Tiberius: 1 Early Life
Tiberius: 1 Early Life
Tiberius: 1 Early Life
This article is about the Roman Emperor. For the 1.1 Background
personal name, see Tiberius (praenomen). For other
persons named Tiberius and other uses, see Tiberius Tiberius was born in Rome on 16 November 42 BC to
(disambiguation). Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla.[5] In 39 BC
his mother divorced his biological father and remarried
Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus shortly thereafter, while
Tiberius (Latin: Tiberius Caesar Dv August Flius Au-
[1][2] still pregnant with Tiberius Neros son. In 38 BC his
gustus; 16 November 42 BC 16 March 37 AD)
brother, Nero Claudius Drusus, was born.[6]
was a Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Born
Tiberius Claudius Nero, a Claudian, Tiberius was the Little is recorded of Tiberiuss early life. In 32 BC
son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His Tiberius made his rst public appearance at the age of
mother divorced Nero and married Octavian, later known nine, delivering the eulogy for his biological father.[7] In
as Augustus, in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octa- 29 BC, both he and his brother Drusus rode in the tri-
vian. umphal chariot along with their adoptive father Octavian
in celebration of the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra at
Tiberius would later marry Augustus daughter (from his
Actium.[7]
marriage to Scribonia), Julia the Elder, and even later
be adopted by Augustus, by which act he ocially be- In 23 BC Emperor Augustus became gravely ill and his
came a Julian, bearing the name Tiberius Julius Caesar. possible death threatened to plunge the Roman world into
The subsequent emperors after Tiberius would continue chaos again. Historians generally agree that it is during
this blended dynasty of both families for the following this time that the question of Augustus heir became most
thirty years; historians have named it the Julio-Claudian acute, and while Augustus had seemed to indicate that
dynasty. In relations to the other emperors of this dy- Agrippa and Marcellus would carry on his position in the
nasty, Tiberius was the stepson of Augustus, grand-uncle event of his death, the ambiguity of succession became
of Caligula, paternal uncle of Claudius, and great-grand Augustus chief problem.[8]
uncle of Nero. In response, a series of potential heirs seem to have been
Tiberius was one of Romes greatest generals; his con- selected, among them Tiberius and his brother Drusus.
quest of Pannonia, Dalmatia, Raetia, and temporarily, In 24 BC at the age of seventeen Tiberius entered poli-
parts of Germania, laid the foundations for the northern tics under Augustus direction, receiving the position of
frontier. But he came to be remembered as a dark, reclu- quaestor,[9] and was granted the right to stand for elec-
sive, and sombre ruler who never really desired to be em- tion as praetor and consul ve years in advance of the
peror; Pliny the Elder called him tristissimus hominum, age required by law.[10] Similar provisions were made for
the gloomiest of men.[3] Drusus.[11]
After the death of Tiberius son Drusus Julius Caesar in
23 AD, he became more reclusive and aloof. In 26 AD
1.2 Civil and military career
Tiberius removed himself from Rome and left adminis-
tration largely in the hands of his unscrupulous Praetorian
Shortly thereafter Tiberius began appearing in court as
Prefects Lucius Aelius Sejanus and Quintus Naevius Su-
an advocate,[12] and it is presumably here that his inter-
torius Macro.
est in Greek rhetoric began. In 20 BC, Tiberius was sent
Caligula, Tiberius grand-nephew and adopted grandson, East under Marcus Agrippa.[13] The Parthians had cap-
succeeded Tiberius upon his death.[4] tured the standards of the legions under the command
of Marcus Licinius Crassus (53 BC) (at the Battle of
Carrhae), Decidius Saxa (40 BC), and Marc Antony (36
BC).[10]
After a year of negotiation, Tiberius led a sizable force
1 Early life into Armenia, presumably with the goal of establishing it
as a Roman client-state and ending the threat it posed on
the Roman-Parthian border. Augustus was able to reach
See also: Julio-Claudian dynasty a compromise whereby the standards were returned, and
Armenia remained a neutral territory between the two
1
2 1 EARLY LIFE
titlesAugustus, Pater Patriae, and the Civic Crown (a Problems arose quickly for the new Princeps. The Ro-
crown made from laurel and oak, in honor of Augustus man legions posted in Pannonia and in Germania had not
having saved the lives of Roman citizens). been paid the bonuses promised them by Augustus, and
Tiberius, however, attempted to play the same role as Au- after a short period of time mutinied when it was clear [49]
gustus: that of the reluctant public servant who wants that a response from Tiberius was not forthcoming.
