Tiberius

Tiberius
Bust, Musée Saint-Raymond, Toulouse
Roman emperor
Reign	17 September 14 – 16 March 37
Predecessor	Augustus
Successor	Caligula
Born	16 November 42 BC Rome, Italy, Roman Republic
Died	16 March AD 37 (aged 78) Misenum, Italy, Roman Empire
Burial	Mausoleum of Augustus, Rome
Spouse	Vipsania Agrippina (19–11 BC) Julia the Elder (11–2 BC)
Issue more...	Drusus Julius Caesar Germanicus (adopted)
Names Tiberius Claudius Nero Tiberius Caesar Regnal name Tiberius Caesar Augustus
Dynasty	Julio-Claudian
Father	Tiberius Claudius Nero Augustus (adoptive)
Mother	Livia

Tiberius Caesar Augustus (/taɪˈbɪəriəs/; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus.

Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father was the politician Tiberius Claudius Nero and his mother was Livia Drusilla, who would eventually divorce his father, and marry the future-emperor Augustus in 38 BC. Following the untimely deaths of Augustus' two grandsons and adopted heirs, Gaius and Lucius Caesar, Tiberius was designated Augustus' successor. Prior to this, Tiberius had proved himself an able diplomat, and one of the most successful Roman generals: his conquests of Pannonia, Dalmatia, Raetia, and (temporarily) parts of Germania laid the foundations for the empire's northern frontier. Early in his career, Tiberius was happily married to Vipsania, daughter of Augustus' friend, distinguished general and intended heir, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. They had a son, Drusus Julius Caesar. After Agrippa died, Augustus insisted that Tiberius divorce Vipsania and marry his own daughter (Tiberius' step-sister) Julia. Tiberius reluctantly gave in. This second marriage proved scandalous, deeply unhappy, and childless; Julia was sent into exile. Tiberius adopted his nephew, the able and popular Germanicus, as heir. On Augustus' death in AD 14, Tiberius became princeps at the age of 55.

Tiberius seems to have taken on the responsibilities of head of state with great reluctance, and perhaps a genuine sense of inadequacy in the role, compared to the capable, self-confident and charismatic Augustus. From the outset, Tiberius had a difficult, resentful relationship with his senate, and suspected many of plotting against him. Nevertheless, he proved to be an effective and efficient administrator. However, after the deaths of his nephew Germanicus in 19 AD and his son Drusus in 23 AD, Tiberius became still more reclusive and aloof. In 26 AD he removed himself from Rome and left administration largely in the hands of his controversial praetorian prefects Sejanus, whom he later had executed for treason, and Sejanus' replacement, Macro. When Tiberius died, he was succeeded by his grand-nephew and adopted grandson, Germanicus' son Caligula, who managed to squander much of the wealth that Tiberius had accumulated in the public and Imperial coffers.

Tiberius allowed his own worship as a divinity (divus) in only one temple, in Rome's eastern provinces, while he promoted the cult to the deceased Augustus throughout the empire. When Tiberius died, he was given a sumptuous funeral befitting his office, but no divine honours. He came to be remembered as a dark, reclusive and somber ruler who never really wanted to be emperor; Pliny the Elder called him "the gloomiest of men."^[1]

Early life[]

Roman imperial dynasties
Great Cameo of France
Julio-Claudian dynasty
Chronology
Augustus 27 BC – AD 14
Tiberius AD 14–37
Caligula AD 37–41
Claudius AD 41–54
Nero AD 54–68
Preceded by Roman Republic Followed by Year of the Four Emperors

Tiberius and his mother Livia, AD 14–19, from Paestum, National Archaeological Museum of Spain, Madrid

Family and youth[]

Tiberius was born in Rome on 16 November 42 BC to Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla.^[2][3] Both of his biological parents belonged to the gens Claudia, an ancient patrician family that came to prominence in the early years of the republic.^[4] His mother was also a member of the Livii family, an ancient plebeian but prominent family, through the adoption into it of his maternal grandfather.^[5]

Little is recorded of Tiberius' early life. In 39 BC, his mother divorced his biological father and, though again pregnant by Tiberius Nero, remarried to Octavian, later known as Augustus. In 38 BC his brother, Nero Claudius Drusus, was born.^[6] In 32 BC, Tiberius, at the age of nine, delivered the eulogy for his biological father at the rostra. In 29 BC, he rode in the triumphal chariot along with his adoptive father Octavian in celebration of the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra at Actium.^[7]

