Corbulo (The Romans Abide)

Corbulo (Latin: Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo Caesar Augustus; 15 August, 760 - 26 October, 812) was Roman Emperor from (AUC) 760 to 812. Head of the revived Julio-Claudian dynasty, Corbulo was born into a senatorial family that rose through the ranks of government during the reign of Tiberius and Germanicus (Caligula) (Corbulo's half-brother). Known for his military skill, he won a number of battles against Germanic opponents during the late-8th century AUC.

Following Emperor Caligula's assassination on 24 January, 794, four major pretenders rose to stake their claim on the imperial throne, thus entering a period of heightened violence known a The Anarchy. After the death of the first pretender-turned-emperor Aemilius, the three-year-old nephew of Caligula, Tacitus was risen to power on the back of five legions and the praetorian guard.

However, what was meant to stop violence, failed, as after hearing news of discontent within the capital due to the corrupt and "oppressive" administration of Tacitus' mother-regent, Agrippina the Younger, Corbulo marched south from Germania with three Germanic Legions to overthrow the Emperor. Meeting in Saena on 5 July, 795, the numerically inferior soldiers under Corbulo defeated the opposition, clearing the way to Rome and the principate.

Under Corbulo's seventeen year rule, the empire expanded further, this time engulfing the south of Britain before Pictish invasions from the north of the island stopped them. Monetary reforms and a stable economy helped the emperor during this period, however, the princeps marriages to Cassia Longina and Claudia Antonia bore only women; so in 810, Corbulo adopted his latter wife's half-brother Tiberius Claudius Germanicus as his son and heir.