nothing more than to serve the state.[42] This ended up Germanicus and Tiberiuss son, Drusus Julius Caesar,
throwing the entire aair into confusion, and rather than were dispatched with a small force to quell the uprising
[50]
humble, he came across as derisive; rather than seeming and bring the legions back in line.
to want to serve the state, he seemed obstructive.[43] He Rather than simply quell the mutiny however, German-
cited his age as a reason why he could not act as Princeps, icus rallied the mutineers and led them on a short cam-
stated he did not wish the position, and then proceeded to paign across the Rhine into Germanic territory, stating
ask for only a section of the state.[44] Tiberius nally re- that whatever treasure they could grab would count as
lented and accepted the powers voted to him, though ac- their bonus.[50] Germanicuss forces crossed the Rhine
cording to Tacitus and Suetonius he refused to bear the ti- and quickly occupied all of the territory between the
tles Pater Patriae, Imperator, and Augustus, and declined Rhine and the Elbe. Additionally, Tacitus records the
the most solid emblem of the Princeps, the Civic Crown capture of the Teutoburg forest and the reclaiming of
and laurels.[45] Roman standards lost years before by Publius Quinctil-
[51]
This meeting seems to have set the tone for Tiberiuss en- ius Varus, when three Roman legions and its auxiliary[51]
tire rule. He seems to have wished for the Senate and the cohorts had been ambushed by Germanic tribes.
state to simply act without him and his direct orders were Germanicus had managed to deal a signicant blow to
rather vague, inspiring debate more on what he actually Romes enemies, quell an uprising of troops, and returned
meant than on passing his legislation.[46] In his rst few lost standards to Rome, actions that increased the fame
years, Tiberius seemed to have wanted the Senate to act and legend of the already very popular Germanicus with
on its own,[47] rather than as a servant to his will as it had the Roman people.[52]
been under Augustus. According to Tacitus, Tiberius de- After being recalled from Germania,[53] Germanicus cel-
rided the Senate as men t to be slaves.[48]
ebrated a triumph in Rome in AD 17,[51] the rst full
triumph that the city had seen since Augustuss own in
29 BC. As a result, in AD 18 Germanicus was granted
2.2 Rise and fall of Germanicus
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 sur-
vived 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 Claudi-
ans, and had allied themselves with the young Octavian
after his marriage to Livia, the mother of Tiberius. Ger-
manicuss death and accusations indicted the new Prin-
ceps. Piso was placed on trial and, according to Tacitus,
threatened to implicate Tiberius.[56] Whether the gover-
nor 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 seems to 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 ev-
ery year. In AD 23, Drusus mysteriously died,[60][61]
and Tiberius seems to have made no eort to elevate a
replacement. Finally, in AD 26, Tiberius retired from
Rome altogether to the island of Capri.[62]
notes in his work, A history of the Roman world from refused to vote him divine honors, and mobs lled the
30 BC to AD 138: streets yelling To the Tiber with Tiberius!"in refer-
ence to a method of disposal reserved for the corpses of
In the whole twenty two years of Tiberius criminals.[85] Instead the body of the emperor was cre-
reign, not more than fty-two persons were mated and his ashes were quietly laid in the Mausoleum
accused of treason, of whom almost half es- of Augustus, later to be scattered in AD 410 during the
caped conviction, while the four innocent peo- Sack of Rome.[86]
ple to be condemned fell victims to the exces-
In his will, Tiberius had left his powers jointly to Caligula
sive zeal of the Senate, not to the Emperors
and Tiberius Gemellus.[87][88] Caligulas rst act on be-
tyranny.[76]
coming Princeps was to void Tiberius will and have
Gemellus executed.[88]
While Tiberius was in Capri, rumours abounded as to
what exactly he was doing there. Suetonius records Tiberius heir Caligula not only spent Tiberius fortune of
the rumours of lurid tales of sexual perversity, in- 2,700,000,000 sesterces but would also begin the chain
cluding graphic depictions of child molestation, and of events which would bring about the downfall of the
cruelty,[77] and most of all his paranoia.[78] While heavily Julio-Claudian dynasty in AD 68.[89]
sensationalized,[79] Suetonius stories at least paint a pic-
ture of how Tiberius was perceived by the Roman sen-
atorial class, and what his impact on the Principate was
during his 23 years of rule.
