From an equestrian family that rose to senatorial rank under the Julio-Claudian dyansty, Vespasianus - as he was then called - earned much renown through his military record. He first served during the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 CE, and was later sent by Emperor Nero to conquer Judea in 66 CE, during the Jewish rebellion.

During his siege of Jerusalem, news came to him of Nero's suicide and the tumultuous civil war that happened afterwards, later known as the Year of the Four Emperors. When Vitellius became the third emperor in April 69, the Roman legions of Egypt and Judea declared Vespasian the new emperor. Marching to Rome, he defeated and executed Vitellius, becoming emperor and ending the Year of the Four Emperors.

He ruled the Roman empire for 10 years, building the Flavian Amphitheatre, known nowadays as the Roman Colosseum, as well as enacting various reforms to the empire. He died in 79 CE, and his son Titus became the next Roman emperor, starting the Flavian dynasty and making Vespasian the first emperor to be directly succeeded by his own natural son.