25/10/2026
– On 24 Oct AD 69, the Second Battle of Bedriacum was fought near modern Cremona in northern Italy, during Rome’s turbulent Year of the Four Emperors. Two battles were fought at that year: the first between & in April, & the second between Vitellius’ & in October. Vespasian’s victory paved the way for the dynasty.
Amid the carnage, Tacitus records an extraordinary & tragic encounter: a son killed his own father in battle. Julius Mansuetus, a Spaniard serving in Legio XXI Rapax on Vitellius’ side, had left behind a young son. Years later, the boy was conscripted by Galba into Legio VII, later known as Gemina, which fought for Vespasian. By a cruel twist of fate, father & son found themselves on opposite sides of the civil war.
According to Tacitus:
"The carnage was peculiarly marked by the fact that in it a son killed his own father […] Julius Mansuetus of Spain, when enrolled with the legion known as Rapax, had left behind a young son. Later on, when this son had grown up, he was conscripted into the Seventh legion by Galba. Now, he happened to meet his father in battle, whom he wounded & struck down; then, as he looked closely at the dying man, the father & son recognised each other. The son embraced his expiring father & prayed, with tears in his voice, that his father's spirit would forgive him & not abhor him as a patricide. 'The crime', he cried, 'is the State's; & what does a single soldier count for in a civil war?'. With these words, he raised the body & began to dig a grave, performing the last duties for his father. The closest soldiers first noticed this, then it was noticed by many others; astonishment & indignation ran through the whole army, & they cursed this most horrible war. Yet as eagerly as ever they stripped the bodies of slaughtered relatives, kinsmen, & brothers. They called the deed a crime, & they do it themselves" (Histories III.25)
Tacitus captures civil war’s terrible contradiction: soldiers condemned the killing of family while continuing to do it themselves.
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1) Denarius of Vitellius, Synton Hoard, Trimontium Museum.
2) Bust of Vespasian, Farnese Collection, Naples National Archaeology Museum. Photo Credit: Silk, CC
3) Bust of Otho, Capitoline Museum, Rome.
