Three Emperors

(-NOTE: This episode is a quick overview of the timeline between Galba's ascension to the throne and Vitellius' rebellion.)

-Now that Nero was dead, shit was really awkward because he had no successor!
   -The law had been set up so that the office of princeps was to go to the princep's heir after he died, so what to do?
      -Galba had taken the initiative and been appointed to the throne, but who was he exactly?
         -He was born in 3 BC near modern-day Terracina (approximately 75 km southeast of Rome) to an elite family.
            -Father was an attorney and former consul (he also had a hunchback).
            -Mother was a granddaughter of Quintus Catullus, a famous conservative politician from back in the day.
               -Unfortunately, Galba's mom had died when he was a child, so he was actually raised by his father's second wife, a beautiful rich woman.
            -Older brother tried to be a politician but he sucked at it and eventually ended up committing suicide.
-Anyway, Galba got into politics as he got older and served as praetor before being elected consul in 33 AD.
   -Found favor with Liva when Tiberius was princeps.
   -Was always loyal to the princeps, and thrived under their reign by attaining a variety of governorships all over the empire.
   -Retired around the time Nero became princeps in order to lay low, as he had made an enemy out of Agrippina when he turned her town for sex (according to Suetonius, he was gay).
      -Returned to politics after Nero killed Agrippina and was awarded the governorship of Hispania Tarraconensis in 61 AD.
         -Was governor for seven years until he was declared princeps in 68 AD.
-Galba's character was similar to Cato the Elder- he was a humorless conservative.
   -Known for refusing to be corrupted, but was almost TOO austere.
   -Believed in strict, unquestioning, harsh discipline.
      -This came back to bite him in the ass later; Caligula had brought in Galba to restore order to the legions stationed near the Rhine River in Germania (after an assassination attempt had been made on Caligula), as Galba had been so harsh and strict with the troops that the legions hated him.
-By the time Galba became princeps, he was already an old man; he didn't have the energy to rule properly and relied heavily on three advisers (known as "The Three Pedagogues"):
   -Titus Vinius, the most influential of the advisers; always involved in drama and was absolutely hated by Tacitus.
   -Cornelius Laco- Galba's legal adviser.  Honest but lazy, he was appointed as a Praetorian prefect by Galba even though he had zero military experience.
   -Icelus Marcianus- an ex-slave equestrian; very corrupt.
-Because Galba was so old, many courtiers were already hoping to get him to adopt them as his heir so they could become princeps after he died.
   -One such politician was Marcus Salvius Otho, governor of the province of Lusitania, whom an astrologer had told would one day be princeps.
      -Otho was born in 32 AD in Farentium (modern-day Ferentino, 65 km southeast of Rome).
         -He was of Etruscan lineage; his family were new elites due to their closeness with Livia.
         -Had been one of Nero's best friends; Otho loved to party all night and shit.
            -However, Nero and Otho had a falling out due to Nero falling in love with Otho's wife, Poppaea Sabina, who had secretly been banging Nero on the side.
               -As we know, Poppaea would go on to marry Nero later after Otho was assigned the governorship in Lusitania as a sort of exile-promotion in order for Nero to get Otho out of the way so he could be with Poppaea.
         -Otho had tried really hard to gain Galba's favor, but was having no luck.  So, he made a plan to try and marry Titus Vinius' daughter.
            -Otho believed that he was going to on day be princeps so strongly that when he found out that Galba had named Lucius Calpernius Piso as heir, he blew a fuse and began plotting to assassinate Galba instead!
                -Also, he established communication with the Praetorians (who hated Galba), so eventually the Praetorians decided to hail Otho as princeps in rebellion against Galba, and ended up assassinating both Galba AND Piso!
                   -It should also probably be mentioned that Otho most likely paid a lot of money to have this happen.
                   -Anyway, Otho was then officially declared princeps of the empire by the Praetorians!
-Meanwhile, up in Germania, a military commander named Aulus Vitellius was amassing a lot of power...
   -Born in 15 AD (birthplace unknown) to an elite family, Vitellius was warned by his parents to avoid seeking a life of military or political power due to ill omens during his birth.
      -Undeterred, Vitellius went into politics, but his influential father always ensured that Vitellius was assigned to provinces without much military power.
         -However, he did eventually serve as a military commander under Galba in Germania (more on this in a bit).
      -Served as consul under Claudius in 48 AD.
      -Became proconsul under Nero in the province of Africa in 60/61 AD.
      -Vitellius was also really fucking lazy, gluttonous, and loved to gamble, but he seemed to actually be a relatively good administrator, was well-liked by his subordinates, and was generally considered to be a nice dude!
      -In January 69 AD (when Vitellius was serving as a military commander for the legions in Germania), the legions of Germania were to renew their vows to Galba but they refused! Instead, they declared their allegiance to Vitellius!
         -Even Vitellius was shocked at this sudden twist!