Questions over Succession[]

In 23 BC, Emperor Augustus became gravely ill, and his possible death threatened to plunge the Roman world into chaos again. Historians generally agree that it is during this time that the question of Augustus' heir became most acute, and while Augustus had seemed to indicate that Agrippa and Marcellus would carry on his position in the event of his death, the ambiguity of succession became Augustus' chief problem.^[8] In response, a series of potential heirs seem to have been selected, among them Tiberius and his brother Drusus. In 24 BC, at the age of seventeen, Tiberius entered politics under Augustus' direction, receiving the position of quaestor,^[9] and was granted the right to stand for election as praetor and consul five years in advance of the age required by law.^[10] Similar provisions were made for Drusus.^[11]

Civil and military career[]

Early career[]

Shortly thereafter Tiberius began appearing in court as an advocate, and it was presumably at this time that his interest in Greek rhetoric began.

In 20 BC, Tiberius was sent east under Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. The Parthian Empire had captured the standards of the legions under the command of Marcus Licinius Crassus (53 BC) (at the Battle of Carrhae), Decidius Saxa (40 BC), and Mark Antony (36 BC).^[10] After a year of negotiation, Tiberius led a sizable force into Armenia, presumably to establish it as a Roman client state and end the threat it posed on the Roman-Parthian border. Augustus was able to reach a compromise whereby the standards were returned, and Armenia remained a neutral territory between the two powers.^[10]

Marriage[]

Tiberius first wife Vipsania.

Tiberius married Vipsania Agrippina, the daughter of Augustus' close friend and most famed general, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa.^[12] He was appointed to the position of praetor, and was sent with his legions to assist his brother Drusus in campaigns in the west. While Drusus focused his forces in Gallia Narbonensis and along the German frontier, Tiberius combated the tribes in the Alps and within Transalpine Gaul, conquering Raetia. In 15 BC he discovered the sources of the Danube, and soon afterward the bend of the middle course.^[13] Returning to Rome in 13 BC, Tiberius was appointed as consul, and around this same time his son, Drusus Julius Caesar, was born.^[14]

Agrippa's death in 12 BC elevated Tiberius and Drusus with respect to the succession. At Augustus' request in 11 BC, Tiberius divorced Vipsania and married Julia the Elder, Augustus' daughter and Agrippa's widow.^[12] Tiberius was very reluctant to do this, as Julia had made advances to him when she was married, and Tiberius was happily married. His new marriage with Julia was happy at first, but turned sour.^[12] Reportedly, Tiberius once ran into Vipsania again, and proceeded to follow her home crying and begging forgiveness;^[12] soon afterwards, Tiberius met with Augustus, and steps were taken to ensure that Tiberius and Vipsania would never meet again.^[15] Tiberius continued to be elevated by Augustus, and after Agrippa's death and his brother Drusus' death in 9 BC, seemed the clear candidate for succession. As such, in 12 BC he received military commissions in Pannonia and Germania, both areas highly volatile and of key importance to Augustan policy.

Military campaigns[]

The campaigns of Tiberius, Ahenobarbus, and Saturninus in Germania between 6 BC and 1 BC

In 6 BC, Tiberius launched a pincer movement against the Marcomanni. Setting out northwest from Carnuntum on the Danube with four legions, Tiberius passed through Quadi territory in order to invade Marcomanni territory from the east. Meanwhile, general Gaius Sentius Saturninus would depart east from Moguntiacum on the Rhine with two or three legions, pass through newly annexed Hermunduri territory, and attack the Marcomanni from the west. The campaign was a resounding success, but Tiberius could not subjugate the Marcomanni because he was soon summoned to the Rhine frontier to protect Rome's new conquests in Germania. He returned to Rome and was consul for a second time in 7 BC, and in 6 BC was granted tribunician power (tribunicia potestas) and control in the East,^[16] all of which mirrored positions that Agrippa had previously held. However, despite these successes and despite his advancement, Tiberius was not happy.^[17]

Midlife[]

Retirement to Rhodes[]

In 6 BC, on the verge of accepting command in the East and becoming the second-most powerful man in Rome, Tiberius suddenly announced his withdrawal from politics and retired to Rhodes.^[18] The precise motives for Tiberius's withdrawal are unclear.^[19] Historians have speculated a connection with the fact that Augustus had adopted Julia's sons by Agrippa, Gaius and Lucius, and seemed to be moving them along the same political path that both Tiberius and Drusus had trodden.^[20]

