Tiberius

For the city in Israel, see Tiberias.

Early Reign

The accession of Tiberius proved intensely awkward. After Augustus had been buried and deified, and his will read and honored, the Senate convened on 18 September to inaugurate the new reign and officially "confirm" Tiberius as emperor. Such a transfer of power had never happened before, and nobody, including Tiberius, appears to have known what to do. Tacitus's account is the fullest of what happened. Tiberius came to the Senate to have various powers and titles voted to him. Perhaps in an attempt to imitate the tact of Augustus, Tiberius donned the mask of the reluctant public servant -- and botched the performance. Rather than tactful, he came across to the Senators as obdurate and obstructive. He declared that he was too old for the responsibilities of the Principate, said he did not want the job, and asked if he could just take one part of the government for himself. The Senate was confused, not knowing how to read his behavior. Finally, one senator asked pointedly, "Sire, for how long will you allow the State to be without a head?" Tiberius relented and accepted the powers voted to him, and according to Tacticus, he refused to bear the title Pater Patriae, being the only Emperor to do so.

Related Topics:
Deified - 18 September - Tacitus - Pater Patriae

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The first meeting between the Senate and the new Emperor established a blueprint for their later interaction. Throughout his reign, Tiberius was to baffle, befuddle, and frighten the Senators. He seems to have hoped that they would act on his implicit desires rather than on his explicit requests. There was trouble not only at Rome, however. The legions posted in Pannonia and in Germania, the most powerful concentration of troops in the Empire, took the opportunity afforded by Augustus?s death to voice their complaints about the terms and conditions of their service. Matters escalated into an all-out mutiny that was only repressed by the direct intervention of Tiberius's sons, Germanicus and Drusus. There was bloodshed at both locations, but in Germanicus?s sector of Germania, there was particularly chaotic disorder and frightful scenes of mayhem as the legions revolted against Tiberius.

Related Topics:
Pannonia - Germania

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Despite his difficult relationship with the Senate and the Rhine mutinies, Tiberius's first years were generally good. He stayed true to Augustus?s plans for the succession and clearly favored his adopted son Germanicus over his natural son, Drusus, as did the Roman populace. On Tiberius's request, Germanicus was granted proconsular power and assumed command in the prime military zone of Germania, where he suppressed the mutiny there and led the formerly restless legions on campaigns against Germanic tribes from 14 to 16 AD.

Related Topics:
Rhine - Proconsul - 16 AD

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After being recalled from Germania, Germanicus celebrated a triumph in Rome in 17 AD. In the same year, he was granted imperium maius over the East and, in 18 AD, after being consul with Tiberius as his colleague, he was sent East, just as Tiberius himself had been almost four decades earlier. Unfortunately for Tiberius, Germanicus died there in 19 AD and, on his deathbed, accused the governor of Syria, Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, of murdering him at Tiberius?s orders. Piso was a long-time friend of Tiberius and his appointee to the Syrian governorship, so suspicion for Germanicus?s death ultimately came to rest at the palace door.

Related Topics:
Triumph - 17 AD - Imperium maius - 18 AD - Consul - 19 AD - Syria - Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso

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When Germanicus?s widow, Agrippina the Elder returned to Italy carrying her popular husband's ashes, she publicly declared Piso guilty of murder and hinted at the involvement of more hidden agents. Piso was put on trial in the Senate, where he expected some help from his friend, Tiberius. Instead, Tiberius sat statue-like and let the proceedings take their course. In Tacitus's account, Piso realized his peril and threatened to make public certain documents that would embarrass the Emperor. The ploy failed and Piso committed suicide; the documents were never made public.

Related Topics:
Agrippina the Elder - Suicide

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With Germanicus dead, Tiberius began elevating his own son Drusus to replace him as the Imperial successor. Relations with Germanicus?s family were strained, but they were to reach a breaking point when Tiberius allowed a trusted advisor to get too close and gain a tremendous influence over him. That advisor was the Praetorian Prefect, Lucius Aelius Sejanus, who would derail Tiberius's plans for the succession and drive the emperor farther into isolation, depression, and paranoia.

Related Topics:
Praetorian Prefect - Lucius Aelius Sejanus

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