3 Legacy
3.1 Historiography
2.4 Final years
The aair with Sejanus and the nal years of treason tri-
als permanently damaged Tiberius image and reputation.
After Sejanuss 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,[78] and spent a great deal of
time brooding over the death of his son. Meanwhile, dur-
ing this period a short invasion by Parthia, incursions by
tribes from Dacia and from across the Rhine by several
Germanic tribes occurred.[80]
Little was done to either secure or indicate how his
succession was to take place; the Julians and their sup-
porters 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 his own grandson, Tiberius Gemel-
lus.[81] However, only a half-hearted attempt at the end
of Tiberius life was made to make Caligula a quaestor,
and thus give him some credibility as a possible succes-
sor, while Gemellus himself was still only a teenager and
thus completely unsuitable for some years to come.[82]
2.4.1 Death (37 AD) Photograph of a bust of Tiberius, housed in the Louvre.
Tiberius died in Misenum on 15 March AD 37, at the Were he to have died prior to AD 23, he might have been
age of 78.[83] Tacitus records that upon the news of his hailed as an exemplary ruler.[90] Despite the overwhelm-
death the crowd rejoiced, only to become suddenly silent ingly negative characterization left by Roman historians,
upon hearing that he had recovered, and rejoiced again at Tiberius left the imperial treasury with nearly 3 billion
the news that Caligula and Macro had smothered him.[84] sesterces upon his death.[88][91] Rather than embark on
This is not recorded by other ancient historians and is costly campaigns of conquest, he chose to strengthen
most likely apocryphal, but some historians consider it the existing empire by building additional bases, using
indicative of how the senatorial class felt towards the Em- diplomacy as well as military threats, and generally re-
peror at the time of his death. After his death, the Senate fraining from getting drawn into petty squabbles between
3.2 Gospels, Jews, and Christians 7
3.4 In ction
Tiberius has been represented in ction, in literature, lm
and television, and in video games, often as a periph-
eral character in the central storyline. One such mod-
ern representation is in the novel I, Claudius by Robert
Graves,[111] and the consequent BBC television series
adaptation, where he is portrayed by George Baker.[112]
In the 1968 ITV historical drama The Caesars, Tiberius
The tribute penny mentioned in the Bible is commonly believed (by Andr Morell) is the central character for much of the
to be a Roman denarius depicting the Emperor Tiberius. series and is portrayed in a much more balanced way than
in I, Claudius.
He also appears as a minor character in the 2006 lm
Mark [101]
is popularly thought to be a silver denarius coin The Inquiry, in which he is played by Max von Sydow. In
of Tiberius.[102][103][104] addition, Tiberius has prominent roles in Ben-Hur (played
by George Relph in his last starring role),[113] and in A.D.
During Tiberius reign Jews had become more prominent (played by James Mason).
in Rome and Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus began
proselytizing Roman citizens, increasing long-simmering Played by Ernest Thesiger, he featured in The Robe
resentments.[105] Tiberius in 19 AD ordered Jews who (1953). He was featured in the 1979 lm Caligula, por-
were of military age to join the Roman Army.[105] trayed by Peter O'Toole. He was an important character
Tiberius banished the rest of the Jews from Rome and in Taylor Caldwell's 1958 novel, Dear and Glorious Physi-
threatened to enslave them for life if they did not leave cian, a biography of St Luke the Evangelist, author of the
the city.[105] third canonical Gospel.
There is considerable debate among historians as to when
Christianity was dierentiated from Judaism.[105] Ac-
cording to Tertullian, a Roman lawyer who had access 4 Children and family
to the archives of the Empire, Tiberius had requested the
Senate, a few years after Jesus crucixion, to publicly Tiberius was married two times, with only his rst union
recognize Christianity.[105] Most scholars believe that Ro- producing a child who would survive to adulthood:
man distinction between Jews and Christians took place
around 70 AD.[105] Tiberius most likely viewed Chris- Vipsania Agrippina, daughter of Marcus Vipsanius
tians as a Jewish sect rather than a separate, distinct Agrippa (1611 BC)
faith.[105]
Drusus Julius Caesar (13 BC 23 AD)
[27] Seager 2005, pp. 28. [57] Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius
52
[28] Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius
13 [58] Tacitus, Annals III.15
10 7 NOTES
[59] Tacitus, Annals III.56 [87] Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius
76
[60] Tacitus, Annals, IV.7, IV.8
[88] Cassius Dio, Roman History LIX.1
[61] Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius
62 [89] Caligula would kill Tiberius Gemellus and Antonia Mi-
nor before being killed by his own personal guard.
