Tacitus
- Mucianus - the governor of Syria - "he would rather make an emperor than be one"
- Whilst Vespasian was a gregarious soldier and commander, Mucianus by contrast was a shrewd politician - the two of them together made the perfect emperor - "the combined virtue of these two would have comprised of a remarkable degree of qualities demanded of an emperor"
- Mucianus could command "influence on his subordinates, associates and colleagues" and he acted "more as Vespasian's colleague than his subordinate"
- Mucianus "was an expert at manipulation of a given political situation"
- At the start of the civil war they were "divided by jealousy" but over the years had been in contact, and Titus "managed to remove petty friction by an appeal to their common interests" - when Nero died this "healed the breach" and both became collaborators rather than rivals
- Tiberious Alexander - the provincial governor of Egypt - an equestrian. He got his legions to swear loyalty to Vespasian from Egypt on the 1st of July 69 AD, this was so important that Vespasian marked this as the first day of his emperorship
Provincial Support
Tacitus
- Egypt:
- It was the main exporter of grain to Rome
- Hard to enter by land and has no good harbours along the coast
- Divided politically and indifferent to law
- This is where Vespasian spends his time during the civil war
- The armies of Judaea had taken an oath to Vespasian on the 3rd of July
Josephus
- Vespasian's plan was to take Alexandra, combine the two legions in Egypt with his own, and use the grain supply of Egypt to put pressure on Vitellius
- The legions of Judaea spontaneously swore allegiance - Vespasian himself was not interested in being emperor "he preferred the safety of a private life to the dangers of high office" - but Mucianus and the other high officers encouraged him until he was convinced
- Evaluation - perhaps Josephus presents Vespasian as the reluctant emperor to give him more legitimacy
- Revolt on Pontus (northern Turkey) from Anicetus - an associate of the last king of Pontus. He took advantage of the situation to revolt, but one of Vespasian's deputies Virdius Geminus was sent into the province and put down the revolt - "everywhere, the tide now seemed to be turning in Vespasian's favour beyond his wildest dreams"
Military Support
Tacitus
- Egypt offered two legions, Judaea had three legions, Syria offered four legions
Josephus
- On the soldiers in Judaea: they realised their strength - three legions in Judaea, and other auxiliaries from the neighbouring kings, but also the support of all the armies in the east and also those of Europe
- They contrast the tyrannical behaviour of Vitellius with the kindly Vespasian - "lustful emperor vs a disciplined man", "barbaric tyrant vs a kindly leader", a "childless man over a father" - the legitimate succession of princes "is the most certain guarantee of peace"
- Flavius Sabinus - will bring a distinguished number of young men and has already been entrusted with the government of the city
Suetonius
- Surprisingly the legions of Moesia and Pannonia made a bid for Vespasian
- 2,000 soldiers in Moesia had planned to assist Otho in the civil war with Vitellius, but had arrived too late and so they had decided to find another emperor to support
- They made a list of all the provincial governors in the empire, weighing up the pros and cons of each - eventually they reached Vespasian, and on the recommendation of some soldiers from the Syrian legions they spontaneously made their support known. They then convinced the other legions in Moesia and Pannonia to support him as well
- They made their march into Italy under the Flavian banners
- Auxiliaries were also drafted in from the local client kingdoms, Armenia supplied archers and cavalry
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