The Year of the Four Emperors: The History of the Civil War to Succeed Nero as Emperor of Rome

The 12 months known in history as the Year of the Four Emperors was a pivotal chapter in the long epoch of the Roman Empire. It marked the tumultuous end of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty and the advent of a year of civil war, renewal and realignment, the result of which was the establishment of a new era and the founding of a new (and arguably more rational and responsible) imperial dynasty.

The controversial year began with the decline of the Julio-Claudian dynasty under the rule of Emperor N...