Germanicus’ death, announced in Rome during December of 19, brings much public grief in Rome and throughout the Roman Empire.

There is public mourning during the festive days in December.

The historians Tacitus and Suetonius record the posthumous honors of Germanicus and his funeral, at which there are no procession statues of Germanicus, but there are abundant eulogies and reminders of his fine character.

His posthumous honors include his name being placed into the Carmen Saliare, the Curule chairs, and as an honorary seat of the Brotherhood of Augustus; his coffin is crowned by oak-wreaths.

Other honors include his ivory statue as head of procession of the Circus Games.

His posts of priest of Augustus and Augur are to be filled by members of the imperial family; knights of Rome give his name to a block of seats in a theater in Rome.

Arches are raised to him throughout the Roman Empire; in particular, arches record his deeds and death at Rome, Rhine River and Nur Mountains.

In Antioch, where he is cremated, a sepulcher and funerary monument are dedicated to him.

On the day of Germanicus’ death his sister Livilla gives birth to twins.

Germanicus had made a Latin version, which survives, of Aratus's Phainomena, for which reason he is ranked among Roman writers on astrology.

His work is popular enough for scholia to be written on it, which have survived.

Tiberius, although owing his throne, in part, to his mother’s influence-wielding, has thwarted her attempts to gain greater personal power during his reign.

Nero’s wife Octavia is meanwhile caught up in the power struggles between Nero and his mother, which conclude when Nero murders his mother in March 59.

Tacitus claims that Poppaea was the reason that Nero murdered his mother.

Poppaea induced Nero to murder Agrippina in 59 so that she could marry him.

Modern sources, though, question the reliability of this story as Nero did not marry Poppaea until 62.

Additionally, Suetonius mentions how Poppaea's husband, Otho, was not sent away until after Agrippina's death, which makes it very unlikely that an already married woman would be pressing Nero to marry her.

Some modern historians, however, theorize that Nero's decision to kill Agrippina was prompted by her plotting to set Gaius Rubellius Plautus (Nero's maternal second cousin) on the throne, rather than as a result of Poppaea's motives.

According to Suetonius, Nero had tried to kill his mother through a planned shipwreck, which had taken the life of her friend, Acerronia Polla, but when Agrippina survived, he had her executed and framed it as a suicide.

The incident is also recorded by Tacitus.

Vitellius faces problems from the start of his reign.

The city is left very skeptical after Vitellius chose the anniversary of the Battle of the Allia (in 390 BCE), a day of bad auspices according to Roman superstition, to accede to the office of Pontifex Maximus.

Events will seemingly prove them right.

With the throne tightly secured, Vitellius engages in a series of feasts, banquets (Suetonius refers to three a day: morning, afternoon and night) and triumphal parades that drive the imperial treasury close to bankruptcy.

Debts are quickly accrued and moneylenders start to demand repayment.

Vitellius shows his violent nature by ordering the torture and execution of those who dare to make such demands.

With financial affairs in a state of calamity, Vitellius takes the initiative of killing citizens who name him as their heir, often together with any co-heirs.

Moreover, he engages in a pursuit of every possible rival, inviting them to the palace with promises of power only to have them assassinated.

Suetonius, whose father had fought for Otho at Bedriacum, gives an unfavorable account of Vitellius' brief administration: he describes him as unambitious and notes that Vitellius showed indications of a desire to govern wisely, but that Valens and Caecina encouraged him in a course of vicious excesses which threw his better qualities into the background.

Vitellius is described as lazy and self-indulgent, fond of eating and drinking, and an obese glutton, eating banquets four times a day and feasting on rare foods he would send the Roman navy to procure.

For these banquets, he had himself invited over to a different noble's house for each one.

He is even reported to have starved his own mother to death—to fulfill a prophecy that he would rule long if his mother died first.

Other writers, namely Tacitus and Cassius Dio, disagree with some of Suetonius' assertions, even though their own accounts of Vitellius are scarcely positive ones.

Despite his short reign he makes two important contributions to Roman government which outlasted him.

Tacitus describes them both in his Histories: Vitellius ends the practice of Centurions selling furloughs and exemptions of duty to their men, a change Tacitus describes as being adopted by 'all good emperors'.

He also expands the offices of the Imperial Administration beyond the imperial pool of Freedmen allowing those of the Equites to take up positions in the Imperial Civil service.

Vitellius also bans astrologers from Rome and Italy from October1, 69.

Some astrologers respond to his decree by anonymously publishing a decree of their own: "Decreed by all astrologers in blessing on our State Vitellius will be no more on the appointed date."

In response, Vitellius executes any astrologers he encounters.

Vespasian, in his ninth consulship, has a slight illness in Campania.

Returning at once to Rome, he leaves for Aquae Cutiliae and the country around Reate, where he spends every summer; however, his illness worsens and he develops severe diarrhea.

Vespasian is on his deathbed on June 23, 79, and, expiring rapidly, he demands that he be helped to stand as he believes "An emperor should die on his feet".

He dies of a fever.

His purported great wit can be glimpsed from his last words; Væ, puto deus fio, "Oh! I think I'm becoming a god!".

Vespasian is immediately succeeded by his son Titus, who is supported by the Praetorian Guard and the Senate.

Because of his many alleged vices, many Romans fear at this point that he would be another Nero.

Against these expectations, however, Titus will prove to be an effective Emperor and will become well-loved by the population, who praise him highly when they find that he possesses the greatest virtues instead of vices.

One of his first acts as Emperor is to publicly order a halt to trials based on treason charges, which have long plagued the principate.

The law of treason, or maiestas law, was originally intended to prosecute those who had corruptly 'impaired the people and majesty of Rome' by any revolutionary action.

