Marcus Vettius Bolanus facts for kids

Marcus Vettius Bolanus (born around 33 AD, died 76 AD) was an important Roman senator and a brave soldier. He became a high-ranking official called a suffect consul in 66 AD.

Marcus Vettius Bolanus

Marcus Vettius Bolanus started his career serving in a Roman army in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) in 62 AD. This was an important step for a young Roman who wanted to become a leader.

Governor of Britain

In 69 AD, Bolanus was chosen to be the governor of Britain. This was a very busy time in the Roman Empire, known as the "Year of four emperors", because several different emperors tried to take power. The emperor Vitellius appointed Bolanus to this important role.

Before Bolanus arrived, the previous governor, Marcus Trebellius Maximus, had to leave Britain because some of his own soldiers, led by Marcus Roscius Coelius, rebelled against him. When Bolanus took over, he was joined by a powerful Roman army group called Legio XIV Gemina. This group had been taken out of Britain earlier but was still loyal to Otho, one of the emperors who had been defeated by Vitellius.

Challenges in Britain

Bolanus faced a big challenge in Britain: a second uprising by a local leader named Venutius. Venutius was from the Brigantes tribe. His ex-wife, Cartimandua, was the queen of the Brigantes and had been a loyal friend to the Romans for twenty years. The Romans had even helped her against an earlier revolt by Venutius.

However, this time, Bolanus could only send special Roman helper troops called auxiliaries to help Cartimandua. She was safely taken away, but Venutius ended up taking control of her kingdom.

By the end of 69 AD, Vespasian became the new emperor and worked hard to bring order back to the empire. The Legio XIV Gemina was sent away from Britain again in 70 AD to help stop problems in another part of the empire. Also, Marcus Roscius Coelius, who had caused the earlier rebellion, was replaced by a new commander named Gnaeus Julius Agricola.

Bolanus stayed as governor of Britain until 71 AD. A famous poet named Statius wrote that Bolanus built forts and captured valuable items from a British king. This suggests that Bolanus was able to win back some of the land that had been lost during the revolt. After his time in Britain, he was replaced by Quintus Petillius Cerialis.

Later Career

Later in his career, in 75 and 76 AD, Marcus Vettius Bolanus was appointed governor of Asia, which was another very important Roman province.