Tiberius

I

Introduction

Tiberius (42 bc- ad 37), second emperor of Rome (ad 14-37), the elder son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla.

Tiberius was born Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar in Rome on November 16, 42 bc. Four years later his mother divorced his father and married the triumvir Octavian, later Emperor Augustus, who supervised Tiberius's education. Tiberius commanded an expedition to Armenia in 20 bc, and fought against the Rhaetians and the Pannonians (12-9 bc). In 11 bc Tiberius, at his stepfather's command, dissolved his happy marriage to Vipsania Agrippina, daughter of the Roman general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, and married Augustus's daughter Julia, who was Agrippa's widow. From 6 bc to ad 2 he lived in virtual exile on the island of Rhodes, where he devoted himself to study.

II

Military Service

When Tiberius returned to Rome in ad 2, Julia had been banished for adultery, and with the deaths of Augustus's two young grandsons, Lucius and Gaius, Augustus was obliged to acknowledge Tiberius as the only possible successor to the imperial title. He was formally adopted by Augustus in ad 4. He then left to lead an expedition in north Germany against the Marcomanni. Tiberius also succeeded in quelling formidable insurrections in Pannonia and Dalmatia, and finally in securing the frontier and taking vengeance on the Germans, who had destroyed the army of the Roman general Publius Quinctilius Varus in the Teutoburger Wald in ad 9. Accompanied by Germanicus Caesar, who was his nephew and adopted son, Tiberius made two more marches into the heart of Germany, returning to Rome several years later to be accorded a triumph, the highest official tribute that was given in honour of a victorious warrior.

III

His Reign

When Augustus died at Nola, near Naples, in ad 14, Tiberius succeeded to the throne. Tiberius had the makings of a good emperor. He improved the civil service, imposed strict discipline on the army, and managed the empire's finances with great ability; the provinces were also better governed than before. Gradually, however, revolts and rebellions broke out in Pannonia, Germany, Gaul, and other parts of the empire. The latter part of his reign was marred by conspiracies and executions. Jesus Christ was crucified during his reign.

In ad 26 Tiberius left Rome, which he had come to dislike intensely, and withdrew to Campania. The following year he went to the island of Capreae (modern Capri), leaving Rome under the rule of Lucius Aelius Sejanus, the prefect of the Praetorian Guard. Finally realizing that Sejanus was trying to seize imperial power, Tiberius had him and his supporters executed in ad 31. The emperor continued to live at Capreae until ad 37. He died on March 16, ad 37, at Misenum, near Naples, during a rare excursion to the mainland. It was rumoured at the time that he was smothered by the prefect of the Praetorian Guard.

IV

Evaluation

Tiberius's reserved manner and his introduction of stringent economies made him unpopular with the people and, together with his supposed depravity, gave him a bad name in legend and history. Most modern scholars, however, reject the tales of his cruelty, hypocrisy, and debauchery as related by the historians Tacitus and Suetonius. Tiberius seems to have been an able soldier and administrator who retained the republican form of government as far as possible.