Under Augustus, however, this custom had been revived and applied to cover slander or libelous writings as well, eventually leading to a long cycle of trials and executions under such emperors as Tiberius, Caligula and Nero, spawning entire networks of informers that have terrorized Rome's political system for decades.

Titus puts n end to this practice, against himself or anyone else, declaring: "It is impossible for me to be insulted or abused in any way.

For I do naught that deserves censure, and I care not for what is reported falsely.

As for the emperors who are dead and gone, they will avenge themselves in case anyone does them a wrong, if in very truth they are demigods and possess any power."

(Cassius Dio, Roman History LXVI.19) Consequently, no senators will be put to death during his reign; he thus keeps to his promise that he would assume the office of Pontifex Maximus "for the purpose of keeping his hands unstained".

(Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Titus) The informants are publicly punished and banished from the city, and Titus further prevents abuses by introducing legislation that make it unlawful for persons to be tried under different laws for the same offense.

Finally, when Berenice returns to Rome, he sends her away.

As Emperor he will become known for his generosity, and Suetonius states that upon realizing he had brought no benefit to anyone during a whole day he remarked, "Friends, I have lost a day.” Although his administration is marked by a relative absence of major military or political conflicts, Titus faceds a number of major disasters during his brief reign.

On August 24, 79, two months after his accession, Mount Vesuvius erupts, resulting in the almost complete destruction of life and property in the cities and resort communities around the Bay of Naples.

Reconstruction of the Roman resort towns of Pompeii and neighboring Herculaneum is still in progress seventeen years after the great earthquake On the morning of August 24, 79, the sudden, violent eruption of Mount Vesuvius buries Pompeii, Stabiae, and a number of smaller settlements under a thick layer of lava, stone, and ash.

When the eruption ceases on the second day, more than two thousand of Pompeii’s inhabitants have perished in the layer of ash and volcanic debris that covers the city to a depth of about twenty feet (six meters).

The scientific curiosity of Pliny the Elder leads to his death by asphyxiation when he approaches too close to Mount Vesuvius on its eruption.

His nephew, Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, called Pliny the Younger, delivers an eyewitness account of the calamity in two letters written to the historian Tacitus.

Mudflows from Vesuvius cover the town of Herculaneum in a layer of hot mud (not hot ashes, as at nearby Pompeii) to a depth of fifty to sixty-five feet (fifteen to twenty meters) thick.

All but a few of the approximately four thousand inhabitants of Herculaneum apparently escape.

As soon as the ashes cool, survivors attempt to dig out their possessions (but Pompeii will later be all but forgotten).

The Villa of the Mysteries is one of the many structures buried in the eruption.

Titus appoints two ex-consuls to organize and coordinate the relief effort, while personally donating large amounts of money from the imperial treasury to aid the victims of the volcano.

Additionally, Titus visited Pompeii once after the eruption and again the following year.

During the second visit, …

…in spring of CE 80, a fire breaks out in Rome, burning large parts of the city for three days and three nights.

Although the extent of the damage is not as disastrous as during the Great Fire of 64—crucially sparing the many districts of insulae—Cassius Dio records a long list of important public buildings that were destroyed, including Agrippa's Pantheon, the Temple of Jupiter, the Diribitorium, parts of Pompey's Theater and the Saepta Julia among others.

Once again, Titus personally compensates for the damaged regions.

According to Suetonius, a plague similarly struck during the fire.

The nature of the disease, however, or the death toll are unknown.

Meanwhile war has resumed in Britannia, where Agricola pushes further into Caledonia and manages to establish several forts there.

As a result of his actions, Titus receives the title of Imperator for the fifteenth time.

Titus’s reign also sees the rebellion led by Terentius Maximus, one of several false Neros who continue to appear throughout the 70s.

In addition, sources state that Titus discovered that his brother Domitian was plotting against him but refused to have him killed or banished.

Practice of the imperial cult is revived by Titus, though apparently it met with some difficulty as Vespasian was not deified until six months after his death.

To further honor and glorify the Flavian dynasty, foundations are laid for what will later become the Temple of Vespasian and Titus, which will bes finished by Domitian.

Construction of the Flavian Amphitheater, presently better known as the Colosseum, had begun in 70 under Vespasian and is finally completed in 80 under Titus.

In addition to providing spectacular entertainments to the Roman populace, the building is also conceived as a gigantic triumphal monument to commemorate the military achievements of the Flavians during the Jewish wars.

Adjacent to the amphitheater, within the precinct of Nero's Golden House, Titus had also ordered the construction of a new public bathhouse, which is to bear his name.

Construction of this building is hastily finished to coincide with the completion of the Flavian Amphitheater.

The Colosseum features an immense oval superstructure standing 160 feet high (49 meters) and covers an area 118 feet long (615 meters) by 510 feet wide (156 meters).

The exterior walls are of travertine, the inner walls of tufa, and the vaulting of the ramped seating area of monolithic concrete.

Seventy-six of the eighty bays function as entryways, so that circulation is easy.

The arches of its four-story outer wall are framed by superimposed orders: Roman Doric on the ground floor, Ionic above that, and Corinthian on the third level.

The fourth story, embellished with Corinthian pilasters, carries wooden masts from which an awning (“velarium”) is suspended to shield spectators from the sun.

Marble and wooden seating for up to about fifty thousand spectators surrounds an arena 86 meters by 280 feet by 175 feet (54 meters).

The arena’s floor is built of heavy wooden planks; chambers below house animals for the games, passed from there to the arena by means of special corridors and counterbalanced elevators.

The flooring can be removed and the entire area flooded for mock naval battles.