Tiberius' move thus seemed to be an interim solution: he would hold power only until his stepsons would come of age, and then be swept aside. The promiscuous, and very public behavior of his unhappily married wife, Julia,^[21] may have also played a part.^[16] Indeed, Tacitus calls it Tiberius' intima causa, his innermost reason for departing for Rhodes and seems to ascribe the entire move to a hatred of Julia and a longing for Vipsania.^[22] Tiberius had found himself married to a woman he loathed, who publicly humiliated him with nighttime escapades in the Roman Forum, and forbidden to see the woman he had loved.^[23] Whatever Tiberius' motives, the withdrawal was almost disastrous for Augustus' succession plans. Gaius and Lucius were still in their early teens, and Augustus, now 57 years old, had no immediate successor. There was no longer a guarantee of a peaceful transfer of power after Augustus' death, nor a guarantee that his family, and therefore his family's allies, would continue to hold power should the position of Princeps survive.^[23]

Somewhat apocryphal stories tell of Augustus pleading with Tiberius to stay, even going so far as to stage a serious illness.^[23] Tiberius' response was to anchor off the shore of Ostia until word came that Augustus had survived, then sailing straightway for Rhodes.^[24] Tiberius reportedly regretted his departure and requested to return to Rome several times, but each time Augustus refused his requests.^[25]

Heir to Augustus[]

In 1 AD Augustus sent his stepson Tiberius to subdue the Germanic tribes on the Rhine frontier. In his campaigns, Tiberius eventually extended the Roman border as far as the Elbe but was forced to cancel plans to conquer the Suevic Marcomanni when revolt broke out in Illyria in 6 AD.^[26]

With Tiberius' departure, succession rested solely on Augustus' two young grandsons, Lucius and Gaius Caesar. The situation became more precarious in AD 2 with the death of Lucius. Augustus, with perhaps some pressure from Livia, allowed Tiberius to return to Rome as a private citizen and nothing more.^[27] In AD 4, Gaius was killed in Armenia, and Augustus had no other choice but to turn to Tiberius.^[28][29]

The death of Gaius in AD 4 initiated a flurry of activity in the household of Augustus. Tiberius was adopted as full son and heir, and in turn he was required to adopt his nephew Germanicus, the son of his brother Drusus and Augustus' niece Antonia Minor.^[28][30] Along with his adoption, Tiberius received tribunician power as well as a share of Augustus' maius imperium, something that even Marcus Agrippa may never have had.^[31]

In AD 7, Agrippa Postumus, a younger brother of Gaius and Lucius, was disowned by Augustus and banished to the island of Pianosa, to live in solitary confinement.^[29][32] Thus, when in AD 13, the powers held by Tiberius were made equal, rather than second, to Augustus' own powers, he was for all intents and purposes a "co-Princeps" with Augustus, and, in the event of the latter's passing, would simply continue to rule without an interregnum or possible upheaval.^[33]

However, according to Suetonius, after a two-year stint in Germania, which lasted from 10–12 AD,^[34] "Tiberius returned and celebrated the triumph which he had postponed, accompanied also by his generals, for whom he had obtained the triumphal regalia. And before turning to enter the Capitol, he dismounted from his chariot and fell at the knees of his father, who was presiding over the ceremonies.”^[35] "Since the consuls caused a law to be passed soon after this that he should govern the provinces jointly with Augustus and hold the census with him, he set out for Illyricum on the conclusion of the lustral ceremonies."^[36]

Thus, according to Suetonius, these ceremonies and the declaration of his "co-Princeps" took place in the year 12 AD, after Tiberius' return from Germania.^[34] "But he was at once recalled, and finding Augustus in his last illness but still alive, he spent an entire day with him in private."^[36] Augustus died in AD 14, a month before his 76th birthday.^[37] He was buried with all due ceremony and, as had been arranged beforehand, deified, his will read, and Tiberius, now a middle-aged man at 55, was confirmed as his sole surviving heir.^[38]

Emperor[]

Early reign[]

Aureus of Tiberius, c. 27–30 AD. Caption: TI. CAESAR DIVI AVG. F. AVGVSTVS / MAXIM. PONTIF.

The Senate convened on 17 September, to validate Tiberius's position as Princeps and, as it had done with Augustus before, extend the powers of the position to him.^[39] These proceedings are fully accounted by Tacitus.^[40] Tiberius already had the administrative and political powers of the Princeps, all he lacked were the titles—Augustus, Pater Patriae, and the Civic Crown (a crown made from laurel and oak, in honor of Augustus having saved the lives of Roman citizens).

