self.

Vitellius, the new emperor, was remarkable for his gluttony and his
coarse vices. He neglected every duty of his office, and soon became
universally contemptible. Vespasian, the distinguished general, who had
been fighting successfully against the Jews in Palestine, was proclaimed
emperor by the governor of Egypt. Leaving his son Titus to continue the
war, Vespasian prepared to advance upon Rome. His brave adherent,
Antonius Primus, at the head of the legions of the Danube, without any
orders from Vespasian, marched into Italy and defeated the army of
Vitellius. The Praetorians and the Roman populace still supported
Vitellius; a fearful massacre took place in the city, and the Capitoline
Temple was burned; but Antonius Primus took the Praetorian camp, and
Vitellius was dragged from his palace and put to death, December 20,
A.D. 69.

REIGN OF T. FLAVIUS VESPASIANUS, A.D. 69-79.--Vespasian, the founder of
the first Flavian family of emperors, was a soldier of fortune, who had
risen from a low station to high command in the army. He was brave,
active, free from vice, and, although fond of money, was never charged
with extortion or rapacity. Toward the close of the summer, A.D. 70, he
arrived in Rome, and received the imperium from the Senate. He began
at once to restore discipline in the army, and raised to the rank of
Senators and Equites illustrious men from the provinces, as well as from
Italy and Rome, thus giving to the provincials a certain share in the
government. The courts of justice were purified, the _Delatores_, or
spies, were discountenanced, and trials for treason ceased. To increase
his revenues, Vespasian renewed the taxes in several provinces which had
been exempted by Nero, and he introduced economy and good order into the
administration of the finances. Yet he expended large sums in rebuilding
the Capitoline Temple, and also in completing the Colosseum, whose
immense ruins form one of the most remarkable features in the modern
scenery of Rome. He built, too, the Temple of Peace and a public
library. He appointed lecturers upon rhetoric, with a salary of 100
sesterces, but was possessed himself of little mental cultivation. He is
even said to have disliked literary men, and, in the year A.D. 74,
expelled the Stoic and Cynic philosophers from Rome.

In A.D. 70, September 2, his son Titus took the city of Jerusalem, after
a brave defense by the Jews, who were finally betrayed by their own
factions