Nero, later known as a tyrant, is also known for his first five years in good politics.
One of the people who supported Nero with Seneca at that time was Gnaeus Domitius Colbro, who is the main character of this time.
Nero is known as a tyrant in some cases of persecuting Christians, but he has also largely executed Seneca and Colbro, who supported him.
Name General Colbro
Although Colbro was not of particular prestigious origin in the Roman Republic, his father was still an experienced Praetor (legal officer) and of the so-called Senate class.
Born in 7 AD, Colbro was appointed to the Consul at the age of 33 in 40 AD. This is a fairly fast rate of advancement, and seven years later he was appointed Governor of Germania by Emperor Claudius.
The land of Germania has always been Rome's most important defensive area, and being its governor also meant being the number one general of his time.
Colbro defended Rome better than the Germanic people from the north, and was based in Cologne to complete its difficult task. It is said that Colbro was not only deeply admired by his subordinates, but also respectfully admired by his enemies, the Germanic people. Julius Caesar is also loved by the Gauls who fought fiercely, and it may be that he is a true master.
After completing his term in Germania, he will be sent to the Orient, which is also the most important defense area. Since the beginning of the empire, Rome has made the Germanic and Persian potential enemies the greatest potential until its destruction, and in fact has always kept a balance with these two forces. Given that the Germanic people eventually destroyed the Western Roman Empire and the Ottoman Empire destroyed the Byzantine Empire, one can see how important the defense of these two regions is.
When Emperor Claudius died in 54 AD and Nero became the fifth Roman emperor, he took charge of measures against Persia in the east. However, the commander in the east was divided into two by Syrian governor Quadratus and Colbro, who was the governor of the two provinces of Cappadocia and Galleria.
As soon as Colbro was posted, he left his barracks and began living in the tent with his men. He is always Colbro's care to keep his soldiers tense and ready to respond in any case.
Knowing that the quality of the soldiers is of utmost importance to winning the battle, Colbro sorts out his soldiers who are good at fighting and those who are not, and gives logistical support to those who are not. rice field.
Roman training is known to be as rigorous as it is in production, but Colbro's training was particularly rigorous and the military rules were stricter than usual, but the corps led by Colbro was stronger than anywhere else.
In the history of the Roman Empire, the relationship with Persia is almost always tense when the emperor takes office. In particular, whether or not the pro-Roman king will be appointed to Armenia, which is a buffer zone with Parthian Empire, is the most important issue. An incident occurs. At this time, with the help of the Roman side, the Parthian forces were pulling troops early, but as soon as Emperor Nero took the throne, he fortunately invaded Armenia, and Tiridates became the throne.
Colbro invades Armenia and succeeds in expelling Tiridates from Armenia.
As a result, Tigranes, a pro-Roman sect, became king in Armenia.
However, the king began to invade the Parthian territory, and the relationship between Rome and Parthian became tense again.
Nero will not leave this problem alone to Colbro, but will dispatch a new commander to establish a two-headed system with Colbro. As a result, another commander, Petus, was defeated by Parthian and finally surrendered.
Petus had no choice but to swallow the request for the complete withdrawal of Rome.
A messenger from the Parthian side came to Colbro, who was the governor of the Syrian territory, and demanded that he withdraw. Colbro agreed, but Rome did not. It is impossible to conclude a peace with defeat in Rome.
Nero appointed Colbro as Commander-in-Chief of the East and decided to open the war with Parthia.
Rome is still losing the fight against Persia. Crassus and Antonius, who were active in the first century of the civil war, were defeated and Caesar was assassinated during the expedition. Romans were hoping for a complete victory over Persia.
Colbro invaded the territory of Armenia and captured key points one after another. It seems that Parthian had no intention of fighting, so he offered peace to Colbro.
The content of the peace was to attend the coronation in Rome if he allowed Tiridates to take the throne.
This meant that the King of Armenia would be the emperor of Rome, effectively making the Kingdom of Armenia a friend of Rome and forming an alliance with the Parthians.
The flashy Nero was delighted with this, and for the next 50 years there would be no armed conflict in the east, and the Kingdom of Armenia would celebrate Nero's birthday every year.
This practice continued after Nero was later assassinated, which is why Nero has a good reputation in the east.
In addition, the solution of this Eastern problem is said to be Nero's greatest achievement, and in fact it was the achievement of Colbro.
Tiridates was treated very well on his way to Rome, and a solid friendship was born between the two countries.
Colbro's death
A plan to assassinate Emperor Nero, a plot of Piso, was discovered, and Colbro's son joined it.
As a result, Nero became distrustful of Colbro, and even when the rebellion broke out in Judea, he sent Vespasian instead of Colbro.
After all, I couldn't get rid of that distrust in Nero, and finally forced Colbro to commit suicide.
Colbro accepted this and killed his own life.
Why is Nero a tyrant?
Not only did he kill his mother, but he also purged his talented subordinates.
Personal evaluation of Colbro
It can be said that he is one of the most excellent generals of all time who lived in Roman times.
His diplomatic sense was outstanding, not just his armed forces. In particular, his achievements in establishing peace with Persia, the number one potential enemy, are largely due to this part of the fact that Rome did not perish in the turmoil after the assassination of Emperor Nero.
Without Colbro, it is highly possible that Rome would have died before the Five Good Emperors.
It can be said that he is one of the most famous generals in Stilicho in the long history of Rome.