[62] Tacitus, Annals IV.67
Tiberius nephew Claudius succeeded Caligula and exe-
[63] Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius cuted Caligulas sister Julia Livilla and in turn would be
37 murdered by Livillas sister Agrippina the Younger after
they married and her son was of an age to become em-
[64] Tacitus, Annals IV.2 peror. Agrippina would be executed by her son Nero, who
would later commit suicide in 68 AD with no heirs to suc-
[65] Cassius Dio, Roman History LVII.21 ceed him. Only Caligulas sister Julia Drusilla died of nat-
[66] Tacitus, Annals IV.39 ural causes.
[68] Tacitus, Annals IV.41 [91] Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Caligula
37
[69] Tacitus, Annals V.3
[92] Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius
[70] Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius 61
53, 54
[93] Tacitus, Annals, I.6
[71] Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius
65 [94] Tacitus, Annals I.72, I.74, II.2732, III.4951, III.6669
[72] Cassius Dio, Roman History LVII.22 [95] Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius
2632
[73] Boddington, Ann (January 1963). Sejanus. Whose Con-
spiracy?". The American Journal of Philology 84 (1): 1 [96] Velleius Paterculus, Roman History, II.103105, II.129
16. doi:10.2307/293155. JSTOR 293155. 130
[74] Cassius Dio, Roman History LVIII.10 [97] Velleius Paterculus, Roman History II.127128
[75] Tacitus, Annals VI.19 [98] Syme, Ronald (1956). Seianus on the Aventine. Her-
mes (Franz Steiner Verlag) 84 (3): 257266. JSTOR
[76] A history of the Roman world from 30 BC to AD 138,
4474933.
Page 183, Edward Togo Salmon
[99] Luke 3:1
[77] Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius
43, 44, 45 [100] Matthew 22:19
[78] Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius [101] Mark 12:15
60, 62, 63, 64
[102] Sir William Smith (1896). The Old Testament History:
[79] Wallace-Hadrill, Andrew (1984) Suetonius: The Scholar From The Creation To The Return Of The Jews From Cap-
and His Caesars, Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300- tivity (page 704). Kessinger Publishing, LLC (22 May
03000-2 2010). ISBN 1-162-09864-3.
[80] Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius
[103] The Numismatist, Volume 29 (page 536). American Nu-
41
mismatic Association (3 April 2010). 2010. ISBN 978-
[81] Tacitus, Annals VI.46 1-148-52633-1.
[82] Cassius Dio, Roman History LVII.23 [104] Hobson, Burton (1972). Coins and coin collecting (page
28). Dover Publications (April 1972). ISBN 0-486-
[83] Tacitus, Annals VI.50, VI.51 22763-4.
[84] Tacitus, Annals VI.50 [105] Jossa, Giorgio (2006). Jews or Christians. pp. 123126.
ISBN 3-16-149192-0.
[85] Death of Tiberius: Tacitus Annals 6.50; Dio 58.28.14;
Suetinus Tiberius 73, Gaius 12.23; Josephus AJ 18.225. [106] Tacitus, Annals IV.45, III.72
Posthumous insults: Suetinus Tiberius 75.
[107] Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius
[86] Platner, Samuel Ball; Ashby, Thomas (1929). Mau- 47
soleum Augusti. A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient
Rome. London: Oxford University Press. pp. 332336. [108] Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Caligula
Retrieved 30 June 2011. 21
11
[109] Tacitus, Annals IV.3738, IV.5556 Southern, Pat (1998). Augustus. London: Rout-
ledge. ISBN 0-415-16631-4.
[110] Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews XVIII.2.3
Syme, Ronald (1986). The Augustan Aristocracy.
[111] "I, Claudius: From the Autobiography of Tiberius
Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-814859-
Claudius Robert Graves. Booktalk.org. Archived from
the original on 18 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-20. 3.
8 Bibliography
10.2 Images
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10.3 Content license 13