Gaius Julius Vindex

Gaius Julius Vindex(c. AD 25– 68), was aRomangovernor in the province ofGallia Lugdunensis.^[1]He was of a nobleGallicfamily ofAquitania(given senatorial status underClaudius) and was one of the men belonging to a faction ofEmpress Agrippina,the mother ofNero.Vindex had taken part in a conspiracy against the emperor in 59.

In either late 67 or early 68, Vindex rebelled against Emperor Nero. Though the aims of his followers may have been more complex, Vindex, as a senator, probably had the aim simply of replacing Nero with a better emperor and ending the tyranny that plagued the empire.^[2]

According to the historianCassius Dio,Vindex "was powerful in body and of shrewd intelligence, was skilled in warfare and full of daring for any great enterprise; and he had a passionate love of freedom and a vast ambition".^[3]In order to gain support, he declared his allegiance to the then governor ofHispania Tarraconensis,Servius Sulpicius Galba.

The commander of the army fromGermania Superior,governorLucius Verginius Rufus,advanced against him. Thebattle between their two forcestook place near Vesontio (modernBesançon). What occurred then is unclear, but, despite a meeting between Verginius and Vindex, the forces under Verginius appear to have decided on a battle without orders.^[4]Desire for plunder and the weakness of Verginius as a commander are possible explanations.^[5]Vindex was defeated in the resulting battle and subsequently killed himself.^[4]

By June 68, military support for Galba eventually led to Nero's suicide. Galba, acclaimed by the Senate, struck coins to commemorate Vindex, to whom he owed his position as emperor.^[6]

Following normal Roman procedures, his name Gaius Julius indicated that his family had likely been given citizenship underGaius Julius Caesar,or perhaps EmperorAugustusorCaligula.

References

^Ancient Greece and Rome.Oxford University Press. pp. 6ff.ISBN 978-0-19-517072-6.
^Charles L. Murison,Galba, Otho and Vitellius: Careers and Controversies (Spudasmata: Studien zur Klassichen Philologie und ihren Grenzgebieten),p. 3
^Cassius Dio, 63.22.1-2
^^a ^bH. H. Scullard,From the Gracchi to Nero,p. 330
^Murison,Galba, Otho and Vitellius,p. 15
^David L. Vagi (2000).Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, C. 82 B.C.--A.D. 480: History.Taylor & Francis. pp. 182ff.ISBN 978-1-57958-316-3.

External links

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[1] Ancient Greece and Rome.Oxford University Press. pp. 6ff.ISBN 978-0-19-517072-6.

[2] Charles L. Murison,Galba, Otho and Vitellius: Careers and Controversies (Spudasmata: Studien zur Klassichen Philologie und ihren Grenzgebieten),p. 3

[3] Cassius Dio, 63.22.1-2

[Scullard-330-4] H. H. Scullard,From the Gracchi to Nero,p. 330

[5] Murison,Galba, Otho and Vitellius,p. 15

[Vagi2000-6] David L. Vagi (2000).Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, C. 82 B.C.--A.D. 480: History.Taylor & Francis. pp. 182ff.ISBN 978-1-57958-316-3.

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