ROMA, ITALIA 24 OCTOBER 69 AD
News of Cremona arrived in Rome five days after the battle, on what happened to be Domitian"s birthday, which Flavian sympathizers took as an omen.
Having expected a complete victory, Vitellius refused to believe the reports and sent scouts to the north. Rather than kill the scouts, Antonius gave them a tour of his camp and of the battlefield, then sent them back to their master.
Still Vitellius refused to believe. Finally one trusted centurion, Julius Agrestis, stepped forward. “Since you need compelling proof, and I am no more use to you alive or dead, I will force you to believe me.” He left the room and fell upon his own sword. Finally, Vitellius believed.
“But what happened to Valens? Where was he?” For Fabius Valens had gone north at the start of Oct
