They mostly made
for the Forum, anxious to see the spot where Galba had fallen.[427]
They themselves were a sufficiently alarming sight with their rough
skin coats and long pikes. Unused to towns, they failed to pick their
way in the crowd; or they would slip on the greasy streets, or collide
with some one and tumble down, whereupon they took to abuse and before
long to violence. Their officers, too, terrified the city by sweeping
along the streets with their bands of armed men.
After crossing the Mulvian bridge, Vitellius himself had been 89
riding on a conspicuous horse, wearing his sword and general's
uniform, with the senate and people trooping in front of him. However,
as this looked too much like an entry into a captured city, his
friends persuaded him to change into civilian dress and walk on foot.
At the head of his column were carried the eagles of four legions,
surrounded by the colours belonging to the detachments of four other
legions.[428] Next came the standards of twelve regiments of
auxiliary horse, then the files of infantry and the cavalry behind
them. Then came thirty-four cohorts of auxiliaries, arranged according
to their nationality or the nature of their weapons. In front of the
eagles came the camp prefects and tribunes, and the senior
centurions,[429] all dressed in white. The other centurions marched
each at the head of his company, glittering with their armour and
decorations.
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