Early+Life+of+Vespasian

Kortney Lee Suetonius, Vespasian, 2-4

Table of Contents I Questions for Research I The Document I What we Learned I Helpful Pages I Comments and Suggestions I Work Cited
 * Table of Contents **

**Questions for Research**

Where is Falcrina? Who are Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus and Gaius Poppaeus Sabinus? What is the Kalends of December? Why was Vespasian raised by his paternal grandmother? What did his wife and daughter die from? How did he lose all of his money?

**The Document**

Vespasian was born in the Sabine country, in a small village beyond, called Falacrina, [|b] on the evening of the fifteenth day before the [|Kalends of December], in the [|consulate]of Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus and Gaius Poppaeus Sabinus, five years before the death of Augustus. He was [|brought up under the care]of his paternal grandmother [|Tertulla]on her estates at Cosa. Therefore even after he became emperor he used constantly to visit the home of his infancy, where the manor house was kept in its original condition, since he did not wish to miss anything which he was wont to see there; and he was so devoted to his grandmother's memory that on religious and festival days he always drank from a little silver cup that had belonged to her. Falacrina's location is currently unknown; historians and tradition have conflicting views. Historians believe the city is in the providence of Reate, present day Rieti. Tradition says that Falacrina is beyond Reate in the hills. The Kalends marks the beginning of the month based on the moon cycle, so the fifteenth day before is from the new month starts. Both Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus and Gaius Poppaeus Sabinus were in cousel in AD 9. When they say that he was brought up under the care of his grandmother, it means she was his [|preceptor]or teacher. Tertulla is a nickname for Tertia. Cosa is believed to be located in present day [|Orbetello]near.

2 After assuming the garb of manhood he for a long time made no attempt to win the [|broad stripe] of senator, though his [|brother]had gained it, and only his [|mother]could finally induce him to sue for it. She at length drove him to it, but rather by sarcasm than by entreaties or parental authority, since she constantly taunted him with being his brother's [|footman]. The broad stripe of senator refers to the clothing senators wore that set them apart from other Roman men. Every Roman man wore a basic tunic composed of two pieces of wool. Senators wore a broad stripe on their tunic that the Romans considered to be the color purple, but what is modernly considered a dark crimson. Vespasian was unmotivated to pursue such a career but only after much taunting from his mother did he attempt to pursue a senatorial career. The use of being his brother's footman refers to being Vespasian being a servant to his brother.

3 He served in [|Thrace] as tribune of the soldiers; as quaestor was assigned by lot to the province of [|Crete]and [|Cyrene]; became a candidate for the aedileship and then for the praetorship, attaining the former only after one defeat and then barely landing in the sixth place, but the latter on his canvass and among the foremost. In his praetorship, to lose no opportunity of winning the favour of Gaius, who was at odds with the senate, [|5] he asked for special games because of the emperor's victory in Germany and recommended as an additional punishment of the conspirators [|6] that they be cast out unburied. He also thanked the emperor before that illustrious body [|7] because he had deigned to honour him with an invitation to dinner. Tribune was the title given to those that were elected officials of the republic. Tribune of the soldiers were 24 young men with senatorial goals that were elected by the Tribal Assembly to serve as commanding officers in the four consuls' legions. A quaestor is an public official who supervises financial affairs. Aedile's job was to be responsible for building maintenance and regulation of public festivals. Praetors were commanders of the army and magistrate which was the chief priest, lawgiver and judge. As praetor, he took the opportunity to win back the favor of consul Gaius by hosting special games in honor of the victory in Germany and had additional punishment given to conspirators.

3 Meanwhile he took to wife [|Flavia Domitilla], formerly the mistress of Statilius Capella, a Roman knight of Sabrata in Africa, a woman originally only of Latin rank, [|8] but afterwards declared a [|freeborn] p287 citizen of Rome in a suit before arbiters, brought by her father [|Flavius Liberalis], a native of Ferentum and merely a quaestor's clerk. By her he had three children, [|Titus], [|Domitian], and [|Domitilla]. He outlived his wife and daughter; in fact lost them both before he became emperor. After the death of his wife he resumed his relations with [|Caenis], freedwoman and [|amanuensis]of Antonia, and formerly his mistress; and even after he became emperor he treated her almost as a lawful wife. Titus was the eldest and succeeded his farther as emperor. He was the first Roman emperor to take the thrown after his father. Domitian is the youngest child and came to power when his brother became ill and died. Domitian was the only daughter and middle child. Domitian was married at the age of 15, had a daughter and died not long after. Both Vespasian wife and daughter died sometime around 65-66 AD, 3 to 4 years before he would become emperor. Vespasian never married again but he did continue his relationship with his former mistress, Caenis, who was described by Suetonius as his wife in all but name.

