The year was 69 A. D., when four emperors succeeded Nero, the last ruler of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, on the Roman imperial throne in just one year after his suicide. The year, which was marked by three bloody civil conflicts, reported in detail by Tacitus, is called the Year of the Four Emperors. The present thesis will present the events on the present-day Slovenian territory and the role of the Illyrian or Pannonian military units during the long Year of the Four Emperors, which raged in the empire for eighteen months. The military units that were permanently stationed in the area of today's Slovenian territory and its wider neighbourhood until the eve of 68 took part in several conflicts and upheavals of the year under discussion and were present in one way or another at the fall of all three short-reigning emperors. Alongside the role of the military, the thesis will also present the content and significance of the meeting at Petoviona, which virtually sealed the fate of the subversive period of civil wars and enabled the rise of a new dynasty to the imperial throne. The biographies of those who acted in military or administrative functions in the Pannonian or Illyrian area during the period in question will be presented, alongside an analysis of ancient sources, epigraphic monuments and the literature to date. An attempt will be made to reconstruct the events and the role of the Slovene area in the Year of the Four Emperors, by reviewing the events of 68/69 and the historical development of the province of Illyricum.
|
