|
|
Amazon.com International Sites :
USA, United Kingdom, Germany, France
Books about Tiberius :
I, Claudius : From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, Born 10 B.C., Murdered and Deified A.D.
(42 BC-AD 37). Augustus, the first Roman emperor, died on Aug. 19, AD 14. He was succeeded by his adopted son,
Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar Augustus. When he became emperor, Tiberius was 56 years old, but he would rule for
nearly 23 years and leave the empire more stable and prosperous than it had been. Yet, for all of the positive
aspects of his reign, Tiberius is remembered as a monster and tyrant. Historians describe him as a man who had
practiced every imaginable vice and who tortured and killed with ferocity.
Tiberius was born on Nov. 16, 42 BC. His father, Tiberius Claudius Nero, had been a fleet captain for Julius Caesar.
After Caesar's death he had sided with Mark Antony, the enemy of Augustus. After Mark Antony's defeat the family
lived as fugitives for a few years before being allowed to return to Rome. In Rome Augustus fell in love with Livia,
the mother of Tiberius, forced her to get a divorce, and married her. The emperor thus became Tiberius' stepfather.
As a member of the emperor's household, Tiberius was given a good education and placed in positions of responsibility.
He was given his first military command at age 22, and he performed well in all his campaigns. He married Vipsania
Agrippina, daughter of Augustus' son-in-law, and spent about 12 happy years with her before the emperor forced
him to divorce her and marry his daughter Julia. This marriage was a disaster for Tiberius. Julia was completely
unfaithful.
To escape the situation, Tiberius sought military commands away from Rome and eventually went into exile on the
island of Rhodes in 6 BC. He remained there until about 2 BC, when he was recalled to Rome because nearly all other
potential successors to the throne had died. He became once again a powerful and respected figure in the city.
Most of his early policies as emperor were sound. He replenished the treasury, strengthened the navy, and abandoned
the practice of holding gladiatorial games. After his son Drusus died in AD 23, however, the emperor became increasingly
withdrawn. Much power passed to the head of the guard, Sejanus. In AD 27 the emperor left Rome and settled permanently
on the island of Capri.
Old, ridden with disease, and physically repulsive, Tiberius became mean and cruel. He built for himself palaces
with prisons, torture rooms, and places of execution. Eventually he had Sejanus murdered by Macro, the new head
of the Praetorian Guard. The last years of the emperor's life reached a peak of cruelty. His one remaining concern
was who would be the next emperor. Most potential heirs were dead, so Tiberius selected a great-grandson of Augustus,
Gaius Caesar, now known as Caligula. In March of AD 37 Tiberius became ill. When it appeared he would recover,
Macro smothered him with a pile of blankets on March 16.
Amazon.com International Sites :