What an Artist the World is Losing

-65 AD- Nero now realized the extent to which he was hated in Rome.
   -A smarter man would have tried to maybe remedy the situation by finding out maybe WHY exactly he was hated.  Unfortunately, Nero stubbornly doubled-down on his rule and just had a massive purge that lasted for years (up until his own death) which obviously just created more enemies for him.
   -Also during this time, Poppaea died while she was pregnant with their second child.  It's unclear as to if Nero had her killed during an argument or if she died while giving birth.  Either way, Nero seemed to be really sad, but seemingly to distract himself from his grief he just got way more into his hobbies (like music or watching sports).
      -Nero actually participated in the Olympic Games at Olympia in Greece!  In fact, he almost died after being thrown from his chariot during a race.
-During this time was also the first Jewish-Roman War (66-73 AD) in Judea, also known as the Great Revolt.
   -There had been problems between the Jews and Romans ever since the Romans invaded Judea and Pompey entered the Holy of Holies in the Second Temple of Jerusalem in 63 BC. 
      -It also didn't help that Caligula had tried to get a statue of himself installed in the Second Temple (or Herod's Temple at this point).
   -Claudius had done a pretty good job of managing Judea, but Nero had not. 
      -However, the main problem was actually financial, not religious- Judea was overtaxed by the Romans due to the corrupt tax system of private tax collectors and shit.  Also, unemployment was high because the economy had become severely weakened under the rule of Herod the Great.
   -Eventually, the Jews finally revolted by rioting and seizing the ancient fortification of Masada. 
      -This was accomplished by the Sicarii, an organization of fanatical Jewish zealots who were notorious for going around and stabbing to death Romans (and thus any perceived Roman accomplices/sympathizers).
         -An angry mob also killed all the Roman soldiers who were garrisoned in Jerusalem.  In response to this and in order to restore order, Rome sent a legion from Syria into Judea.  However, they were ambushed by rebels at Bethoron (Beth-Horon) and were surprisingly defeated!  6,000 Roman soldiers were slaughtered!
-66 AD- shit was getting really serious in Judea, so Nero sent the commander Titus Flavius Vespasianus (AKA future Roman princeps Vespasian!) to go quell the rebellion.
   -Born in 9 AD in the village of Falacrine (unclear as to where exactly this village was, but we're P sure it was somewhere in central Italy), Vespasian came from an elite family.
   -Elected military tribune of Thrace when he was only 19!  Also served in a bunch of other high-ranking offices, too.
   -Married in 38 AD, had two sons (both future princeps as well!):
      -Titus Flavius Vespasianus (same as his dad) (born in 39 AD)
      -Titus Flavius Domitianus (born in 51 AD)
  -Vespasian had also served as a commander during Claudius' invasions of Britannia, and had been very successful.
   -Elected consul in 51 AD, then retired until 63 AD, when he was appointed governor of the province of Africa, building up a vast network of clients and amassing power and shit.
   -After governing Africa, Vespasian was summoned to join Nero's entourage.
      -However, he fell out of favor with Nero when he fell asleep (or something) during one of Nero's lyre performances.
         -That being said, this didn't stop him from being appointed by Nero to go quell the rebellion in Judea.  Accompanying him were two legions along with a third legion which was led by his son Titus (not Domitian).
            -These forces were augmented by Herod Agrippa II's (Rome's client king of Judea) army, as well as other smaller bands.  In total, Vespasian had like 60,000 men at his disposal.
   -Vespasian first went to work on the northern half of the kingdom, pacifying or destroying towns (depending on their degree of hostility) as he went. 
      -By 68 AD, the northern half of the province was pacified. 
         -What helped him also was that there was much infighting among the Jewish resistance leaders who couldn't decide on which course of action to take.  They did, however, at least all agree to flee to Jerusalem.
      -As Vespasian and Titus worked on plans to besiege Jerusalem, they were shocked when they received word that Nero had committed suicide in Rome and that Lucius Livius Ocella Sulpicius Galba, the provincial governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, was now princeps! 
         -WTF happened to Nero?  Why was Galba now ruling the empire?
            -Well, during this time Nero had become increasingly obsessed with games and not caring about managing the empire (except of course executing any perceived enemies; even the mighty Corbulo had been forced to commit suicide in 67 AD!). 
               -Gaius Julius Vindex, provincial governor of Gallia Lugdunensis, finally had had enough of Nero's insane taxation policies and other bullshit, so he started a rebellion against Rome!
                  -Vindex had stressed, however, that he was not looking to become princeps; instead he had nominated Galba for that job (should he join in Vindex's rebellion).  However, Galba had not been ready to commit to Vindex, so instead Vindex was all alone and was soon crushed by the armies of Lucius Verginius Rufus, provincial governor of Germania Superior (as ordered by Nero).
                     -Rather than be Nero's prisoner, Vindex committed suicide :(  However, in a bizarre twist of fate, Verginius' troops then declared that, should Verginius accept, they would name HIM as princeps in rebellion against Nero!  Unfortunately for them, Verginius declined, instead preferring to stay out of all the drama.
            -Anyway, even though Galba had not joined Vindex's rebellion, Nero was still paranoid about Galba potentially usurping the throne, so he declared Galba an enemy of the state, essentially forcing Galba to rebel!
               -Of course, this backfired on Nero, as the Praetorian Guard began to shift their support to Galba!  Paranoid, Nero fled from Rome to the town of Ostia (just outside of modern-day Rome, on the coast), where he hoped to sail to Greece, but he was refused passage by the soldiers there!  So, he returned to Rome, where he contemplated begging for his life to Galba, seeking refuge with the Parthians, and other desperate measures. 
                  -He then decided to flee Rome once again.  He went to a small villa outside of Rome where he ordered his slaves to build him a grave.  Then he received word that the Senate had declared him an enemy of the state :/
                     -According to legend, he kept on repeating, "What an artist the world is losing!"
                     -Thus, before he could be captured, Nero committed suicide on June 9, 68 AD. 
                        -This was the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty!  The line of inheritance was broken!  The Julio-Claudian dynasty had ruled the Roman Empire for almost 120 years! 
                           -Who would now rule the empire?  A princeps, or would this be a return to the Republic??