Tiberius, however, attempted to play the same role as Augustus: that of the reluctant public servant who wants nothing more than to serve the state.^[41][2] This ended up throwing the entire affair into confusion, and rather than humble, he came across as derisive; rather than seeming to want to serve the state, he seemed obstructive.^[42] He cited his age as a reason why he could not act as Princeps, stated he did not wish the position, and then proceeded to ask for only a section of the state.^[43] Tiberius finally relented and accepted the powers voted to him, though according to Tacitus and Suetonius he refused to bear the titles Pater Patriae, Imperator, and Augustus, and declined the most solid emblem of the Princeps, the Civic Crown and laurels.^[44]

This meeting seems to have set the tone for Tiberius's entire rule. He seems to have wished for the Senate and the state to simply act without him and his direct orders were rather vague, inspiring debate more on what he actually meant than on passing his legislation.^[45] In his first few years, Tiberius seemed to have wanted the Senate to act on its own,^[46] rather than as a servant to his will as it had been under Augustus. According to Tacitus, Tiberius derided the Senate as "men fit to be slaves".^[47]

Rise and fall of Germanicus[]

A bust of the adopted son of Tiberius, Germanicus, from the Louvre, Paris.

Problems arose quickly for the new Princeps. The Roman legions posted in Pannonia and Germania had not been paid the bonuses promised them by Augustus, and after a short period of time mutinied when it was clear that a response from Tiberius was not forthcoming.^[48] Germanicus and Tiberius's son, Drusus Julius Caesar, were dispatched with a small force to quell the uprising and bring the legions back in line.^[49]

Rather than simply quell the mutiny, however, Germanicus rallied the mutineers and led them on a short campaign across the Rhine into Germanic territory, stating that whatever treasure they could grab would count as their bonus.^[49] Germanicus's forces crossed the Rhine and quickly occupied all of the territory between the Rhine and the Elbe. Additionally, Tacitus records the capture of the Teutoburg forest and the reclaiming of Roman standards lost years before by Publius Quinctilius Varus,^[50] when three Roman legions and their auxiliary cohorts had been ambushed by Germanic tribes.^[51]

Germanicus had managed to deal a significant blow to Rome's enemies, quell an uprising of troops, and returned lost standards to Rome, actions that increased the fame and legend of the already very popular Germanicus with the Roman people.^[52]

After being recalled from Germania,^[53] Germanicus celebrated a triumph in Rome in AD 17,^[50] the first full triumph that the city had seen since Augustus' own in 29 BC. As a result, in AD 18 Germanicus was granted control over the eastern part of the empire, just as both Agrippa and Tiberius had received before, and was clearly the successor to Tiberius.^[54] Germanicus survived a little over a year before dying, accusing Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, the governor of Syria, of poisoning him.^[55]

The Pisones had been longtime supporters of the Claudians, and had allied themselves with the young Octavian after his marriage to Livia, the mother of Tiberius. Germanicus's death and accusations indicted the new Princeps. Piso was placed on trial and, according to Tacitus, threatened to implicate Tiberius.^[56] Whether the governor actually could connect the Princeps to the death of Germanicus is unknown; rather than continuing to stand trial when it became evident that the Senate was against him, Piso committed suicide.^[57][58]

Tiberius may have tired of politics at this point. In AD 22, he shared his tribunician authority with his son Drusus,^[59] and began making yearly excursions to Campania that reportedly became longer and longer every year. In AD 23, Drusus mysteriously died,^[60][61] and Tiberius seems to have made no effort to elevate a replacement. Finally, in AD 26, Tiberius retired from Rome to an imperial villa-complex he had inherited from Augustus, on the island of Capri. It was just off the coast of Campania, which was a traditional holiday retreat for Rome's upper classes, particularly those who valued cultured leisure (otium) and a Hellenised lifestyle.^[62][63]

Tiberius in Capri, with Sejanus in Rome[]

Left: marble portrait bust of Tiberius in the Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen
Right: bronze portrait bust of Tiberius in the Cabinet des Médailles, Paris

Lucius Aelius Sejanus had served the imperial family for almost twenty years when he became Praetorian Prefect in AD 15. As Tiberius became more embittered with the position of Princeps, he began to depend more and more upon the limited secretariat left to him by Augustus, and specifically upon Sejanus and the Praetorians. In AD 17 or 18, Tiberius had trimmed the ranks of the Praetorian Guard responsible for the defense of the city, and had moved it from encampments outside of the city walls into the city itself,^[64] giving Sejanus access to somewhere between 6000 and 9000 troops.

