- Vindex
Gaius Iulius Vindex, of a noble Gaulish family of
Aquitania given senatorial status underClaudius , was a Roman governor in the province ofGallia Lugdunensis . In either late 67 or early 68, rebelled against the tax policy of the EmperorNero . According to the historianCassius Dio , Vindex "was powerful in body and of shrewd intelligence, was skilled in warfare and full of daring for any great enterprise; and he had a passionate love of freedom and a vast ambition" (Cassius Dio, 63.22.1-2). In order to gain support, he declared his allegiance to the governor ofHispania Tarraconensis ,Servius Sulpicius Galba , as the new emperor. Vindex was defeated and killed by the commander ofGermania Superior army,Lucius Verginius Rufus , in a battle near Vesontio (modernBesançon ).By June of 68, military support for Galba led to Nero committing suicide. Galba, acclaimed by the Senate, struck coins to commemorate Vindex to whom he owed his position as emperor.
References
* [http://www.roman-emperors.org/galba.htm Donahue, John, "Galba (68-69 A.D.)", "De Imperatoribus Romanis"]
External links
* [http://www.livius.org/jo-jz/julius/vindex.html Lendering, Jona, "Caius Julius Vindex", "Livius"]
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