New Weekly Quest: The Sept 24th Birth Of King, Queen and Guru.
This week we present The Sept 24th Birth Of King, Queen and Guru. On this day, three great were born:
- 15 – Vitellius, Roman Emperor
- 1513 – Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen of Sweden
- 1534 – Guru Ram Das, fourth Sikh Guru
Great things happened on this same day!
15 – Vitellius, Roman Emperor
Vitellius (Latin: Aulus Vitellius Germanicus Augustus; 24 September 15 – 22 December 69), was Roman Emperor for eight months, from 16 April to 22 December 69. Vitellius was acclaimed emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Vitellius was the first to add the honorific cognomen Germanicus to his name instead of Caesar upon his accession; the latter name had fallen into disrepute in many quarters because of the actions of Nero. His claim to the throne was soon challenged by legions stationed in the eastern provinces, who proclaimed their commander Vespasian emperor instead. War ensued, leading to a crushing defeat for Vitellius at the Second Battle of Bedriacum in northern Italy. Once he realised his support was wavering, Vitellius prepared to abdicate in favour of Vespasian, but was executed in Rome by Vespasian’s soldiers on December 22 of 69. He was the son of Lucius Vitellius Veteris and his wife Sextilia, and had one brother, Lucius Vitellius the Younger. Suetonius recorded two different accounts of the origins of the Vitellius (gens), one making them descendants of past rulers of Latium, the other describing them as of lowly origins; Suetonius makes the sensible remark that both accounts might have been made by either flatterers or enemies of Vitellius—except that both were in circulation before Vitellius became emperor. Suetonius also recorded that when Vitellius was born his horoscope so horrified his parents that his father tried to prevent Aulus from becoming a consul.
He married firstly before the year 40 Petronia, daughter of Publius or Gaius Petronius Pontius Nigrinus, by whom he had a son Aulus Vitellius Petronianus, the universal heir of his mother and grandfather. He married secondly circa 50 Galeria Fundana (ca 40 – aft. 69), perhaps the granddaughter of Gaius Galerius (ca 15 BC – aft. 23), Praefectus Aeg. in 23. They had two children, a son called Germanicus and an unnamed daughter (b. ca 55). Settipani and Birley have suggested that this daughter married Libo Rupilius Frugi, the father of Rupilia Faustina. Suetonius, whose father had fought for Otho at Bedriacum, gives an unfavourable account of Vitellius’ brief administration: he describes him as unambitious and notes that Vitellius showed indications of a desire to govern wisely, but that Valens and Caecina encouraged him in a course of vicious excesses which threw his better qualities into the background. Vitellius is described as lazy and self-indulgent, fond of eating and drinking, and an obese glutton, eating banquets four times a day and feasting on rare foods he would send the Roman navy to procure. For these banquets, he had himself invited over to a different noble’s house for each one. He is even reported to have starved his own mother to death—to fulfill a prophecy that he would rule long if his mother died first. Other writers, namely Tacitus and Cassius Dio, disagree with some of Suetonius’ assertions, even though their own accounts of Vitellius are scarcely positive ones.
Despite his short reign he made two important contributions to Roman government which outlasted him. Tacitus describes them both in his Histories:
Vitellius ended the practice of Centurions selling furloughs and exemptions of duty to their men, a change Tacitus describes as being adopted by ‘all good emperors’.
He also expanded the offices of the Imperial Administration beyond the imperial pool of Freedmen allowing those of the Equites to take up positions in the Imperial Civil service.
Vitellius also banned astrologers from Rome and Italy from 1 October, 69. Some astrologers responded to his decree by anonymously publishing a decree of their own: “Decreed by all astrologers in blessing on our State Vitellius will be no more on the appointed date.” In response, Vitellius executed any astrologers he came across.
In July 69, Vitellius learned that the armies of the eastern provinces had proclaimed a rival emperor; their commander, Titus Flavius Vespasianus. As soon as it was known that the armies of the East, Dalmatia, and Illyricum had declared for Vespasianus, Vitellius, deserted by many of his adherents, would have resigned the title of emperor. It is said that Vitellius awaited Vespasian’s army at Mevania. It was said that the terms of resignation had actually been agreed upon with Marcus Antonius Primus, the commander of the sixth legion serving in Pannonia and one of Vespasian’s chief supporters, but the praetorians refused to allow him to carry out the agreement, and forced him to return to the palace, when he was on his way to deposit the insignia of empire in the Temple of Concord. On the entrance of Vespasian’s troops into Rome he was dragged out of some miserable hiding-place (according to Tacitus a door-keeper’s lodge), driven to the fatal Gemonian stairs, and there struck down. His body was thrown into the Tiber according to Suetonius; Cassius Dio’s account is that Vitellius was beheaded and his head paraded around Rome, and his wife attended to his burial. “Yet I was once your emperor,” were the last and, as far as we know, the noblest words of Vitellius. His brother and son were also killed.