The death of Drusus elevated Sejanus, at least in Tiberius's eyes, who thereafter refers to him as his 'Socius Laborum' (Partner of my labours). Tiberius had statues of Sejanus erected throughout the city,^[65][66] and Sejanus became more and more visible as Tiberius began to withdraw from Rome altogether. Finally, with Tiberius's withdrawal in AD 26, Sejanus was left in charge of the entire state mechanism and the city of Rome.^[63]

Sejanus's position was not quite that of successor; he had requested marriage in AD 25 to Tiberius's niece, Livilla,^[67] though under pressure quickly withdrew the request.^[68] While Sejanus's Praetorians controlled the imperial post, and therefore the information that Tiberius received from Rome and the information Rome received from Tiberius,^[69] the presence of Livia seems to have checked his overt power for a time. Her death in AD 29 changed all that.^[70]

Sejanus began a series of purge trials of Senators and wealthy equestrians in the city of Rome, removing those capable of opposing his power as well as extending the imperial (and his own) treasury. Germanicus's widow Agrippina the Elder and two of her sons, Nero Julius Caesar and Drusus Caesar were arrested and exiled in AD 30 and later all died in suspicious circumstances. In Sejanus's purge of Agrippina the Elder and her family, Caligula, Agrippina the Younger, Julia Drusilla, and Julia Livilla were the only survivors.^[71]

Ruins from the Villa Jovis on the island of Capri, where Tiberius spent much of his final years, leaving control of the empire in the hands of the prefect Lucius Aelius Sejanus.

In 31, Sejanus held the consulship with Tiberius in absentia,^[72] and began his play for power in earnest. Precisely what happened is difficult to determine, but Sejanus seems to have covertly attempted to court those families who were tied to the Julians and attempted to ingratiate himself with the Julian family line to place himself, as an adopted Julian, in the position of Princeps, or as a possible regent.^[72] Livilla was later implicated in this plot and was revealed to have been Sejanus's lover for several years.^[73]

The plot seems to have involved the two of them overthrowing Tiberius, with the support of the Julians, and either assuming the Principate themselves, or serving as regent to the young Tiberius Gemellus or possibly even Caligula.^[74] Those who stood in his way were tried for treason and swiftly dealt with.^[74]

In AD 31 Sejanus was summoned to a meeting of the Senate, where a letter from Tiberius was read condemning Sejanus and ordering his immediate execution. Sejanus was tried, and he and several of his colleagues were executed within the week.^[75] As commander of the Praetorian Guard, he was replaced by Naevius Sutorius Macro.^[75]

Tacitus claims that more treason trials followed and that whereas Tiberius had been hesitant to act at the outset of his reign, now, towards the end of his life, he seemed to do so without compunction. The hardest hit were those families with political ties to the Julians. Even the imperial magistracy was hit, as any and all who had associated with Sejanus or could in some way be tied to his schemes were summarily tried and executed, their properties seized by the state. As Tacitus vividly describes,

Executions were now a stimulus to his fury, and he ordered the death of all who were lying in prison under accusation of complicity with Sejanus. There lay, singly or in heaps, the unnumbered dead, of every age and sex, the illustrious with the obscure. Kinsfolk and friends were not allowed to be near them, to weep over them, or even to gaze on them too long. Spies were set round them, who noted the sorrow of each mourner and followed the rotting corpses, till they were dragged to the Tiber, where, floating or driven on the bank, no one dared to burn or to touch them.^[76]

However, Tacitus' portrayal of a tyrannical, vengeful emperor has been challenged by some historians: Edward Togo Salmon notes in A history of the Roman world from 30 BC to AD 138:

In the whole twenty two years of Tiberius' reign, not more than fifty-two persons were accused of treason, of whom almost half escaped conviction, while the four innocent people to be condemned fell victims to the excessive zeal of the Senate, not to the emperor's tyranny.^[77]

While Tiberius was in Capri, rumours abounded as to what exactly he was doing there. Suetonius records the rumours of lurid tales of sexual perversity, including graphic depictions of child molestation, and cruelty,^[78] and most of all his paranoia.^[79] While heavily sensationalized,^[80] Suetonius' stories at least paint a picture of how Tiberius was perceived by the Roman senatorial class, and what his impact on the Principate was during his 23 years of rule.