 4 In the reign of [|Claudius] he was sent in command of a legion to Germany, through the influence of [|Narcissus]; from there he was transferred to Britain, [|9] where he fought thirty battles with the enemy. He reduced to subjection two powerful nations, more than twenty towns, and the island of Vectis, [|10] near Britain, partly under the leadership of [|Aulus Plautius], the consular governor, and partly under that of Claudius himself. 2 For this he received the triumphal regalia, and shortly after two priesthoods, besides the consulship, which he held for the last two months of the year. The rest of the time up to his proconsulate he spent in rest and retirement, through fear of [|Agrippina], who still had a strong influence over her son and hated any friend of Narcissus, even after the latter's death. Vespasian was put in charge of a army unit sent to Germany and then with the help of Narcissus, he was moved to Britain. There he fought 30 battles in which he brought down 2 nations, 20 towns and an island. His reward was the triumphal regalia or a symbol or emblem on an item that he would wear. Afterwards, he spent some time away in fear of Agrippina.

3 The chance of the lot then gave him Africa, which he governed with great justice and high honour, save that in a riot at [|Hadrumetum]he was pelted with turnips. Certain it is that he came back none the richer, for his credit was so nearly gone that he mortgaged all his estates to his brother, and had to resort to trading in mules [|11] to keep up his position; whence he was commonly known as "the Muleteer." He is also said to have been found guilty of squeezing two hundred thousand [|sesterces] out of a young man for whom he obtained the broad stripe against his father's wish, and to have been severely rebuked in consequence. After, the luck of the draw took him to Africa to rule. Hadrumetum is near present day Tunis, Tunisia. It was during this time that Vespasian lost all of his riches. If it weren't for his brother, who lent him money during his financial difficulties, Vespasian might of not made it. Left with little money, Vespasian turned to selling mules to support his political position. This is how he came to be called "the Muleteer". He also started to abuse his power and force people to pay maximum fines for breaking the law.

4 On the tour through Greece, among the companions of [|Nero], [|12] he bitterly offended the emperor by either going out often while Nero was singing, or falling asleep, if he remained. Being in consequence banished, not only from intimacy with the emperor but even with his public receptions, he withdrew to a little out‑of-the‑way town, until a province and an army were offered him while he was in hiding and in fear of his life.

After offending Nero, he hide away in a little town fearing for his life. He stayed there till a province offered him a commander position and an army to defend with.

