Otho came from an old Etruscan family. He became a courtier at the imperial court during the reign of Nero and agreed to enter a sham marriage with Nero’s mistress, Poppaea Sabina. When Nero decided to marry Poppaea himself, Otho was unofficially exiled to become governor of Lusitania. Wanting revenge, Otho was an early supporter of Galba, although he turned against the elderly Galba when he declined to name Otho heir. When his army began to lose to a rival named Vitellius, Otho committed suicide.