AD69

Book excerpt: The author of God’s Viking brings to life “a period in Roman history that provides many twists and turns as Rome emerged from the period of rule by Nero” (Firetrench). With the death of Nero by his own shaky hand, the ill-sorted, ill-starred Julio-Claudian dynasty came to an ignominious end, and Rome was up for the taking. This was 9 June, AD 68. The following year, commonly known as the “Year of the Four Emperors,” was probably one of Rome’s worst. In all previous successions, the new emperor had some relation to his predecessor, but the psychotic and paranoid Nero had done away with any eligible relatives. The new emperor had to secure his legal position and authority with regards to the Senate and to the army, as well as to those who had a vested interest in the system, the Praetorian Guard. Because imperial authority was ultimately based on control of the military, a player in the game of thrones had to gain an unshakable command over the legions. Of course, this in turn meant that the soldiers themselves could impose their own choice. It was to take a tumultuous year of civil war and the death of three imperial candidates before a fourth candidate could come out on top, remain there, and establish for himself a new dynasty. Nic Fields narrates the twists and turns and the military events of this short but bloody period of Roman history. “We appear to meet more people than the cast of Game of Thrones (with about the same mortality rate!) but with the added bonus of this being history, not fiction . . . hugely entertaining.”—Miniature Wargames Magazine