1513 – Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg, Queen of Sweden
Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (Katarina in Swedish) (24 September 1513 – 23 September 1535) was the first consort of Gustav I of Sweden and Queen of Sweden from 1531 until her death in 1535. She was born in Ratzeburg to Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg and Catherine, daughter of Henry IV, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. King Gustav married Catherine for political reasons. Negotiations began in 1528. He wanted closer connections with German Protestant rulers in order to gain support for his reformation efforts and his throne. The marriage also gave Gustav closer connections to the throne of Denmark, as Catherine’s older sister Dorothea was engaged to Christian, the Crown Prince of Denmark. Catherine was 18 years old when Gustav’s proposal was accepted, and she travelled to Sweden in the company of her mother. They were married on 24 September 1531. The short marriage was allegedly stormy and remained so after the birth of their son and only child, the future King Eric XIV of Sweden, in 1533. Catherine never learned to speak Swedish, and as her husband’s German was less than perfect, they had difficulty in communicating and did not spend much time together. It has been claimed that Queen Catherine was not popular, was intrigant, melancholy and full of whims, and that she also complained about her husband to Count John of Hoya who was married to her sister-in-law Margaret.
During a visit by her brother-in-law Christian III, the recently crowned King of Denmark (and her sister’s husband as noted above), she allegedly accused Gustav of planning to murder him. At a castle ball, she and Christian fell while dancing, which caused her to have a miscarriage. She died soon after Christian’s departure, on 23 September 1535, two weeks after her fall, and was eventually buried in Uppsala Cathedral after Gustav died in 1560. After her death, rumors about the cause of it were spread by Gustav’s enemies, claiming that he had killed Catherine with a silver hammer he used to summon servants. No formal accusation was made by Catherine’s family, and an analysis of her remains, made during the 20th century, showed no damage to her skull or to the rest of her skeleton.
1534 – Guru Ram Das, fourth Sikh Guru
Guru Ram Das (1534–1581) was the fourth of the Ten Gurus of Sikhism and was given the title of Sikh Guru on 30 August 1574.
Ram Das was born in Lahore, Punjab on 24 September 1534 to a Sodhi family of the Khatri clan. His father was Hari Das and his mother Anup Devi. His wife was Bibi Bhani, the younger daughter of Guru Amar Das. They had three sons: Prithi Chand, Mahadev and Guru Arjun Dev Ji.
ਮਲਾਰ ਮਹਲਾ ੪ ॥ ਗੰਗਾ ਜਮੁਨਾ ਗੋਦਾਵਰੀ ਸਰਸੁਤੀ ਤੇ ਕਰਹਿ ਉਦਮੁ ਧੂਰਿ ਸਾਧੂ ਕੀ ਤਾਈ ॥ ਕਿਲਵਿਖ ਮੈਲੁ ਭਰੇ ਪਰੇ ਹਮਰੈ ਵਿਚਿ ਹਮਰੀ ਮੈਲੁ ਸਾਧੂ ਕੀ ਧੂਰਿ ਗਵਾਈ ॥੧॥
Malaar, Fourth Mehl: The Ganges, the Jamunaa, the Godaavari and the Saraswati – these rivers strive for the dust of the feet of the Holy. Overflowing with their filthy sins, the mortals take cleansing baths in them; the rivers’ pollution is washed away by the dust of the feet of the Holy.