5 There had spread over all the Orient an old and established belief, that it was fated at that time for men coming from to rule the world. This prediction, referring to the emperor of Rome, as afterwards appeared from the event, the people of Judaea took to themselves; accordingly they revolted and after killing their governor, they routed the consular ruler of as well, when he came to the rescue, and took one of his eagles. Since to put down this rebellion required a considerable army with a leader of no little enterprise, yet one to whom so great power could be entrusted without risk, Vespasian was chosen for the task, both as a man of tried energy and as one in no wise to be feared because of the obscurity of his family and name.6 Therefore there were added to the forces in Judaea two legions with eight divisions of cavalry and ten cohorts. [|13] He took his elder son as one of his lieutenants, and as soon as he reached his province p291 he attracted the attention of the neighbouring provinces also; for he at once reformed the discipline of the army and fought one or two battles with such daring, that in the storming of a fortress he was wounded in the knee with a stone and received several arrows in his shield.  In the east, a belief was spreading that soon fate would come true and men from Judaea would rule the world. Soon they revolted and killed their governor and turned to rulership from Syria. It would require a good army and a commander who was willing to risk and could be trusted with power. Vespasian was elected. Right away he added to more units to the fight against Judaea, made his son a lieutenant, reformed the army and when he reached Judaea he fought in battle with courage and risk that he wounded his knee and his shield was hit with arrows. **What we Learned** We can learn a lot about Roman society from this document by Suetonius about the Early Life of Vespasian.  Though we learned a lot about Roman society, only about half of my questions were answered. We discovered that the true location of Falacrina, Vespasian's birthplace, is unknown. The general area of present day Rieti is considered to be where Vespasian is from. Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus and Gaius Poppaeus Sabinus are both consuls from 9 AD. The Kalends of December is talking about the days before the first of December. When Suetonius is talking about Vespasian being raised by his grandmother, he doesn't mean caring for him but teaching him traditions. I was not able to find the reason for both Vespasian's wife, Flavia Domitilla's, or his daughter, Domitilla's, death. I also couldn't find a reason for why or how Vespasian spent all his riches in Africa and why his brother had to help him out. **Helpful Pages**  Sabine Country - [|The Sabines]  The Roman Calendar - [|15th Day Before the Kalends] Gaius Poppaeus Sabinys - [|Politicians] Roman Currency - [|Sesterces] ** Comments and Suggestions ** Dear Kortney, You have done a great job with your document. All of your links and subsidiary pages are very helpful and provide a lot of insight into Vespasian's life. Your commentary also makes the document more readable and easier to understand. Just make sure that your "What we learned" section flows well. All of the information within this section is relevant and well thought, just make sure that these ideas are communicated in a way that is effective and compelling. Nice work! Sincerely, Sean Ellicott.
 *  We learn about the tunics men wore and how they differentiate their social status by the thickness of the stripes they wear if they wear one at all.
 *  We see the importance of the view of social status when Vespasian's mother taunts him about his brother being better then he is and pushing him to strive to be a senator too.
 *  We also see this when Vespasian turns to seeing Mules as a source of income and the citizens make up a nickname for him.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;"> The biggest thing we learn through out this document is the importance of the army and the political strength one has from being a commander. Vespasian was a tribune of the soldiers which made him a commander of the consul's legion.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;"> Narcissus used his political power to transfer Vespasian from Germany to Britain.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;"> His winning of many battles and conquering nations lead him to rewards such as triumphal regalia.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;"> Vespasian use of games to celebrate and win the affection of Gaius back displays the persuasiveness and enjoyment the Romans had from games and festivals.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;"> We learn that the Roman people value how their leader uses their power when Vespasian abused his power and fined a man a large sum for profit and his was rebuked for offenses.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;"> Lastly, the power of prophecy/belief and the power of risk. The Judaean people believed it was their time to rule and were able to rebellion, kill their governor and turn to Syria for rulership. The Roman people believed in Vespasian and he took great risk and fighting back against the Judaeans when he was made commander. His risk in turn gave him a great reward; a dynasty.

- This is a great well done with great organization that allows for a better understanding of vespasians life, my advice would be to keep fonts the same size and same type of font. Other than that you did an excellent job answering the questions, overall great work.-Sarah M.

You have done a great job with this presentation. The organization is great and the table of contents is helpful. You have included a great number of hyperlinks in your document which really give lots of good information about Vespacian. I really think your "what we learned" section is helpful in understanding your document. My only critique would be to split that section into different paragraphs so that it will flow a bit better. ~Jacob Porath

Kortney, I actually read yours before I did my assignment last week. I love the detail that you put into this. All the links and the summary were good and it shows that you put great effort into this. I read all of the sites and I would say that yours was the best. just some editing like the sentence "He risk in turn gave him a great reward." probably should be His. One other thing you might want to do is summarize the article (very briefly)in the beginning of your what we learned section (or even before that.) Overall I think this is already and A web page. Great Job. - Mark Dzakowic

<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 27px; text-align: justify;">**Work Cited**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">"Calendars Exhibit." //Early Roman Calendar//. Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement, 2008. Web. 04 Apr. 2012. <http://www.webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-roman.html>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> Donahue, John. "Roman Emperors - DIR Vespasian." // RomanEmperors //. 23 Sept. 2004. Web. 04 Apr. 2012. <http://www.roman-emperors.org/vespasia.htm>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> Levick, Barbara. // Vespasian //. London: Routledge, 1999. Print. <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> McManus, Barbara. "Roman Clothing, Part I." // VROMA //. The College of New Rochelle, Aug. 2003. Web. 04 Apr. 2012. <http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/clothing.html>. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000066; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Smith, Mahlon H. "Vespasian." //Virtual Religion Network//. American Theological Library Association, May 1999. Web. 04 Apr. 2012. <http://virtualreligion.net/iho/vespasian.html> <span style="color: #000066; display: block; font-family: Georgia,Palatino,serif; font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> "Vespasian." // Wikipedia //. Wikimedia Foundation, Apr. 2012. Web. 04 Apr. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vespasian>.

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