Vespasian IV

Pronunciation: veh-SPAY-see-ihn

Occurrences: 3

First Reference: 3rd Endowment 28:48

Then did they together elect Vespasian IV to be their Emperor; and placing him upon the throne he did promise to regain the empire’s wealth and prestige altogether, and to cast into death itself, the man Kronus Maximillius.

See: Commodus III, First Track, Rome

Summary: During the First Track of the world of the First Power, Vespasian IV became the Emperor of Rome after Commodus III was murdered by the Senate for his incompetence as Emperor. Vespasian’s plans to have Kronus Maximillius kidnapped and shipped to Rome proved unsuccessful (3:28:63; 3:29:1-56). He reigned for 38 years and was considered by Rome a successful emperor (AZC — Vespasian IV).

Azrael’s Commentary — Vespasian IV

The son of the most powerful and wealthiest senator of Rome, Vespasian IV was placed on the imperial throne by the unanimous approval of the senate. In truth however, the throne was bought and paid for by the Vencetti family. The Vencetti’s had been secretly pilfering from the Roman treasury for over two thousand years, and their personal wealth was staggering. And so cunning was this pilfering carried out that no one ever suspected that it was going on. Added to this, the Vencetti family were power brokers and influence peddlers of the highest order, and over the centuries had amassed fortune on top of fortune through bribes, kickbacks and graft.

Marcus Julius Vencetti was the eldest son of the family patriarch, Flavius the Younger. Upon ascending the throne, Marcus Julius Vencetti took upon himself the imperial name of Vespasian IV. The reason behind this was simply to signal to the senate and the military that the empire was now in competent hands. The three previous emperors named Vespasian had all been very successful in their reigns. Under the Vespasians, the empire had expanded and flourished. With the new Emperor, Vespasian IV, incompetence would not be tolerated. The new Emperor was fiercely determined to set things right. He began by plotting the kidnapping, and public humiliation and execution of Kronus Maximillius (3:28:63; 3:29:2). But these plans were never successful.

On the whole, Vespasian IV was successful as an Emperor. With the death of Kronus (3:30:49-62), the Drakonians proved unable to maintain their grip on Petragia, and soon after its loss, the Drakonians lost the Azores and the Canaries to the Romans. The civil war which followed the death of Kronus proved a boon to the Romans, and Vespasian IV took immediate measures to press the advantage. While the Drakonians were fighting among themselves, Rome simply crushed the Drakonians on Petragia. The Azores and the Canaries likewise fell to the overwhelming forces of Vespasian IV.

Vespasian IV reigned for thirty-eight years and his passing was deeply felt by the empire he ruled. He had won the heart of his military by actually assuming command of Roman forces in his effort to seize Petragia. His courage, skill and cunning were undeniable. Vespasian had been a man of great intellect and foresight. Upon his death, the Roman senate commissioned a gold statue of the Emperor be made and placed in the Roman Forum along with that of Julius Caesar and other emperors of great merit.

Notes/References:

But in the shadows of power did the Regent conspire, and Seti-Kahn sent a secret word unto Rome itself, being willing himself with others, to betray Kronus into the very hands of Vespasian IV.

3rd Endowment 28:63

Thus was it the father’s plan that when Kronus himself proved sick and weak, then would he order the son carried home unto his own place; and in the journey homeward would there fall upon him the agents of Rome which would take him alive and bound unto the Emperor Vespasian.

3rd Endowment 29:37

Veshanu

Vice Regent