Editing Gaius Julius Vindex (section)

==Biography==
Following normal Roman procedures, his name Gaius Julius indicated that his family had likely been given citizenship under [[Julius Caesar|Gaius Julius Caesar]], or perhaps Emperor [[Augustus]] or [[Caligula]]. He was of a noble [[Gauls|Gallic]] family of [[Aquitania]] (given senatorial status under [[Claudius]]) and was one of the men belonging to a faction of [[Agrippina the Younger|Empress Agrippina]], the mother of [[Nero]].

Vindex had taken part in a conspiracy against the emperor in 59.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

===Vindex Rebellion===
In either late 67 or early 68, Vindex rebelled against Emperor Nero. Though the aims of his followers may have been more complex, Vindex, as a senator, probably had the aim simply of replacing Nero with a better emperor and ending the tyranny that plagued the empire. <ref>Charles L. Murison, ''Galba, Otho and Vitellius: Careers and Controversies (Spudasmata: Studien zur Klassichen Philologie und ihren Grenzgebieten)'', p.&nbsp;3</ref> 

===Rise of Emperor Galba===
According to the historian [[Cassius Dio]], Vindex "was powerful in body and of shrewd intelligence, was skilled in warfare and full of daring for any great enterprise; and he had a passionate love of freedom and a vast ambition".<ref>Cassius Dio, 63.22.1-2</ref> In order to gain support, he declared his allegiance to the then governor of [[Hispania Tarraconensis]], [[Galba|Servius Sulpicius Galba]]. By June 68, military support for Galba eventually led to Nero's suicide. Galba, acclaimed by the Senate, struck coins to commemorate Vindex, to whom he owed his position as emperor.<ref name="Vagi2000">{{cite book|author=David L. Vagi|title=Coinage and History of the Roman Empire, C. 82 B.C.--A.D. 480: History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WzOGycVVQLEC&pg=PA182|year=2000|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-57958-316-3|pages=182ff}}</ref>

===Battle of Vesontio===
The commander of the army from [[Germania Superior]], governor [[Lucius Verginius Rufus]], advanced against him. The [[Battle of Vesontio (68)|Battle of Vesontio]] (68) took place near Vesontio (modern [[Besançon]]).  What occurred then is unclear, but, despite a meeting between Verginius and Vindex, the forces under Verginius appear to have decided on a battle without orders.<ref name="Scullard-330">[[H. H. Scullard]], ''From the Gracchi to Nero'', p.&nbsp;330</ref> Desire for plunder and the weakness of Verginius as a commander are possible explanations.<ref>Murison, ''Galba, Otho and Vitellius'',  p.&nbsp;15</ref> Vindex was defeated in the resulting battle and subsequently killed himself.<ref name="Scullard-330" />