Julius Sabinus

During the Batavian uprising of AD 69, Julius Sabinus was an aristocratic Gaul of the Lingones. In an effort to establish an independent Gaulish kingdom, he made use of the unrest that followed Nero's death in Rome.

Julius Sabinus instigated a revolution in Belgian Gaul in AD 69 by taking advantage of the unrest that rocked the Roman Empire at the time and the Batavian uprising on the Rhine. However, the Sequani, who were still loyal to Rome, swiftly routed his poorly organized army. After being defeated, he pretended to be dead by informing his servants that he was going to commit himself. Then he set fire to the villa where he was staying. Only his wife Epponina and a few obedient slaves knew where he had hidden in a neighboring cellar. After the failure of the rebellion, the territory of the Lingons was separated from Belgian Gaul, and placed under the direct supervision of the Roman army in the Rhine. A part of the Roman province of Germania Superior was formed then.

Not long afterward, Sabinus and Epponina were apprehended in AD 78 and transported to Rome for interrogation by Vespasian, the emperor. He ordered the execution of the Sabinus' spouses despite the pleas of Epponina.