A denarius of Tiberius. Caption: TI. CAESAR DIVI AVG. F. AVGVSTVS

Final years[]

The affair of Sejanus and the final years of treason trials permanently damaged Tiberius' image and reputation. After Sejanus's fall, Tiberius' withdrawal from Rome was complete; the empire continued to run under the inertia of the bureaucracy established by Augustus, rather than through the leadership of the Princeps. Suetonius records that he became paranoid,^[79] and spent a great deal of time brooding over the death of his son. Meanwhile, during this period a short invasion by Parthia, incursions by tribes from Dacia and from across the Rhine by several Germanic tribes occurred.^[81]

Little was done to either secure his succession or indicate how it was to take place; the Julians and their supporters had fallen to the wrath of Sejanus, and his own sons and immediate family were dead. Two of the candidates were either Caligula, the sole surviving son of Germanicus, or Tiberius' own grandson, Tiberius Gemellus.^[82] However, Tiberius only made a half-hearted attempt at the end of his life to make Caligula a quaestor, and thus give him some credibility as a possible successor, while Gemellus himself was still only a teenager and thus completely unsuitable for some years to come.^[83]

Death[]

The Death of Tiberius by Jean Paul Laurens

Tiberius died in Misenum on 16 March AD 37, a few months before his 78th birthday.^[84][85][86] Tacitus relates that the emperor appeared to have stopped breathing, and that Caligula, who was at Tiberius' villa, was being congratulated on his succession to the empire, when news arrived that the emperor had revived and was recovering his faculties. Those who had moments before recognized Caligula as Augustus fled in fear of the emperor's wrath, while Macro took advantage of the chaos to have Tiberius smothered with his own bedclothes.^[87] Suetonius reports several rumours, including that the emperor had been poisoned by Caligula, starved, and smothered with a pillow; that recovering, and finding himself deserted by his attendants, he attempted to rise from his couch, but fell dead.^[88] According to Cassius Dio, Caligula, fearing that the emperor would recover, refused Tiberius' requests for food, insisting that he needed warmth, not food; then assisted by Macro, he smothered the emperor in his bedclothes.^[89]

After his death, the Senate refused to vote Tiberius the divine honors that had been paid to Augustus, and mobs filled the streets yelling "To the Tiber with Tiberius!"; the bodies of criminals were typically thrown into the river, instead of being buried or burnt.^[90] However, the emperor was cremated, and his ashes were quietly laid in the Mausoleum of Augustus.^[91]

In his will, Tiberius had left his powers jointly to Caligula and Tiberius Gemellus.^[92][93] Caligula's first act on becoming Princeps was to void Tiberius' will.^[93]

Legacy[]

Historiography[]

Statue of Tiberius from Priverno, made shortly after 37 AD, now in the Museo Chiaramonti of the Vatican Museums

Had he died before AD 23, he might have been hailed as an exemplary ruler.^[94] Despite the overwhelmingly negative characterization left by Roman historians, Tiberius left the imperial treasury with nearly 3 billion sesterces upon his death.^[93][95] Rather than embark on costly campaigns of conquest, he chose to strengthen the existing empire by building additional bases, using diplomacy as well as military threats, and generally refraining from getting drawn into petty squabbles between competing frontier tyrants.^[64] The result was a stronger, more consolidated empire, ensuring the imperial institutions introduced by his adoptive father would remain for centuries to come.^[96]

Of the authors whose texts have survived, only four describe the reign of Tiberius in considerable detail: Tacitus, Suetonius, Cassius Dio and Marcus Velleius Paterculus. Fragmentary evidence also remains from Pliny the Elder, Strabo and Seneca the Elder. Tiberius himself wrote an autobiography which Suetonius describes as "brief and sketchy", but this book has been lost.^[97]

Publius Cornelius Tacitus[]

The most detailed account of this period is handed down to us by Tacitus, whose Annals dedicate the first six books entirely to the reign of Tiberius. Tacitus was a Roman senator, born during the reign of Nero in AD 56, and consul suffect in AD 97. His text is largely based on the Acta Senatus (the minutes of the session of the Senate) and the Acta Diurna (a collection of the acts of the government and news of the court and capital), as well as speeches by Tiberius himself, and the histories of contemporaries such as Marcus Cluvius Rufus, Fabius Rusticus and Pliny the Elder (all of which are lost).^[94]

