-During Vespasian's time as princeps, the Romans had expanded significantly into Britannia.
-Troops were led by General Gnaeus Julius Agricola.
-Born in 40 AD into a family of senators in the province of Gallia Narbonensis .
-His father had been executed by Caligula.
-58 AD- served as a military tribune in 58 AD during Boudica's Rebellion.
-64 AD- served as quaestor in the province of Asia in 64 AD.
-During this time his wife gave birth to Julia Agricola (who would eventually marry the historian Tacitus).
-66 AD- served as pleb tribune.
-68 AD- served as praetor.
-69 AD- mother (Julia Procilla) was (accidentally?) killed by Otho's marauding troops when they raided her estate (unclear as to what exactly went down) in northwest Italia (modern-day Liguria) which obviously caused him to support Vespasian during the Year of the Four Emperors.
-Vespasian rewarded Agricola's loyalty by putting him in charge of the troops in Britannia.
-There had been so much chaos in Britannia during this time in terms of revolts and uprisings and shit due to the lack of order in Rome, and Agricola's main assignment was pacifying the Brigantes, a Britannic tribe based out of modern-day Yorkshire.
-Although Agricola was relatively successful in managing the troops in Britannia, he never truly pacified the region, and eventually the future princeps Hadrian would be construct a wall (Hadrian's Wall) to try and divide the territory in order to cut off supply lines and reinforcements from the untamed wilds of Caledonia (modern-day Scotland).
-Agricola then served as governor in Gallia Aquitania in 73/74 AD.
-In 76/77 AD he served as consul before finally returning to Britannia as a governor in 78 AD. He would remain there for seven more years.
-As governor, his first challenge was against the Ordovices, a Britannic tribe based out of modern-day Wales who were rising up against the Romans.
-During this time Agricola also developed a reputation as being strict and no-nonsense, but also honest and fair (with both his Roman troops AND the native population).
-Also introduced education programs for local children of the nobility in order to try and make the region more civilized (as opposed to a provincial backwater).
-Also tried to implement Roman-style city planning to make the cities less barbaric and more organized.
-79 AD- Agricola led a campaign north into Caledonia to try and conquer the entire island of Britannia.
-While he did make it all the way to the northern coast of Britannia, Caledonia was never truly pacified.
-79 AD- Titus (eldest son of Vespasian) was now princeps of the Roman Empire.
-Born in 39 AD and raised in Rome.
-Classmate of Claudius' son Brittanicus (before he died (or was murdered), of course).
-Talented orator and athlete, was appointed as military tribune in 57 AD in Germania before being transferred to Britannia in 59 AD during Boudica's Rebellion (possibly serving alongside Agricola).
-63 AD- married Arrecina Tertulla (came from a prominent Equestrian family), but she died soon after this.
-65 AD- married Marcia Furnilla (came from a powerful noble family), but her family was involved in the Pisonian Conspiracy so he divorced her to avoid any unnecessary drama.
-He never remarried, but he definitely had plenty of mistresses.
-66 AD- when Vespasian was assigned to crush the Jewish Revolt in 66 AD, he brought Titus with him as a part of his entourage, as Titus was by now a skilled tactician and diplomat.
-When Vespasian began working to secure imperial rule, he left Titus in charge of managing the Jewish Revolt.
-When Titus returned to Rome, he was awarded a triumph for his victories!
-He then had a bunch of responsibilities, but his main job was being Praetorian prefect.
-Unfortunately, because he was the "enforcer" of Vespasian's will, he gained a reputation for being harsh and ruthless, not hesitating to execute anyone whom he suspected of being an enemy of the state. Also, because he wasn't married, rumors spread that he was a sex fiend and loved to engage in wild debauchery, so the public began to fear that he was another Nero in the making.
-It was also scandalous that he had been hooking up with the Jewish puppet queen Berenice who had fled Judea during the Revolt and had been living with Titus since 75 AD.
-Because the Romans were not down with Eastern queens (everyone STILL had a bad taste in their mouth from Cleopatra), pressure from public opinion eventually caused Titus to send her back to Judea.
-Once Titus became princeps, he put everyone's minds to ease because he was definitely NOT like Nero.
-He immediately abolished the treason courts and became renowned for his generosity.
-However, it's also possible that he was built up to be this amazing emperor in order to contrast with how shitty his younger brother, Domitian, would be when he became the next princeps.
-August/October 79 AD- Titus' first challenge was managing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which destroyed Pompeii and other cities in Campania.
-It's estimated that between 10,000-25,000 people died, including Pliny the Elder!
-The only good thing about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius was that it almost completely preserved the city of Pompeii, which is good news for us (but obviously pretty shitty for all of the people that died at the time!).
-80 AD- another fire hits Rome, so Titus devotes much of the imperial treasury to relief and rebuilding efforts.
-He also finishes construction on the Colosseum! Because of this, the people really loved him.
-However, Titus' glorious reign was to be short-lived :( In September 81 AD he got sick while traveling in Italia and died.
-His last words were quite mysterious- "I have made but one mistake..." (whatever the fuck that means! Maybe something to do with Domitian?).
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