Vespasian

9-79 A.D.

After Nero's suicide came the year of the four emperors--all of them generals fighting it out for control of the Empire. Galba, Otho, Vitellius all faded after several months in quick succession, leaving Vespasian at the end of the year as master of Rome and founder of the second Imperial dynasty, the Flavians, which included himself and his two sons, Titus and Domitian. Vespasian cast himself as a simple man of the people (as opposed to Nero), and ruled well for ten years. He had an off beat--and often off-color--sense of humor. One of his most significant contributions to the city was the Flavian amphitheater (finished by his sons), known to most as the Colosseum.

Ancient Source: Suetonius' Lives of the Twelve Caesars (Vita Divi Vespasiani), The Histories of Tacitus

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