Tacitus' narrative emphasizes both political and psychological motivation. His characterisation of Tiberius throughout the first six books is mostly negative, and gradually worsens as his rule declines, identifying a clear breaking point with the death of his son Drusus in AD 23.^[94]

Tacitus describes Julio-Claudian rule as generally unjust and "criminal";^[98] he attributes the apparent virtues of Tiberius during his early reign to hypocrisy.^[84] Another major recurring theme concerns the balance of power between the Senate and the emperors, corruption, and the growing tyranny among the governing classes of Rome. A substantial amount of his account on Tiberius is therefore devoted to the treason trials and persecutions following the revival of the maiestas law under Augustus.^[99] Ultimately, Tacitus' opinion on Tiberius is best illustrated by his conclusion of the sixth book:

His character too had its distinct periods. It was a bright time in his life and reputation, while under Augustus he was a private citizen or held high offices; a time of reserve and crafty assumption of virtue, as long as Germanicus and Drusus were alive. Again, while his mother lived, he was a compound of good and evil; he was infamous for his cruelty, though he veiled his debaucheries, while he loved or feared Sejanus. Finally, he plunged into every wickedness and disgrace, when fear and shame being cast off, he simply indulged his own inclinations.^[84]

Suetonius Tranquillus[]

An example of Indo-Roman trade and relations during the period: silver denarius of Tiberius (14–37) found in India and Indian copy of the same, 1st-century coin of Kushan king Kujula Kadphises copying a coin of Augustus.

Suetonius was an equestrian who held administrative posts during the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian. The Twelve Caesars details a biographical history of the principate from the birth of Julius Caesar to the death of Domitian in AD 96. Like Tacitus, he drew upon the imperial archives, as well as histories by Aufidius Bassus, Marcus Cluvius Rufus, Fabius Rusticus and Augustus' own letters.^[78]

His account is more sensationalist and anecdotal than that of his contemporary. The most famous sections of his biography delve into the numerous alleged debaucheries Tiberius remitted himself to while at Capri.^[78] Nevertheless, Suetonius also reserves praise for Tiberius' actions during his early reign, emphasizing his modesty.^[100]

Velleius Paterculus[]

One of the few surviving sources contemporary with the rule of Tiberius comes from Velleius Paterculus, who served under Tiberius for eight years (from AD 4) in Germany and Pannonia as praefect of cavalry and legatus. Paterculus' Compendium of Roman History spans a period from the fall of Troy to the death of Livia in AD 29. His text on Tiberius lavishes praise on both the emperor^[9][101] and Sejanus.^[102] How much of this is due to genuine admiration or prudence remains an open question, but it has been conjectured that he was put to death in AD 31 as a friend of Sejanus.^[103]

Tertullian[]

Historically, the Christian Church's view of Tiberius has generally been favorable. According to 2nd-3rd Century Christian apologist Tertullian, Tiberius went to the Senate and told the Senate of a favorable report from Palestine, that Christ was a deity. Tiberius favored Christ's divinity, but the Senate rejected Tiberius' proposal. Tiberius, however, held to his opinion that Christ was a divinity and threatened to punish those who accused Christians. At this time the Senate had the power to decree deification of people. Both St. Jerome and Eusebius quoted or repeated Tertullian's account concerning Tiberius and the deification of Christ in their respective histories of the Christian Church.^{[104][a] [105]}

Gospels, Jews, and Christians[]

The tribute penny mentioned in the Bible is commonly believed to be a Roman denarius depicting the emperor Tiberius. Caption: TI. CAESAR DIVI AVG. F. AVGVSTVS / MAXIM. PONTIF.

According to the Gospels, Jesus of Nazareth preached and was executed during the reign of Tiberius, by the authority of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judaea province. Luke 3:1,^[106] states that John the Baptist entered on his public ministry in the fifteenth year of Tiberius' reign. The city of Tiberias (named after Tiberius), referred to in John 6:23 ^[107] is located on the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias and referenced in John 6:1.^[108] The so-called "tribute penny" referred to in the Gospel of Matthew^[109] and the Gospel of Mark^[110] is popularly thought to be a silver denarius coin of Tiberius.^{[111][112][113]}

