Next to Antonius in influence stood Cornelius Fuscus, the imperial 4 agent.[14] He, too, always attacked Vitellius in no mild terms, and had left himself no hope in case of failure.  Tampius Flavianus[15] was a man whose disposition and advanced years inclined him to dilatory measures, and he soon began to earn the dislike and suspicion of the soldiers, who felt he had not forgotten his kinship with Vitellius.  Besides this, when the legions first rose, he had fled to Italy and subsequently returned of his own free will, which looked like meditating treachery.[16] Having once given up his province and returned to Italy, he was out of the reach of danger, but the passion for revolution had induced him to resume his title and meddle in the civil war.  It was Cornelius Fuscus who had persuaded him to this—­not that he needed his assistance, but because he felt that, especially at the outset of the rising, the prestige of an ex-consul would be a valuable asset to the party.

In order to make their march across into Italy safe and effective, 5 letters were sent to Aponius Saturninus[17] to bring the Moesian army up as quickly as possible.  To prevent the exposure of the defenceless provinces to the attacks of foreign tribes, the chiefs of the Sarmatian Iazyges,[18] who formed the government of the tribe, were enlisted in the service.  They also offered their tribal force, consisting entirely of cavalry, but were excused from this contribution for fear that the civil war might give opportunity for a foreign invasion, or that an offer of higher pay from the enemy might tempt them to sacrifice their duty and their honour.[19] Sido and Italicus, two princes of the Suebi,[20] were allowed to join Vespasian’s side.  They had long acknowledged Roman sovereignty, and companionship in arms[21] was likely to strengthen the loyalty of the tribe.  Some auxiliaries were stationed on the flank towards Raetia, where hostilities were expected, since the imperial agent Porcius Septiminus,[22] remained incorruptibly loyal to Vitellius.  Sextilius Felix was therefore dispatched with Aurius’ Horse[23] and eight cohorts of auxiliary infantry, together with the native levies of Noricum, to hold the line of the river Aenus,[24] which forms the frontier of Raetia and Noricum.  Neither side provoked a battle:  the fortune of the rival parties was decided elsewhere.

Meanwhile, at the head of a picked band of auxiliaries and part of 6 the cavalry, Antonius hurried off to invade Italy.  He took with him an energetic soldier named Arrius Varus, who had made his reputation while serving under Corbulo in his Armenian victories.  He was supposed to have sought a private interview with Nero, at which he maligned Corbulo’s character.  His infamous treachery brought him the emperor’s favour and a post as senior centurion.  This ill-gotten prize delighted him now, but ultimately proved his ruin.[25]