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Hello and welcome to Life of the Week from History Extra.

We're leading historians delve into the lives of history's most intriguing and significant figures.

The year AD69 found the Roman Empire in a state of chaos.

Three emperors had come and gone. Civil war reigned supreme.

Rome's enemies smelled blood.

Enter Vespasian.

In the latest installment of our Life of the Week series,

Guy de la Bedouaire tells Spencer Misen about an outsider emperor who helped conquer Britain, crushed the Jewish revolts and returned peace and prosperity to an empire on the brink.

We're here to talk about the mighty Vespasian, Emperor of Rome from AD69 to 79.

I wonder if you could start by giving our listeners a quick introduction to him.

Who was Vespasian in a nutshell?

Well, who was Vespasian is a very good question and let's start off with the fact that we are very fortunate

there is actually an ancient biography of him, by the historian or gossipist, if you will,

Suetonius, who put him in his collection of what is now known as the Twelve Caesars,

and that starts off with the

Giulio Claudian emperors first of all actually Julius Caesar who was not an

emperor but a dictator but part of the family that led on to Augustus Tiberius

Caligula Claudiusius, and Nero.

There's the Civil War of 68, the year 68 to 9, Galba Othe Vitellius,

...