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Hello and welcome to the history of Rome.

Episode 70, Galba and Otho.

So the history of Rome is now married and settled into our new global headquarters in Austin, Texas.

It was an eventful break and the last few weeks saw some pretty major changes in my life.

As fun as it all was though, I am eager to get back to the comfortable weekly rhythm of the show, so without further ado, let's get to it.

You'll remember that in early 68 AD, guys Julius Vindex, governor of one of the Gallic provinces, rose up in revolt against Nero.

Vindex tried to convince old, servicious, Galba, governor of the largest province in Spain to join him and lead a wider rebellion, but Galba refused to commit to the fight, and Vindex's revolt was put down by Lucius Virginia's Rufus, commander of the legions on the upper Rhine.

But the legions on the Rhine were not driven by any deep love for Nero, and having defeated Vindex, they tried to convince Virginius himself to lead them all in rebellion against Nero, but Virginius refused.

Though Vindex's rebellion was technically put down and Virginius remained loyal, these events signaled to the Empire that Nero's star was fading fast and that it was time to flee from the sinking ship.

In Rome, the Praetorian prefect Nephidius Sabinus told his men that if they abandoned Nero and supported the aforementioned Galba, that the old governor of Spain would pay them all off handsently.

Galba had said no such thing, but he had decided that the time to break publicly with Nero was at hand.

With every important commander turning on the Emperor, the Senate seized the opportunity to be rid of Nero, declared him a public enemy and called for his execution, a fate Nero escaped only by committing suicide.

With Nero dead, the Senate sent word that they were ready to recognize Galba as the new Caesar.

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