Hello and welcome to Life of the Week from History Extra, where leading historians delve into the lives of history's most intriguing and significant figures.

The year AD 69 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 instalment of our Life of the Week series,

Guy Della Bedwayre tells Spencer Mizan 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 AD 69 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, Soutonius, who put him in his collection of what is now known as the 12 Caesars.

And that starts off with the Julio-Claudeian 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,

Tiberius, Claudius and Nero. There's the Civil War of 68, the year 68 to 9, Galba Otho

Vitaleus, and then the victor of that war is Titus Flavius Vespasianus.

And he found a new dynasty, a very short-lived one actually, followed by his two sons, Titus and Domitian.

But Vespasian himself rules for about 10 years.

But you said who was he?

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