The world in 68 AD — what happened that year

22 events the sources record for this year, grouped by region.

What happened

West Asia (10)

• Ananus gathers the crowd and makes a speech urging an attack on the Zealots (Josephus, Jewish War and Antiquities of the Jews BJ 4.162–192)
• The Idumean army reaches Jerusalem but, with the gates closed, spends the night outside the walls in a storm (Josephus, Jewish War and Antiquities of the Jews BJ 4.224–232)
• The Zealots saw open the gates at midnight, the Idumeans enter, and Ananus, Jesus and others are killed (Josephus, Jewish War and Antiquities of the Jews BJ 4.300–304)
• The Idumeans repent and some leave, whereupon the Zealots kill still more citizens (Josephus, Jewish War and Antiquities of the Jews BJ 4.345–352)
• The commanders urged attacking civil-war-torn Jerusalem at once, but Vespasian persuaded them to wait for the enemy to wear itself down (Josephus, Jewish War and Antiquities of the Jews BJ 4.366–376)
• The Zealots and Sicarii of Masada raid nearby villages to gather food (Josephus, Jewish War and Antiquities of the Jews BJ 4.398–409)
• Vespasian takes Gadara, the capital of Perea (Josephus, Jewish War and Antiquities of the Jews BJ 4.410–418)
• Placidus pursues those who fled Gadara with cavalry and crushes them at the Jordan (Josephus, Jewish War and Antiquities of the Jews BJ 4.426–436)
• As Vespasian approaches Jericho, the crowd flees to the hills and those left behind are slaughtered (Josephus, Jewish War and Antiquities of the Jews BJ 4.451–458)
• At Caesarea, Vespasian is informed of Nero's death (reigned 13 years, 8 days) (Josephus, Jewish War and Antiquities of the Jews BJ 4.491–502)

Southern Europe (9)

• When Galba arrives with his army, Nero, abandoned by all and keeping only a eunuch attendant, stabs himself to death, and the house of the Caesars ends. (Aurelius Victor, De Caesaribus Aur. Vict. Caes. 5.16)
• On returning from Greece, at Naples, where he first appeared on stage, he entered through a gap in the demolished walls, riding a chariot drawn by white horses. (Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars Nero 25)
• He received word that Galba and the Spaniards had risen against him. (Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars Nero 42)
• On news that all the armies had turned against him, he overturned the table, went to the Servilian gardens to get poison, and ordered his freedmen to Ostia to prepare the fleet. (Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars Nero 47)
• He ordered a pit dug to his own body size and hesitated while examining the edges of two daggers. (Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars Nero 49)
• The day his reign ended was the same day on which he had killed Octavia. (Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars Nero 57)
• In the courthouse he set up statues of those executed by Nero, and, lamenting the times, was unanimously acclaimed as emperor; yet he declared himself 'lieutenant of the Senate and the Roman people'. (Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars Galba 10)
• Disheartened by Vindex's death, he even thought of suicide; but on news that Nero had died and everyone had sworn allegiance, he dropped the title of lieutenant, took the name Caesar, and marched on Rome. (Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars Galba 11)
• When the chance came he joined Galba's uprising; aiming at the throne, he invited Galba to dinner and each time distributed gold coins to all the men of the guard battalion. (Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars Otho 4)

Western Europe (3)

• After almost fourteen years of putting up with Nero, the world turned against him; Julius Vindex, governor of Gaul, was the first to rebel. (Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars Nero 40)
• Galba unexpectedly sent him to Lower Germany, saying that someone who knew only how to eat had nothing to fear. (Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars Vitellius 7)
• Just before December 1 of the previous year, Vitellius inspects the camp of the Lower German legions (Tacitus, Annals and Histories Hist. 1.52)

Changes of power ◆

Places where the world territory data shows a change of borders in this year.

• ◆ Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity) appears
• ◆ Kingdom of Pontus ends

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