ਤੀਰਥਿ ਅਠਸਠਿ ਮਜਨੁ ਨਾਈ ॥ ਸਤਸੰਗਤਿ ਕੀ ਧੂਰਿ ਪਰੀ ਉਡਿ ਨੇਤ੍ਰੀ ਸਭ ਦੁਰਮਤਿ ਮੈਲੁ ਗਵਾਈ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥ Instead of bathing at the sixty-eight sacred shrines of pilgrimage, take your cleansing bath in the Name. When the dust of the feet of the Sat Sangat rises up into the eyes, all filthy evil-mindedness is removed. ਜਾਹਰਨਵੀ ਤਪੈ ਭਾਗੀਰਥਿ ਆਣੀ ਕੇਦਾਰੁ ਥਾਪਿਓ ਮਹਸਾਈ ॥ ਕਾਂਸੀ ਕ੍ਰਿਸਨੁ ਚਰਾਵਤ ਗਾਊ ਮਿਲਿ ਹਰਿ ਜਨ ਸੋਭਾ ਪਾਈ ॥੨॥ Bhaageerat’h the penitent brought the Ganges down, and Shiva established Kaydaar. Krishna grazed cows in Kaashi; through the humble servant of the Lord, these places became famous.
ਜਿਤਨੇ ਤੀਰਥ ਦੇਵੀ ਥਾਪੇ ਸਭਿ ਤਿਤਨੇ ਲੋਚਹਿ ਧੂਰਿ ਸਾਧੂ ਕੀ ਤਾਈ ॥ ਹਰਿ ਕਾ ਸੰਤੁ ਮਿਲੈ ਗੁਰ ਸਾਧੂ ਲੈ ਤਿਸ ਕੀ ਧੂਰਿ ਮੁਖਿ ਲਾਈ ॥੩॥ And all the sacred shrines of pilgrimage established by the gods, long for the dust of the feet of the Holy. Meeting with the Lord’s Saint, the Holy Guru, I apply the dust of His feet to my face.
ਜਿਤਨੀ ਸ੍ਰਿਸਟਿ ਤੁਮਰੀ ਮੇਰੇ ਸੁਆਮੀ ਸਭ ਤਿਤਨੀ ਲੋਚੈ ਧੂਰਿ ਸਾਧੂ ਕੀ ਤਾਈ ॥ ਨਾਨਕ ਲਿਲਾਟਿ ਹੋਵੈ ਜਿਸੁ ਲਿਖਿਆ ਤਿਸੁ ਸਾਧੂ ਧੂਰਿ ਦੇ ਹਰਿ ਪਾਰਿ ਲੰਘਾਈ ॥੪॥੨॥ And all the creatures of Your Universe, O my Lord and Master, long for the dust of the feet of the Holy. O Nanak, one who has such destiny inscribed on his forehead, is blessed with the dust of the feet of the Holy; the Lord carries him across. As a Guru, one of his main contributions to Sikhi was organizing the structure of Sikh society. Additionally, he was the author of Laava, the four hymns of the Sikh Marriage Rites. He was planner and creator of the township of Ramdaspur which became the Sikh holy city of Amritsar. He founded it in 1574 on land he bought for 700 rupees from the owners of the village of Tung. Earlier Guru Ram Das had begun building Santokhsar Sarovar, near the village of Sultanwind in 1564 (according to one source in 1570). It could not be completed before 1588. In 1574, Guru Ram Das built his residence and moved to the new place. At that time, it was known as Guru Da Chakk. (Later, it came to be known as Chakk Ram Das). In Amritsar, he designed the gurdwara (ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ) Harmandir Sahib (ਹਰਿਮੰਦਰ ਸਾਹਿਬ), which translates as “The Abode of God” also known as the Golden Temple.
A hymn by Guru Ram Das can be found from page 305 of the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib:
“ One who calls himself a Sikh of the True Guru shall get up early morning and meditate on the Lord’s Name. Make effort regularly to cleanse, bathe and dip in the ambrosial pool. Upon Guru’s instructions, chant Har, Har singing which, all misdeeds, sins and pains shall go away. ”
—Bani of Guru Ram Das
There are 688 Hymns of Guru Ram Das included in the Guru Granth Sahib which have various teachings for Sikhs. Guru Sahib’s Bani is also part of Rehras Sahib and Kirtan Sohila, the daily prayers of Sikhs. Page 305 of the Guru Granth Guru Sahib decries the morning activity of one who calls himself a Sikh of the True Guru (God):
One who calls himself a Sikh of the True Guru shall get up early morning and meditate on the Lord’s Name. Bathe daily in the ambrosial pool and following the Guru’s instructions, chant Har, Har. All sins, misdeeds and negativity shall be erased. —Guru Sahib on Sadhu People and Pilgrimage Bath