During Tiberius' reign, Jews had become more prominent in Rome and Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus began proselytizing Roman citizens, increasing long-simmering resentments.^[114] In 19 AD Tiberius ordered Jews of military age to join the Roman Army.^[114] He banished the rest of Rome's Jewish population, on pain of enslavement for life.^[114] There were no systematic Roman persecutions of Christians under Tiberius after Christ's crucifixion in 30 AD.^[115] Jossa finds it "unthinkable" that Tiberius was aware of Christianity as a faith separate from Judaism.^[114] Most scholars believe that Roman distinction between Jews and Christians began in the 40's, in Caligula's reign, and was complete by around AD 70 (the destruction of Jerusalem).^[114]

Archaeology[]

Remnants of Tiberius' villa at Sperlonga, on the coast midway between Rome and Naples

Possible traces remain of renovations by Tiberius in the Gardens of Maecenas, where he lived upon returning from exile in 2 AD.^[29] These persist inside the villa's likely triclinium-nymphaeum, the so-called Auditorium of Maecenas.^[116] In an otherwise Late Republican-era building, identifiable as such by its brickwork and flooring, the Dionysian-themed landscape and nature frescos lining the walls are reminiscent of the illusionistic early Imperial paintings in his mother's own subterranean dining room.^[117]

Tiberius' palace in Rome was on the Palatine Hill; its ruins still stand. Tiberius built a temple in Rome to the deified Augustus, and restored the theater of Pompey,^[118][119] these works were not finished until the reign of Caligula.^[120] The remains of Tiberius' villa at Sperlonga include a grotto, where the fragmentary Sperlonga sculptures were found. The hill-top Villa Jovis retreat at Capri has been preserved. The estate at Capri is said by Tacitus to have included a total of twelve villas,^[63] of which the Villa Jovis was the largest.

Tiberius refused to be worshipped as a living god, and allowed only one provincial temple to be built in his honour, to be shared with cult to the senate's genius, at Smyrna.^[121][122] The town Tiberias, in modern Israel on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, was named in Tiberius's honour by Herod Antipas.^[123]

Popular culture[]

Tiberius has been represented in fiction, in literature, film and television, and in video games, often as a peripheral character in the central storyline. The following is a list of appearances Tiberius made in popular culture.

• He appears in the novel I, Claudius by Robert Graves,^[124] and the consequent BBC television series adaptation, where he is portrayed by George Baker.^[125]
• George R. R. Martin, the author of A Song of Ice and Fire series, has stated that central character Stannis Baratheon is partially inspired by Tiberius Caesar, and particularly the portrayal by Baker.^[126]
• In the 1968 ITV historical drama The Caesars, Tiberius (by André Morell) is the central character for much of the series and is portrayed in a much more balanced way than in I, Claudius.
• He also appears as a minor character in the 2006 film The Inquiry, in which he is played by Max von Sydow. In addition, Tiberius has prominent roles in Ben-Hur (played by George Relph in his last starring role),^[127] and in A.D. (played by James Mason).
• He was featured in The Robe (1953), played by Ernest Thesiger.
• He was featured in the 1979 film Caligula, portrayed by Peter O'Toole.
• He was an important character in Taylor Caldwell's 1958 novel, , a biography of St Luke the Evangelist, author of the third canonical Gospel.
• He was played by Kenneth Cranham in A.D. The Bible Continues.
• In the TV series Roman Empire, Tiberius was portrayed by Craig Walsh-Wrightson. In the 2021 TV series Domina, he was played by Earl Cave.
• The theft of the Gold Tiberius, an unintentionally unique commemorative coin commissioned by Tiberius which is stated to have achieved legendary status in the centuries hence, from a mysterious triad of occultists drives the plot of the framing story in Arthur Machen's 1895 novel The Three Impostors.

Children and family[]

Tiberius was married twice, with only his first union producing a child who would survive to adulthood:

• Vipsania Agrippina, daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (16–11 BC)
  • Drusus Julius Caesar (14 BC – 23 AD) (Had Issue)
• Julia the Elder, only daughter of Augustus (11–6 BC)
  • Infant son, (dubbed "Tiberillus" by modern historians), died in infancy.

See also[]

• Caesar cut
• Clutorius Priscus
• Julio-Claudian family tree
• List of biblical figures identified in extra-biblical sources

Notes[]

References[]

Bibliography[]

Primary sources[]

Secondary material[]

External links[]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Tiberius

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tiberius.

• Fagan, Garrett G. (2001), "Tiberius (A.D. 14–37)", De Imperatoribus Romanis
• "Tiberius (42 BC – 37 AD)" at the BBC
• "Maps of the Roman Empire under Tiberius at Omniatlas.com"