December 22, AD 69

Vitellius

Vitellius is killed after Flavian forces capture Rome

Tacitus gives Vitellius one last reply to an abuser in the crowd: he reminded the man that he had once been his emperor.

Rome taken on 20 December 69

Flavian forces led in Italy by Antonius Primus captured Rome on 20 December 69. Vespasian himself was still in the East.

The 22 December in the entry does not match that chronology; Ronald Syme's reconstruction puts the capture, and Vitellius's death with it, on the 20th.

Down the Sacred Way with a sword under his chin

Soldiers found Vitellius hiding and bound his hands — Tacitus names the tribune Julius Placidus as the officer who dragged him out. He was marched in torn clothing through the Forum with a sword held under his chin so he could not hide his face from the crowd.

Tacitus says he was killed in a shower of blows at the Gemoniae. Suetonius adds that the corpse was dragged off with a hook and thrown into the Tiber. He was nearly 57.

Vespasian became emperor more than once

After Vitellius fell, the Senate bestowed the customary imperial powers and honours on Vespasian — who had already been counting his reign from his army's acclamation on 1 July.

There was no single uncontested moment when he became emperor. Military acclamation, the death of his rival, senatorial recognition and the imperial law were separate events, and the surviving bronze Lex de imperio Vespasiani is dated only broadly to late 69 or early 70.

Sources

Researched 23 Aug 2026 6 sources not yet audited Date disputed

How this was checked

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Date disputed. Sources disagree; the research places it at 0069-12-20.

What the sources leave uncertain

The listed date, 22 December, does not match the best-supported modern date of 20 December for Vitellius's death.
Vespasian's 'accession' has several defensible dates: 1 July was his official dies imperii, 3 July was the Judaean army's oath according to Tacitus, and the Senate conferred imperial powers after Vitellius's death, commonly dated 21 or 22 December.
The surviving bronze Lex de imperio Vespasiani is dated only broadly to late 69 or early 70, and scholars dispute whether its surviving text represents a senatorial decree, a popular law, or stages of both.