Otho roman emperor biography

His father was Lucius Salvius Otho, a highly regarded politician who was rumoured to be the son of Emperor Tiberius, due to their physical similarity and extremely close friendship. He served the infamous emperor as both a political advisor and a close friend. However, the two fell out over the mutual love of a woman. Nero loved the intriguingly beautiful Poppaea Sabina, although he was already married to Claudia Octavia, his step-sister.

He asked the future Emperor Otho to marry Poppaea Sabina in order to give him time to deal with Octavia. When Nero divorced Octavia, he wanted to marry Poppaea and exiled Otho in 58 or 59 AD via his appointment as the governor of Lusitania, modern-day Portugal and western Spain. It is believed Nero and Poppaea eventually married in Suetonius, Life of Otho, 3.

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By all means let Cato in his life be greater than Caesar himself; In his death was he greater than Otho? Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. Roman emperor in AD For other uses, see Otho disambiguation. Detail of a statue of Otho at the Louvre [ 1 ] [ 2 ].

Early life [ edit ]. Reign, decline and fall [ edit ]. Overthrow of Galba [ edit ]. War with Vitellius [ edit ]. This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Death [ edit ]. Cultural references [ edit ]. In opera [ edit ].

In literature [ edit ]. In film [ edit ]. Notes [ edit ]. If we subtract 13 days to 2 September, we have 20 August. The very same chapter precisely dates Augustus' death on "the nineteenth day of August". Caligula ascended to the throne at "twenty-five years of age, lacking five months and four days". This gives us 27 March; Dio wrongly dates Tiberius' death on 26 March.

Therefore, Otho died on 16 April, not 17, as the calculation may suggest. References [ edit ]. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2 December Retrieved 29 September Suetonius probably assumed Otho died on 19 April, the day in which Vitellius was formally installed as emperor. This seems to give 15 April as Otho's date of death. However, "thirty-seven years lacking eleven days" actually gives 16 April.

Other historians give similar dates. Opera News. Archived from the original on 29 September Imperium Romanum. Sources [ edit ]. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Chisholm, Hugh , ed. This was based no doubt on the fact that he had been the first to pledge his support to the emperor. However, Otho was to be deeply disappointed when Galba chose Piso Licinianus as his successor.

Instead, Otho found other means by which to secure himself the throne. Not merely was Otho popular with the army, but Galba was by then loathed by the troops.

Otho roman emperor biography

It was therefore not difficult for Otho to involve the praetorians in a plot against Galba. And so it was that on 15 January AD 69, Otho was invited to the praetorian camp, where he remained, whilst praetorian horsemen set upon and killed Galba and Piso at the Forum. Their severed heads were then brought to him and Otho was hailed emperor by the praetorians.

Despite this, they gave him the usual powers and privileges. And it can be said that Otho, during his short reign, governed with energy and ability. The provinces in fact swore allegiance to Otho. On temple walls in Egypt, he was depicted as a pharaoh. Hoping no doubt to win the favor of the remaining supporters of Nero, Otho ordered that the statues of Nero be restored.

However, Emperor Otho never managed to overcome the reputation for extravagance he had earned in his younger days. And so the quality of his reign came as a surprise to many. He put off his pleasures, concealed his extravagances, and ordered his whole life befitting the imperial position. In build, Otho was a small man with bow legs and feet that stuck out at each side.