fire. Vespasian rebuilt the Capitol better than before, and restored the boards, looking for lists of laws even among 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 erect, brought to readiness Vespasian - the emperor of Rome. Under him, Roman water pipes were enlarged and improved. The public buildings that made up the Vespasian forum were adorned with amazing works of Greek sculpture and painting. A public library was opened. But the excessive luxury of the imperial court was removed immediately and forever.