The Thirteenth Caesar

Though the reign of the twelve Caesars was esteemed by a great many, there were many sordid affairs related to those twelve Roman emperors.  The most malevolent of all of these affairs would be the case of the little known thirteenth Caesar, Honoratus Galba.  This little known emperor was the illegitimate brother of the supposed twelfth Caesar, Domitian.  After Domitian's assassination in 96 A.D., the Roman people were eager to ascertain the fate of their imperial line.  Eventually, Honoratus was discovered and as the last surviving member of Domitian's family, he was crowned emperor.  A seemingly omniscient man, Honoratus knew everything about Roman History, was well versed in classical literature and music, and spoke Greek, Latin, and many other languages fluently. For this, he was instantly popular among the Roman citizens.  Many top Senators affiliated with Domitian's rule expected to be next in the imperial, these men alone, hated Honoratus. After a few days ruling Rome many of his advisors and close friends noticed how respectable Honoratus was, compared to his predecessors.  Because of this fact, the senators wished to expunge Honoratus' rule as quickly as possible.  Honoratus refused to allow corruption, he did not view the senator's lack of morals as a venial offense.  After the senators, as discreetly as they could, sent spies to skulk around the palace, they discovered that the Praetorians did not care for Honoratus' strict policies.  With this new knowledge, the corrupted Senators were able to begin a plan to remove Honoratus from his office. Honoratus thought himself invulnerable, he assumed that no man could get to him through the praetorian guards, he was sadly mistaken.  One day, a celebrated Roman general returned to Rome to celebrate a triumph after defeating the Dacians, and Honoratus was out among the people to greet the great general.  The senators gathered among those people and waited for the right moment to converge on Honoratus and kill him.  After stopping to greet an old woman who Honoratus once saved from fire as a youth, he turned and noticed that the praetorians had vanished.  The senators jumped from their hiding spots, killed Honoratus, and were gone before the crown knew what happened.  The story of the thirteenth Caesar shows what will eventually happen to all honorable men in politics.