The year of the four emperors (Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasianus), 69 AD, was one of the most remarkable years in Roman history. Nero had left the Empire in financial ruins and the generals fought a devastating civil war.
The victor Vespasianus (9-79 AD) inherited a public deficit of 40 billion sestertii (the average monthly salary was about 1,000 sestertii). Before becoming emperor, he was a successful military commander, amongst others, in Britannia. His reign is best known for the institutional and economic reforms he introduced. He issued the Lex de Imperio Vespasiani, a new constitution within the Roman Empire.
The empire and Rome were bankrupt; the megalomania of Nero, the mismanagement of former Julio-Claudian emperors and the corruption of the elite had to be paid for. Vespasianus was the right person at the right time. He changed the income and tax policies, reformed the tax system, and was a genius at identifying new tax objects.
Two words characterise one of the most successful financial reforms ever: ‘non olet’. Vespasianus had introduced a tax for using the public latrine, and he rejected any objection with the words ‘Pecunia non olet’.
Public toilets in Paris are still called the Vespasiennes. When he died in 79 AD, the Empire had a balanced budget, and his son Titius inherited the spirit of a newborn Empire.