Lugdunum - Attention From The Emperors

Attention From The Emperors

In its 1st century, Lugdunum was many times the object of attention or visits by the emperors or the imperial family. Agrippa, Drusus, Tiberius, and Germanicus (born himself in Lugdunum) were among the governor generals who served in Lugdunum. Augustus is thought to have visited at least three times between 16 and 8 BC. Drusus lived in Lugdunum between 13 and 9 BC. In 10 BC his son Claudius (the future emperor) was born there. Tiberius stopped in Lugdunum in 4-5 BC, on his way to the Rhine, and again in 21 AD, campaigning against the Andecavi. Caligula's visit in 39-40 was longer, stranger, and better documented by Suetonius. Claudius and Nero also contributed to the city's importance and growth.

In 12 BC, Drusus completed an administrative census of the area and dedicated an altar to his stepfather Augustus at the junction of the two rivers. Perhaps to promote a policy of conciliation and integration, all the notable men of the three parts of Gaul were invited. Caius Julius Vercondaridubnus, a member of the Aedui tribe, was installed as the first priest of the new imperial cult sanctuary, which was subsequently known as the Junction Sanctuary or the Sanctuary of the Three Gauls. The altar, with its distinctive vertical end poles, was engraved with the names of 60 Gallic tribes, and was featured prominently on coins from the Lugdunum mint for many years. The "council of the three Gauls" continued to be held annually for nearly three centuries, even after Gaul was divided into provinces.

Southeastern Gaul became increasingly Romanized. By 19 AD at least one temple, and the first amphitheater in Gaul (now known as the Amphithéâtre des Trois-Gaules) had been built on the slopes of the Croix-Rousse hill. In 48 AD, emperor Claudius asked the Senate to grant the notable men of the three Gauls the right to accede to the Senate. His request was granted and an engraved bronze plaque of the speech (the Claudian Tables) was erected in Lugdunum. Today, the pieces of the huge plaque are the pride of the Gallo-Roman Museum in Lyon.

Suetonius reported Caligula's visit to Lugdunum in 39-40 AD at the beginning of his third consulate as characteristic of his reign. Spectacles were staged at the amphitheater to honor and entertain him and his guest, Ptolemy, king of Mauretania (whom Caligula later had murdered). A rhetoric contest was held in which the losers were required to expunge their work with their tongues. He auctioned furniture brought from the palace in Rome, assigning prices and purchasers.

Claudius was born in Lugdunum in 10 BC and lived there for at least two years. As emperor, he returned in 43 AD en route to his conquest of Britain and stopped again after its victorious conclusion in 47. A fountain honoring his victory has been uncovered. He continued to take a supportive interest in the town, making the notables of the town eligible to serve in the Roman Senate, as described above.

During Claudius' reign, the city's strategic importance was enhanced by the bridging of the Rhône river. Its depth and swampy valley had been an obstacle to travel and communication to the east. The new route, termed the compendium, shortened the route south to Vienne and made the roads from Lugdunum to Italy and Germany more direct. By the end of his reign, the city's official name had become Colonia Copia Claudia Augusta Lugudunenisium, abbreviated CCC AVG LVG.

Nero also took an interest in the city. Citizens of Lugdunum contributed four million sesterces to the recovery after the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD. In reciprocal appreciation, Nero contributed the same amount to the rebuilding of Lugdunum after a similarly devastating fire a few years later. Although the destructiveness of the fire is described in a letter from Seneca to Lucilius, archeologists have not been able to uncover a confirmatory layer of ash.

The Lyonnais admiration of Nero was not universally shared; tyranny, extravagance, and negligence fostered resentment, and coups were planned. In March 68 AD, a Romanized Aquitainian named Caius Julius Vindex, who was governor of Gallia Lugdunensis led an uprising intended to replace Nero with Galba, a Roman governor of Spain. The citizens of Vienne, however, responded more enthusiastically than the Lyonnais, most of whom remained loyal to Nero. A small force from Vienne briefly besieged Lugdunum, but withdrew when Vindex was defeated by the Rhine legions a few weeks later at Vesontio. Despite the defeat of Vindex, rebellion grew. Nero committed suicide in June and Galba was proclaimed emperor. The loyalty of Lugdunum to Nero was not appreciated by his successor, Galba, who punished some of Nero's supporters by confiscations of property.

In another turnabout for Lugdunum, Galba's policies were immediately unpopular, and in January, 69 AD, the Rhine legions quickly threw their support to Vitellius as emperor. They arrived at friendly Lugdunum, where they were persuaded by the Lyonnais to punish nearby Vienne. Vienne quickly laid down weapons and paid a "ransom" to forestall plundering. Meanwhile, Vitellius arrived in Lugdunum, where, according to Tacitus, he formally declared himself Imperator, punished unreliable soldiers, and celebrated with feasts, and with games in the amphitheater. Fortunately for Lugdunum, the would-be emperor and his army hurried into Italy, defeated Otho, and was in turn defeated by Vespasian and the army of the East, bringing the chaos of the Year of the Four Emperors to an end.

Despite a lack of imperial visits for most of the next century, Lugdunum prospered, until Septimius Severus and the Battle of Lugdunum (see below) brought devastation in 197 AD.