Possibly he was descended from Gauls who had been enfranchised by Mark Antony during his Gallic campaign.

[1] During the reign of Nero, he was resident in Rome and a member of the Senate, from which he was expelled for conspiring to forge a will with Valerius Fabianus, and was banished from the city.

Advancing into Italy, he gained a decisive victory over the Vitellians at Bedriacum in October 69, and on the same day stormed and captured Cremona.

Embarrassed by the incident he forbade enslavement of captive Cremonans, and their captors then began murdering those who could not be ransomed.

[4] Tacitus describes him as brave in action, ready of speech, clever at bringing others into odium, powerful in times of civil war and rebellion, greedy, extravagant, in peace a bad citizen, in war an ally not to be despised.